Discussion
This forum is dangerous, my sony t1 is great for taking down the pub of if its clear blue sky and sunny , it just doesnt caut it when its dark or you have to yuse a flash.
I have been looking for an alternative,
The D70 seemes to be getting good reviews on here or is the 300d a better bet
I have seen the d70 with an 18-70 lense for £749 with £100 cashback, is this good value? what is the lense like, this will be the first time iv used a slr camera, it maily going to be for sports shots, cycling motor racing etc.
i will throw this open to the forum find me a good digital slr for around the £600-£ 700 budget and a good book on how to use them
Thanks
WVM
>>> Edited by white_van_man on Friday 25th February 08:30
I have been looking for an alternative,
The D70 seemes to be getting good reviews on here or is the 300d a better bet
I have seen the d70 with an 18-70 lense for £749 with £100 cashback, is this good value? what is the lense like, this will be the first time iv used a slr camera, it maily going to be for sports shots, cycling motor racing etc.
i will throw this open to the forum find me a good digital slr for around the £600-£ 700 budget and a good book on how to use them
Thanks
WVM
>>> Edited by white_van_man on Friday 25th February 08:30
i had the exact same decision to make, and went with the D70 - I picked it up for 714 from Jessops, but no cashback.
Most people will tell you to go with the D70, as it's generally regarded to be better than the 300D, especially with the 18-70 lens.
However with a whizzy new 8MP 'budget' canon (350XT or some such thing) just around the corner, it might be worth waiting a little while to see what that is like, and what it does to current prices!
Most people will tell you to go with the D70, as it's generally regarded to be better than the 300D, especially with the 18-70 lens.
However with a whizzy new 8MP 'budget' canon (350XT or some such thing) just around the corner, it might be worth waiting a little while to see what that is like, and what it does to current prices!
white_van_man said:
will jessops match internet prices?
Take a copy of the internet offer with you and ask to speak to the manager. They are usually pretty good with this. I went this way when I bought mine. Internet prices with an actual shop to go back to if any probs. D70 is a fabulous camera. Ive had mine since xmas and even with my novice touch I've had some great results.
white_van_man said:They will do within reason. They should match a UK based store selling European cameras, however they won't match places like 7dayshop who import camera equipment from the US.
will jessops match internet prices?
If I were you, I'd hold on a bit and see check out the new Canon 350, which is being advertised for £749 inc a lens. It's only just been released, and should be better than the Nikon D70, but there won't be much in it.
My advice is to pop down to somewhere like Jessops and try them both out to see which one you prefer.
Yes, to a point. They wont if it is too cheap!
I got my D70 for £720 IIRC plus £100 cashback when I send off for it (that was jessops pricematching a dixons special) - with the 18-70 lens. I also got another £20 off a memory card - but that only bought it down to internet prices really.
I got 3 very good books - one solely aimed at the D70 and basically a more indept instruction manual, one was a manual of photography and one is called 'understanding exposure' - total cost through amazon was only about £35 - and all but one contain naked ladies
London Cameras seem very cheap on the internet - certainly for lenses (Jessops said the one I asked them to pricematch was being sold below Jessops purchase price!)
Good luck - buying the D70 is one of the best things Ive done.
I got my D70 for £720 IIRC plus £100 cashback when I send off for it (that was jessops pricematching a dixons special) - with the 18-70 lens. I also got another £20 off a memory card - but that only bought it down to internet prices really.
I got 3 very good books - one solely aimed at the D70 and basically a more indept instruction manual, one was a manual of photography and one is called 'understanding exposure' - total cost through amazon was only about £35 - and all but one contain naked ladies
London Cameras seem very cheap on the internet - certainly for lenses (Jessops said the one I asked them to pricematch was being sold below Jessops purchase price!)
Good luck - buying the D70 is one of the best things Ive done.
white_van_man said:
I have seen the d70 with an 18-70 lense for £749 with £100 cashback, is this good value? what is the lense like, this will be the first time iv used a slr camera, it maily going to be for sports shots, cycling motor racing etc.
The 18-70 lens, whilst called a 'kit' lens, is actually defo above average. It has silent focusing (AF-S), Extra Dispersion (ED) glass and internal focusing (IF) so that any attachments on the end don't spin round as you focus. 18mm will give you good wide-angle too.
