Used dslr: where is the best budget buy?
Discussion
After seeing the superior results of a friends dslr (unknown model) at a recent wedding, I've decided now may be the time to give proper cameras another go.
As a youth I dabbled with a car boot sale Zenit film camera, and without getting into the technical side of things, enjoyed being able to get shots that were a bit more interesting than the flat results from most compacts.
Unfortunately, my bank balance (or wife) won't stand the asking price of a new camera. Hence I am hitting the used market.
My question then, if you go to, for example CEX.co.uk, and browse to the dslr section, at what point does the low price and the supposed quality of the camera make sense?
Is a Canon 300d at £50 a good way to go? Or should you chuck in an extra £25 for a Sony A200?
Or should I bite the bullet, be patient and save for a D3100 or 1100d?
As a youth I dabbled with a car boot sale Zenit film camera, and without getting into the technical side of things, enjoyed being able to get shots that were a bit more interesting than the flat results from most compacts.
Unfortunately, my bank balance (or wife) won't stand the asking price of a new camera. Hence I am hitting the used market.
My question then, if you go to, for example CEX.co.uk, and browse to the dslr section, at what point does the low price and the supposed quality of the camera make sense?
Is a Canon 300d at £50 a good way to go? Or should you chuck in an extra £25 for a Sony A200?
Or should I bite the bullet, be patient and save for a D3100 or 1100d?
Take your point re the users abilities, but I assume the equipment must have some influence on the base material.
I guess what I'm asking is, would an older 6M camera produce something I'm going to be happy with for £50, or am I going to end up disappointed and frustrated wishing I'd saved up for your mates kit?
The problem with the £200 d3000 is it's just too close price wise to the newer d3100 making it harder to justify.
I reckon I may have to hit the cheaper stuff to get it by my financial controller.
I guess what I'm asking is, would an older 6M camera produce something I'm going to be happy with for £50, or am I going to end up disappointed and frustrated wishing I'd saved up for your mates kit?
The problem with the £200 d3000 is it's just too close price wise to the newer d3100 making it harder to justify.
I reckon I may have to hit the cheaper stuff to get it by my financial controller.
Latest news, my work colleague has offered the d3100 with 18-55 lens and memory card (unknown capacity) for £200.
Unfortunately, while I see this as a belter of a deal, mrs Cjelli is holding those purse strings tight.
Must keep looking for that elusive bargain. Will definitely research the 400d further, but have my eye on that Olympus from earlier.
Unfortunately, while I see this as a belter of a deal, mrs Cjelli is holding those purse strings tight.
Must keep looking for that elusive bargain. Will definitely research the 400d further, but have my eye on that Olympus from earlier.
flat-planedCrank said:
vladcjelli said:
Latest news, my work colleague has offered the d3100 with 18-55 lens and memory card (unknown capacity) for £200.
Unfortunately, while I see this as a belter of a deal, mrs Cjelli is holding those purse strings tight.
Must keep looking for that elusive bargain. Will definitely research the 400d further, but have my eye on that Olympus from earlier.
Personally, I'd suggest sticking to the 'big two' of Nikon or Canon if you'll want to keep building on your setup - imo you'll have access to a wide range of lenses, accessories (from themselves and from 3rd party manufacturers) not to mention a huge range of used gear too.Unfortunately, while I see this as a belter of a deal, mrs Cjelli is holding those purse strings tight.
Must keep looking for that elusive bargain. Will definitely research the 400d further, but have my eye on that Olympus from earlier.
So at the moment, I think the 400d is looking like my best chance.
Starting to lose my nerve regarding dslr ownership.
Don't know if a combination of costs, initial/additional equipment going forward, and the added complexity would be more trouble than they're worth.
Started looking at bridge cameras instead. The dslr-lite options and big zoom without added cost are a definite draw for me.
Two around the right sort of price are the lumix dmc lz30 and the finepix hs30exr.
Would I be okay with these sort of things, or would I cry myself to sleep at night having made the wrong choice?
Don't know if a combination of costs, initial/additional equipment going forward, and the added complexity would be more trouble than they're worth.
Started looking at bridge cameras instead. The dslr-lite options and big zoom without added cost are a definite draw for me.
Two around the right sort of price are the lumix dmc lz30 and the finepix hs30exr.
Would I be okay with these sort of things, or would I cry myself to sleep at night having made the wrong choice?
RobDickinson said:
vladcjelli said:
Would I be okay with these sort of things, or would I cry myself to sleep at night having made the wrong choice?
That. Honestly bridge cameras wont give you what your after.An evil/mirrorless would do most of it as would the fuji or sony big sensor compacts.
Dont get a 'prosumer' superzoom SLR lookalike.
Honestly a 400d with IS kit lens would do great
But I can't see the compact system stuff at the money I've got to spend, and the super zoom part of the super zooms has tickled my fancy. A camera that can do 1cm macro to 30x zoom out of the box appeals.
I wonder whether a bridge camera is my bridge to a dslr. A stepping stone if you like.
There are so many variables in this field, it's an intriguing conundrum.
Yeah, I read a little bit about sensor size and appreciate the importance. I looked at a supposedly improved model of one camera where they'd increased the mp count from 10 to (I think) 16 and one review reckoned the increase in "noise" due to cramming more pixels into the same space had made a mess of image quality.
Will keep researching. As mentioned earlier, the variables involved in this purchase are huge. Very complicated.
Will keep researching. As mentioned earlier, the variables involved in this purchase are huge. Very complicated.
JDRoest said:
vladcjelli said:
The 400d still appeals, it's good money, and I do want to learn the ways of the slr.
As I said earlier, big fan of the 400D. Does everything you need in a reasonable package. I use one for work and today I'll probably put another 8,000 exposures through it (aiming for 9k today). The one I use for work is just a work horse and comes up with pretty reasonable images (shutter button is pretty much f
ked though lol). I won local competitions with it and beat out people with much much better kit (which is hugely gratifying I might add, especially the guy with the 1d-whatever with his big white L lenses).Even the 18-55 kit lens was a reasonable bit of kit in my hands. Yeah, it's not an L, and it's a cheap lens, but the key to all these things is not what you have, but how you use it.
I ask because at some point my wife will want to snap away, and she certainly won't have the patience to faff about.
Golaboots said:
Go for a Nikon d70s £75 to £100. These were a mid range camera back in the day which means that you get a pentaprism viewfinder, which will be brighter and larger than on entry level models.
A 50mm f1.8 prime would be a sensible lens for around £50 too.
Won't six megapixels feel like a big step back in time?A 50mm f1.8 prime would be a sensible lens for around £50 too.
Had set my sights on around the 10mp mark, having seen some sample stuff around the net.
Shhh!
Don't say it too loud, but I may have got mrs Cjelli coming around to the idea of a dslr, which may mean I don't have to go for the absolute cheapest option.
It may be a straight fight between canon 1100d and the nikon 3100d.
I've read plenty of stuff online, and will probably go and have a fiddle on Tuesday.
But without trying to promote any tribal fanboyism, which do you think?
The main differences to this layman seem to be 1080 vs 720 video to the nikon, not a deal breaker, as I want a camera rather than a camcorder, but better is better.
A few people seem to lament the lack of auto exposure bracketing for hdr images on the nikon. After five minutes finding out what all that meant, is it something I will miss? Some of the HDR results look stunning, but am I going to be doing this?
Consensus seems to be better image quality from the nikon, but not sure I will be able to tell at this level. And the canon is marginally cheaper and comes with a free tripod at the moment.
Don't say it too loud, but I may have got mrs Cjelli coming around to the idea of a dslr, which may mean I don't have to go for the absolute cheapest option.
It may be a straight fight between canon 1100d and the nikon 3100d.
I've read plenty of stuff online, and will probably go and have a fiddle on Tuesday.
But without trying to promote any tribal fanboyism, which do you think?
The main differences to this layman seem to be 1080 vs 720 video to the nikon, not a deal breaker, as I want a camera rather than a camcorder, but better is better.
A few people seem to lament the lack of auto exposure bracketing for hdr images on the nikon. After five minutes finding out what all that meant, is it something I will miss? Some of the HDR results look stunning, but am I going to be doing this?
Consensus seems to be better image quality from the nikon, but not sure I will be able to tell at this level. And the canon is marginally cheaper and comes with a free tripod at the moment.
Zad said:
Keep your eye on http://stores.ebay.co.uk/canon-outlet
It is the official Canon outlet. Refurbished equipment which is indistinguishable from brand new (which a lot of it is).
EOS 1100D + kit lens recently went for £175
600D + kit lens went for £330
Warranty is a full year, supported by Canon.
It is the official Canon outlet. Refurbished equipment which is indistinguishable from brand new (which a lot of it is).
EOS 1100D + kit lens recently went for £175
600D + kit lens went for £330
Warranty is a full year, supported by Canon.
Been looking, but the dslr stuff has been a bit rich for my blood.
Would certainly catch my eye at £175 for the 1100d so will keep refreshing.
Oh, and going back to the used options, I've just priced up this:
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...
And this:
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...
So a total price of £178 for a 400d with a decent bit of zoomage.
Good place to start?
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...
And this:
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/us...
So a total price of £178 for a 400d with a decent bit of zoomage.
Good place to start?
Mr Will said:
Good camera, bad lens. More zoom does not mean better - that one will only be useful for sports/wildlife. Possibly an option as a second lens if those are your interests but you'll want something general purpose to begin with.
Go for something with 18mm on the wide end - good for landscapes and cities. Long end is up to you. 55mm is enough for most things outside of sports/wildlife though
Gotcha, it's all a bit Greek to me, but I think I see where this mm lark goes. Smaller number = wider angle and higher = more zoom.Go for something with 18mm on the wide end - good for landscapes and cities. Long end is up to you. 55mm is enough for most things outside of sports/wildlife though
So I guess with that higher start figure I'd be struggling to frame family stuff unless I went and sat on a neighbouring sand dune?
Turns out to have been a false dawn regarding financial approval from her indoors.
Refocused at cheaper end, and come up with the 350d with 18-55 for around £130. She has not instantly baulked at that, which I take as a good sign.
Struggling to come up with a convincing case she is interested in, even showing her nice portraits of cats taken with the 350d.
I reckon this is my way in, cheap package now, build up a few lenses ready for the body upgrade.
Day off tomorrow, so going to the local London Camera Exchange to try and get a feel, maybe hammer out a compromise.
Refocused at cheaper end, and come up with the 350d with 18-55 for around £130. She has not instantly baulked at that, which I take as a good sign.
Struggling to come up with a convincing case she is interested in, even showing her nice portraits of cats taken with the 350d.
I reckon this is my way in, cheap package now, build up a few lenses ready for the body upgrade.
Day off tomorrow, so going to the local London Camera Exchange to try and get a feel, maybe hammer out a compromise.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff