£350 for Beginners DSLR?

Matt7613

Matt7613

Matt7613

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Joined
26 Jan 2007
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880
Location
Leicester/The Toon
Hey,

I have come into some money recently, which means I finalllly have the chance to buy a DSLR! I have been using my Fujifilm S5600 for too long now, so I have been looking around and the Nikon D60 seems to a good starters camera from the review's I have read.

Any other recommendations?

Thanks,

Matt.
 
tbh the D60 doesn't really seem to be great vfm when you look at what you get in terms of features compared to other offerings from competitors e.g. an UK sourced D60 body is~£340 whereas an UK sourced Sony A200 body is ~£230.
Even the Nikon community seem very luke warm on it.

Of course if the Nikon is the 1 that suits you best then fine but the best advice is to go to a shop where you can handle different makes/models as what suits 1 doesn't necessarily suit another.
 
I went out and bought a D60 today, my friends all said get the D80 but I just don't have that kind of money to throw around. The D60 has all the features for the novice to get started and I went into stores to have a feel of the cameras.

As BUFF said, its all about the feel and I found the Nikon's a perfect fit for my hands. Also with the current cash back deals on from Nikon you can get a D60 + kit lens for £319.99 if you shop around (This is high-street as well as on-line)

I have a feeling that this will keep me going for a few months, but it won't be long until I buy some extra lenses to add to my kit.
 
I'm in the same boat, I currently have a Canon S5 IS which I've been using for about 8 months and have decided I want to move up to a DSLR.

The one I'm currently looking at is the Canon 450D it's selling around £470 but there is a £50 cashback from Canon until the end of the month.
 
I'm already starting to notice the limitations with my D60, and if anything I would have grabbed a D80 or 450D if i had the money to.

Although the D80 isn't on a cash back deal now, I did found one for £499.99 with a kit lens yesterday in the high-street and overall that'll save you money in the long run as it takes old Nikon film lenses too.
 
I'm inclined to agree with most of the posts above the d60 just doesn't look great value compared to the competition at the moment, the only advantage it has over the sony/pentax/etc models is that you will be buying into the nikon system which has a great upgrade path and lots of options and third party support. Given Nikons recent high end success I would be loath to buy a d60 at the minute a I get the feeling there is something just around the corner from them that will bring them back to the top tier of the entry level offernings. If it has to be nikon then I'd weight if not any of ther others will take just as nicer pictures allthough a canon 400/450 will put you into the other excellent SLR system.
 
Get the most expensive Canon you can afford. The 400D is great compared to the current Nikon budget cameras.
If you can stretch to a Nikon D80 it's completely worth it in the long run.
...that is if you get into photography.
 
Hey,

I've decided I cannot stretch for the D80, so I'm gonna go for the 400D. However I've been looking on the bay for a 400D and I can't find a Brand New one, they all seem to be refurbs :(. I don't mind buy a refurb, but it won't feel the same as buying a BRAND new one. I'm now resorting to the froogle to see if I can find a good deal....

Thanks,

Matt.

EDIT: Just looked at the D60 again, I still have a soft spot for it, I'm really in the between the D60 and 400D now :(
 
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Im a Nikon user, but after buying myself a budget DSLR over a year ago (D40) i'd recommend going for a Canon, the 400D is very good for the money.

Is £350 strict?

The 350D is not a bad camera at all.
 
Hi,

Tbh, I could goto £500/600, I just don't want to jump into the deep end of DSLR world.

-Matt

EDIT: Found a D80 for £450
 
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Get a refurb 400D if you like the feel/interface etc. I got mine for £310 a while back refurbished, I received one in it's original box seemingly completely unused. You could probably get one for £270-280 now.

The D60 is a good camera but a lot of the cheaper lenses won't be able to auto focus on it. The D80 is also good but doesn't offer much over the 400D for an extra £175+.

Rather strangely my silver 400D seems to be a bit better made than my friends black one and has a nicer finish... maybe it's just me :p
 
Hey,

Thanks for the advice guys :)

I just noticed on the D80 I'm interested in, it only comes with this lense, Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF Lens, is this a restriction? I'm not "down" with the lenses, I haven't a clue about whether its a good or bad lense. Would it just be worth me buying the body then a lense? I have updated my budget to £450.

-Matt
 
i tried both nikon and canon, i found the canon menu a real pain and normal everyday functions were burried, where as the nikon menu was brilliant and things you want to tweak all the time were on a dedicated button or not burried in menu options.

i thought the nikon had a better build quality

started with a d70, then d70s and now d300, beast of a camera and built like a tank - rock solid!!
 
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