Digital SLR help

[sl114]

Well i have decided to start researching for Digital SLRs and the best way is to speak to people who use them.

 

I know a lot of people use cameras on here and i would like to see what your thoughts are and suggestions for what to get.

 

Initiall i have been looking at a Nikon D40, however i have a budget of about £500 for both camera and lense so would like to know what my options could be.

 

Ive not played with a canon yet however they seem to be pretty good, and i like the fact that there are so many different lenses for them, i can get very arty. Is it the same for the Nikon?

 

Anyway, user experiences and suggestions would be great.

 

Thanks all as always

[Chris`I]

Ahh so you are finnally biting the bullet chap!

 

First place to start is http://www.dpreview.com/ << they do pretty much the best reviews of cameras. Their forums are also very informative.

 

As far as the cameras go, the current crop in your price range seem to be D50, 350D and at a push 400D and D80. From what I have read, there is next to no difference in Nikon/Canon at the same leves (ie D50 vs 350D, D80 vs 400D). It all comes down to which one you prefer the feel of, and which manufacturer offers the lenses you are after. I went after the Canon as they do more lenses at different price ranges which will allow me to upgrade lense as and when I need them.

[sl114]

Thanks Chris, i will check that all out later today.

 

Ive always used Nikon, well since i have been at work and i know how to use them, i just need to research the lenses as i like good lenses, as you know, the right lense makes the shot.

[GC350z]

Can you really get a good SLR in that price range??? I've always been put off as the last time I looked the good ones cost well over a grand before buying a lense.

 

Guy

[rmmackfc]

Think it is advisable to go on a digital SLR course too if you decide to go for it. That is my plan.... eventually

[Chris`I]

Can you really get a good SLR in that price range??? I've always been put off as the last time I looked the good ones cost well over a grand before buying a lense.

 

Guy

Ones that cost well over a grand a few years ago are now around the £400 mark these days, as is always the way with technology. This is why I got my Canon 350D last year (maybe longer, cant really remember) as it was the quality of camera I was after and it finally made it into my price bracket.

 

As Louis says, a lot of shots these days are down to the lense. There isnt really a massive difference between a £300 and a £3k Digi SLR for the average SLR user. Sure for pro's who blow images up onto bill boards the differences are there, but for a 5"x7" print, you wont notice any difference if they both had the same lense. Lenses however are still expensive for the good ones as expensive lenses have expensive glass

 

A good D-SLR course is also advisable. I have a few good eBooks if people want them, I think we were doing a "take a copy, pass it on" theory with Louis having the last copy so PM him and see if he'll "pass it on"

[Zedrush]

I dont really have a clue about cameras but I have a Canon EOS 20D and the quality seems to be pretty good Think you can pick them up for under 500 too

[Chesterfield]

Ive got a Nikon D80. All in with my lens it cost around £900.

 

The lens is\was the part that bumped the price up for myself, its a 18-200 VR lens (vibration reduction).

 

I wanted one that could go from very wide shots to a half decent zoom without needing to change lens. As Im going on safari later in the year, I dont want to be changing lenses on the back of a dusty Jeep, so it was a crucial requirement that my set up have a good "does everything" lens. Expect to pay around the £400 point for a lens like that.

 

With a standard 18-70 lens you can get the wide shots, but zoom may be lacking, D80 with 18-70mm is £671 at jessops, so you could probably find that cheaper. You can also get it with a 18-135mm lens for £688. Obviously the 135 will get you a better zoom than the 70, but its not Nikkor lens, so quality may not be up to scratch if you are going to be zooming in and editing for professional printing etc..

 

Also there is a big jump up from the D40 to the D80 in terms of the sensor. D40 is 6.1 megapixel, while the D80 is 10.1 megapixel. So zooming in after the event on images taken with the D80 may be easier.

 

If you plan on getting arty with the shots the D80 offers more flexibility in terms of iso sensitivity and is also a little quicker on continuous shoot mode. The D40 has only 3 focus areas to the D80's 11 areas.

 

You can compare the Nikons here:

http://www.nikonkit.com/nikon-d80-vs-d7 ... 50-vs-d40/

 

For me the D80 was the choice as although I knew I would not use all its functions straight away, I did not want to find myself a year from now kicking myself because I wanted to use a certain function and I ha not gone for the camera with it.

 

Although there are some good bits of software out there for stitching photos together, and they may negate the use of any real wide angle for landscape photography, I do find the wide angles are very useful at car shows.

 

I can stand about 2ft or less away from a car front and still get the whole car in. It makes it very useful for taking photos of cars without having to wait for people to clear out of the way, you just get in front of everyone else and snap away knowing that others will have to stand a lot further back to get the whole car in.

 

That came in very useful at the ring when the McLaren SLR turned up. Its also useful for getting arty shots from the front corners of cars etc.

 

You can get more or less the same lenses for both Cannon and Nikon, but as you have already discovered, the lenses are expensive for these SLR's The fixed focal length ones with large apperture are the worst, for example a fixed length 400mm lens (short distance bird spotting type lens) would be about £6,000.

 

If you are going to the outh Wales run in August, Ill be bringing my D80 along with the 18-200 VR attached, if you havent made your mind up before then you are welcome to have a go

[sl114]

Thanks for that buddy, it was really helpful. At first i want a cheap ish entry level camera and down the line i will get something better as i will not really be blowing photos up to poster size. In fact the biggest will probably be A4 for now so the 6MP should be ok in the D40.

 

I am just worried about the features as i want to be able to play and learn about the different functions that a camera can do and what impact it will have on the photo if you change something. Reading about it is one thing, but doing it is where you learn.

