First D-SLR

ichabod crane · 15 Aug 2006 at 18:10

Hi, im looking for my first Digital SLR camera have had and used a 35mm SLR for along time now, but think its time to get one for my digital life

. currently have an EOS 300. have a budget of about £450 max suggestion below budget would be great,

danza · 15 Aug 2006 at 19:05

Well depending on your lens collection, I'd suggest Canon as the obvious choice. The 350D kit is in your budget, and you could probably pick up a s/h 20d if you look hard enough.

I'd personally take a well looked after 20D over a brand new 350D, but you do have to be careful buying s/h.

If lenses aren't an issue, and you don't mind starting from scratch, defo have a look at the D50/keep a close eye on D70s prices since the launch of the D80.

DizMatt · 15 Aug 2006 at 19:17

nothing wrong with canon kit,
if the lenses are pretty new then they'll be fine on DSLr's but older lenses may not auto focus.
the 350D is a cracking piece of equipment, the 20D is better made and with a few more features.
if the 350D is the right price but a little dinky, then whack a battery grip on it and you're sorted

ichabod crane · 15 Aug 2006 at 19:49

ok well think im gonna start from scratch, have a Sony digicam to sell ive not used as i stick to the 35mm what a waste of money that was. so im liking the look of the 350D and D50 seem a good starting place, ive got a comparison page and all i can see is the 350 has 2 more mega pixels extra is this gonna make a huge difference?? and is it worth the extra cost that the 350D is over the D50?? im gonna go down local camera shop and try them both for size to fit personal taste but just not sure which will be technically better??

thanks much appreciate the help

tonyzero · 15 Aug 2006 at 20:06

ichabod crane said:
ok well think im gonna start from scratch, have a Sony digicam to sell ive not used as i stick to the 35mm what a waste of money that was. so im liking the look of the 350D and D50 seem a good starting place, ive got a comparison page and all i can see is the 350 has 2 more mega pixels extra is this gonna make a huge difference?? and is it worth the extra cost that the 350D is over the D50?? im gonna go down local camera shop and try them both for size to fit personal taste but just not sure which will be technically better??

thanks much appreciate the help

Have a look HERE as this may help you a lot

ichabod crane · 15 Aug 2006 at 21:35

was quite helpful, but a lot of jargon. im leaning towards the Nikon D50 just because of the considerable price difference and i cant see any justification for the xtra on the 350D

steveo · 15 Aug 2006 at 22:22

i have had both the d50 and the 350d and i sold the d50 as it just wasnt what i wanted and am glad i went with the 350d as its just a much better camera imho in many ways

tonyzero · 16 Aug 2006 at 06:47

ichabod crane said:
was quite helpful, but a lot of jargon. im leaning towards the Nikon D50 just because of the considerable price difference and i cant see any justification for the xtra on the 350D

if that was helpful to you then the owners opinions from the same site may help you more as they are the ones who are using them, i read most of these and made my mind to go with the Nikon D50

D50 users

350D users

you may of already read these on the dpreview site.

Lostkat · 16 Aug 2006 at 06:53

ichabod crane said:
was quite helpful, but a lot of jargon. im leaning towards the Nikon D50 just because of the considerable price difference and i cant see any justification for the xtra on the 350D

There really isn't much in it. Just go down to your local camera store and see which one you like the feel/layout of best. You can't go wrong with either of these SLRs tbh.

DizMatt · 17 Aug 2006 at 15:09

either are great
it's down to personal ergonomics for me

having said that I've seen reviews with a D50 and 350D face off, and then ones where the D70S has lost out (albiet marginally) to the 350D.
very confusing
look for the camera you like using the most
the 350D is smaller and nicer to use for me, but then I whacked a battery grip on it and I like it even more!
Mmmm

MrCake · 17 Aug 2006 at 15:19

As a Nikon owner im going to say choose the 350D as you will have a much better selection of lenses at better prices in my eyes. I should really ho up Nikon but frankly im disappointed with their lenses which range from the cheap and soft to stupidly expensive pro.

Come on Nikon where are the likes of your 70-200 F4 L middle man equivelants?

