Best DSLR for >~£400?

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

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Im considering the idea of investing in a proper SLR, to replace my hybrid im using at the moment. What is the best I can do for about £400 or less (ideally closer to £300)? Looking on the bay, I can get;

Canon 300D - £300
Canon 350D - £305
Canon 400D - £370 + loads in p&p
Canon D60 Body - £210
Canon 10D Body - £350
Canon 20D - £370

Which of those should I rule out? Should I rule any others in, ie Nikon, Olympus etc. Also if I was to get a body only, what sort of lens should I look at and how much would that set me back.(Would like a general lens or even a macro lens)

Thanks. :)
 
Well you've got to budget for a lens on top of the 10D and 20D (I presume £350 for the 20D is body only, if not snap it up!), so they're not as cheap as they first appear.

From Nikon at this price range you'd be looking at a D40 for ~£350, a D70s if you can still find one for about £350-£400 (less second-hand), or a D80 for about £750.

My advice: go to a camera shop, try the D40 and the 400D, buy the D40 uh I mean whichever you think is best :p Seriously though, go to a camera shop and actually try them—you really don't want to buy one without having at least handled it.
 
Ah, looking at the 20D, its body only and a refurb. Im certainly not adverse to second hand/refurb, but its probably not an accurate refection on the price. How would you say the 350D stand up to the 400D? Looking at the specs, the main thing I would miss is the extra screen size and sensor resolution, other than that a lot of the features im not sure if id use.
 
I don't even think you'd miss the resolution either.

I personally hate the handling of the 300D/350D/400D, but that might just be me.
 
The menus are ok I guess (though not a patch on the D40's imo), but just the way it feels in the hand, the grip. It's a personal thing though, which is why you need to try one before you buy one :)
 
Lot of people I hear saying they hate the grip on the 400D, but they all have big mits ;) You really need to go to a photo shop and try them out, see whats comfortable.

I have the 400D, and bought the battery grip for it, best £70 I've spent on it to date, feels much better and more comfortable for portrait shots too. But really go and try a few then recompile your short list.
 
Get a 2nd hand Nikon D70 body for £180, or go for the kit, the Nikon 18-70 kit lens is head and tail above what is shipped with comparable canon model kits, fyi. Don't get a canon kit, buy body and a seperate lens.

Perhaps go into your local cam shop and have a play with the nikon d80 and canon 400d, these are probably the best currently sold models to help you choose the lower model that is in budget.
 
I'd rather have a D40 and £400s worth of glass, tbh. I don't think the D80 is worth £400 more than the D40, especially for a beginner.

D40 -> lots of glass -> D200 -> even more, better glass

That's the best route imo :cool:
 
So the list should include. the 400D, D40, D70. Is the 350D still worth it? As mentioned, i'd really like to keep the cost as low as possible at the moment. Im trying to save up money to move to Manchester, but ive been distracted by this photography malarky. ;)

Edit; Ive just looked a tthe price of the D40... now thats more like it. £250 including kit lens. :)
 
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messiah khan said:
So the list should include. the 400D, D40, D70. Is the 350D still worth it? As mentioned, i'd really like to keep the cost as low as possible at the moment. Im trying to save up money to move to Manchester, but ive been distracted by this photography malarky. ;)

Edit; Ive just looked a tthe price of the D40... now thats more like it. £250 including kit lens. :)
Click to expand...

I picked up a 350D a couple of weeks ago and have been very happy with it so far. To be honest, I don't think there's a massive difference between the 350D and 400D. Main differences are that the 400D has a couple of extra megapixels (won't notice that unless you're enlarging prints to A3+), probably slightly better noise levels at high-ISO, and the built-in sensor cleaning thingy (rocket blower works fine for me). These differences didn't justify the extra cost of the 400D for me.
 
I have a 350D and my dad has a 400D and yes the 350D is still worth it. Personally I don't like the way the main LCD on the 400D is used to display the camera settings, because they got rid of the separate LCD that used to show these to fit the bigger screen on. I don't think the sensor cleaning is that big an issue as it's not a big deal to do it yourself, but the 400D does have a few more AF points too. The 350 is still a very good & capable camera though, I don't think I'd swap.
 
I picked up my 300D with 28-80mm & Batt Grip, UV Filter, CPL Filter, Hama Padded Bag for less than £300 delivered. Bargains to be had. Camera had a firmware upgrade on it too.
 
Thanks for all the comments/suggestions. The 350D is looking quite tempting then, with people being very happy with them. Its actually the one ive had my eye on the longest, as we bought 10 of them for work, and I got to have a quick play around with them.

How does the 300D compare to those others then? Im watching one at the moment, for £80 with 3 hours to go. Expecting it to rise quite a bit, but still looking good.

I think my short list is now;

D40
300D
350D
 
I can't comment on the Nikons, as I've never used one apart from trying one out in a shop. Either the 400D or 350D would do you nicely. The picture quality at high ISO is basically the same, so really your just paying the extra for the larger screen, the higher resolution and the fancy sensor cleaning facility.

Sticking with the Canon bodies, if you can get your hands on a 20D, it would be a significant improvement over either the 400D or the 350D in regards to image noise. Don't underestimate this - noise can and does ruin a lot of shots and better noise handling is one of the things you pay for with the xxD and especially the xD series of bodies.

I would suggest that you go and have a feel of some of the cameras in a high street shop. I bought by 350D a while ago and can't say I really noticed a problem with the size until I actually got the battery grip (for the extra power) - it's so much nicer to hold now!!! The sales people will bend over backwards for you if they think you're going to buy one.
 
Well I think im deffinately going to rule out the 400D, as im not sure I can justify the extra cost for what it offers. i'll keep an eye out for a cheap body of a 400D or 20D though. Im certainly going to try a few out, although my local camera shop will not bend over backward for anyone. He is the most miserable, rude and obnoxious salesperson ive ever come across. Unfortunately the only other place nearby is a big highstreet chain, where they are a lot friendlier, but also a lot more incompetent. I'll go over to the media dept. here at work and have a bit of a play and fondle with the 350D later on though.
 
messiah khan said:
Thanks for all the comments/suggestions. The 350D is looking quite tempting then, with people being very happy with them. Its actually the one ive had my eye on the longest, as we bought 10 of them for work, and I got to have a quick play around with them.

How does the 300D compare to those others then? Im watching one at the moment, for £80 with 3 hours to go. Expecting it to rise quite a bit, but still looking good.

I think my short list is now;

D40
300D
350D
Click to expand...

Couple (Literally) of shots from my 300D with 28-80mm here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiegledhill

I find it a very capable camera, especially with the Firmware upgrade. Ultimately i went for it as i managed to get a great bundle deal, the filters, lens, bag, remote and camera for money i had. Couldn't justify the extra for the 350D or 400D.
 
messiah khan said:
Unfortunately the only other place nearby is a big highstreet chain, where they are a lot friendlier, but also a lot more incompetent.
Click to expand...
That's the one I meant :). Just get them to let you play with them and don't listen to what they tell you. Simple.

Went in there to have a play with the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS yesterday and it took me about 5 mins to explain to the guy that the one I was after was different from the 70-200 f/4 L, which was on display. He went and got the manager, who said they'd have to order it in. :rolleyes:
 
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