Help with SLR choice for a beginner please
Discussion
simpo two said:
In 5 days they have used 130mb,still nothing compared to sleepy fish,hence the need for lots of b/width
Mmm, that's 'cos your pix are 150-200K each. If you compress them to about 75Kb they'll look exactly the same and save you bandwidth
normally do,but couldn't be arsed
chim_girl said:
This is the one from HK....
Chim_girl,
I got one of my cameras from Digital Revolution they are very good with a friendly and reliable service. The chap I spoke to, Richard (I think!) was extremely helpful, and he even did me a deal because I got a 1Gb microdrive off him too.
As for the 300D, they are excellent cameras and would easily cope with the tasks you want to use them for. If you've already got Canon lens and want to move to DSLR, then its a no brainer really.
Cheers
Anthony.
actech said:
I got one of my cameras from Digital Revolution they are very good with a friendly and reliable service. The chap I spoke to, Richard (I think!) was extremely helpful, and he even did me a deal because I got a 1Gb microdrive off him too.
Anthony.
Thanks Anthony, what's the position with your warranty? My understanding is that the camera would have to go back to HK for repairs as the warranty isn't valid in the UK?
Did you do the deal where Digital Revolution pay the import duty? It just seems too good to be true!
Thanks
Jo
Jo,
I've had the camera about two months now and not had anything from Customs with regards to import duty, so I suspect they have paid the duty for me.
With regards to warranty as far as I can tell it was a worldwide Fuji warranty, nothing country specific in it. The chances of these things going wrong within the warranty period anyway is unlikely, so chances are when it does go wrong I'll get it repaired locally. Even if I did have to send it back to HK I wouldn't be too bothered, the post only takes around 3-4 days anyhow.
Hope this helps.
Anthony.
I've had the camera about two months now and not had anything from Customs with regards to import duty, so I suspect they have paid the duty for me.
With regards to warranty as far as I can tell it was a worldwide Fuji warranty, nothing country specific in it. The chances of these things going wrong within the warranty period anyway is unlikely, so chances are when it does go wrong I'll get it repaired locally. Even if I did have to send it back to HK I wouldn't be too bothered, the post only takes around 3-4 days anyhow.
Hope this helps.
Anthony.
I havent read the whole thread, just you r initial post but this might help.
I bought a EOS300 a couple of years ago (not the new "V" model though). It was £300 with the 28-90mm Canon Lens at the time.
I bought it for a year long world trip, mostly off roading in Australia. Used the camera in all conditions from below freezing to bloody boiling, the dry fince dust of the deserts to the dampness of the rainforests and Sotuh pacific islands.
I took 3000 Pics with it and was happy with the majority of them (managed to get a hair trapped in side when cleaning dust out at one point though which ruined a few shots. Or perhaps it added character!)
By the time I returned to the UK the lens was broken though and on at the boundaries of its zoom (min/max) would go into fault mode (battery light flashing). Eventually it completely broke and a service of the camera and the lens fix cost £70. They said its the first time they have had a fault on one of these though but I put that down to extreme usage! It was also carried around with a couple of large back packs so took a bit of a knocking.
For a budget SLR Id strongly recommend this camera. It has got me into the world of photography even more and I have some large photos to be proud of framed at home.
Im about to buy some lenses and so will eventually upgrade to a 300D when they drop to a level affordable to me (in 2-3 years time). The lenses are compatable i believe. Please correct me if Im wrong!
I bought a EOS300 a couple of years ago (not the new "V" model though). It was £300 with the 28-90mm Canon Lens at the time.
I bought it for a year long world trip, mostly off roading in Australia. Used the camera in all conditions from below freezing to bloody boiling, the dry fince dust of the deserts to the dampness of the rainforests and Sotuh pacific islands.
I took 3000 Pics with it and was happy with the majority of them (managed to get a hair trapped in side when cleaning dust out at one point though which ruined a few shots. Or perhaps it added character!)
By the time I returned to the UK the lens was broken though and on at the boundaries of its zoom (min/max) would go into fault mode (battery light flashing). Eventually it completely broke and a service of the camera and the lens fix cost £70. They said its the first time they have had a fault on one of these though but I put that down to extreme usage! It was also carried around with a couple of large back packs so took a bit of a knocking.
For a budget SLR Id strongly recommend this camera. It has got me into the world of photography even more and I have some large photos to be proud of framed at home.
Im about to buy some lenses and so will eventually upgrade to a 300D when they drop to a level affordable to me (in 2-3 years time). The lenses are compatable i believe. Please correct me if Im wrong!
Thanks Dusty.
I decided to bite the bullet and go straight to a 300D. As a complete novice it seemed like false economy to buy an SLR and all the gear only to try and trade-up in the near future.
