Starter DSLR Options

[Ovv]

Looking for a starter/entry level DSLR camera under the £500 mark.

Initially looked at the Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm VR Lens but was offered a Nikon D5000 18-55 and 55-200mm VR Twin Lens Kit for not much more when having a nosy in Jessops today.

Anyone got either of these ?? From what I've read the D5000 has been discounted because it has been discontinued.

Performance wise they seem quite similar, not too fussed about the video element as I have a video camera for any serious filming should I need it.

Cheers

Chris.

[rig-pig]

i have the canon D1000 with the 18-55 lens just make sure you get the IS lens, you can get a look at it if you want just drop me a P,M

[supremeweb]

I buy canon every time.

[andyjudge]

I got a killer deal on a canon 400D in Jessops a couple of years back as it was a discontinued model.

Wouldn't worry about the model being last year's lenses etc.. are all interchangeable ( between same manufacturers bodies)

I would recommend taking out the extended warrenty/Insurance for £15 (what I paid) it ensures if it gets broken its either repaired or replaced with the current model.

If Jessops offer a bag with the deal see if you can trade up for a bigger one ( I didn't & had to buy another after a couple of months)

[bmwhere?]

The best tip I can give you is to try both Nikons and Canons (and any other for that matter) in the shop! Have a good play, change all the different settings, use the camera menus etc and see which one you feel more comfortable with.

The Nikon vs Canon argument is so long and drawn out, but the reality is, there is so little between them all, that the best one is the one you can use! Some people 'get' the Nikon way, other people 'get' the Canon way; Unless you try both, you won't know which is the best for you!

Don't let the sales person steer you towards one brand over the other, he probably just gets more commission.

Also, as Andyjudge says above, have a look for an outgoing model, you may be able to pick up a killer deal on a discontinued model! As a fore warning, Canon will release the 600D and 1100D from March, once they are on the market, the 500D/550D/1000D will all drop in price, so could be very worth while to hold off a couple of weeks!

[Ovv]

Cheers for the info chaps, Craig if you could bring yer camera to the next meet I wouldnt mind a lookie.

Noticed that there was the whole, Nikons better, Canon's better sort of stuff - I dont really mind which make, I just want something entry level that gonna allow me some more freedom in setup than the usual point and click camera Ive been using. Not sure what the prices are like for some of the ones that you mentioned above, but my price range is about £500. Can hold off til about mid March before I take the plunge, got a wedding coming up in Italy in June so a couple of months to practice yet.

Maybe once I get a decent camera I will enter the photo competition on here.

[bmwhere?]

Cheers for the info chaps, Craig if you could bring yer camera to the next meet I wouldnt mind a lookie.

Noticed that there was the whole, Nikons better, Canon's better sort of stuff - I dont really mind which make, I just want something entry level that gonna allow me some more freedom in setup than the usual point and click camera Ive been using. Not sure what the prices are like for some of the ones that you mentioned above, but my price range is about £500. Can hold off til about mid March before I take the plunge, got a wedding coming up in Italy in June so a couple of months to practice yet.

Maybe once I get a decent camera I will enter the photo competition on here.

As a pointer, the Canon 500D is currently £499 with 18-55 kit lens on Amazon, the 550D is another £100. Once the 600D comes out, then you may be able to pick up the 550D for around the £500 mark, or get an even cheaper 500D and another lens!

The thing to bear in mind, is that once you get and SLR and get into photography, then the chances are you will upgrade at a later date. Because you generally buy lenses separate from the body (with the exception of your first camera) you will normally keep the lenses as you upgrade the body and vice versa, so the choice of brand you make now will almost certainly be the brand you will stick with forever! That's why its really important to have an equally good play with both to decide which is better for you.

Anyone who tries to tell you Canon is better than Nikon or vice-versa is full of sh1t. Everyone always says their brand is better and can give you many reasons why, but the truth is, there's almost nothing to separate them, particularly for amateurs, and you're choice of lenses will always make more difference than the camera body. Even at the pro end of the scale, you can generally only say one is better than the other if you have a particular speciality the one brand excels in over the other!

