Spec me in to the world of dSLR

Spacedeck

Spacedeck

Spacedeck

Soldato
Joined
14 Sep 2007
Posts
3,767
Location
West Yorkshire, England
Hello, I'm going to take Phate's advice now :) thanks.

So I'm interested in taking a deeper dive into photography. I'm needing help gearing up / speccing for a dSLR camera. We have a family camera but I personally aren't impressed (just some little rubbish one), so going to venture for my own personnel use.

Since I'm only beginning, main uses will be photos of family, landscapes, iconic buildings, wildlife (small animals to insects, flowers to whole areas), and events/museums.

Providing I can get good prints, I would possibly have some printed also (size wise, I don't know)

Now as a beginner, it wouldn't be wise to jump straight into the deep end (which takes time and money), and I should eventually have enough money together, so I can spend around £400-600 to get me started. What can be had / what is a good choice for me in this price range?

I understand this might not be the most amount of money one could spend, but surely this should be enough to begin with?

Thanks for reading and your help is much appreciated.

:)
 
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Thanks D.P.

D.P. said:
That is enough money for a basic setup but you wont be able to photograph everything without investing more money in dedicated lenses in the future. And that is soemthign you really have to think about now, the main advantage in a DSLR is the ability to change lenses to soemthign that is more appropriate for your subject: wide angle for landscape, telephoto for wildlife, macro for insect, fast prime for people. if you don't want to build up a system then you might be better served looking at the high end compacts with fixed lenses.
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I realise this and the investment is something I'm willing to do over time. The idea I had for stating a beginner set, is to learn what lenses do what and work out which settings are best for each individual photo. You know, just learning everything about what it can do.

D.P. said:
you will get a lot more camera for your money going second hand, is that something you would consider?
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It didn't cross my mind, but I guess providing the camera has been well looked after, there shouldn't be anything to worry about? What did you have in mind?

D.P. said:
A basic setup would be a Nikon D3300 with 18-55mm and 55-200mm VR for £429 form a high street electrical shop, adding the Nikon 35mm f/1.8FX for £132.

You can photograph most of the basics with that kit. Over time you could then upgrade the 18-55 to something like a 17-55mm F/2.8 , add a wider angle for landscapes if taht takes your fancy, or replace the 55-200mm with something longer for wildlife if you get more interested.
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I'll have a look into this setup. Would you always recommend buying the camera from the high street over online at a well known retailer?
 
We used to have a Jessops in town, but they seemed to have moved.

Their website have Nikon D3300 Digital SLR in Black + 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR II Lens for £319 (well it's £349.99 with £30 cashback). Seems much cheaper than your suggested £420? Is something not quite right?

The closest shop is now in Leeds, so only a short train journey. Although I'm sure Leeds / Manchester contain many of these camera shops though.
 
@D.P. - Sorry mate, I misread the first time :)

@THC_SsSsSnake - Thanks for your input, it helps reassure that this kit D.P. mentioned is worth the price. I'm going to get onto pressuring my mate for this money tomorrow.

The 50-200 lens should be good enough until I get to grips with things, the money saved here can go towards SD cards.

I've been trying to figure out what I like between a 35mm and a 50mm, as you both suggested them.


So even after watching this, deciding is still a little harder :D would the 50mm be better suited for portraits? From watching that, the 50mm will cause some kind of blur on the background to bring the subject closer to the eyes attention? But 35mm just didn't seem to look as good or have the same effect, but it was better at doing more overall

What are your guys thoughts on 35mm vs 50mm?
 
@THC_SsSsSnake - Thanks for the posts, after reading, I believe I'd be more suited for a 35mm lens after all.

What are these retailers like at getting stock back in for said bundles? I've been keeping an eye on the product with hopes of buying next week and now it appears to be out of stock :( just my luck.
 
Guys, I've been thinking and I could pretty much do this two ways.

I could buy the D3300 with 18-55 lens, that sets me back around £349. I could then get the 35mm which can be bought for around £132.

Making this investment £481 (with the £30 cashback, comes out at £451).

The other option I'm considering, is the D3300 with 18-55mm lens for £349. Get the 55-300mm lens which is £262.

