What Camera please

[Busa mav]

Having decided I need to have a slr again, I have started browsing tinternet.

Now thinking I may be better off with a s/h package , a friend has a Canon 20D and is very happy with it , now I see these in shops for under £ 100 , would just need to add a lense or 2,
would this be a good idea or should I buy a new starter package.

I want to take pics of houses and extensions , plus the normal family photos.

Would like to keep under £ 500.

Any suggestions for cameras and lenses very much appreciated.

[Farky]

For weeks now ive been wanting to ask the very same question.
However, it seems that in this part of the ever helpful Pistonheads Forum, unless your budget is 'considerable' or your a 'seasoned' photographer, virtually no help is given to help people like ourselves who are just at the very beginning of 'starting out' in photography.

[Janesy B]

Farky said:

For weeks now ive been wanting to ask the very same question.
However, it seems that in this part of the ever helpful Pistonheads Forum, unless your budget is 'considerable' or your a 'seasoned' photographer, virtually no help is given to help people like ourselves who are just at the very beginning of 'starting out' in photography.

That's complete and utter rubbish and you know it is.

Busa mav said:

Having decided I need to have a slr again, I have started browsing tinternet.

Now thinking I may be better off with a s/h package , a friend has a Canon 20D and is very happy with it , now I see these in shops for under £ 100 , would just need to add a lense or 2,
would this be a good idea or should I buy a new starter package.

I want to take pics of houses and extensions , plus the normal family photos.

Would like to keep under £ 500.

Any suggestions for cameras and lenses very much appreciated.

I don't think I would go for anything as old as that, perhaps a 40D or 50D with the non VC Tamron 17-50 f2.8 along with a Canon EF 85mm f1.8 should stand you in at around £500 and will cover everything you need. It's worth joining up to Talk Photography just for the trading section as these come up frequently for good prices (lower than shops that sell second hand cameras or ebay).

Edited by Janesy B on Saturday 30th August 13:09

Edited by Janesy B on Saturday 30th August 13:15

[Simpo Two]

I thought it was rather harsh too (though we do get an awful lot of 'Recommend me a camera!' threads which can pall after a while). But anyway, whilst not being a Canon user, I'd throw in the following general ideas...

Busa mav said:

Now thinking I may be better off with a s/h package , a friend has a Canon 20D and is very happy with it , now I see these in shops for under £ 100 , would just need to add a lense or 2,
would this be a good idea or should I buy a new starter package.

I want to take pics of houses and extensions , plus the normal family photos.

Would like to keep under £ 500.

An older DSLR will take photos just as well now as when it was made, so if money is tight it's a sound option. So that will leave you £400 for lenses etc. Houses, extensions and family can all be done with a mid-range zoom, eg something in the 18-70mm range. I can't tell you exactly what to look for as I don't know Canon ranges but the 'kit' lens will get you started very well, and probably for <£100. If you want to shoot interiors then you may need to add something wider, say 10-20mm, though this will cost more. These are called UWA for ultra wide angle.

Comcomitant with interiors, you might feel you need a decent flashgun too, with a bounce/swivel head to throw light in all directions rather than just straight in the chops.

Pound for pound Canon stuff will probably cost more than independent makes (eg Sigma, Tamron, Tokina) so there's nothing wrong with going that route if it helps you get what you need for the budget. The great thng about a DSLR system is that you can sell and buy bits as required/as you grow in to it.

But you've already had an SLR so may well be aware of all this already...? If your last SLR was a film camera all you need to learn extra is the digital imaging part.

[Farky]

Simpo Two said:

I thought it was rather harsh too (though we do get an awful lot of 'Recommend me a camera!' threads which can pall after a while). But anyway, whilst not being a Canon user, I'd throw in the following general ideas...

Busa mav said:

Now thinking I may be better off with a s/h package , a friend has a Canon 20D and is very happy with it , now I see these in shops for under £ 100 , would just need to add a lense or 2,
would this be a good idea or should I buy a new starter package.

I want to take pics of houses and extensions , plus the normal family photos.

Would like to keep under £ 500.

An older DSLR will take photos just as well now as when it was made, so if money is tight it's a sound option. So that will leave you £400 for lenses etc. Houses, extensions and family can all be done with a mid-range zoom, eg something in the 18-70mm range. I can't tell you exactly what to look for as I don't know Canon ranges but the 'kit' lens will get you started very well, and probably for <£100. If you want to shoot interiors then you may need to add something wider, say 10-20mm, though this will cost more. These are called UWA for ultra wide angle.

Comcomitant with interiors, you might feel you need a decent flashgun too, with a bounce/swivel head to throw light in all directions rather than just straight in the chops.

Pound for pound Canon stuff will probably cost more than independent makes (eg Sigma, Tamron, Tokina) so there's nothing wrong with going that route if it helps you get what you need for the budget. The great thng about a DSLR system is that you can sell and buy bits as required/as you grow in to it.

But you've already had an SLR so may well be aware of all this already...? If your last SLR was a film camera all you need to learn extra is the digital imaging part.

It was rather harsh so i apologise. I undertsnad the whole 'recommend me a camera' threads must get tiresome to say the least. Sometimes tho.......it can be just that.
Ive always enjoyed looking at this Forum, And ive always had an eye for photography for many many years. However Finances, kids etc have always stopped me from doin anything about it.
Now im seriously thinkng about buying my first dslr.
Looking on websites, ebay etc etc, the range is HUGE obviously so where to start is to me, an impossibility!
My budget will obviously limit me again..... Probably a couple of hundred pound. Im not wanting to spend as much as £500 incase i dont (in my eyes) become good at it and the camera sits in a cupboard gathering dust. Nikon D40, Canon 1100d etc. i honestly have no idea on what to spend my money on. So with all this in mind, i'd be greatly appreciative of ANY advice from the mass of knoweledge on here. :-)

[Simpo Two]

£200 might get you what I started with - a Nikon D70 and 18-70 lens. It's a decent lens and the D70 was Camera of the Year 2004, costing £999! IMHO that and the Canon 350D were largely responsible for bringing good quality digital photography within reach of the serious amateur.

[Farky]

Simpo Two said:

£200 might get you what I started with - a Nikon D70 and 18-70 lens. It's a decent lens and the D70 was Camera of the Year 2004, costing £999! IMHO that and the Canon 350D were largely responsible for bringing good quality digital photography within reach of the serious amateur.

Thanks, i will have a look for the above.

[Farky]

I have the chance of this for £100......
Decent buy?? Is this everything i need to get started?

Nikon D70 with Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm, with Nikon HB-32 lens hood, fully working, battery and charge and carry case!

Only used a hand full of times and not one fault with either any of the equipment!

[Simpo Two]

Sounds very good to me - the lens alone is worth more than £100.

With the spare £100, if you want longer than 70mm, you could consider a budget 70-300mm like the Nikon 70-300 G; you might even be able to get the slightly better ED version. (The D70 has screw-drive focusing so will work with non-AF-S lenses like the ED). Consider a second battery too, as I'm not sure how long a 10-year old battery will last on a long day out.

[Farky]

Watching a few on ebay at the moment, ending in the next 24hrs so will keep u all posted

[Gaspode]

Simpo Two said:

Sounds very good to me - the lens alone is worth more than £100.

With the spare £100, if you want longer than 70mm, you could consider a budget 70-300mm like the Nikon 70-300 G; you might even be able to get the slightly better ED version. (The D70 has screw-drive focusing so will work with non-AF-S lenses like the ED). Consider a second battery too, as I'm not sure how long a 10-year old battery will last on a long day out.

I would say a D70 for £100 is an excellent idea. Mine still takes excellent pictures, the battery still lasts a decent time, weeks rather than days.

[Busa mav]

Many thanks for all your responses.

Having been reading through other threads , I am not so sure that something like the Sony RX 100 wouldn't be a better solution.

Only restrictions I see is that the zoom for taking the odd pics of say a bird on the feeder may be a tad lacking , which then lead me onto a halfway house camera with the Canon sx50 which boast a huge zoom !

Going to visit the shops and have them in my hand for a while.

In reality , I like the idea of a salt , but lugging it around may soon make the novelty wear off.

Thanks again

[Simpo Two]

You'll forgive us for ignoring the next 'What Camera please' thread then

[Busa mav]

Simpo Two said:

You'll forgive us for ignoring the next 'What Camera please' thread then

I didn't say a word mister , it was that Farky bloke wot started it

Haha, I have stopped responding to requests in home and garden for building / architectural requests as no bugger ever listens to good advice anyway

Seeing those pics that Get Carter posted just made me think again.

I am not going to be a keen photographer, just somebody who wants to have better results.

So many peeps now seem to have got used to the quality of phone pics as the norm , and I know basic pics can be so much better.

I look back at photos from my old Pentax MX film camera and they are just stunning compared with recent snapshots I have .

Edited by Busa mav on Saturday 30th August 18:01

[Simpo Two]

Modern compacts can be astonishingly good, so if you're after decent results in most situations with minimum of fuss, and don't feel the need to strap on any bells and whistles, then a compact may be the right answer.

Mr Carter's work is lovely but don't forget he lives there - all he has to do is sit up in bed, press the button and go back to sleep again If you want the same level of work you need to be seeing what he's seeing!

[Busa mav]

Simpo Two said:

Mr Carter's work is lovely but don't forget he lives there - all he has to do is sit up in bed, press the button and go back to sleep again If you want the same level of work you need to be seeing what he's seeing!

so true,



I am sure he could get excellent results with a phone camera too ,

[LC2]

Farky said:

Watching a few on ebay at the moment, ending in the next 24hrs so will keep u all posted

In addition to your ebay searches, I would recommend you look at some of the specialist camera shops online who deal with second hand cameras (such as MPB or WEX) and/or look around for local (independant) camera shop how are also likely to have second hand modela available.
That way you will almost certainly be able to get a guarentee, which you may find useful.

[drewyy]

Pentax K-3 Prestige is out of your price range, but it is worth taking a look

http://thedigitalcamera.net/ricoh-announces-the-pe...

[Busa mav]

Just too update the thread , I have just ordered a

Canon EOS 60D 18MP Digital SLR With EF S 17 85mm USM Lens.

Picked it up with 1 yr guarantee for £ 455 from Tesco Outlet store.

Any suggestions for what memory cards would be best , or are they all the same ?

[GetCarter]

Simpo Two said:

Mr Carter's work is lovely but don't forget he lives there - all he has to do is sit up in bed, press the button and go back to sleep again If you want the same level of work you need to be seeing what he's seeing!

Oi!.. I never sit up in bed... only ever fall out of it.