SLR digital camera recommendations

RaiderHammer

Looking for an entry level SLR digital camera.

Any recomendations of what would be good at entry level and where is the best place to buy (Essex / London based) high street, on line?

What lenes are good to start with?

Are all SLR's auto focus these days?

Would an old lens still fit new bodies? Say 30 years old?

Thanks.

LillythePink

Hubby is on another forum - talk photography - they seem to know their stuff - a mixture of professionals and "the every day joe" who is taking pics as a hobby

They could advise and help you and offer suggestions etc

jmc160

I got my first ever DSLR earlier this year - a Nikon D3100 and I absolutely love it. It has all the settings you would expect from a DSLR, with the exception of auto bracketing (non-essential - I find it no problem doing my bracketing manually). The two easy functions, one with flash and one without, are great for just taking pics and they come out realy nicely, but if you want to take some more advanced shots then it gives you all the configuration freedom you need to do it.

The other thing I love about it is it has a Guide function onboard, which gives you loads of info on how to set the camera up to take specific kinds of pictures. You can also drill through the guide and into the options to set it up there and then.

I got the camera in January and it came with Nikon's 18-55 lens which is great for everyday shots and wide angles. Since then I've also bought a Tamron 70-300 Makro lens, which is brilliant for taking pictures of things that are either extremely close up or extremely far away

If you'd like to see the quality of the picture you can get (or at least the quality I can get as I'm very much a struggling amateur), take a look at my Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmcl/

steve1980

You can probably pick up a Canon 1000d for a good price as the 1100d is out now.

RaiderHammer

jmc160 wrote: »

I got my first ever DSLR earlier this year - a Nikon D3100 and I absolutely love it. It has all the settings you would expect from a DSLR, with the exception of auto bracketing (non-essential - I find it no problem doing my bracketing manually). The two easy functions, one with flash and one without, are great for just taking pics and they come out realy nicely, but if you want to take some more advanced shots then it gives you all the configuration freedom you need to do it.

The other thing I love about it is it has a Guide function onboard, which gives you loads of info on how to set the camera up to take specific kinds of pictures. You can also drill through the guide and into the options to set it up there and then.

I got the camera in January and it came with Nikon's 18-55 lens which is great for everyday shots and wide angles. Since then I've also bought a Tamron 70-300 Makro lens, which is brilliant for taking pictures of things that are either extremely close up or extremely far away

If you'd like to see the quality of the picture you can get (or at least the quality I can get as I'm very much a struggling amateur), take a look at my Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonmcl/

Thanks, I am using a Nikon digital compact at the moment and think it's great. Do you feel that a 70 mm to 300 mm lens is a must? I took a look at Flickr were the Red Arrows photos taken nearer the 300 mm mark or nearer 70 mm? Thank you.

jmc160

RaiderHammer wrote: »

Thanks, I am using a Nikon digital compact at the moment and think it's great. Do you feel that a 70 mm to 300 mm lens is a must? I took a look at Flickr were the Red Arrows photos taken nearer the 300 mm mark or nearer 70 mm? Thank you.

Most were taken at very close to the 300mm mark, although I did often dial it in as much as I needed to in order to get more than one aircraft and/or some coloured smoke or sky in the shot. If you have a look through my other pics on there, the vast majority of them were taken with the 18-55mm lens that came with the body. There's a cool Makro shot of my PC keyboard though, which was the Tamron.

moonrakerz

I would suggest either a Nikon or a Canon.
They are the most widely available makes and there is the biggest range of independent lens manufacturers equipment available for these two makes.

Try them and see which "fits" you best - I am a Nikon man personally, but you decide !

ukcarper

moonrakerz wrote: »

I would suggest either a Nikon or a Canon.
They are the most widely available makes and there is the biggest range of independent lens manufacturers equipment available for these two makes.

Try them and see which "fits" you best - I am a Nikon man personally, but you decide !

I agree and it's definitely worth picking them up to see which one feels most comfortable.

jmc160

moonrakerz wrote: »

I would suggest either a Nikon or a Canon.
They are the most widely available makes and there is the biggest range of independent lens manufacturers equipment available for these two makes.

Try them and see which "fits" you best - I am a Nikon man personally, but you decide !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flibble/5717299538/in/photostream/

(I'm a Nikon man also, but it's a cool picture! :beer: )

moonrakerz

jmc160 wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flibble/5717299538/in/photostream/

(I'm a Nikon man also, but it's a cool picture! :beer: )

Who would believe a character looking like him ?? only a Canon owner ...........

PS: whose name/logo actually IS in red ??

Lirin

Raider,

What old lenses do you have? What camera were they for? 30+ yr lenses will generally be manual focus, and depending on the camera, may or may not work- would need more info.