However, if you plan to do sports you'll almost certainly need a longer lens to go with it, eg 70-300mm. There are two Nikkors in tthis category, a 'G' lens which is cheap and a 'D' lens which is much better but, naturally, more expensive (maybe £230 vs £99). You can also consider alternatives such as Sigma.
Whatever you choose, welcome to the wallet-bursting world of the DSLR
If you do go for the 300D which might not be such a bad choice with prices comming down all the time. Dod't bother getting the kit lens. Unless you get a very good one they are not very good.
If i could choose again i would have got a cheapish £450 body and a £400 70-200 f4L from 7day shop.
Saying that though i saw this taken with 18-55 albeit a modified one.
www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/187896#
This way you will have a reasonable body to learn on and a good lens you can keep when you upgrade the body.
The new canon 350? will never quite be that 20D
If i could choose again i would have got a cheapish £450 body and a £400 70-200 f4L from 7day shop.
Saying that though i saw this taken with 18-55 albeit a modified one.
www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/187896#
This way you will have a reasonable body to learn on and a good lens you can keep when you upgrade the body.
The new canon 350? will never quite be that 20D
WVM, I am in a similar position as you. Not yet convinced which camera to get. The best I have seen the D70 with 18-70mm lens was at Costco for £702 (in VAT) before the £100 cash back. They also have an excellent returns policy.
Was trying to hold off until the Canon 350's (with 18-55mm)hit the street to see 1) if it was in the same price range & 2) to see if the prices of the competion fell.
Been doing a bit of searching tonight and Amazon have this camera with lens listed at £800, as do www.warehouseexpress.com. www.ebuyer.com have it listed at £704. Whilst this is the best price, it may well be a grey import. I have used them before and they are a british based company so there are no hidden costs. This is still £100 more than the D70 and, at this point, I am just not sure that it's worth the extra dosh.
Biggest problem is stopping myself from walking into Costco tomorrow with £700 and coming out the otherside with the cash still in my wallet
Was trying to hold off until the Canon 350's (with 18-55mm)hit the street to see 1) if it was in the same price range & 2) to see if the prices of the competion fell.
Been doing a bit of searching tonight and Amazon have this camera with lens listed at £800, as do www.warehouseexpress.com. www.ebuyer.com have it listed at £704. Whilst this is the best price, it may well be a grey import. I have used them before and they are a british based company so there are no hidden costs. This is still £100 more than the D70 and, at this point, I am just not sure that it's worth the extra dosh.
Biggest problem is stopping myself from walking into Costco tomorrow with £700 and coming out the otherside with the cash still in my wallet
bernie_eccle said:
WVM, I am in a similar position as you. Not yet convinced which camera to get. The best I have seen the D70 with 18-70mm lens was at Costco for £702 (in VAT) before the £100 cash back. They also have an excellent returns policy.
Was trying to hold off until the Canon 350's (with 18-55mm)hit the street to see 1) if it was in the same price range & 2) to see if the prices of the competion fell.
Been doing a bit of searching tonight and Amazon have this camera with lens listed at £800, as do www.warehouseexpress.com. www.ebuyer.com have it listed at £704. Whilst this is the best price, it may well be a grey import. I have used them before and they are a british based company so there are no hidden costs. This is still £100 more than the D70 and, at this point, I am just not sure that it's worth the extra dosh.
Biggest problem is stopping myself from walking into Costco tomorrow with £700 and coming out the otherside with the cash still in my wallet
i have seen the same thing
im very tempted to go to costco tomorrow and buy the cameraWell WVM and others. I could resist no longer. The clincher came this afternoon at Costco where the price of the D70 is now £693 (in VAT) before £100 cash back. Just had to be done.
Just really charged the battery and snapped a couple of shots indoors. Very early days so can't really coment yet.
I only have 128MB & 64MB of CF so I just away to trawl the old posts to look for recommendations on cards.
Just really charged the battery and snapped a couple of shots indoors. Very early days so can't really coment yet.
I only have 128MB & 64MB of CF so I just away to trawl the old posts to look for recommendations on cards.
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