Which Camera? £300 - £450

Associate
Joined
22 Apr 2008
Posts
218
Hi All,

What I want

- Close up image quality to be sharp and intense whilst being able to blur background from sharp foreground

- Landscape pictures

- Slight optical zoom for that slight closeup picture​

Budget

I have £300 - £450 to spend on the DSLR​

How you can help

What camera would you be recommending?

I know that there is a Canon 40D which is pretty damn good.. But isn't that like £600?.. I don't have that money... But I could save for it if the difference between that and a £450 camera is so much that there is no point getting the less expensive one.​

Nitty Gritty's

I obsess over clarity of picture and am a photoshop demon. I want to see the stubble on chins, I want to see the hairs on the neck.. this is the detail I need in it's cleanest clearest form.

What do you recommend?​
 
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Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
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23,679
Location
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I can only comment on Canon cameras, but here are my thoughts based on what you have posted.

The detail that you seek will mostly come from owning a good lens. There are some fantastic lenses out there for very little, however naturally some of the better ones are much, much more expensive.

A Canon 40D second hand can be had for around £450 now I think, which is an absolute bargain, and I would highly recommend as a good place to start. However, this doesn't leave you with much left over for accessories and lenses.

Next step is to possibly look at a second hand 400D, which could be had for about £250-300, and by buying one for that much second hand is likely to include some useful extras, like batteries, and possibly a kit lens to get you going.

You could go much cheaper on the body as you're just starting out, and look for a second hand 350D, spend the money saved on a couple of decent lenses to suit your needs, and then in time, if you catch the photography bug, you can upgrade your body.

In my opinion one of the best value for money lenses for Canon is the 50mm F1.8 (AKA The Nifty Fifty). These can be had for around £50-70 second hand, and whilst it will limit you to just 50mm, it provides some fantastically sharp images.

The only problem with this lens is that it probably isn't ideal for landscapes due to the focal length, regardless I think it would be a great lens for you to get.

For landscapes you're going to want some a bit wider, which would come in the form of the kit lens, but the kit lens for the 400D is pretty rubbish in my opinion. I can't comment on the 40D kit lens, but I think it is a little better.

Not sure if any of this helps or not.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
22 Apr 2008
Posts
218
Thankyou for your initial comments.

I am worried about second hand equipment and am a fan of opening a spanking new piece of equipment... Not to say I won't take your route.. Perhaps Nikon camera's have that one in between that will help me.

Thanks for mentioning lenses.. I completely forgot they make things become sexy.

Is something like this a bit cack?


EDIT


Just had a look at the 450 D price.. That's a good price for me..

So does it have all the cool features.. I tend to love searching around endless features finding out new ways to regulate light and focus in cool ways.

what do you think buddy?​
 
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Soldato
Joined
13 Jan 2004
Posts
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Location
South East
Fair comment on the second hand side of things. I'm a bit cheap so I very rarely buy new :p

I don't know much about the 1000D I'm afraid. The 450D I'm sure would be a great place for you to start. The kit lens will certainly get you going but if you're a bit of a pixel peeper and wanting mega sharp images then you might find yourself wanting to upgrade to a better walkabout lens.

Wait for some other people to comment though as I am far from knowledgeable on the subject
 
Associate
OP
Joined
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218
Well, I have to wait till the 27th (pay day).. Then when that day comes.. Im gnna make my choice...

I'm extremely excited about it because usually I have to steal pictures or Istock images for my websites and now I can go out and take my own.

I found this comparison: makes the choice clear:

CLICK HERE FOR 400D vs 1000D vs 450D
 
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Associate
Joined
29 Dec 2007
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775
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Shrewsbury
From what you've said, I'd go for a 450D with the 18-55IS kit lens. The lens quality is plenty adequate for starting out, but of course you could change this in the future once you've learned more and can start to appreciate the difference that a new lens would make.

I was in your position earlier this year and opted for the 450D. I complemented the kit lens with a 50mm f1.8 and couldn't be happier :) Remember that you'll probably need to budget later on for some accessories such as a decent bag, tripod, cross-polarising filter etc - but these aren't necessary right away. Just beware that it's an expensive hobby and the cost won't stay at your initial outlay for the body and lens! :)
 
Soldato
Joined
1 Oct 2008
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12,466
Location
Designing Buildings
Hi All,

What I want

- Close up image quality to be sharp and intense whilst being able to blur background from sharp foreground

- Landscape pictures

- Slight optical zoom for that slight closeup picture​

Nitty Gritty's

I obsess over clarity of picture and am a photoshop demon. I want to see the stubble on chins, I want to see the hairs on the neck.. this is the detail I need in it's cleanest clearest form.

What do you recommend?​


Going for the 450D will take up the majority of your budget and certainly you can get some decent landscapes with the kit lens along with some pin sharp images with background blur albeit as mentioned there are better lenses out there.
When you mention you want to see stubble on chins other specific lens type (macro) would be better for this type of work although you could investigate extension tubes a much cheaper alternative to a dedicated lens
 
Associate
OP
Joined
22 Apr 2008
Posts
218
Wow, Thanks guys.

Yes I'll be purchasing the 450d then.. And save up some more for the lens.

I got a few side jobs coming so that should suit me well..

I heard you can code addons for the canon cameras.. is this true? If so I'll post addons I make so you can all beta test and what not.

But it could have been for some other camera, I cannot remember now.
 
Associate
Joined
29 Dec 2007
Posts
775
Location
Shrewsbury
Neither are great for macro, but the 18-55IS has a reasonably small focussing distance of 0.25m, vs 0.45m for the 50mm f1.8. Stick some cheap extension tubes on it and the distance will reduce considerably.
 
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