Newbie - advice and guidance for first DSLR
Discussion
Hello PH photographers! I'm hoping for some guidance about choosing a digital SLR camera. I'm starting an adult education evening class in basic digital photography in september and I'd like to get something good to get started with. At the moment I have a pair of very simple compact cameras, a Kodak Z650 and a Canon Ixus 75. Both have basic manual settings, but I'd like a good foundation for playing with different lenses etc.
I would happily budget around £500 - I've started to look at all the online reviews but for a novice it's all quite confusing!
My favourite style is landscape photography, so something particularly suited to this would be ideal.
Should I wait until the course starts, then I will have a more informed idea of what features I want?
I would happily budget around £500 - I've started to look at all the online reviews but for a novice it's all quite confusing!
My favourite style is landscape photography, so something particularly suited to this would be ideal.
Should I wait until the course starts, then I will have a more informed idea of what features I want?
If buying new you need to go and have a play with the cameras in a shop, find one that feels comfortable to hold and use. At this money its really the only difference between them. These will be entry level crop cameras.
If buying secondhand it kind of opens up a bit. You could go for a full frame camera (more suited to landscape) but you'd be buying a camera that is at least two models old, I'm thinking something like Mk1 5D. You could then buy a suitable lens. I'm not up on current prices - it may be above your budget still.
Absolutely nothing wrong with using a crop camera to do landscape, its just that landscape togs sooner or later migrate to full frame.
If buying secondhand it kind of opens up a bit. You could go for a full frame camera (more suited to landscape) but you'd be buying a camera that is at least two models old, I'm thinking something like Mk1 5D. You could then buy a suitable lens. I'm not up on current prices - it may be above your budget still.
Absolutely nothing wrong with using a crop camera to do landscape, its just that landscape togs sooner or later migrate to full frame.
I've just gone through a similar process buying my first DSLR at the £5-600 price point, I narrowed my search down to Canon or Nikon as they're the two leading manufacturers in the market,more specifically the 550D and 600D from Canon or the D3200 and D5100 from Nikon.
I ended up going with the D5100, partly because I preferred the menu system compared to the Canons and partly because the reviews I'd read suggest it generates marginally better images than the Canons especially in low light, although I very much doubt I'd be able to tell the difference. I went for the D5100 over the D3200 because it was cheaper (due to the D3200 being newly released and not yet discounted) despite having a few extra features that the 3200 doesnt have, most of which I'll not use/miss now (such as exposure bracketing and HDR) but may give me more scope to grow into the camera without itching for an upgrade in a years time.
I ended up going with the D5100, partly because I preferred the menu system compared to the Canons and partly because the reviews I'd read suggest it generates marginally better images than the Canons especially in low light, although I very much doubt I'd be able to tell the difference. I went for the D5100 over the D3200 because it was cheaper (due to the D3200 being newly released and not yet discounted) despite having a few extra features that the 3200 doesnt have, most of which I'll not use/miss now (such as exposure bracketing and HDR) but may give me more scope to grow into the camera without itching for an upgrade in a years time.
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