Digital SLR help
 

Hi all,

A little advice please. I am by no means a photographer, but i have always loved taking pics at events and when out and about etc. but have only ever had compacts.

So i think time has come for me to experiment a little, and to push the boat out to a DSLR.

I know nothing about them on the whole, just how to roughly use them.

What i am looking for is a good stater camera. something that will help me improve my skills, and learn all the basics of photography on SLR's, but not the large price tag that goes with some of them!!

I have seen the Sony Alpha a200. What do people in the know think?

i have seen a 18-70mm kit lens package for around the £400 mark.

That is the price i think i would like to spend. And the reviews that i have seen so far seem to say that it is a good bet.

I wont be getting it till the new year, and not in a real rush so if people know of new models that are due out that will be worth holding out for again i will be willing to wait.

Cheers in advance.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Plus side with sony is that you can use loads of cheap minolta lens's and it has built in image stabilisation, although it isn't very effective on longer lenses which is when its needed the most

The down side is they are built like crap and aimed at people that want a automatic point and shoot camera which will limit your ability to use it manually due to the awkward control and menus

I would personally stick with canon or nikon

Re: Digital SLR help
 

To be honest this subject has been covered extensively on this forum.

If you search SLR Im sure you would come up with at least five threads dedicated to the information that you are requesting.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I am aware of this, and did search prior to poasting, however i found nothing relating to the Sony that my post was asking about in particular, and most the threads that i found are talking through cameras that are at a much higher budget to what i am looking at!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Cheers grimey,

After a little (and quick) research on that i have found the Canon EOS 550D. Seems to be quite a lot more camera for the small inc in money.

So would you say probably a better bet than the sony?

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I beg your pardon then.

I would say though that what ever you wish to buy purchase it prior to the VAT hikes in the new year.

The reason why people advise on the Nikon or Canon are because they are the best in the market right now. For a starter photographer they offer you the chance to get used to the camera and how to compose your shots etc, but also when you have learnt that you wont have outgrown the camera, so to speak.

The body of the camera´s are not that expensive compared to the lens´s infront of the camera, most of the bodies now come with a kit lens of 18mm-55mm depending on the camera that you get.

You might want to have a look around at some of the deals that are offered at places like Jessops etc to see if they have a package deal that might suit you.

I am not able to say anything about Sony cameras as I have never used them, I am a Nikon owner and started out knowing next to nothing and have learnt with it and enjoyed every second of it. I know similar stories with Canon owners.

The Nikon D3100 might be in your price range? £475 + kit lens on www.graysofwestminster.co.uk

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Yeah, way better.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I have a 550D, its one hell of a camera but I wouldnt have put it in the cheap bracket at nearly £600. The only issue that I found really quickly, and its not a fault of the camera, is that the kit lense is limited for distance shots. A cheaper bridge camera can give you a better range of shots in general that a DSLR with only one small lense but the quality and controlability of the SLR far exceeds the bridge.

I'm adding a telephoto zoom lense at christmas but theres another £350 already!

Great camera though, no doubt about that.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Cheers anna that is really helpfull. i will look at the D3100 as well, not seen anything about that yet. As far as my understanding goes 18-55mm lens kit will be good enough to get started yeah? i havn't yet even started looking into lens' and the differences between!!

i thin kit will still be in the new year that i will end up getting it, as the £12/15 increase in the cost doesn't boter me too much, and i am hopefull of being able to get some deals with more than the £15 off in the sales after xmas.....i hope anyway!!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

also, this is a great website for getting started....

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/

and this one for price comparison on equipment...

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/index.html

Re: Digital SLR help
 

that is usefull to know. what sort of distance should i be able to do with the kit lens' without any real problems?

Re: Digital SLR help
 

The kit lens on either the Nikon or Canon will be ample to get you going.

When you first get the camera you really just want to get out there and shoot, learn how to frame and compose shots.

Then you can build up learning what the camera can do.

Flymo - Kit lens´s on the Canon are known to be okish but not the best out there, you quickly learn what the limitations of your lens´s are and discover what sort of photographer you are.

If you are someone who likes taking landscape photos then your kit will go towards the wider lens´s if you are like myself who likes taking up close photos of the pretty flowers then you will go more the macro lens route. First though you have to find out what sort you are and what you enjoy taking photos of.

Thom Hogan (pretty decent Nikon photographer ;) ) said of the Sony that they make good electrical appliances not great cameras.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I'm after a Lumix G10, if I can save up the brass.


Although there was a nice Pentax in Currys, marketed at over 600 quid, its got a nice tag of 399 at the moment :)
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/pentax-...58320-pdt.html

I'm tempted by it, I've always love Pentax cameras got an old 1970s SLR kind of one with loads of lens, which might possibly fit. Plus with this one you get two lenses to play with rather than one.

