DSLR camera any recommendations?

candygurl

Hi, i'd love to buy a new DSLR, i have a great camera,a sony cybershot, and fits in the pocket and takes great photos, but when i'm not running about on holiday i would like to have a good camera for taking high quality photos and experiment a bit, so am investing but theres so many out there now. i'd love a really good one but will probably only be able to afford 2nd hand. was looking at a Nikon d90 but would love some suggestions.

many thanks
cg

Red_Rose_Exile

Tough one as the smallest dSLR are the Olympus and expensive. The only regret for me as an OLY user is the lack of quality reasonably priced lens, so I would suggest a Nikon.

Remember that the glass (lens) you use will be almost as important, if not more so, than the camera in the medium to long term, and the Nikon range of lenses are very good. The D90 has at least got a dust removal system and a faster continuous shooting mode tahn the D80. However, I would still be tempted to recommend looking at a second hand D80 over the D90

Marty_J

A Nikon D40 will set you back about £260 from Amazon, and will do pretty much everything a D80 will do (and in fact, it does some things much better). The only caveat is that the D40 will only autofocus with Nikon AF-S and Sigma HSM lenses as it has no autofocus motor in the body. Unless you have an attic full of Nikon glass though, it's not really a problem.

I'd really recommend buying the cheapest camera that does what you need, and spending the rest of your money on lenses. Digital cameras are pretty much disposable (in a technological sense), whereas there's no reason you can't be using the same lens 30 years from now.

[Deleted User]

Red_Rose_Exile wrote: »

Tough one as the smallest dSLR are the Olympus and expensive. The only regret for me as an OLY user is the lack of quality reasonably priced lens, so I would suggest a Nikon.

Buy yourself a 4/3rds to OM adaptor then pick up a few old lenses. You'll get the hang of manual focus easy enough

I'd agree - it's the lens thats important, so try to get something with easily available & reasonable lenses. Nikon is certainly a good choice. Also, invest in an external flash (and difuser) - they're great for portrait photos.

TiTheRev

EOS 350d or 400d can be picked up on eBay for reasonable prices these days. Plenty of good kit available for all Canon makes, and more importantly plenty of good lenses (even 20year old Canon lenses use the same fixings!), unlike some of the others!

spidertwig

Bought a 400d not too long ago, got a complete kit - crumpler bag, cf 8gb card, 18-55mm lens, tripod, and 2 spare batteries for just under £350.

Bargain, taken some amazing pics with it - even won a competition too!

Just don't forget that taking good pics is 90% ability and 10% kit.

You'll spend more in total on your lens that your body.... If you go for Canon just remember that image stabilisation isn't built into the camera. So if your shakey you'll have to invest in a tripod or a lens with IS built in. Which can be a little more expensive.

Just got my other half a Sony A200, as she's really shakey. It's got IS built into the camera body, and sony DSLR's are Minolta compatible so there's a bit more range. Only cost £250 new with a kit lens.

Whether it be Nikon, Canon et all that you go with you can always search Flickr for pictures taken with a specific camera to give you a better idea.

Got any more questions to ask? Ask away - will always try to help.

candygurl

thanks for all the advice. i have been checking out a canon eos 400d on ebay, which is comin with a bit of kit and 2 lenses. it's in the uk, but is it a bad idea to buy from america? would i be caught for vat or tax ? i see some great deals there with postage it's still even quite cheap.
lots of good tips here, thankyou again

Dr_DiNg_DoNg

The ppl on the gambling forum have just won a few nikon D40's from an offer, ask on there!

spidertwig

candygurl wrote: »

thanks for all the advice. i have been checking out a canon eos 400d on ebay, which is comin with a bit of kit and 2 lenses. it's in the uk, but is it a bad idea to buy from america? would i be caught for vat or tax ? i see some great deals there with postage it's still even quite cheap.
lots of good tips here, thankyou again

DON'T DO IT!!!!! I did the same thing, bought off him.... Smells of a scam. Rung ebay and they said to shy away!

Had nothing but hassle trying to cancel an echeque too to make sure he didn't get it. Paypal were pretty good in the end.

Only noticed once I'd paid that he was apparently based in NY USA but claiming that the item is located near Cardiff...

spidertwig

And another thing - if it's the deal i'm thinking of. Half of the extra's you wouldn't use anyway. And the mini tripod can't hold the weight of the camera.

spidertwig

Oh, and it's a fact that things sell for more on a Sunday on ebay..... try ones ending mid-week....