Camera Recommendations Please

[DannyScene]

Good Afternoon camera folk of PH

I dip in and out of photography, mainly urban exploring and some ste attempts at star trails

A good mate of mine is looking at getting his first camera as he wants to play at star trails and night time photography, as I'm the only other person he knows with a camera he has asked me to recommend some cameras for him

He has used my Nikon D3100 (I know its so basic it's hardly a DSLR) and likes the interface so I'm thinking a Nikon probably, the problem is I bought mine based on price alone and have no idea if I got a good deal or could have got more for my money and I'd rather him have a bit more info than I had.

If anyone has any recommendations be it new or 2nd hand it would be greatly appreciated (I'm thinking 2nd hand)

His budget is around £200 but if he can get change he'd appreciate it, he wants to take pretty much exclusively night time photos and will likely need a slightly better lens than the 18-55 I got with mine

Many thanks in advance!

[Simpo Two]

A Nikon DSLR with lens better than 18-55mm for £200. I think one but not both. Even if you go back as far as a D200 - body maybe £125 now - that doesn't leave anything for a quality lens. Except a 50mm f1.8, which I doubt is sufficiently wide.

[DannyScene]

Ahh, that surprises me because I got my D3100 with kit lens, bag, extra battery and a battery grip for £200 a few years ago, I sort of assumed we'd be tripping up over 2nd hand bargains by now

[brman]

I'd suggest he gets exactly what you have if he likes it. For £200 I don't think you will get a better combination.

[DannyScene]

I did think that brman but I got mine from a good friend who used to test kit for Nikon so I doubt we could get the same deal again

I'll have a look at D3100's stick with what you know and all that

[brman]

for a comparison a 2nd hand prices have a look at https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/

you can get cheaper (eg ebay) but I have found mpb a good company to deal with.

btw. I would agree that Nikon is better but that might be because I have 3 Nikon DSLRs...

[Simpo Two]

DannyScene said:

Ahh, that surprises me because I got my D3100 with kit lens, bag, extra battery and a battery grip for £200 a few years ago, I sort of assumed we'd be tripping up over 2nd hand bargains by now

What did you mean by 'slightly better lens'? Good lenses cost more money!

[DannyScene]

Simpo Two said:

DannyScene said:

Ahh, that surprises me because I got my D3100 with kit lens, bag, extra battery and a battery grip for £200 a few years ago, I sort of assumed we'd be tripping up over 2nd hand bargains by now

What did you mean by 'slightly better lens'? Good lenses cost more money!

Dunno, something not crap like the 18-55 kit lens, more zoom perhaps or something wider

[Simpo Two]

DannyScene said:

Simpo Two said:

What did you mean by 'slightly better lens'? Good lenses cost more money!

Dunno, something not crap like the 18-55 kit lens, more zoom perhaps or something wider

Focal length is a different matter from image quality. You can get a 70-300mm telephoto zoom s/h for maybe £70, but it won't be very good. Not sure of the options on a cheap wide angles. If he wants a higher quality lens then he's going to have to find more loot. One alternative to consider is the Nikon 18-70mm, which was the 'kit' lens before the 18-55mm came along but is generally regarded as better.

[brman]

be careful. The kit lens is actually very good for what it is.
sure it has its compromises but you will be spending a good few hundred pounds to get anything noticably better.

I'd suggest stick with it until you really understand its limitations and how to work round them.
If you find you need more telephoto then a 55-200 is supposed to be a good budget option.

When you outgrow those you will be thinking about multiple lenses costing at least a few hundred pounds each

[Nigel_O]

£200 is certainly at the low end of budgets, but everyone has to start somewhere

Having just gone full-frame, I now have a D3200 available if he's interested. No charger, but they are readily available for a few quid

Could be persuaded to sell my 55-200 Nikkor as well, which took the following at 11:30pm at LeMans this year, so not bad for a cheapie lens

[A900ss]

In terms of lenses at that budget, stick with an 18 55 but be aware their are several versions of it. Get the 18-55 VR II. It's the most recent kit lens and for the price, £50 to £60 on eBay, it's amazing value.

As previously stated, just a decent lens will cost considerable more than £200 but you do need to know what you what, focal length/max aperture/constant aperture etc.

The 18 55 above will cover 80% of most people's photography needs.

Good luck.