matt86hew

Hi guys i looking as getting a good carama!
Have been looking at the Nikon Series! As heard there pretty good ie the d40, d60,d80!

What your recon i should go for? looked at the d40 though you seen to get alot more with the d60 even thou more money again!

What caramas have you all got? and do you know any deals with them that are on?

Cheers! Matt

Mort

I'm a Canon person myself. But there's no point in debating makes to you; best bet is to try out as many as you can before you buy. Even just holding them in the shop. The Canon 450D has a cashback offer on it still I think? But the 3 digit range are all very small bodies that can be an issue if you have big hands.

I'm waiting to upgrade my 350D to a 40D when I next have some cash. I've found Canon's have a lot less problems with noise and things in low light photography which most of my shooting is, so I never really got on with the Nikons. Both will produce excellent photographs though. It's all down to how you get on with them in use really.

__________________
Fabia v/RS, in Red.
Green filter & Cupra Intake, TT brakes, Josh's Sumpguard, Jabba ARB, MOMO strut brace, Powdercoated alloys. KW v1's next...

leeland

Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ

As above, go and see some, get a feel for them.
If you weren't aware above site is really good for reviews, there's
image galleries on there too.

__________________
.........vRSRace Blue Fabia VRSse 2005
........

fatty5000

Maybe would be better buying a new camera tbh :d

__________________

craig0031

camara (camera)

__________________

Chris.G

I've been on a camera adventure lately. I've had a Panasonic FZ18, a Canon 450D and I now have a Nikon D80. They are all great Cameras in their own right and all have taken lovely pictures (see my test threads).

I've settled with the Nikon. I won't get into a Nikon vs Canon debate because one, I don't have the knowledge to and two IMHO they both make fantastic cameras. As has been said it will come down to personal choice, how does it feel to hold, how big your budget is and what you want to use the camera for.

If you don't need a DSLR then take a look at the "super zoom" cameras. Panasonic FZ18 or Canon IS Powershot. These are defo worth looking at because the picture quality is good, you have the ability to zoom unbelievably far without the need to buy/carry around exspensive lenes. Plus they are small and light. Check them out on youtube. They are a good compromise between a compact and DSLR without shelling out loads of cash.

Here are a couple of shots from my D80. They are probably not a good advert for Nikon I am only a beginner. The zoom shots were taken with a Nikkor 70-300mm G series lens that I picked up for £45 on E-Bay.

Good luck finding what you want. Don't forget to post your pics up here when you're set up.

A word of warning...................... photography is very very addictive

Attached Images

	Field.JPG (201.0 KB, 25 views)
	seagull.JPG (173.3 KB, 28 views)
	London Eye.JPG (276.9 KB, 24 views)
	Battle Of Britain.JPG (423.9 KB, 24 views)

tfboy

As others have said, go to a shop with SLRs and have a feel for them. The comfort factor and menu system are the more important factors in deciding what to go for.

When I bought my first dSLR (Nikon D70) about 5 years ago, I was looking at either that one or the Canon 350D. In the end, I went for Nikon as it just felt sturdier and less plasticky in my hands. But your mileage will vary and of course, loads of new models have come out since.

But if you go for a major manufacturer such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony Alpha, etc, you'll be fine as there are loads of lenses out there for all of them, although IMHO, the Sony lenses do tend to be a bit pricier for what they are...

Of course, once you've decided on a camera, and therefore its mount, you are bound into buying lenses that are available for that mount But it's no problem really as most of the manufacturers and 3rd parties (Tamrom, Sigma, Tokina...) make a given lens for pretty much every main mount out there

Also, if you're starting off, as long as the camera feels good in your hands, don't worry about getting the best model you can for your budget - it's worth saving some money and getting better lenses, because it's the lens that predominantly determines the output quality and capability of your shots

__________________
Xavier

Lady Elanore

Another Canon vote here, but that is mainly because you tend to stick with the manufacturer of your fist SLR (obvious exception above). I would go to a camera shop where the salesperson is quite happily show you different models and lets you take sample shots around the place. I played with my first 350D in this manner and the assistant let me copy the shots and take them home to examine them (I took a laptop down to the shop for this…….I like to plan ahead) Similarly I had a good play with my Canon 40D before taking the plunge. Although with the bewildering choices of lenses these days, it can be tricky figuring out what you need/want. My Sigma 70-200mm APO EX fouls the mirror (I assume it’s the mirror) sometimes when I am using high drive mode speeds and I didn’t think to check this feature with this lens when I got the camera, but you can’t try every combination.

I would certainly recommend the Nikon from the ones I have seen amongst friends and colleagues and generally the better the glass you buy, the better able you are to get the shots you want.


It is important to try these cameras out for size though, some like the 350D Canon are really small to hold and not everyone likes them. certainly men with big hands may find they feel a bit like toys.


Oh and always haggle

__________________
. Amanda - All's fair in Love and Car

Lady Elanore

__________________
. Amanda - All's fair in Love and Car

fatty5000

I was gonna ask the same kinda question as my mother has offered to buy me a tidy camera, as I use my N95 atm.


Excuse my noobness but what is an SLR all about and how much are we talking roughly.

__________________

Lady Elanore

SLR means single lens reflex, but most cameras nowadays are D(igital) SLRs. Basically they are cameras with real optical viewfinders (although this is changing so you can use them like a normal cheaper Digital compact camera with a monitor on the back) that lets light come through the lens, onto an angled mirror that send the light up to the viewfinder. When you take the shot the mirror moves out of the way and the sensor can see the view and captures the image. During this time the viewfinder goes black, it’s only for an instant however and you hear the click of a professional sounding camera. Job done.