I found the Sony ones felt rather fragile and cheap in comparison to both the G10 and the Pentax. We have a SOny Cybershot DSC-WX1 compact, and it takes some wonderful snaps, that are a lot better than average, but I feel I have grown out of it and want to delve into photography further

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I'll add another vote for getting a Nikon or a Canon. Both of the big manufacturers offer a huge selection of lenses which can be used on your starter camera and will work just as well when you upgrade to a mid-range camera in future.

The other advantage of Nikon or Canon is that there's lots of second-hand lenses around for them, which can save you quite a bit of money if you're not too worried about shiny and new.

Keith.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Lou, the manual pentax lenses from 35mm camera's do fix the digital version... my dad upgraded earlier this year and can use all his lenses along with the two new ones he got.

But to double check, take an old lenses to curry's and tell them you want to try it's fitments

For the original post I have a Nikon D3000 now for a year, haven't found anything that it can't do for me, and I am still very much learning all the functions of it.... another vote for nikon or canon

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I would suggest if you go for the Nikon 3100 get the kit that has the 18-105 lens. I have this lens on my D90 and it is very good image quality for a kit lens. It gives you more zoom to play with and you could forget about a longer zoom lens till later down the line. I found the 18-105 a very good zoom range compared to 18-55 or so lens. Spend that lil more and I guarantee you will be pleased you did. Later on you could get more range with a zoom that goes to 300mm. The 18-105 is very versatile and has good performance.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I have a Canon EOS 400D, it was new about 4 years ago I guess, it's a fantastic camera. It came with a bog standard 18 - 55 lens which is OK. I have since added a few additional lenses, a 35 - 105 and a 100 - 300, both second hand from ebay. I usually use the 35 - 105 as it's so flexible.

Canon all the way:D And get a polarising filter:cool:

Edit - have just read TC3's post. Can't comment on Nikon, never owned one, but his comments on lenses are spot on,

Re: Digital SLR help
 

cheers all, really good info. looks like a cannon or nikon then. also good help on the lens. i think i may go for a 18 - 105 if i can get a good deal. time for some more comps on different models!

cheers again

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Be careful with the 18-105, its one of the worst lenses nikon make in terms of IQ but it does have more range,

I never really understood why canon use a 17-85 and nikon a 18-105 on their "prosumer" range of cameras as both these lenses get beaten hands down by the 18-55 IS from the entry level cameras

Dont take my word for it, check out the reviews

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Are you sure you're not thinking about some other lens? The 18-105 is one of the best kit lenses Nikon has ever made, and it's not just me saying it. Quoting Thom Hogan, "the" guy to listen to on all things Nikon (and not just Nikon):

"For its price, this is actually quite a well rounded lens. The most visible fault for most will be the barrel distortion at 18mm and perhaps some softness in the corners at 18mm and f/3.5. Beyond that, it falls into what I'd call the "very good and no noticeable flaws" range on almost everything."

You can read the rest here.

Yes it's a weaker lens at 18 mm than at the rest of the range, maybe weaker than the 18-55 VR, and it does have more distortion throughout - which is expected from an almost 6x zoom that goes from reasonably wide to low-medium telephoto, but it's still a cracking sharp lens, and not very heavy. The plastic mount and lack of true AF override are the main negative points for me.

That said, I replaced both my 18-55 and 18-105 kit lenses with the 16-85, because of those extra 2 mm at the wide end (and the metal mount, VR II, true AF override, and better quality throughout)...

I believe Jambo might have something to say about the Canon 17-85 vs. the 18-55 IS, too...

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Me not being an expert in these matters, or even a keen amateur, but i tried out the 18-105 lens on the nikon d90 recently and i thought it was brill, just need the funds now, life has conspired against me, yet again otherwise i would have bought it there and then, will have to wait a while longer, it has a wider angle too, which is noticable from the cannon.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Ive never used it in all fairness, i just always hear reviews on how poor it is compared with cheaper 18-55vr


"I prefer both the 18-55mm and 18-55mm VR lenses, which are both sharper and a fraction of the price!"
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-105mm.htm

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I have plenty of pictures to prove just how good the 18-105 can do. Many on the Nikon dpreview website vouch for the lens.
I would not take anything Ken Rockwell says seriously.....

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Ken Rockwell knows his stuff, but needs to be taken with not just a pinch, but a full pack of salt. He himself admits to being a wind-up merchant most of the times, so I wouldn't recommend his website to people who can't really tell when he's being serious and when he's just trying to stir the pot. That said, he's a good laugh every now and again. He is serious about weight, size and cost considerations though, and in those 3 areas, the both 18-55s are better than the 18-105.

