New Camera Advice

regimentaldj · 4 Sep 2012 at 14:09

Hi all,

I'm looking for a first D-SLR that me and my partner can use on our trip through Europe. We have a budget of around £500 for camera and lens.
I'm looking to take photography up as a more serious hobby and have outgrown my dating bridge camera. My partner is a point and click kind of girl. We need something that satisfies both our needs!

I have been watching the forums the last couple of weeks for advice. And the the Nikon 3200 seems to be mentioned a bit, however I am open to all options!

Also what lense would be best as an all rounder. I imagine a lot of pictures will be of interesting buildings etc.

Many thanks for your advice.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 4 Sep 2012 at 15:14

I have a Canon S95 which is pretty decent for a compact,and the S100 improves on it in many areas AFAIK.

However,I would suggest looking at the Sony RX100:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_rx100-review

County · 4 Sep 2012 at 15:35

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
I have a Canon S95 which is pretty decent for a compact,and the S100 improves on it in many areas AFAIK.

However,I would suggest looking at the Sony RX100:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_rx100-review

Arent they compact cameras and not DSLR, which the OP wants?

I will agree that the S100 looks amazing, am getting that to replace my EOS1000D and Camcorder....

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 4 Sep 2012 at 16:19

County said:
Arent they compact cameras and not DSLR, which the OP wants?

I will agree that the S100 looks amazing, am getting that to replace my EOS1000D and Camcorder....

The RX100 is a compact,but I was answering your question!!

It is a better camera than either a Canon S95 or S100 IMHO,but is not very cheap. However a 1" sensor is probably the reason why.

It also does 1920X1080 movies at 60FPS too:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/dsc_rx100-assets/train.mov

Here is the OcUK thread on it:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18437371

Glyndwr · 4 Sep 2012 at 20:00

Sony NEX-5N plus 18-55 lens is down to around £350 at the moment. Cracking camera with DSLR image quality. Spend the rest of the £150 on a decent memory card, bag and a second hand manual fast prime off ebay (plus adapter)

Auraomega · 4 Sep 2012 at 20:08

Where I work (can't name names obviously) we have the NEX 5n + 18-55 with a bag and extra battery for £399 (and something else which I forget). Cracking camera and because it's an APS-C sensor you get the low light performance out of it too.

Just nip into any real camera shop (A.K.A. not Jessops) and have a chat with the staff, they'll be able to point you in the right direction.

Energize · 5 Sep 2012 at 00:42

Nikon D5100 with a 35mm f/1.8 or 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 is about £500, or you can get it with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 and 55-200mm f/3.5-5.6. Mirrorless like the NEX series an option but the Sony lenses are very expensive and limited in selection compared to an SLR, you can buy A mount lenses but they require an expensive adaptor, and there's no future option to upgrade to full frame as your hobby progresses. They also lack phase detection, which means focus is much worse for moving subjects.

Reemul · 5 Sep 2012 at 08:48

The Nex range now have 13 lenses available priced between £130 and £600 except for the Carl Zeiss. The range is not that expensive but the quality they produce along with the size is excellent.

You need to go in to a camera shop and test a few mirrorless and DSLR cameras to see which feels best. There is a big difference in size and weight. The Micro 4/3rds cameras are also excellent with a great range of lenses as well and being small.

I have a Nex 7 and occasionally I revist the larger DSLR's but everytime I come away with the it's way too big and heavy and I just wouldn't bring it with me along with my young kids so not for me yet.

Really you need to decide big or small and also what feels nice to hold and use.