My First 'proper' Camera

[Egg Fried Rice]

Hey peoples

Im looking to buy my first D-SLR and go further with my photohraphy and so far looking at camera magazine reviews the Canon 350D seems to be pretty good for price and quality etc. is this a good choice? or is there any other cameras i should also consider such as Nikon's as they seem to be quite popular aswell. Any help would be great

Thanks

JK

Edited April 13, 2007 by J-KAY

[Davetrials]

depends how much uve got to spend

id say either nikon d50, or canon 400d/350d

The 400d only has a few upgrades from the 350D

larger lcd screen

10.1 mgpx

9point focus

those are the main aspects

[Joe Papasnap Maher]

Hey peoples

Im looking to buy my first D-SLR and go further with my photohraphy and so far looking at camera magazine reviews the Canon 350D seems to be pretty good for price and quality etc. is this a good choice? or is there any other cameras i should also consider such as Nikon's as they seem to be quite popular aswell. Any help would be great

Thanks

JK

350d and d50...pretty much the same camera...just body shape is diffrent.

Canon is alot smaller and girlier(sp), nikon is abit bigger and chunkier...just go jessops, see which one u like the feel off.

Canons are just TOO small for me...but i have big hands..Nikon ***

Although canon lenses are better than nikon. Fact.

[Fish-Finger-er]

depends how much uve got to spend

id say either nikon d50, or canon 400d/350d

The 400d only has a few upgrades from the 350D

larger lcd screen

10.1 mgpx

9point focus

those are the main aspects

yea its either d50, or 350/400d, altho some people may say d40x.

personally id take the canon, both have higher specs than the d50 and.... (this was my reason for picking it.) u know how u get canon users and nikon users, both die hards, like u get vaux and ford purists, well i heard severl nikon users tell me to get a canon, but never heard a canon user to tell me to get a nikon, general consensus was below d70/d80 level, canon have got the edge.

[Davetrials]

hes right, dont get me wrong i LOVE LOVE LOVE my nikon to peices, but i really wish i baught a cannon, they appear to better cameras and used alot more than nikon in the professional world, or so im led to belive, ive had 3 interviews with studios and every one used canon.

im DEBATING weather or not to buy a 400d next, as my gf has got one, so ill have a good go with that,

but the chances are ill stick with nikon, cos ive got loadsa nikon kit:P and the d200 makes me cum.

as joe said, i no for a fact the kit lense on nikon is shite, compared to the cannon, i dont know why it just is lol

i think its just generally a bad lense, i used sigmas equivilant and it was so fudging good i didnt want to give it back. when i got around to fitting my nikon lense back on, it felt so bad, and it still does.

ive also discoverd i can type long paragraphs, i tend to jabber on.. and it doesnt make much sense.

[JonMack]

I used a 350D before I got my D50 and i much prefer the D50 (I guess thats why I got it really)

I've used a 400D and I dislike it.

I just dont like the build quality or the size of them, I havnt got that big hands but they seem to make the 350/400D feel tiny.

Plus I want a Nikon D200 because theyre sexy.

At the end of the day...

A body is a body.

It's the glass that makes the difference.

Oh yeah... and the guy behind the camera.

& Dave... If youre going from a D50... don't go to a 400D, get a 30D or something, 400D will feel like such a step down.

[Davetrials]

thats a mistake J, i actually ment to put 30d, im gonna try out her 400d, to see if i can actually work it, cos it took me 45min to figure out how to turn the flash off on a 350d lol.

i choose the d50 cos the 350d was to small.

[Dan Clark]

The Canon kit lens is the worst lens known to man, the Nikon 18-50 isn't up to much either, but better than Canon.

Just go and have a play and see what you prefer.

Canon - Better high ISO performance, more lenses and cheaper lenses (although sigma and tamron make lenses for both companies)

Nikon - Better flash system, better ergonomics.

I went for a D70s because it felt miles better than a 400d, and I really really hate the way you change aperture on 400d's.

[Tony Harrison]

The Nikon 18-55 (D50 kit lens) is optically as good, if not better than the 18-70 supplied with the D70. It's also vastly superior to it's Canon counterpart.

If you want Canon, the 350D lens kit can be found new for £350, and the Nikon D50 lens kit for around £330. These are complete bargains, and either would be a good investment. I prefer Nikon personally, but it's your choice. Despite what Joe says, the 350D and D50 are quite different. One of the major features lacking on the 350D is a focus-assist light, which is indespensible if you're shooting at night.

D40 I would avoid, although the D40X might be good. Over these I'd still by the D50. Not like you're going to need more than 6 megapixels, plus with the current price of the D50 (if you can find one) you'll be getting far better value for money.

Also, you could look into getting a separate body/lens if you want something better than the kit lens.

[Dan Clark]

D40x has 10 megapixels instead of 6, only difference.

So unless you are making big posters, no need to spend the extra

[Haz]

D40x has 10 megapixels instead of 6, only difference.

So unless you are making big posters, no need to spend the extra

It's a very different sensor, all together, instead of being the same as the D50 sensor, with a new body, it's the D80 sensor, with a new body, and fractionally less functions. It'd depend on whether you really needed that extra res and better sensor, over a smaller price tag.

It's definately more of a competitor to the 400D than the D40.

