Help! New Camera Advice

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 10:05

Hello!

My partner and I are looking to get into photography - mainly landscapes, buildings, wildlife etc but will also be used for family shots.

I have completely no idea what I'm looking for except for the fact that it needs to be a DSLR.

Budget would be in the region of £500-£750 and have looked at the Canon EOS 600D / 650D & 700D as well as the Nikon 5100 (my partner seems to be a Canon fan whilst I'm completely neutral).

Video is nice but not the be all and end all as photos are more important.

I have no idea really what I'm looking for so hoping I can get some advice from you guys.

Many thanks!

Phal · 9 May 2013 at 12:04

Well out of the Canons I would pick the 650d as the 700d is pretty much the same but more expensive. I'd get it with the 18-135 STM kit lens rather than the old non STM 18-55mm lens. The 600d is still decent and is even cheaper but the 650d is newer/better.

As for Nikon choices, I'm sure someone will be along shortly! There's no shortage of them here

King Damager · 9 May 2013 at 12:05

For video, Canon > Nikon, but at that price point, generally speaking, Nikon tends to have better sensors in their cameras, although I can't quite remember what the 700D's sensor is like.

kd

apeksdiver · 9 May 2013 at 12:09

Get a second hand body for the mo to see how it goes and spend the rest on some lenses. If you take to it then just upgrade, but if you don't get on with it you won't lose loads of cash. There is a mag on the shelves at the mo with an article on second hand DSLRs.

Phal · 9 May 2013 at 12:09

King Damager said:
For video, Canon > Nikon, but at that price point, generally speaking, Nikon tends to have better sensors in their cameras, although I can't quite remember what the 700D's sensor is like.

kd

Afaik there is no difference to the 650d sensor so its 18mp with hybrid phase detection.

Phal · 9 May 2013 at 12:11

apeksdiver said:
Get a second hand body for the mo to see how it goes and spend the rest on some lenses. If you take to it then just upgrade, but if you don't get on with it you won't lose loads of cash. There is a mag on the shelves at the mo with an article on second hand DSLRs.

That's great if you're on a limited budget but I know I wanted something new when I bought mine

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 13:00

Thanks for all the fast responses! Have to admit, looking for brand new (warranty and all that)

Phal said:
Well out of the Canons I would pick the 650d as the 700d is pretty much the same but more expensive. I'd get it with the 18-135 STM kit lens rather than the old non STM 18-55mm lens. The 600d is still decent and is even cheaper but the 650d is newer/better.

As for Nikon choices, I'm sure someone will be along shortly! There's no shortage of them here

Thanks for the advice, will probably work out the same price so that sounds like a good idea

Also thanks King Damager for your input - would you therefore go for a better sensor at the price point?

hyperst · 9 May 2013 at 13:32

Nikon D7000 springs to mind for that budget, it's highly regarded as a very good DX camera from what I have read.

I think there's a cash back offer on it of £100 as well until the 31st of may.

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 13:59

hyperst said:
Nikon D7000 springs to mind for that budget, it's highly regarded as a very good DX camera from what I have read.

I think there's a cash back offer on it of £100 as well until the 31st of may.

Anything specific that makes it stand out from the pervious suggestions?

fallbayuk · 9 May 2013 at 14:11

Have you looked at the Pentax K-30? Same sensor as the D7000, weather sealed, built in image stabilisation and Pentaprism viewfinder.

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 14:12

fallbayuk said:
Have you looked at the Pentax K-30? Same sensor as the D7000, weather sealed, built in image stabilisation and Pentaprism viewfinder.

Can't say that I have - will have a look now!

hyperst · 9 May 2013 at 14:13

LiveWireUK said:
Anything specific that makes it stand out from the pervious suggestions?

I think it's regarded as probably the best value? Nikon for features and as close to a full frame twice the price pro DSLR, I am only going on what I have read from reviews and stuff, there some good videos on youtube singing it's praises http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55MzLcjkahk
Twin card slot, magnesium body, there's lots of good stuff for the price tbh.

Or depending if you want lenses, you could look at a cheaper body and a prime lens or two to go with it, the D3200 has a 24 megapixel sensor and will leave money over for other stuff

fallbayuk · 9 May 2013 at 14:14

LiveWireUK said:
Can't say that I have - will have a look now!

I've got one as my first DSLR. There's plenty of reviews online and it scores very well especially compared to other cameras in the same price range.

King Damager · 9 May 2013 at 14:15

LiveWireUK said:
Anything specific that makes it stand out from the pervious suggestions?