The great thing about them is you can change the lenses and the better the lens, the better able you are prepared to get ‘that shot’. The very expensive, very wide lenses (and heavy too) allow a lot more light into the camera and this gives you much more control of the shot. You can take picture in poor light with out a flash, capture very high speed images with great accuracy like in sports. You can focus on a face or even the person eyes and the background will be all soft and blurry, making the person stand out and giving you that pro photo look. It’s a great hobby and even though I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, I enjoy trying to get the shots that my mind imagines are out there.

__________________
. Amanda - All's fair in Love and Car

Lady Elanore

My recommendations are to go with Canon or Nikon, but the Sony (ex Konica Minolta) and Olympus camera are very good too. I would say that there are more lenses for the Canon and Nikons cameras though and many third-party lens manufacturers make lenses for them. Possibly Canon having the overall widest choice, but there is a lens for every one and everything from these big 2. Canon have recently introduced the beginners 1000D, but check it isn’t too small for your hands. It might seem fine, but when you put a big heavy lens on it, it might feel a little tricky; I think the same is true for the cheapest Nikons.

Oh and do not get hung up on mega pixels. More mega pixels often mean that the shots in low light are inferior. If you don’t want to blow thing up bigger than A3+, don’t worry about mega pixels as virtually all the modern DSLRs have more than enough pixels for your purpose.

__________________
. Amanda - All's fair in Love and Car

fatty5000

Thanks for that I shall return to this at some point soon as Mother dearest will be hassling me toofind out which one I want as it it's for xmas and she's usually bought everything by now ...lol

__________________

Lady Elanore

Here’s a few I took this weekend. The light was pretty poor and variable most of the time, but having a fast lens helped me out enormously. It was great fun as i was working at the time so had to rush out and grab the shots when I could. I even had to balance on a chair to see over the photographer's heads, they though I was mad. the last 2 shots are interesting as the pilot clipped the pylon and in the final shot which is blown up (and a bit soft) you can see him so it.

















This is a blow up of the above picture

__________________
. Amanda - All's fair in Love and Car

PAO72

Hi,

I also suggest that you go down to your local camera store(s) and try them out. e.g hold them, check the settings and enquire as to the cost of accessories etc.

I would also recommend that you check out the following web link if you have not already done so www.dpreview.com it has plenty of detailed reviews and a comparison checker.

I have been using and still use my Minolta film SLR's for the last 10 years. Late last year I bought my first digital camera which was a Canon A630 digital compact camera with a 3 x zoom lens. A few months later I bought the telephoto adapter lens so that I could zoom in closer to distant subjects. I love this little camera.

With the A630 you can manually adjust settings (e.g. shutter speed, aperture etc) The only thing you don't have much control over is manual focusing. So after a few months of using it I started looking around for a digital SLR, and after reading reviews on the above listed web site I bought a Pentax K100D and have been very impressed with it.

Check out my personal web site (www.paophotography.plus.com) to see images taken with both cameras.

If you are thinking of going down the Nikon route I would suggest the D80 as being the best option. I tried one of these when I visited the Focus on Imaging Exhibition in Birmingham earlier this year.

The intial kit lens that comes with most DSLR cameras is not ususally a very good lens. So if you have the option / money to be able to buy a DSLR body and seperate lens I would take that option. but if not don't worry the images are still good!


Best Regards,

PAO72

__________________
Educate don't Vegitate!

Burnsey

d40 you may be limited on what lenses you can get as it doesn't have an inbuilt motor, so some of the older lenses won't fit. I've a d70s and quite like it. Got it pretty cheap over a year ago as it was in my price range and felt nice to hold.

In decent light you'll struggle to tell the difference between an slr and a compact, and remember a camera or lens don't make the picture, composition does.

In rubbish light it's game on for the Dslr, and between nikon and canon its really just what feels comfy or what your mates have if you want to borrow lenses

__________________
Burnsey
1.9 tdi Octy II elegance estate
(gone but not forgotten... 2.5v6tdi Superb, MkI Octy 1.6)

auroan

I have a K100D and for a starter DSLR it's ideal.

__________________


'05 Audi A4 2.0 Tdi SE - no mods until the warrenty expires ... yeah right... interior light pack, 3 spoke mfsw.
'00 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro - Gone.... (bleeding money pit )
Audi A4 2.6 Avant (Breaking - Check out http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/auroan)

Fluffmeister

I am in the same boat at the moment and Nikons "fit" my hand better but I am confused on the D40 and D40X

philc

That will generally depend on how much you want to blow the image up.

Phil

__________________
"A good diesel, like a good whisky, should be strong, smooth and slightly smokey"
<--respectful gap-->

Fezboy

We have a Nikon D80 at work for taking photos of the back of your eye.

TOPCON Eye Care Retinal Camera

I wonder if I can swap it with my Olympus E410

The Olympus E410 was what I brought as a starter SLR

__________________
Octavia VRs ***SOLD***

The futures somkey! The futures diesel

skomaz

D40X is a 10MP version of the D40 - nothing else as far as I can tell.

I have a D40 and a couple of AF lenses (also a couple of old lenses, flash and F301 body and the lenses and flash still work OK with the D40 despite being 20 odd years old...). I've found the resolution of the D40 (6.1MP) more than adequate and the smaller file sizes help with storage.

__________________
If everything was as reliable as a VW... My Skoda would be at the bottom of the JD Power tables!

Octavia II 2.0 TDi 4x4 Estate and Fabia I 1.9 TDi Estate and Modified Mk1 Mazda MX-5 1.8iS

Fluffmeister

So a D40X would be a worthy entry level DSLR to replace my Lumix DMCFZ7 as I like the feel of it and the menu system seems to work for me.

Is there a huge difference in features between say the D40X and D60? I love photography but am a complete NOOB when it comes to some of the more techy features. I understand the basics like shutter / aperture / exposure etc.

This is quite a useful thread BTW

philc