With this, I'm not saying Nikon's 18-55's aren't good (I have both versions, and curiously the one that sees more action nowadays is the non-VR version in Anna's camera, since it's sharper than the VR one and she's annoyingly good at hand-holding the camera at stupid-slow shutters speeds :smt092 ), it's just that the 18-105 is better at pretty much everything except distortion.
Nikon does have a tradition of coughing out pretty cool cheap kit lenses, where they skimp on the build costs, but keep the quality quite reasonable. Check Anna's avatar, for instance. You can't see it very well in here (I'll try and get her to post up the full pic later), but it was taken with one of Nikon's cheapest kit lenses ever, of which there are millions around: the 28-80G f/3.3-5.6 which doesn't even auto-focus on the D60 with which the picture was taken, and manual focusing with it is like trying to wade your way through a bowl of soup while trying to catch a single pea with a blunt toothpick. I simply chose it because the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro we had on the camera at the time was just too long to get the framing she wanted, the 18-55 was too short, and none of our other lenses will focus as close for the field of view she was trying to get. So yes, it's a £40 lens (I've seen some go for less, or just flogged as lens mount covers in F60 and F80s), but who'd tell?

Re: Digital SLR help
 

As requested...

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Hi all,

Been a while since this post went up. But i have been doing shed loads of research on which camera, and i have made my mind up, but wanted to gather the experience of the org one last time.

I know that there is going to be a lot of personal opinion. and that everyone has preferred manufactures etc. but i what i am after, is if there is any specific reason that i should not go for this camera.

I have decided on the Nikon d3100 - with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX kit lens (plan to get either the Nikon AF-S 55-200mm or Nikon AF-S 55-300mm in the future to go with instead of a 18-105 kit to start)

Reasons for this choice. is mainly down to such high reviews of the d3000, have ready in many independent reviews both pro and armature that the d300 was the best entry level DSLR. and the 3100 only seems to have improved on that.

Value for money seems to be about as good as it gets with this to be honest.

What are your thoughts?

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Well it certainly is better than the D3000 it replaces at pretty much everything, so can't see a reason why you shouldn't (except if you have the money to go one step higher to the D5000 :lol: ).

Enjoy. ;)

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I was looking at the 5000, but to be honest i dont have the money, so i could wait and save up, but i am really keen to get snapping now. i couldn't see what real benefit i (as a new amiture) would get out of the extra money. i was thinking that i would start with the slightly cheaper set up and if as and when my skills (and hopfully income from putting shots on microstock sights etc) increases increase to a overall better set up!

again pro's and con's?

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Pros:
- Looks like a "real" camera;
- Shoots like a "real" camera;
- It's smaller than a "real" camera, which leads to...
- It's lighter than a "real" camera;
- Very honest quality for the price;
- Very decent kit lenses;

Cons:
- It's smaller than a "real" camera, which leads to...
- Less weather protection than a "real" camera;
- Less controls on the outside of the body than a "real" camera, means having to faff with menus to change common settings;
- Only one control dial, which leads to more button pressing to change settings;
- No built-in motor for non-AF-S lenses.

TBH the only way you'd get most of these features would be by jumping straight to a D90 / D7000 or higher, and most of them might actually not mean anything to you as an amateur.
And of course by "real" camera I mean any of the Pro group, which everybody wants to have but only a few can justify! :lol:

Re: Digital SLR help
 

fine.....i'm sold then, see how many penny's i get for my bday, and top the rest up and a shiney new d3100 will be on its way to me. and here's to lots of nice photoes that i can start selling for lots and lots of money!! lol

Cheers for all that Filipe, was really helpfull.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Nice choice. The D3100 would be my choice too being a complete noob when it comes to DSLR's. I nearly bought one too then realised I can't really take it everywhere with me and my history of actually bothering to take pictures is poor.
Did a lot of research too and the D3100 seemed to be the best choice (although Canon have some nice ones too but slightly more expensive. Jessops were doing a particulary good deal on it. £469 but you get £40 back from Nikon at the minute so £429.

Hope you enjoy your new camera.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

The 500 D is a very good camrea as well and now superseeded by the 550 and worth considering if the extra outlay for the features is worth it over the 500. I did this and in all honesty, the 500 will do everything you need.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Yeah thats the deal i have seen, Amazon have the same one also, but they have slightly better price on the perfs that i want to get with it as well, SD card, remote, Tripod etc - i was shocked that Amazon were cheaper for camera stuff than one of if not the biggest camera shop in the uk!! but thats the way of modern shopping i suppose!!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

www.camerabox.co.uk are by far the cheapest and best for online camera stuff. i have bough my last 2 cameras form them. Jessops are silly priced.

Re: Digital SLR help
 

V, when I was looking into getting my D5000, Jessops was cheaper than camerabox!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Corrected for you Filipe...;)

Re: Digital SLR help
 

Ok Ok, once in a while. But when i got my 500D with all the stuff (xtra lens, battery, case, mem card) it was £400 cheaper than Jessops!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

I got a bundle from jessops, D5000 camera body, 18-55 VR and cant remember what the other one is, SD card, back and t'was cheaper. You just need to shop around a bit.

I have the added advantage of annoying Anna for advice, who in turn annoys Filipe for me...!

Re: Digital SLR help
 

:lol:

And now, as Jambo will undoubtedly say, you too smell of wee. :lol:

:smt021

Re: Digital SLR help
 

:lol:

And now, as Jambo will undoubtedly say, you too smell of wee. :lol:

:smt021 :lol: