Recommend me a camera (please)

Tom1138

Tom1138

Tom1138

Associate
Joined
5 Oct 2004
Posts
864
Location
The South, United Kingdom
I have always been into photography and enjoyed doing it in my A-Level and at college. But having no developing lab at home like they had college, I wanted to get myself a Digital SLR. Prices have dropped since when we had some at college (they all ranged around £12,000). I was considering of spending around £550-£600.

I know there are loads more but at higher prices, some £4000 ones with 16 mega pixels. But thats going too far, £600 is right for me. What I am after is a camera that has lots of features, definately in altering shutter speed...depth of field and ISO. Something in the 1600+ range would be great as night shots would be great for the holidays were going on next year.

Really I want a camera which is a good sturdy make, and comes with some extras like lenses and perhaps a memory card. I found one a Olympus E500 which had deals which gave me two lenses, a case and a free 1gb memory card. I tend to search Jessops for makes then google for the best prices. But you all seem very knowledgeable about all these cameras and it's been a while since i took photos with my old film SLR's and TLR's. To be honest, though film is great and nothing like your photo appearing in those developing chemicals. But i took ten rolls of film to America and half turned out just plane awful. Least i can preview now ;)

Many thanks,

-tom
 
Do these camera's come with extra's? When I say £550-£600 I do also mean a memory stick and perhaps an additional lense. Unless you can get Minolta lenses to fit Canon's. I am aware there are some devices which allow this, kinda like a canon fitting on one side and Minolta on the other. But has been some time since I dealt in this :D
 
Tom1138 said:
Do these camera's come with extra's? When I say £550-£600 I do also mean a memory stick and perhaps an additional lense. Unless you can get Minolta lenses to fit Canon's. I am aware there are some devices which allow this, kinda like a canon fitting on one side and Minolta on the other. But has been some time since I dealt in this :D
Click to expand...

You can get a 1G compact flash for about £20, so it's nothing compared to the camera.
 
After reading through many posts on here, I went for the following (bought on Wednesday):

Canon 400D: £500
Sandisk Extreme III 1GB card: £45
External Flash: £50
Case: £20
 
Raymond Lin said:
:confused: It's £25 in most places.....£40 can get you a 2G one.
Click to expand...

I bought for convenience really at the same time as the camera. I was also a little concerned about the fakes floating around, so went for one I could have a look at.
 
So you would vote against the Olympus E500? Just for the same price of a Canon, you get the E500 with two lenses, a case and 1gb card. But you seem to know which is best.
 
The E500 is supposed to be very good. However, its one of the "also" brands. Nikon and Canon are the market leaders. Olympus have good gear, and are starting to build up a good range of lenses, but they dont have the range of Canon or Nikon yet.

If a solid build is what you are after, then I would suggest a Nikon. They tend to feel mor sturdy than Canons.

My best advice would be to go to the shop and try each of the cameras within your price range. The Canons tend to be physically smaller than the Nikons, so it will depened on the size of your hands. I for one cannot hold a Canon comfortably. If I remember correctly, the Olympus is even smaller!

Hope this helps ;)
 
I'd say Nikon D70, or possibly a (eurrgh) 400D. I say eurrgh because it's a tiny camera when compared to the 20/30D or any of the Nikons. It's still good though. You may find some good deals on the Canon 350D, so don't discount it!
 
Will swing by a competitor or any other camera shop you could recommend. Anything really in the Dorset area. With a competitor I tend to see and test and buy cheaper elsewhere ;)

No Competitors
 
Tom1138 said:
Will swing by ******* or any other camera shop you could recommend. Anything really in the Dorset area. With ******* I tend to see and test and buy cheaper elsewhere ;)
Click to expand...


a competitor will 110% price match digital SLRs against any UK shop (even online), as long as they have stock.
 
cyKey said:
Please try and remember the competitor rules guys.
Click to expand...

Where is the head in hand emote?

Anyways, thanks for the information. I will most likely check some magazines and then price search the camera I want. But also get a look at the camera from a shop.
 
Double post, im sorry. But a simple question, I assume these cameras come with their own battery chargers? I know most do, just nice to know as i can purchase one separate. Found some very cheap 400D's from a website.
 
Tom1138 said:
D Unless you can get Minolta lenses to fit Canon's.
Click to expand...
If you have some Minolta AF fit lenses then consider the Sony Alpha 100 (in fact consider it even if you don't ;)) as they bought Minolta's camera division & hence the Alpha 100 uses the Minolta AF mount.

Unfortunately ISO1600 is going to be a bit noisy on it but you can use things like noise ninja.
On the other hand all your lenses will be image stabilised as the body has that built into it rather than the lenses - that will typically let you use a slower shutter speed when handheld so a lower ISO is usable.
 
Last edited:
Tom1138 said:
Double post, im sorry. But a simple question, I assume these cameras come with their own battery chargers? I know most do, just nice to know as i can purchase one separate. Found some very cheap 400D's from a website.
Click to expand...
Yes, you get a battery charger. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom