Advice on D-SLR Purchase Please (& Printer ?)
Discussion
Hi Chaps, Firstly sorry for the long post.
My wife is pretty keen on taking photographs however is a bit of an amateur. She has some books on the subject and enjoys snapping allsorts, from close-ups of flowers etc, to cars, to landscapes and seascapes. A few years ago I bought her a Canon EOS300 so she could actually get to grips with the "proper" side of it all so she could work out lighting, shutter speeds, focal stuff... well you know.
Anyway, this has effectively lead to frustration as she has to have a play about with the various settings on the camera, taking different shots, and then wait to finish the film off before getting the pictures developed and eventually seeing the results (often at this point we're not sure what setting was used for which pictures too)... also its a bit depressing chucking over £5 a go at getting films bought and developed, to have just a really small handful of anything worth looking at.
So, lead on the digital revolution..? I think the "best" option to help her develop her hobby and improve her skills is to get a Digital camera (?) ..that way she can see the fruits of her labour in "real-time" and can reel off hundereds of pictures without the hassle of developing them and can practice different effects etc without hassle.
But what to buy..? I was thinking about just getting an EOS300D as niavely I though it would be the same as the existing 300, but with a screen.. I now discover its quite a small thing.. (is that bad??). Ultimately I can't afford and don't really need a "professional" camera, so budget is ideally under £500.. It would be nice to be able to get something that will use the existing lense that we have on the 300 too.
Is this the right sort of approach ? any recomendations on what sort of thing to buy ? and also any pointers on whether its worth getting a Printer (such as the Canon Pixma) to print these things out ?
All advice very gratefully received,
Many thanks,
Matt.
My wife is pretty keen on taking photographs however is a bit of an amateur. She has some books on the subject and enjoys snapping allsorts, from close-ups of flowers etc, to cars, to landscapes and seascapes. A few years ago I bought her a Canon EOS300 so she could actually get to grips with the "proper" side of it all so she could work out lighting, shutter speeds, focal stuff... well you know.
Anyway, this has effectively lead to frustration as she has to have a play about with the various settings on the camera, taking different shots, and then wait to finish the film off before getting the pictures developed and eventually seeing the results (often at this point we're not sure what setting was used for which pictures too)... also its a bit depressing chucking over £5 a go at getting films bought and developed, to have just a really small handful of anything worth looking at.
So, lead on the digital revolution..? I think the "best" option to help her develop her hobby and improve her skills is to get a Digital camera (?) ..that way she can see the fruits of her labour in "real-time" and can reel off hundereds of pictures without the hassle of developing them and can practice different effects etc without hassle.
But what to buy..? I was thinking about just getting an EOS300D as niavely I though it would be the same as the existing 300, but with a screen.. I now discover its quite a small thing.. (is that bad??). Ultimately I can't afford and don't really need a "professional" camera, so budget is ideally under £500.. It would be nice to be able to get something that will use the existing lense that we have on the 300 too.
Is this the right sort of approach ? any recomendations on what sort of thing to buy ? and also any pointers on whether its worth getting a Printer (such as the Canon Pixma) to print these things out ?
All advice very gratefully received,
Many thanks,
Matt.
If your wife has Canon lenses from her 300 I believe these are compatible with the 300D? (I'm have a Nikon D70 so don't take my word as gospel.) This should mean you could just get a 300D body (at first) which should be an inexpensive way to get into a DSLR?
DSLR - has transformed my interest in Photography. Wonderful things.
DSLR - has transformed my interest in Photography. Wonderful things.
Much as I'd like to recommend you to "Clud Membershit" your obvious route is to carry on to Canon digitalisation.
I believe that the Canon entry level dSLR is aimed, as is the Nikon entry at being "foolproof" for the less advanced (providing you commence with the right calibre of fool).
As an alternative, avoid some of the dSLR drawbacks and go for a fixed lens, SLR-lookalike. A good place to start looking might be the Panasonic Lumix FZ20. Brilliant lens, image stabilisation system, plenty of control for the progressing amateur and generally good reports all round.
As far as printers, the little tiny printers are cute, but you'll get A4 printers which will give you much more flexibility. For day-to-day stuff we got an Epson R300 (c £80 or less) which is easy to live with straight out of the box.
I believe that the Canon entry level dSLR is aimed, as is the Nikon entry at being "foolproof" for the less advanced (providing you commence with the right calibre of fool).
As an alternative, avoid some of the dSLR drawbacks and go for a fixed lens, SLR-lookalike. A good place to start looking might be the Panasonic Lumix FZ20. Brilliant lens, image stabilisation system, plenty of control for the progressing amateur and generally good reports all round.
As far as printers, the little tiny printers are cute, but you'll get A4 printers which will give you much more flexibility. For day-to-day stuff we got an Epson R300 (c £80 or less) which is easy to live with straight out of the box.
the drawbacks of the SLR?
Big, heavy, expensive, larger files.
the advantages:
Better pics, ability to use different lenses, Better pics, larger files, Better pics, ability to do anything a film SLR can and a LOT more, Better pics.
Check out the quality (about 8% of the frame )>>> www.stevecarter.com/d2x-dogs-nose.jpg
Steve
>> Edited by GetCarter on Wednesday 25th May 12:17
>> Edited by GetCarter on Wednesday 25th May 12:19
Big, heavy, expensive, larger files.
the advantages:
Better pics, ability to use different lenses, Better pics, larger files, Better pics, ability to do anything a film SLR can and a LOT more, Better pics.
Check out the quality (about 8% of the frame )>>> www.stevecarter.com/d2x-dogs-nose.jpg
Steve
>> Edited by GetCarter on Wednesday 25th May 12:17
>> Edited by GetCarter on Wednesday 25th May 12:19
Matt,
You are definately heading down the right path in your approach. The lens tou have( it's an EF) will fit a 300D.
£409 brand new here, half way down...
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/normal_search_result.php?keywords=300D&x=8&y=11
That leaves you money for a good CF card and other stuff you might want.
Martin.
You are definately heading down the right path in your approach. The lens tou have( it's an EF) will fit a 300D.
£409 brand new here, half way down...
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/normal_search_result.php?keywords=300D&x=8&y=11
That leaves you money for a good CF card and other stuff you might want.
Martin.
I knicked my dad's EOS300 a couple of years ago when I was starting to get interested. Had a bit of a play with that, bought a cheap 300mm lens, got frustrated in the same way you are with the cost and delay of processing the films. So I bought a 300D. The lenses worked no problem, it was easy enough to get used to after the 300. And at the time I paid twice what you can get them for now. There'd be no question in my mind about buying one now. Well, there would, but that would be whether to buy one of the more expensive ones out now.
Thanks for the thoughts chaps.. ...if I was going to get the 300D body will I end up (depending on if she gets on well) needing to "upgrade" it to something like the 350D in future..? or is the difference just a technical one. I'd rather spend the extra £100 now than have to buy a whole new camera in a couple of years.. however no point going OTT.
Thanks again,
Matt.
poah, just read your response.. 10D..?
>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 25th May 12:42
Thanks again,
Matt.
poah, just read your response.. 10D..?
>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 25th May 12:42
V6GTO said:
Matt,
You are definately heading down the right path in your approach. The lens tou have( it's an EF) will fit a 300D.
£409 brand new here, half way down...
www.7dayshop.com/catalog/normal_search_result.php?keywords=300D&x=8&y=11
That leaves you money for a good CF card and other stuff you might want.
Martin.
Now that looks like an idea..
I could even get a nice printer with that sort of money and still have spent less than on a 10D.If you're looking for a 'cheap way' to get a 300D then try the canon factory outlet Here.
You can get the body for about £250 - £300'ish.
I used them to get a MiniDV camcorder - very impressed.
The advantage of the above over 7dayshop (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that you will get a 12 month manufacturers warranty (UK will not recognise warranty on non UK spec i.e KISS or Rebel versions).
Hope this helps
Chris
You can get the body for about £250 - £300'ish.
I used them to get a MiniDV camcorder - very impressed.
The advantage of the above over 7dayshop (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that you will get a 12 month manufacturers warranty (UK will not recognise warranty on non UK spec i.e KISS or Rebel versions).
Hope this helps
Chris
Either a 300D or 350D would be a great digital replacement body for you, but as has been mentioned, don't forget to factor in the price of a memory card.
For a nice printer, look at Epson.
After personal trial and error with HP, Canon and others, and a lot of on-line research it seems to me that Epson are superior.
However, that is my opinion
For a nice printer, look at Epson.
After personal trial and error with HP, Canon and others, and a lot of on-line research it seems to me that Epson are superior.
However, that is my opinion
I shared the same photographic frustrations as your wife.
Decided that nothing was going to change that apart from blowing my film budget for the next few years on a DSLR. Bought a 350D a couple of weeks back and no doubt I'll still be a crap photographer but at least I'll know about it there and then, rather than suffering the huge disappointment when the film comes back.
The 350 is ideal for my level of knowledge and ability and the lenses I already have work fine with it. It is small but I have smallish hands so that's not a problem. Girlfriend bought her own and she has smaller hands which work even better.
Have taken hundred's of pictures already and binned most of them, but I've learnt more from taking them than I did in years of using film.
Wouldn't worry about the printer just yet - push the camera budget a bit further. As already mentioned, printing on-line is not that expensive and the results I've seen have been good.
Decided that nothing was going to change that apart from blowing my film budget for the next few years on a DSLR. Bought a 350D a couple of weeks back and no doubt I'll still be a crap photographer but at least I'll know about it there and then, rather than suffering the huge disappointment when the film comes back.
The 350 is ideal for my level of knowledge and ability and the lenses I already have work fine with it. It is small but I have smallish hands so that's not a problem. Girlfriend bought her own and she has smaller hands which work even better.
Have taken hundred's of pictures already and binned most of them, but I've learnt more from taking them than I did in years of using film.
Wouldn't worry about the printer just yet - push the camera budget a bit further. As already mentioned, printing on-line is not that expensive and the results I've seen have been good.
woody said:
If you're looking for a 'cheap way' to get a 300D then try the canon factory outlet Here.
You can get the body for about £250 - £300'ish.
Hope this helps
Chris
Blimey !!! Brilliant.. Thanks
daved, thanks for the confirmation.. its got to be the way to go hassn't it
>> Edited by M@H on Wednesday 25th May 13:13
beano500 said:
As far as printers, the little tiny printers are cute, but you'll get A4 printers which will give you much more flexibility. For day-to-day stuff we got an Epson R300 (c £80 or less) which is easy to live with straight out of the box.
Do these home printers really work though.. do you actually get "Photo" quality or does it look like you've printed it out..? (I guess a lot depends on paper..??)
Cheers
Matt
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