This comes out at £611 (£30 + £25 cashback then makes this £556).

I would then wait a month before purchasing either the 55-300mm or the 35mm. I just can't decide which route to take.

On one hand, I can shoot family pictures straight away but sacrificing the £25 cashback, or I could purchase the the more expensive lens, taking the £55 total in cashback and purchase the 35mm lens on my next payday.

Thought?

EDIT: On second thoughts, I very well may be able to just purchase everything outright after payday for the £743 it would cost (£688 after cashback)

EDIT 2: These would all be bought from the well known highstreet retailer, but the 50-300mm lens they don't have marked down for £25 cashback like they do the otheres, so this confuses me a little. If they do get more stock of the camera, hopefully it's soon.

Radec said:
Just get yourself a disposable.
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Sure if you would like the easiest solution, be my guest ;)
 
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THC_SsSsSnake said:
I would consider D3300 with 18-55mm
Then look for a sec hand 55-300 after youve got used to the camera
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Understandably cheaper, however I wouldn't be able to test these out before buying. This might be the most expensive route I could take, but I wouldn't choose this if money was an absolute issue (in comparison, after paying all rent / bills / camera gear next month, I would still have enough to buy the same camera gear again, with change spare. I've just been trying to keep my account over a specific amount. That is just me being fussy though).

I also tend to have a thing for new things....:rolleyes:

fowler002 said:
Canon all the way :p
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Thanks for that brilliantly helpful reply :p maybe back this up with suggestions?;)
 
That's pretty good EddScott, but with all this brain power I've used, I think I'm set on the kit I listed above :)

So my latest venture ended up with them also being out of stock. They mentioned about expecting stock within the next week or two though. I guess I'll have to try wait out for the camera in hope people stock up before the cashback ends.

I'm guessing that, if they continue to offer the free bag once they restock, the extra £10 would surely be worth it? D3300, 18-55mm lens and a free bag for £359, then I get £30 cashback. Nobody else seems to offer that for the price.

Store in question is Cameraworld - has any used them before?

EDIT: Pulled the trigger on the offer after talking with them via email. Nikon have told them re-stock within 2 weeks. So just the waiting game :)
 
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So while I wait for the delivery of the D3300, it doesn't stop me shopping for lenses. Amazon currently have the Nikkor 35mm at £132, but up until tonight you can get £10 off using a code, making this £122.

Tempted to order this tonight, people have used Amazon for this stuff right? Just don't want some knock off being sent :p
 
Well after such a long wait, Nikon finally delievered to the store late on Monday. Been sent my way today and should be arriving tomorrow :)

Also ordered the 55-300mm lens.

Now I need a memory card, so going to order with Prime so I receive tomorrow.

Which should I buy?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-SDS...F8&qid=1440515412&sr=1-5&keywords=memory+card

or

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Ext...F8&qid=1440516119&sr=1-6&keywords=memory+card

I can't decide which would be better. One seems double the price, but is it worth the money over the cheaper one?
 
Thanks for the info!

The Extreme Pro is a good performing card. How much can fit onto a 32GB when shooting RAW? The 32GB Extreme Pro can be had for the same price as the Extreme 64GB. Just wondering if halving the available space for a better card is the way forward.
 
I opted for the 32GB. Means less storage but since I'm new, the chances of me shooting hundreds of photos in a short amount of time isn't likely to be soon. I can always transfer over to the PC also if need be.

Burst mode will definitely come in handy when I'm capturing something on the move too.

Does shooting RAW + JPEG have any benefits? or should I stick with just RAW?
 
So after playing around with everything, this feels really nice :D. I'm still working on aperture and shutter and been trying the to get the difference in DoF. I've much to learn and really hoping to improve.


I'm going to my girlfriends this weekend and I'll be taking my camera for some shooting. She lives more near the countryside areas, so when we go for a walk we could come across horses and cows in fields.

I'm just wondering, which lens is best suited for this? I will have all my lenses on me with my bag. So should I primarily stick with the 35mm for general use? Would either the 18-55mm or 55-300 be more adequate for photographing the animals? I would assume the longer lens?

Also should I shoot in aperture due to having the daylight during the day and it lets me fix the DoF?
 
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