As for the photo competition.... I'll be annoyed if you don't enter

[rig-pig]

good post m8, i got the canon as i have had canon digital cameras in the past, the wife still has a canon digital and the menu is a similar set up so it was ease of use for us

[kev m]

Camera price buster gives you the best deals about at the moment and any discount codes,

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

our a trip to the NEC for focus imaging, that way you can get your hands on all the camera's under one roof.

http://www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk/home.htm

As said above every one will say that the one they own is best, I am a Canon user the reason being when i went Digital i had a couple lenses of my old film SLR that fitted onto the Digital body. But saying that I was ready to jump ship to Nikon a couple of years ago as my Canon 1D MK3 was being out performed by my mates Nikon D3, the only reason i am still using a Canon is the price it would have cost me to swap all my lenses. Now using 1D MK4 and much happier

[Ovv]

Cheers for opinions and thoughts guys, tried out the Nikon D3100 today, liked the feel of it and the built in guide would be ideal for me and the mrs but the sales dude was pushing the D5000 with the twin lenses kit, either he was genuinely thinking it was better value or was on some sort of commission,I dunno but it seemed like the latter to me. The NEC event looks good, bit far though.

[bmwhere?]

It really depends on whether you really want to get into photography or just want an simple SLR for the advantage of changeable lenses that you don't get with a compact.

The D3000/D3100 is the very bottom level of the Nikon DSLR range, so is pretty limited in its capabilities. I would liken it to having a top end compact camera with the advantage of changeable lenses, great for casual snapping in auto mode, but if you start getting into your photography, you'll very quickly find its limitations.

The D5000 is then the next model up and represents the entry level model for people who want to play a bit more with the camera controls and take their photography a little more seriously. Nikon are due to release the D5100 very soon which is probably also why the sales guy is pushing the D5000 before he has to drop the prices even more.

To compare the Nikon and Canon range:

D3000 = 1000D

D3100 = 1100D

D5000 = 550D

[D5100 = 600D] <- both coming soon

D90 = ~ 40D or 50D

D7000 = 60D

D300s = 7D

D700 = 5D MkII

D3s = 1D MkIV

D3x = 1Ds MkIII

Personally, if you're really want to get into photography, I'd be inclined to wait for the D5100 or 600D to be released, then get the outgoing D5000/550D models at a bargain price.

[Ovv]

Cheers for that mate, thats really helpful. Fed up of googling each camera and trying to find its alternative.

Done a bit more research and like you said the D5000 lets me play more and take it a little more seriously, which is what I want to do, the Mrs has expressed that she would rather keep taking pictures on the compact, so I dont need to get the most basic, which I think the D3000/D3100 is.

[jcscoob]

As prity much stated above, theres noting in the image quality and canon isn't better than nikon and nikon isn't better than canon there both very good, "its not what you've got its what you do with it"

So it then comes down to the way it feels in YOUR hand and the user interface.

A really good friend of mine is the same boat and asked me the same question, and i recommended the D3100

[jcscoob]

btw- i had my hart set a canon for years and once i had the spare cash to buy a nice dslr i went to Jessops armed with a fat wallet to buy a canon based purely on " i want a canon" and came out with a nikon ..... because it just felt much better in my hands and the better built machine !!

[wimpy]

I took delivery of my first DSLR last week. The canon 550d. It came with the kit lens (18-55) for less than £500. If you want details pm me. This is the top end camera for entry level. Takes awsum pics and no need to upgrade for some while.

[rig-pig]

i know a few guys with the 550D it is a lot of camera for the cash

[Ovv]

So I finally bought a Nikon. I went for the d5000 with one lense. Got it at a good price, so might get another lense further down the line.

[bmwhere?]

So I finally bought a Nikon. I went for the d5000 with one lense. Got it at a good price, so might get another lense further down the line.

Congratulations, hope you really enjoy it and I expect to seem some photo competition entries soon

[Ovv]

Congratulations, hope you really enjoy it and I expect to seem some photo competition entries soon

Give me a couple of weeks to practise and we will see. Might be annoying you for hints and tips when I get stuck.

[bmwhere?]

Give me a couple of weeks to practise and we will see. Might be annoying you for hints and tips when I get stuck.

First tip, throw away the Nikon and get a Canon

Only Joking

Feel free to ask any questions, there are plenty better photographers than me on here that can also help you out

[jcscoob]

so might get another lense further down the line.

hahahahaa .... get the card at the ready !!

Hope you enjoy the (nikon )camera.

Edited April 9, 2011 by Jcscoob

[Ovv]

Used the camera properly today for the 1st time, went along to the Granite City Rally that takes place around the outskirts of Aberdeenshire, will stick up a link to some of the pictures I have uploaded to Flickr, think I did not too bad a job in catching the action, will you guys be the judge of that once you see them though.