 

I will mainily be taking pictures of cars and things close up, however the odd long distance photo will be in there too, but not all the time. I may be doing modelling shots too for friends as i am quite good at that, as well as band shots and artist shots, so a decent wide angle lense is needed and some filters too.

[Chesterfield]

You may find this useful - I learnt quite a bit from the d80 guide on his site, so I assume the D40 guide will be as good:

 

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d40/us ... /index.htm

[Chris`I]

Get the camera (doesnt matter which - all the ones listed so far are good), have a quick scan of the eBooks I sent ya (the functions they relate to are generic, not just the 300D or Canon they go on about) then get out there and take loads of piccies, playing with the settings. Best way to learn

[sl114]

Get the camera (doesnt matter which - all the ones listed so far are good), have a quick scan of the eBooks I sent ya (the functions they relate to are generic, not just the 300D or Canon they go on about) then get out there and take loads of piccies, playing with the settings. Best way to learn

You are right mate, i just need to get paid and i will be getting one soon still want to research though

[redzed]

I have the Canon 300D, which takes superb photos and it`s only an entry level SLR. That said I am buying the 400D because I want the extra progrip that`s available. I had canon EOS gear for nearly 20 years, superb stuff.

[sl114]

Thanks guys, loads of information on here. I think the best bet will be to go and test out a few of these before i buy anything, however the D40 is slowly taking preferance as i have used it for a lot of pictures i have taken before, its pretty cheap and the pictures are great quality.

 

Having said that, the D50 is only a few more pounds so i may go for one of those.

 

Ive not really used a canon so i may stick with what i have and know, that way i can experiment quickly and find my way around the camera.

[Kev946]

I've got a D50. Be careful wit the lens. The one they bundle is crap, 18-55 I think. I've got the 18-70 as sold with the D80. I also use my Sigma 75-300 which I had with my old film F70. Faboulus focal length and not bad quality.

 

Overall I'm very please with the results. I've had the camera about 18 months now.

[Chris`I]

Kit lenses do tend to suck a bit, but in the right hands and knowing the limitations of them you can still take amazing photos. I thought the kit lens on mine was poo, then saw some of the pro shots on dpreview from it and was amazed. Just need to realise its not a pro lense so wont be any good wide open (low aperatures) or in low light. They also tend to suck at the more extreme ends of their focal lenghs too.

 

eBay has some gems if you hunt around, people upgrading to the pro series lenses selling off their old ones cheap

[sl114]

The D50 i play with at work takes some good pics, and thats with a kit lense. I will need to get a better lense though in the future as i will be taking night shots and things like that.

[Dash]

Night shots dont necessarily need a lower f stop. In fact to take a shot similar to the one in your sig can easily be done at f16. My personal preference is canon but for motorsport photography the lower the f stop the better. I use exclusively f/2.8 zooms. A zoom with an typical f stop of 5.6 just wont cut it in low light england.

[sl114]

Whats an f stop?

[neo]

this site may prove useful, have used it in the past also

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/hardware_reviews.html

 

if you click on the main menu button there's also a link to a forum.

[sl114]

Thanks dude, will have a read tonight

[Chris`I]

Night shots dont necessarily need a lower f stop. In fact to take a shot similar to the one in your sig can easily be done at f16. My personal preference is canon but for motorsport photography the lower the f stop the better. I use exclusively f/2.8 zooms. A zoom with an typical f stop of 5.6 just wont cut it in low light england.

I agree, you dont need to shoot at lower f stops at night, but if you need a fast shutter speed and have the ISO cranked all the way up then theres not anywhere else to go that I know of, which takes you to the poorer end of quality with the kit lense. Could be wrong of course, I am most definately an ammateur, picked up most of my knowledge from interweb forums and ebooks

[get12]

Thanks dude, will have a read tonight

 

I have been researching digital SLR cameras for the last couple of weeks as well! I was torn between Nikon and canon as well but ive whittled it down to the Canon EOS350D mainly because it is cheaper than the 400D and is just as good IMHO. The Nikon D80 is a very worthy camera as well, what with over 30 odd pre-set shoot functions but is significantly more expensive that the Canon. The Canon 400d suffers from less noise at higher ISO settings than the Nikon but im no expert and would not be able to tell the difference. I plan on buying a second hand camera and up-grading the lense

[Dash]

.

I agree, you dont need to shoot at lower f stops at night, but if you need a fast shutter speed and have the ISO cranked all the way up then theres not anywhere else to go that I know of, which takes you to the poorer end of quality with the kit lense. Could be wrong of course, I am most definately an ammateur, picked up most of my knowledge from interweb forums and ebooks

 

Actually if you are doing stationary shots you use a very slow shutter speed (to absorb more light) and a very low ISO (as nothing is moving)

 

For reference I am talking night shots of statcis setups such as the shot in his signature. Also a tripod is paramount for night work.

[Chris`I]

Actually if you are doing stationary shots you use a very slow shutter speed (to absorb more light) and a very low ISO (as nothing is moving)

 

For reference I am talking night shots of statcis setups such as the shot in his signature. Also a tripod is paramount for night work.

Yup totally, even IS wont help you then, tripod is the way to go. My post above didnt quite read as it was meant to. I meant to say if you were doing action shots at night and hence needed faster shutter speeds, you have to use a higher ISO and lower f stop otherwise it will be blurred (although that can look cool ). Didnt realise we were talking only about static shots.

 

Out of interest I was at a balloon festival glow (at night where balloons "glow" their burners to music - I know a pilot so got nice and close in the arena) a week back and my mate had his recently purchased 400D (and I of course had my 350D) and there was quite a bit more noise on his 400D at the higher ISO settings. Made me happy I have the 350D as I like to do quite a lot of low light shots and use the higher ISO settings for them. Still the 400D has many qualities I wish my camera had.