Digitial Camera Advice please??

HoneyPie_2

Good Evening All,

I am wanting to buy a Digital SLR. The WHICH best buy is a Cannon EOS 1000D.. so being a complete 'proper camera' novice I thought it safe to opt for that.

I can find the camera, including lens kit 18-55 for £336 on Amazon..

Does anyone know of a better price?, or perhaps even a better camera in this price range.

Thank you

Mobeer

Camera Price Buster do guide lists of cameras, and they also find Amazon UK to be cheapest:
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod660.html

Note the £30 cashback offer:
http://www.canon.co.uk/eoscashback/

But for a cheaper alternative, how about the Sony Alpha 200 for £242 also with £30 cashback, also from Amazon:
http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/269143/sony-dslr-a200k-digital-slr-camera-

patman99

PCPro did a full test on DSLR's and didn't rate the Canon EOS 1000D, however, they did rate the 450D highly, but gave their best buy award to the Sony A200 (surprisingly, they rated it higher than the A350, which suffers from fuzzy pictures at higher '.iso' settings).

ormus

you should consider the nikon D40 for 249 quid from amazon.
a great first time user, digital slr camera.

althas

Hi HoneyPie

Welcome to the world of DSLR, bring your life jacket and jump in

I bought my 1st DSLR a year ago now, and never looked back, I love it. I got some great advice from the man in Jesops when I went for mine, so I will pass this on to help you make an informed decision

The first thing to decide is what you are going to be doing. If you are just after a DSLR for the better quality picture then pretty much any of them would be better over a compact. Sony got a great review lately in the mags. However (and this is where it get a little deep), if you are doing this now..but intend to expand in the future, you need to look NOW at all the after-market items available, flash guns, lens range and so on

The thing to remember is that you are not buying a camera, you are buying a SYSTEM. It would be pointless buying a small brand DSLR body and a couple of lenses, if 2 years down the road you want to expand. You will be VERY VERY limited by what you can get, and would probably find yourslef having to buy it all again (as a Sony lens would not fit a Canon for example)

IF you are wanting to buy into a system this will probably leave you with the age old Nikon 'v' Canon argument. The man from Jesops summed it up quite simply for me. The Nikon just pips the Canon for quality of shot. BUT the Canon gets the shot faster than the Nikon, and so often gets a clearer action shot. The Nikon is there counting the number of feathers on the bird and the Canon just takes the picture (this is a metophorical example). So if you are looking for sport and wildlife then, in my oppinion, go for a Canon (As I did). If you are more for people and landscapes then the Nikon would be better for the quality

Next, look at your budget. If you have, say £500 in total, decide if you want just the body and the kit lens, or any extra lenses. This will influence your decision as well

<DEEP Breath In........now breath out :rotfl: )

To purchase my camera, I went to a Jesops store, for a couple of reasons. 1. To get some expert advise on it all
2. (and possibly the important one) to TRY before I bought it, VERY important
3. I had somewhere to go back to if anything went wrong, I had any questions etc

Now I know for a fact I was paying a little more compared to an internet purchase, but I felt the advice and face to face contact was worth it

Heh.....I bet you did not think it was this complex, sorry. But for the amount of money you are spending, doing the research now will save a LOT of time and money in the future

Finally, the 2 MUST HAVE extras you will need are:
1. A bag to carry it around in, padded, waterproof, and room for the body and a couple of lenses
2. A good quality HIGH SPEED memory card. I can not emphasis this enough. If you go for the cheapest card, you will be VERY frustrated as the read/write times between the camera and the card will feel like forever and you WILL miss shots. I got a San Disk Ultra, and it is the Ultra that is the high speed needed. Other brands will have the same thing, just make sure you get the right one. And buy from a reputable retailer, as I have heard stories from people buying cards from e-bay and end up with a basic one with an Ultra sticker on

Sorry this is such a long post, but there is a lot to consider with a DSLR and the time now is very well spent. And it IS worth it. I Love my DSLR. Whatever you decide, enjoy it and lets see some of your pictures

HoneyPie_2

Thanks to everyone for their replies.. (I have been away hence the time its taken me to say thanks ;-) ). They are all most helpful.

A very big Thank you to Althas - its very kind of you to give such a detailed reply, and it has been very helpful to both myself and my DH.. Thanks again for taking the time.

althas

No Problem HoneyPie, sorry it was such a long post, hope it all made sense

Which one did you decide to get in the end?

Fifer

I'd just add to the 'system' argument that the Four-Thirds system is worth considering too. Lenses and accessories are interchangeable between manufacturer's products (Panasonic, Olympus, Leica and Sigma in the main) with the added advantages of a smaller and lighter form factor and a system designed to be digital from the ground up.

Marty_J

ormus wrote: »

you should consider the nikon D40 for 249 quid from amazon.
a great first time user, digital slr camera.

I agree, the D40 is a wonderful little camera. Buy one and use the money you save for getting a nice lens or a bunch of accessories. A polariser or longer zoom lens will make much more of a difference to your photography than what brand of camera you use.

althas wrote: »

A good quality HIGH SPEED memory card. I can not emphasis this enough. If you go for the cheapest card, you will be VERY frustrated as the read/write times between the camera and the card will feel like forever and you WILL miss shots. I got a San Disk Ultra, and it is the Ultra that is the high speed needed. Other brands will have the same thing, just make sure you get the right one. And buy from a reputable retailer, as I have heard stories from people buying cards from e-bay and end up with a basic one with an Ultra sticker on

Digital SLRs have buffers in them, so you don't need to wait for them to save a photo before you can take another one. I've never missed a shot because I've had to wait for my camera to save a photo, and I have some very cheap memory cards.

Conversely, you might very well miss lots of shots because you have some super-fast memory card. They tend to be more expensive than slower ones. Hence, you'll get a smaller card for your money, and it's hard to take photos once it's full.

I definitely agree to be careful where you buy them from though. I'd never purchase one on eBay.