From everything I've read (including the Canon brochures) the Canon EF lenses are compatible with the 300D. The only exception being the lense they supply as part of the 300D 'starter-kit' (18mm-55mm) can't be used on a (film) SLR. Once I have a little more experience I plan to buy some second hand EF lenses to have a play around with.
I decided to bite the bullet and go straight to a 300D. As a complete novice it seemed like false economy to buy an SLR and all the gear only to try and trade-up in the near future.
From everything I've read (including the Canon brochures) the Canon EF lenses are compatible with the 300D. The only exception being the lense they supply as part of the 300D 'starter-kit' (18mm-55mm) can't be used on a (film) SLR. Once I have a little more experience I plan to buy some second hand EF lenses to have a play around with.
Just finished reading the rest of the thread and noticed my post may now be pointless!
Oh well, I can at least recommend Canon SLRs as a good quality product.
Good luck with the 300D. I think I saw it advertised in the highstreet for £799 the other day so make sure you shop around. Maybe no need to go to HK.
Oh well, I can at least recommend Canon SLRs as a good quality product.
Good luck with the 300D. I think I saw it advertised in the highstreet for £799 the other day so make sure you shop around. Maybe no need to go to HK.
After a day of webcrawling the lowest price I can get a UK sourced one is £786 (with lens). HK supplied ones are £690. There isn't a huge amount in it but it is worth considering. I've emailled a dealer in HK to see if they can do a package deal to include the 75 to 300mm Canon lens.
I let you know how much I end up paying.
I let you know how much I end up paying.
chim_girl said:£786 is an excellent price. Do it......and enjoy.
After a day of webcrawling the lowest price I can get a UK sourced one is £786 (with lens). HK supplied ones are £690. There isn't a huge amount in it but it is worth considering. I've emailled a dealer in HK to see if they can do a package deal to include the 75 to 300mm Canon lens.
I let you know how much I end up paying.
LB
Chim girl, why not save your money for a good digi SLR and start off with an old manual SLR, will be cheap to buy and will help get you used to some of the techniques.
Can pick up some really good ones on Ebay or in Jessups second hand. I used to do wildlife photography as a hobby with a Praktica 50mm SLR, my choice was limited as I had to get close to get a good picture but with zooms although it meant you didnt need to get so close, the quality of the photo dimished.
I also used slide film, not prints, the quality was loads better. Then when you have the money its worth spending that bit extra on a good quality digital camera with appropriate zoom lenses.
Hope this helps.
just read page 3 sorry 
>> Edited by mxdi on Sunday 4th January 00:45
Can pick up some really good ones on Ebay or in Jessups second hand. I used to do wildlife photography as a hobby with a Praktica 50mm SLR, my choice was limited as I had to get close to get a good picture but with zooms although it meant you didnt need to get so close, the quality of the photo dimished.
I also used slide film, not prints, the quality was loads better. Then when you have the money its worth spending that bit extra on a good quality digital camera with appropriate zoom lenses.
Hope this helps. just read page 3
sorry >> Edited by mxdi on Sunday 4th January 00:45
I went to the Zoo at the weekend and met with another couple keen on photography. Had a play with thier EOS300D and 10D both fitted with very nice 300mm lenses.
Had a go on them at the tiger pen and now I went one...
Tiger and digi SLR!
Seriously though. I was that impressed that I may not bother with a cheap digital camera now and put the money towards a digital SLR in the nearer future instead.
For now I'll just build up my lens supply though and will remember the 1.6x magnification of digi cameras too!
Had a go on them at the tiger pen and now I went one...
Tiger and digi SLR!
Seriously though. I was that impressed that I may not bother with a cheap digital camera now and put the money towards a digital SLR in the nearer future instead.
For now I'll just build up my lens supply though and will remember the 1.6x magnification of digi cameras too!
When I bought my Fuji 4800z a couple of years back, I managed to get Jessops to price match Dixons (Heathrow) duty free price which at the time was the cheapest I could find anywhere.
Currently Dixons have it at £899.89 so DF price is £765.86 - see if Jessops will match that.
HTH - VL
Currently Dixons have it at £899.89 so DF price is £765.86 - see if Jessops will match that.
HTH - VL
ehasler said:
So if you imported a non-digital bit of camera gear (I've thought about ordering lenses from the USA), would you have to pay import duty AND VAT?
I think 'import duty' is a generic term for VAT. Hence, you just pay the VAT when it arrives.
I ordered a lens from the US and got a card telling me to collect the package from my Post Office. On arrival they said 'there's £22 VAT to pay' and you have to pay it before they hand it over. The box had a customs declaration on it, which the sender is obliged to atttach, and enter a value - in this case about $150. Mount Pleasant (international sorting office in the UK) then work out the VAT based on that value and stick their bill on it.
So if you can, ask the sender to make the declared value as low as possible!
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