What Digital Slr Camera?

[Melly]

I am seriously considering purchasing a Digital SLR Camera. If I say I have a budget of up to £700 can anyone recommend one?

I would also be grateful if someone could give me some hints as to what to look for in lenses etc. I notice that some cameras come as a "package" with two lenses. When purchasing my normal digital camera I was told to go for a high optical zoom. I am a mere housewife so simple wording will help

I have looked at reviews on Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sony and I am now totally confused (easily done )

Any help and advice would be much appreciated

 

[Bloo]

I have the Canon Eos 30D and love it - but that would go over your budget.
This here seems to fit your requirements perfectly. Canon 350D with 2 lenses. And really, you can't go wrong with Canon.
You could also check out the Canon retailer on eBay and save a few hundred ££'s there. Comes with a 1 year warrantee (instead of the usual 2 year). I've bought from there and they are fab.

If you don't already know, DP review is probably one of the best review sites.

 

[Melly]

Brilliant - thanks for that. I will have a read up.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I'm getting a Pentax K10D, it's right in your price range. It comes with every feature that the cannon and nikon cameras have and a few that neither have, the shake reduction system which helps prevent your images from being blurred is built into the camera instead of the lense like it is on the cannons and nikons. This feature will save you $ in lenses because lenses that carry image stabilization ability are much more expensive (read hundreds more) than those without; you will never have to shell out hundreds for a pentax lens because they don't require this added tech to be built in as it is already in the camera. The Pentax is rated at 10.2 mega pixels, comes with dust reduction, it is compleately dust and weathersealed and has a dedicated RAW button on the exterior of the camera it recieves a highly recomended from dpreview.com and is suggested by many to be more closely comparable to the Nikon D200 which costs much much more. I'd give other cameras a look because there's just so much brand loyalty out there that you really can't get a good unbiased recomendation from anyone. Cannon fans will swear that NIkons are overpriced and that everything else is crap, Nikon fans will call Cannon cheap plastic crap because their camera bodies don't feel as sturdy as other makes and will also call every other brand crap. You've got to do a lot of research and especially visit some retailers and look at the diferent makes before deciding on anything.

review of SLR's in your price range

SLC

 

[Arimus]

I've got a 20D myself - its an excellent camera. However I did try a 350D and nearly lobbed the thing out the window - way too light and small for my paws

An alternative review site (the one posted above is a good one as well, just with more review sites the odds of finding the review you want go up )... Steve's digicam's.

 

[Bloo]

Cannon fans will swear that NIkons are overpriced and that everything else is crap,

Erm have you actually checked out the 20 or 30D? No chance. But yes - you're either a Nikon or Canon person. Mercedes versus BMW to me
Kidding - at the end of the day you can't go wrong with either. Or something entirely different.

I've got a 20D myself - its an excellent camera. However I did try a 350D and nearly lobbed the thing out the window - way too light and small for my paws

An alternative review site (the one posted above is a good one as well, just with more review sites the odds of finding the review you want go up )... Steve's digicam's.

Yep - exactly why I didn't go for that one and the 30 D instead. And yes, above review site is good too

 

[Melly]

Brilliant stuff - many thanks. I will dedicate some time to have a good read up and visit some shops. I must resist the urge to impulse buy - terrible habit of mine.

Thanks again

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Clown Goby

I got my Pentax K10D this weekend, it's absolutely fabulous. The shop I had planned to purchase it from was sold out, they told me they had not been able to keep them in stock because they all sell out within a day or two of when they arrive in the store. I could have gone on a waitlist but they estimated that it would take 4 or 5 months to get one; so I found an electronics shop that had one left. They had tons of the Nikon D80 and Cannon XTI at Inkleys (the pro shop), this is the popular shop for local semi-pro and pro photographers and the fact that the Pentax is in such high demand tells me that it must be special. Anyway these were two of the first shots I got out of it, just point and shoot without knowing much about how to use all the features of the camera; expect many more much better photos to come. I've got some great ones of my daughter playing with her toy camera and the tripod, but I'm not really comfortable putting them up on the net where anyone can copy and manipulate them how they want, there are some real perverts and predators out there you know!

SLC

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Occelaris Clownfish

For some reason I can't get 2 pics on the same page, but at any rate this is another pic strait out of the box (no advanced steeings or anything) that I took of my Occelaris clownfish. Let me tell you, he's hard to shoot because he moves so quickly but still I think this turned out well for just pointing and shooting.

SLC

 

[Puffer_freak]

I'm one of the oddballs, it seems - I went for the camera that no one else seems to want to buy. I've got the Olympus E-500, and I have to say: I love it. I haven't had any problems with it so far (that aren't my own doing...) and it's the right camera for me.

At the end of the day, it's about getting the camera that's right for you. To be honest, there's not a lot of difference in quality between a lot of SLRs (from what I've found), and it's more about what feels right and what works for you.

While I recommend reading up on the reviews, there's nothing better than going out and actually having a "test drive" as it were. I tried the Canon, the Nikon and a few others, and I didn't like any of them as much as the Olympus. On the other hand, the Olympus is not a very popular camera and so lenses are a bit more difficult to get hold of (however, they use the four thirds format for cameras, which more manufacturers (sp) are starting to use. You can get Sigma lenses, which are great).

I bought mine with two lenses and I've just recently bought myself a macro lens and an external flash, both of which are great.

Here are a few pictures I've taken with it:

I have many more, too, but those are just the ones at the top of my photobucket account.

 

[Melly]

Sorry folks I am STILL trying to decide. I have come up with a choice of two now and I wonder if anyone can honestly advise me which one would be the best to go for and would an 18-55mm lense (that comes with it) be sufficient to start off with?

Choices are the Pentax K10D or the Nikon D80

Many thanks

 

[Arimus]

(As a die-hard canon user I'm going to have to wash my mouth out after this...)

From what I've seen the D80 is the better of the two... but like most things it comes down to personal preference - the lenses available for the nikon are in my opinion better and cover the entire range from cheep 'consumer' through pro-sumer to very expensive pro lenses.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I bought the K10D after comparing the 2 and I'll tell you that I love it and have absolutely zero regrets. It is a better value than the D80, has more features and is weather sealed, none of the others are ready for the wet English weather like the pentax is. You'll have to buy a water resistant plastic shell for the D80 to get the same weather resistance as the K10D has straight out of the box.

Image quality is the same for the 2, and the big selling point for me is that the K10D has image stabilization in the camera, as well as a sensor cleaner, dust resistant coating on the sensor and a dust shaker offer like the cannon has. Cannon and Nikon you'll have to pay hundreds more to get lenses that have the shake reduction feature (which makes a huge difference in low light exposures because of the longer shutter speed). The nikons have image stabilization but it is in the lense instead of the camera, so no shake reduction lens=no shake reduction for that photo. Basically you get that feature with every lense you put on the Pentax so for me it was really no contest. Some photo magazines are actually not comparing the K10D and the D80, they put the K10D more in the realm of the Nikon D200 instead.

And to reply to the comment about the nikon lenses being better, pentax is unveiling their new hypersonic lenses this month at photokina, they're supposed to be the best glass and quickest focusing lenses to date.

Basically what ever you choose you're sure to get a great camera, it's just a matter of which camera you feel best with. What are the prices in England for the 2? In the U.S.A. I got the Pentax for $949 on sale with a lens, the D80 cost just over $1200 for body and kit lens. Really I can't see the point of paying more for a camera that is lighter on features and not built to be as rugged and durable.

SLC

 

[Bloo]

What are the prices in England for the 2? In the U.S.A. I got the Pentax for $949 on sale with a lens, the D80 cost just over $1200 for body and kit lens.

They are both around £700 (with basic lens kit - Pentax with the 18-55 and Nikon with the 18-70 lens).

But in the UK everything is more expensive, so you cannot go by the exchange rate I'm afraid.

Lovely pic btw

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

O.K. I looked around and found a D80 with an 18-55 for $1099, 18-135mm for $1300, 18-200 mm for $1359.95, and body only for $999. I payed only $949 for my K10D (on sale at a furniture/electronics store.).

Anyway you slice it you get more camera for your dollar/pound with the K10D. I can't see any solid reason to buy the D80 unless you are brand loyal already or something, or have a stash of nikon lenses already on hand!

SLC