Can you reccommend a decent digital SLR for a beginner?
I was reccomended the Canon EOS 450D, but that is just slightly out of my price range unless it's really really worth the money.
It's my first SLR, I have no experience and I will be learning with it, but at the same time I want it to be able to produce the shots that I see in my head. I'll be shooting everything and anything, I'll just carry it around with me. I'm also going on photography courses at my local college later in the year.
I don't mind paying up to around £450, ideally including a lense.
I was looking at these, what do you think?
Canon EOS 1000D
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Canon EOS 450D
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Canon EOS 500D
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Nikon D3000
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Olympus E-450
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Olympus E520
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Panasonic Lumix DMC GI
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Pentax Kx
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(Sorry, a lot a I know.)
Any reccommendations, from the list above or any other? Or any hints/tips of what I can look for?
Thank you!!
First your brands list. Canon, Nikon and Fuji are the three world leaders in this consumer technology. You'll notice that Olympus, Panasonic and Pentax are not among them.
I own and recommend the Rebel XS. Superb photos and build.
Here's some examples of what I'm getting with mine.
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Before you spend a dime, check with your instructor and see if a DSLR is the right camera for starting you classes in photography. You may find you will need a good used 35 mm SLR with standard lens for the first few classes.
That said, any of those cameras will be a good entry level for a beginning digital photographer, however during your initial search, you may have noticed that Olympus and Panasonic DSLR's have much smaller sensors than the other brands, the so called 4/3rds DSLR's. They are a new format and have only a few lenses available for them and NO legacy lenses
Nikon, Canon and Pentax have been producing SLR's for decases and have many more lenses to choose from including legacy lenses (Nikon since 1959, Pentax K-mount since 1975 and Canon EF lenses since 1988)
Once you have narrowed the list down to three brands, go into a camera store and see which of the cameras fits your hands the best.
See which cameras menu is the easiest for you to use to make changes in ISO, camera resolution, white balance, mode switching and make EV changes (a camera with +5/-5 EV could be important to you).
Finally, take an SD card with you and test each camera at their highest and lowest ISO as well as when using the white balance that matches the light in the store as well as with it in the "auto white balance" mode.
Once you get home and are able to see the results on your large computer monitor, you will know which camera is better for your needs and expectations, not ours.
Take your time before you decide. Once you choose one, you will be married to that system for decades and the cost of changing to the other system will cost you nearly as much as a divorce. Be sure to take your time. If unsure, go back and do more tests until you are convinced which system is best for you
The Canon EOS 1000D is a good price but lacking some features of the 450D that can be quite important as you grow with it.
I was originally going to buy the 1000D until I realised that the package from Amazon did NOT come with the IS lens and that I could get a second hand 450D for around the same price.
The 1000D has 7 AF points whereas the 450D has 9 - and to me this makes a difference, in fact I wish my 450D had more. The 450D also has higher sensitivity at F/2.8 and lower, which is almost essential if you're gonna use lenses which go down to F/2.8 or like the nifty fifty which goes down to F/1.8. The 1000D also has a smaller screen and apparently a smaller viewfinder.
Realistically they are similar but the 450D has some clear advantages. Whatever you do though, get an IS lens.
I don't really know much about the other brands however the Olympus would probably have been my second choice had I not bought a 1000D or a 450D. For starters, the kit lens wide angle is VERY good, at 14mm (The Canon kit lense is 18mm and sometimes this still isn't wide enough for me) but of course at only 42mm the zoom on it is pretty pants, barely any higher than 1.x. on a point and shoot which starts at 35mm. If you're creative, you probably won't stick with just the kit lens forever anyway, I've only had my 450D a week and already I'm planning ahead for what lenses i want.
For beginner I would recommend Nikon D3000 which very easy to use, provide great image quality and good price.
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Well if you like the 450D why don't you try it out alongside a 1000D? That way you can tell if whats missing will be a big impact or not. Big difference is that the 450D IS almost always kitted with the stabilised version of Canon's 18-55mm lens which is vastly superior to the non IS versions. Some 1000Ds are kitted with the 18-55mm IS but not all so watch out for that, you may end up getting less of a bargain as you expected.
Also it's worth considering more advanced camera like the 30D on the used market. It's a semi-pro camera so it'll serve you a lot longer for a whole multitude of reasons. Also many were kitted with the 17-85mm lens which is considered a premium lens (compared to the 18-55mm which is a budget lens). Many well cared for versions can be found. Another camera that would be worth a look at is the Nikon D80, it's also an advanced camera and has Nikons brilliant CLS system including AWL (which isn't available on the entry level cameras).
Also the Pentax K-X is worth a look too, it's quite a good system.
I would recommend to go with Canon EOS 450D
Canon EOS 450D Digital SLR Camera Kit (incl EF-S 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6 non USM Lens Kit)
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