Better sensor. Until recently, when it was replaced by the 7100 (and arguably 5200) the d7000 was pretty much Nikons top of the range crop.

fallbayuk said:
Have you looked at the Pentax K-30? Same sensor as the D7000, weather sealed, built in image stabilisation and Pentaprism viewfinder.

Yeah, but its a Pentax.

I don't necessarily have anything against Pentax. But as with Sony, I'd make sure you know what you're getting into, the lens support is much more sparse and underdeveloped on those two. I wouldn't buy into them myself as a system. Whilst some people do, and that's their choice, if you're really looking to buy into a system long term I'd probably avoid Pentax/Sony

kd

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 14:43

hyperst said:
I think it's regarded as probably the best value? Nikon for features and as close to a full frame twice the price pro DSLR, I am only going on what I have read from reviews and stuff, there some good videos on youtube singing it's praises http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55MzLcjkahk
Twin card slot, magnesium body, there's lots of good stuff for the price tbh.

Or depending if you want lenses, you could look at a cheaper body and a prime lens or two to go with it, the D3200 has a 24 megapixel sensor and will leave money over for other stuff

fallbayuk said:
I've got one as my first DSLR. There's plenty of reviews online and it scores very well especially compared to other cameras in the same price range.

King Damager said:
Better sensor. Until recently, when it was replaced by the 7100 (and arguably 5200) the d7000 was pretty much Nikons top of the range crop.

Yeah, but its a Pentax.

I don't necessarily have anything against Pentax. But as with Sony, I'd make sure you know what you're getting into, the lens support is much more sparse and underdeveloped on those two. I wouldn't buy into them myself as a system. Whilst some people do, and that's their choice, if you're really looking to buy into a system long term I'd probably avoid Pentax/Sony

kd

That's some really good advice - what are considered prime lenses?

hyperst · 9 May 2013 at 14:56

Prime lens are fixed focal length, no zooming capability.

In the Nikon range the DX (for crop sensor bodies) 35mm f1.8 is considered very good for it's relatively small asking price of £150, then there's the 50mm f1.8 very similar in features and price to the 35mm DX yet is a full frame lens designed for full frame sensors but give perfect results on a DX body and it's focal length becomes 75mm when attached to a crop body camera.

Prime lenses will let in much more light and give a shallow depth of field when a smaller f number is used, such as f1.8 and will produce the out of focus background (bokeh)that some people desire

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 14:59

hyperst said:
Prime lens are fixed focal length, no zooming capability.

In the Nikon range the DX (for crop sensor bodies) 35mm f1.8 is considered very good for it's relatively small asking price of £150, then there's the 50mm f1.8 very similar in features and price to the 35mm DX yet is a full frame lens designed for full frame sensors but give perfect results on a DX body and it's focal length becomes 75mm when attached to a crop body camera.

Prime lenses will let in much more light and give a shallow depth of field when a smaller f number is used, such as f1.8 and will produce the out of focus background (bokeh)that some people desire

Wow, lot to learn with all the terms and abbrievations! Think I best buy a book or two

Any recommendations for Canon prime lenses? And are zoom lenses just called zoom ones or do they have a different name?

King Damager · 9 May 2013 at 15:04

For zoom lenses you have wide angle, standard, tele, super tele. It's just related to the focal length of the lens.

THE cheap Canon prime lens is the nifty fifty. (50mm 1.8 and costs between £80-100)
They also do a 85 1.8 I think which isn't badly priced.

Something to note, is on crop cameras, the mm isn't actually what it is, it's multiplied by a crop factor of 1.5/1.6(depending on Nikon/canon), so a 50 gives an effective FoV of 80mm.
To be honest I'd start out with a kit lens bundled in with the camera, and a 50mm prime.

kd

LiveWireUK · 9 May 2013 at 15:24

King Damager said:
For zoom lenses you have wide angle, standard, tele, super tele. It's just related to the focal length of the lens.

THE cheap Canon prime lens is the nifty fifty. (50mm 1.8 and costs between £80-100)
They also do a 85 1.8 I think which isn't badly priced.

Something to note, is on crop cameras, the mm isn't actually what it is, it's multiplied by a crop factor of 1.5/1.6(depending on Nikon/canon), so a 50 gives an effective FoV of 80mm.
To be honest I'd start out with a kit lens bundled in with the camera, and a 50mm prime.

kd

OK, great to know - thanks very much

LiveWireUK · 14 May 2013 at 12:22

UPDATE - Wanted to say thanks again to all who chipped in with their valuable advice.

I plumped for the Nikon D5200 (which came with a 18-55mm kit lens) and I also bought a 55-200mm Nikon lens (well, my partner chose that one!). We thought that would give us the "range" for now but I'm sure in a couple fo months we'll be trading up to specific prime and zoom lenses

So, a big thanks again