sparky370z Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 Hi people, My mrs wants to get a camera. She wants an SLR jobby. I know nout about cameras and the such like. She is looking for a half decent entry level camera for a hobby. My question is what is a good camera for about 400-550 quid. I am not a brand whore as such but just need advice. I have been looking at a canon 450d and a 500d. Both are on eBay and have good kits with them. Cheers for any advice. Mark Quote
SwanageDave Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 you should be able to also pick up a nikon D80 for that price too Quote
dyla350z Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 My son is an slr geek & he says the nikon d series are the top of the pile. Quote
Gball1973 Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 Canon or Nikon for sure- bigger choice of lenses(including aftermarket) for their respective fittings. Personally would pick the Nikon though, the sensors used tend to give better pic quality Quote
Matt L Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 a very quick summary for canon and nikon inperticular is that the fewer numbers in the name the higher it is up the scale , as for which you should get for your budget you could get the entry level canon or nikons or new or go for second hand off somewhere like talkphotography and get the middle of the bunch. my best bit of advice tbh is go to somewhere like jessops and actually get the mrs to hold/try the cameras as the cameras themselves whether they are nikon or canon at virtually the same just feel and work differently so its which ever suits her. im a canon man just because at the time of my first camera it felt nicer and now im used to the menu plus have loads of canon accesories so didnt swap to nikon when i changed my camera although i would of considered it. sony and olympus imo dont have the range of lenses available that canon and nikon do as they seem to dominate the dslr market imo, although sony and olympus are getting there . Quote
sparky370z Posted October 20, 2010 Author Posted October 20, 2010 Thanks very guys, looking at the canon so far. My cousin is a medical photographer and she reckons the canon range is best for a beginner and it is also the one she has by chance. I don't bloody know there's so much choice and I know bugger all. Quote
stanski Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 You can go for the standard big boys offerings but as a long term Pentax lover have a peep at theirs the K-x for example. I am waiting for the K7 to drop in price. If you have a Costco card pop down they have the Panasonic Lumix for a good price Quote
Stew Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 I'm looking at buying in the new year. Spoke to a mate whos keen and he just said 'Canon' but it's what he's used to. I am going to have a play with his canon.... and see if I like it! <----- I'm never saying that again! Right now (if I like the feel of it) I'm looking at the Canon 550D. It seems to be pretty decent. My reasoning is that it appears to be good for beginners however has enough stuff to keep my occupied without wanting to upgrade quickly! Horses for courses though I guess. Quote
Husky Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 im reading up on this at the moment and found this really useful http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/index.html Quote
Stew Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 In my bookmarks so far http://www.dpreview.com/ http://www.ephotozine.com/ http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/ http://www.digital-slr-guide.com/index.html Thanks for the last one Husky. These were all forwarded by my mate. The dpreview one is mental. SO much info but also great conclusions. Quote
Husky Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 the most interesting bit he talks about is cameras suited to different types of photography, which completely makes sense. im more landscape (and car meets of course) so there are cameras that perform better in this area. Quote
sparky370z Posted October 20, 2010 Author Posted October 20, 2010 I'm looking at buying in the new year. Spoke to a mate whos keen and he just said 'Canon' but it's what he's used to. I am going to have a play with his canon.... and see if I like it! <----- I'm never saying that again! Right now (if I like the feel of it) I'm looking at the Canon 550D. It seems to be pretty decent. My reasoning is that it appears to be good for beginners however has enough stuff to keep my occupied without wanting to upgrade quickly! Horses for courses though I guess. This was another I was looking at. Canon seems to be the best for beginners. Really good auto features but can be set for manual as well. Good camera but it's also about the lenses as well. Quote
Stew Posted October 20, 2010 Posted October 20, 2010 I plan buying body only and buying a good lens that is suitable for what I want separately. It's mental trying to choose. I watched a stack of reviews on You Tube last night too. Well worth watching actually. I don't know why I like the 550...... I just do! Quote
slimjim Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 I am SUPER happy with my Nikon D3000... Bought a nice 18-200 for it and she is lovely...! Quote
Zedrush Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 canon 550d rebel video is awesome 1080p Quote
choptop Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 If I was you would go for a Manual SLR Film Camera. Get to understand F-Stops/depth of field etc etc. Once she understands all of this then go for DSLR. She will learn a lot more that way. It is a bit like driving a car. Would you learn to drive in a Ferrari? Quote
Gurjeet Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 I got a Canon EOS 500D about a month ago and it is excellent. Here is a thread with two unedited pics as an example. viewtopic.php?f=34&t=41913 You can pick up a kit with the 18-55mm lens brand new for about £490, try www.camerapricebuster.com for some good internet deals on a bunch of different cams. Quote
Stew Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 canon 550d rebel video is awesome 1080p That's what I'm looking at Jay. You got that? How you finding it? Quote
ChrisS Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 canon 550d rebel video is awesome 1080p That's what I'm looking at Jay. You got that? How you finding it? I've been looking at this as well. Are we all looking at getting one of these? Quote
Stew Posted October 21, 2010 Posted October 21, 2010 I will be getting one in the new year. Got vouchers building up at work for being a good boy which will pay for the body. I have to wait until the last quarter is finished though! Quote
sparky370z Posted October 22, 2010 Author Posted October 22, 2010 Well in the end I went for canon 500d. Got it for a good price too. About 90 quid off list too. Brand new in box. My mrs can't wait now. Sparky Quote
Zedrush Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 canon 550d rebel video is awesome 1080p That's what I'm looking at Jay. You got that? How you finding it? Ive got a 7d which shoots the same video quality bud, here's a video I shot with 7d: http://vimeo.com/10894937 Quote
sparky370z Posted October 26, 2010 Author Posted October 26, 2010 My mrs has been looking over it and trying the functuntions. She is well happy. The 500d shoot 1080p HD vids too. I just need to get her a higher class sd card now. Got a 16gb class 10 for 16 quid from eBay. The photo quality is excellent. Just need how to use it properly now. Lol The 550d was a bit too expensive and apparently there hasn't been that many changes from the 500d. According to the bloke in jessops. Can't wait to get the car out and take some nice shots. Sparky Quote
andlid Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Got a Nikon 5000D not long ago (2 months?) with 18-55 lens DX 1:3.5-5.6G works real well lots of settings to play around with, now I just need to find some cooler second hand lenses Remember that the grey lenses are pro's Quote
stanski Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 People pleople why are you focusing (no pun intended) on the video capabilities of the camera - an SLR camera has to be good at taking static pictures first above anything else the HD video is just a gimmic, you will always get better results with a camcorder for video , although its nice to have both in the same unit I agree. Cannon are good camera - I prefer them over Nikon who I personally think have been cutting costs recently and on some of their cameras it shows. Good luck with your camera and once in a while ask her to play with the manual settings to see what results she gets - remember an auto setting does'nt cover every light condition they get fooled a lot Quote
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