/Rant over

Mr_Sukebe · 17 Aug 2006 at 16:19

MrCake said:
As a Nikon owner im going to say choose the 350D as you will have a much better selection of lenses at better prices in my eyes. I should really ho up Nikon but frankly im disappointed with their lenses which range from the cheap and soft to stupidly expensive pro.

Come on Nikon where are the likes of your 70-200 F4 L middle man equivelants?

/Rant over

MrC raises a very relevant point.
If you think you'll stick with this camera for a LONG time, just chose whichever body you like the feel of. However, if you think you might go down the route of upgrading, then I'd suggest you buy into a system that will support that.

danza · 17 Aug 2006 at 17:21

Nikon is due to release some more glass soon, or has with the D80. An 18-135 and a 70-300. Not sure how it stacks up against the Canon equivalent, but hopefully it'll be a good step in the right direction. It flipping needs to be!

But if I had the money to start from scratch I'd choose Canon, simply for the support.

SDK^ · 17 Aug 2006 at 17:40

MrCake said:
As a Nikon owner im going to say choose the 350D as you will have a much better selection of lenses at better prices in my eyes. I should really ho up Nikon but frankly im disappointed with their lenses which range from the cheap and soft to stupidly expensive pro.
Come on Nikon where are the likes of your 70-200 F4 L middle man equivelants?

I've been making this point for years and no one listened.

danza said:
Nikon is due to release some more glass soon, or has with the D80. An 18-135 and a 70-300. Not sure how it stacks up against the Canon equivalent, but hopefully it'll be a good step in the right direction. It flipping needs to be!

The new Nikon lenses are consumer lenses, therefore they are cheap and cover a wide range. They will not compete like-for-like for Canon L lenses.

yak.h'cir · 17 Aug 2006 at 20:55

Another vote for the 350d, its an amazing camera. Also lots of uprade steps to suite you budget in the future, and that goes for lenses as well as bodies!!!!

^SDK i've just noticed that you have my dream lens collection! Out of interest what, if any lens would you buy next? I imagine that when i eventually get the 24-70 and 100-400 i'll be complete, but i bet i'm wrong!!!

danza · 17 Aug 2006 at 22:33

SDK^ said:
I've been making this point for years and no one listened.

The new Nikon lenses are consumer lenses, therefore they are cheap and cover a wide range. They will not compete like-for-like for Canon L lenses.

I didn't say they would

It's a real shame that there isn't anything equivalent though.

bigredshark · 17 Aug 2006 at 23:53

Mr_Sukebe said:
MrC raises a very relevant point.
If you think you'll stick with this camera for a LONG time, just chose whichever body you like the feel of. However, if you think you might go down the route of upgrading, then I'd suggest you buy into a system that will support that.

Indeed he does raise a good point, which i've also raised in previous threads. I have a D200 with pro lenses (primarily i use the 17-55 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8 VR) and i wouldn't ever swap it for canon kit, I've used it before and i find it less user friendly and in this case less capable.

That said, there's precious little between this and entry level *if* you want a telephoto. the 18-70 is the best lens in it's class and price bracket by a mile and build quality aside the 18-200 is a revelation.

I'd consider carefully what lenses you might want and who can best provide them. I firmly believe nikon kit is better but i dispare about the mid range lens choice

Amp34 · 18 Aug 2006 at 00:38

I think the 350D is the better camera of the two (from posts and reviews) but it is slightly more expensive and is a damn sight smaller than the D50. Which for me is a problem. I went to a camera shop today to have a look at both and found the 350D is far too small for my hands unfortunatly, I can only fit 2 fingers and a thumb on the grip and the shutter button is in a really auquard(?) place. Whereas the D50 was pretty much spot on. If you have average hands (mine are pretty large and long) then either woud probably be fine but if yours are large you may have some problems. The best bet before you go any further is to have a bit of hands on with both cameras and see what they feel like.

Edit: Could someone tell me if either of the cameras have a bulb mode, I would love to have a go at long exposure shots.

tonyzero · 18 Aug 2006 at 06:53

Edit: Could someone tell me if either of the cameras have a bulb mode, I would love to have a go at long exposure shots.

[/QUOTE]

The Nikon D50 dose as i have been using it

Amp34 · 18 Aug 2006 at 14:30

tonyzero said:
The Nikon D50 dose as i have been using it

Thanks

First D-SLR

Man of Honour