time for me to join the ranks in this particular part of the forum

[vincent1989]

right.
well, this year i pretty much bombed my college courses (1 C @ A level 1 D and E and a U at AS) and so wasted two years of my life and two years of taxpayers money (sorry ). so anyway, i finished college and upped my hours at work to 30 and it seems to be my life at the moment, i do very little outside of work appart from surf these forums and play computer games, and have very few friends that want to do stuff (raikiri is one).

anyway, i've just been getting more and more depressed about the whole situation, until today. i've decided i want to go back next year and do another course (BTEC level 2), in photography, i realised part way through college that i hated being stuck in a classroom doing nothing more than copying off the board and reading books. this is not me, i like to be active and creative while learning and also photography is something that always appealed (i just never really had the money to buy decent bits till now).

right, thats the life story, now heres the rub

i've been looking at digital cameras and have come up with this: the fujipix S9600 the cheapest i've been able to find it for is £220-30. can any of you lot point me in the direction of a better camera in the £200 - £250 price range? and do you have any tips?

the hope is i will complete this course and a course on line/pencil drawing and go to uni to study archeology (this is what i've wanted to study at uni since about year 7 and the recording of objects is the part i've been most interested in (my A level was classical civilizations btw))


so yeah, to sum it up anyone know of a better camera for £200-£250 or have any experience with the finepix S9600? and has anyone got any tips for photographing landscapes/plants/insects/objects (in relation to archeology) etc


thanks in advance

p.s. what lenses should i look at (and i need other general photography advice, i'm a bit of a novice )

 

[vincent1989]

A great budget DLSR is the Nikon D50, I think you can get them second hand for £250ish. Whatever the price, it's worth it over a bridge camera. You won't see much difference in image quality between a compact and bridge camera. And the DLSRs feel awesome to use. I wouldn't trade mine for anything less than the cost of a D80
Start off with the kit 18-55 lens. The Nikon one is very good quality.

bridge camera?

 

[vincent1989]

bridge camera is exactly that, it bridges the gap between compact and Dslr, benefits of both, ie. versatility of a focus ring on the lens but the lens isn't interchangeable as on the dslr

ah, i see and the DSLRs are a helluvva lot more expensive

 

[vincent1989]

you can pick up a used canon 10D these days for £250, this is 2005's equivelent of the canon 30D/40D, i.e enthusiast/semi pro DSLR, you get a magnesium alloy body so it's well built, 6.1mp sensor and would be an ideal starter dSLR for you, don't forget to budget for a cheap kit lens (it'll do you for now) and memory cards though.

i've got extra for the lenses and memory cards, i was just after a DSLR for £200-£300

thanks for the input so far. where would you say the best place for buying second hand is, i'd be hesitant to buy of the *bay or anywhere like that

 

[vincent1989]

youve already been recommended a Nikon D50 second hand for £250

ueah, sorry, as i mentioned below i'm not keen on second hand :/ but if there were some good reputable places to buy second hand i think i could be tempted

 

[vincent1989]

D40x with the kit lens, £340 delivered from Hong Kong based eBay shops would be my preference. It's new, they have loads of feedback (thousands+ so they're reputable) and it's a very good camera.

For particularly good example images check out some of Messiah Kahns earlier photos, they were taken with the stock lens IIRC.

thanks (as i've ssaid in MSN) think i'll get that next month

 

[vincent1989]

Im currently selling this if your at all interested

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17787899

sorry, i dont have the money now, next chance i have to get one is going to be november, and that might end up being december if funds arent permitting

 

[vincent1989]

Indeed they were. If you look on my Deviantart page, most images shots between 18-55mm were taken with the kit lens.

just had a quick look and wow...your stuff is great. hope i can ibtain similar

 

[vincent1989]

If you are limited to that budget, id be inclined to go for a Fuji 6500 or similar, as that covers a large focal range, and is enough to get you started.

If not there is the Nikon D40/X, which if you should buy second hand, it'd be much cheaper & with lenses, however you can always start with the kit lens.

If it were me, id start with a good Bridge Camera, get into the swing of things, get a bit more money & start to move into the SLR.

need an SLR for the course (although they say a film SLR in the prospectus i have yet to ask whether a DSLR would be alright, but i doubt it will be a problem)

 

[vincent1989]

Even if its not ok, then id say get a DSLR for your own use and to practice on etc, and pick up a second hand 35mm SLR as they go for pennies.

You can pick decent enough Film SLR's up.

I'd definately look at the D40/X.

You can pick them up second hand for that budget.

Thats the way i would go.

thats the plan atm been discussing it with raikiri over MSN

thanks for the help guys, any more is appreciated

 

[vincent1989]

Please keep any trading inside the Members Market.

grats on underboss ship

no thanks cookie, i think the d40x is what i want

 

[vincent1989]

Cheers

How much have you got set aside for for lenses? And what are you after in terms of lenses?

oh, lenses i will buy as and when i need, and i wont be needing them till 2009 (in the last ten weeks of my course) which is when we'll be doing the individual products.

i'll probably just use the stock until then (although i am considering getting a macro lense(edit: and a wide angle) (which will be useful for the kind of photography i'm in to))