[Tony Harrison]

I'd still rather have the D50 over the D40/X. I know lots of people with the 400D, but haven't used one yet, so can't really comment on that.

[Davetrials]

d40x

booooo, u cant used standard lenses, ur limted to a VERY few specifily designed lenses for the d40

cos the autofocus bit is on the lenses instead of on the camera, meaning u can have autofocus on any after markety lenses

ergh.

[Tony Harrison]

J-KAY, what's your budget, including memory cards, etc?

[Haz]

d40x

booooo, u cant used standard lenses, ur limted to a VERY few specifily designed lenses for the d40

cos the autofocus bit is on the lenses instead of on the camera, meaning u can have autofocus on any after markety lenses

ergh.

No doubt, if you can get one, the D50 is the way forward, seriously, if you don't like the 400D, try a D50, not a D40(x).

Failing that, buy a D80, I love mine, I prefere it over my dads 20D any day, even with his IS glass.

[chrishayton]

basically you should look at the 400d and the nikon d80. in terms of handling the d80 is awesome, the 400d is abit small (although not too bad because your carrying it around alot.) performancewise between the 400d and d80 theres very little in it.

it all depends whether you wana pay a fiar bit extra for the nikon for the nicer handling.

i went for the 400d and got a batterygrip and now the handling is fantastic, fits great in my hand ( i have big hands) and is a nice weight, and i got huge battery life. its also nice to be able to shoot portrait without having your arm at a weird angle.

lensewise id say canon have the edge ( not by much) the top end canon telephotos are amazing but very expensive. at shorter focal lengths id be inclinded to use sigma lenses anyway due to canon ones being very expensive.

best thing to do is go to jessops, ignore everything they say but have a play with the cameras.

are you planning to use the camera for bike photos? if so try and stretch to the 30d as it has 5 fps instead of 3.

[Tony Harrison]

He still hasn't mentioned his budget. He might only have £350. Or, judging by a lack of replies by him to this thread, he might be dead!

You can get a battery grip for the D80 too. Personally my SLR is plenty big enough without one, but I suppose it depends what you're doing with it.

[Egg Fried Rice]

J-KAY, what's your budget, including memory cards, etc?

Hey

my budget....hmmm.....i would say about Maximum £550 ish lol

thank you everyone for the help so far. I was looking at the 400D, any good?

JK

He still hasn't mentioned his budget. He might only have £350. Or, judging by a lack of replies by him to this thread, he might be dead!

LOL sorry, i totally forgot about this thread thats why

are you planning to use the camera for bike photos? if so try and stretch to the 30d as it has 5 fps instead of 3.

Yeah i am mainly looking to use the camera for taking action/sports shots such as trials and scenery.

thanks for your help

[Tony Harrison]

my budget....hmmm.....i would say about Maximum £550 ish lol

In that case, the 400D may be your best bet. I know lots of people that have them and are very happy with them. You'll get the lens kit (camera, 18-55mm lens, battery, etc) for around £430 (including Canon's cashback offer). This would leave you enough money to get a decent camera bag (I have a padded LowePro bag, and it saved my D50 after I dropped it off first floor scaffolding!!) to protect your kit and also enough for a couple of good sized memory cards (at least a few gigs worth) and a spare battery or two.

From experience, I always carry at least one fully charged spare battery and one spare memory card.

[Matt_Zoot]

You can probably get the Sony A100 for that sort of money if you look in the right places.

Digital Photography (or whatever its called) magazine did a review of it against the D350 and it came out on top. And plus it'll work with over 1000 Konica Minolta lenses as Sony bought the company.

I don't really no much about it all so I wont get technical but from what I've heard its an excellent camera.

[Egg Fried Rice]

In that case, the 400D may be your best bet. I know lots of people that have them and are very happy with them. You'll get the lens kit (camera, 18-55mm lens, battery, etc) for around £430 (including Canon's cashback offer). This would leave you enough money to get a decent camera bag (I have a padded LowePro bag, and it saved my D50 after I dropped it off first floor scaffolding!!) to protect your kit and also enough for a couple of good sized memory cards (at least a few gigs worth) and a spare battery or two.

From experience, I always carry at least one fully charged spare battery and one spare memory card.

ah thank you snappel, i think so far the canon 400D is my choice at the moment

JK

[JonMack]

I'd say your best bet was:

Go into Jessops or another reputable (lol) camera shop.

Say: Hello there, I'm looking at buying a digital SLR, the two brands which I hear most about are Canon and Nikon, can I have a look at both of their entry level models please (don't forget about manners!!).

Take some test shots with both of them

See which one fits your hands better, navigate through the menus, seeing which you find easiest to use, etc.

Decide which one you want.

Don't buy it unless there is some kind of super duper deal.

Come back here, check prices/deals online.

Purchase from online shop/jessops/other camera store.

Note that most shops (including Jessops) do a "find this item cheaper online and we will match it". It requires you to print out the page, but it might be worth it.

Hope that's of some use. I heart line breaks.

[Dr. Nick Riviera]

off topic.

jon, add me to msn, i live about 2 miles from you now.

on topic.

what he said ^

edit: jon from bognor that is

Edited April 18, 2007 by Charel

[Egg Fried Rice]

off topic.

jon, add me to msn, i live about 2 miles from you now.

on topic.

what he said ^

edit: jon from bognor that is

Done

JK