Digital SLR under £1,000ish recommendations
02 January 2004, 02:35 PM
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I'm thinking of treating myself to a digital slr and have been scouring the net for reviews/prices over the past few weeks but still at a loss.
I have seen a Canon EOS300D package with 1gb micro drive, and a 18-55 lense for £919.
Does anyone here have one of these or know of any other good packages not necessarily Canon?
Cheers
I have seen a Canon EOS300D package with 1gb micro drive, and a 18-55 lense for £919.
Does anyone here have one of these or know of any other good packages not necessarily Canon?
Cheers
02 January 2004, 03:22 PM
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As ever, check out www.dpreview.com for the latest and greatest digital photography news.
The Canon 300D is an obvious choice for the money you are talking about.
Nikon will have something out in competition with the 300D in the not too distant future ...
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0312/03120301nikond70.asp
...but Nikon lenses are generally more expensive than equivalent Canon ones.
I am sure that you will appreciate that the more you get interested in SLR photography, the more you will come to appreciate that the final image quality is down to the quality of your lenses.
You can spend ridiculous amounts it you are that way inclined.
Both the camera bodies I refer to above will be 'obsolete' within 2-3 years and are merely computer peripheral devices in some peoples view.
However, your investment (cough!) in quality 'glass' could last through several bodies. e.g. The Canon EOS lens mount has been out for almost 20 years... In 5 years time I would expect that any decent Digital SLR body would come complete with a WiFi link, and all imiages will be directly uploaded to your server.
SLR's are addictive but remember that you will probably need to keep a second smaller camera on hand because there are many times when a 'full size' SLR is just to big for convenience and you may leave it behind and miss some imporant shots.
Remember that to get any decent flash shots you should forget about the onboard pop-up flash and get an external unit like the Canon 420EX or similar. These are about £150...
If you just want a really high quality versatile camera then the Sony DSF-F828 is getting a lot of favourable comments at the moment.
One final thing. You might be surprised how much post-processing is involved via Photoshop or whatever to achieve the best results.
Regards,
[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/2/2004 3:26:54 PM]
[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/2/2004 3:32:26 PM]
The Canon 300D is an obvious choice for the money you are talking about.
Nikon will have something out in competition with the 300D in the not too distant future ...
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0312/03120301nikond70.asp
...but Nikon lenses are generally more expensive than equivalent Canon ones.
I am sure that you will appreciate that the more you get interested in SLR photography, the more you will come to appreciate that the final image quality is down to the quality of your lenses.
You can spend ridiculous amounts it you are that way inclined.
Both the camera bodies I refer to above will be 'obsolete' within 2-3 years and are merely computer peripheral devices in some peoples view.
However, your investment (cough!) in quality 'glass' could last through several bodies. e.g. The Canon EOS lens mount has been out for almost 20 years... In 5 years time I would expect that any decent Digital SLR body would come complete with a WiFi link, and all imiages will be directly uploaded to your server.
SLR's are addictive but remember that you will probably need to keep a second smaller camera on hand because there are many times when a 'full size' SLR is just to big for convenience and you may leave it behind and miss some imporant shots.
Remember that to get any decent flash shots you should forget about the onboard pop-up flash and get an external unit like the Canon 420EX or similar. These are about £150...
If you just want a really high quality versatile camera then the Sony DSF-F828 is getting a lot of favourable comments at the moment.
One final thing. You might be surprised how much post-processing is involved via Photoshop or whatever to achieve the best results.
Regards,
[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/2/2004 3:26:54 PM]
[Edited by Stephen Read - 1/2/2004 3:32:26 PM]
02 January 2004, 05:55 PM
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Thanks very much for the reply, definitely food for thought.
I can understand your point about carrying a smaller compact camera around aswell, I held the Canon SLR today for the first time and it isn't something that you can keep in your glove compartment.
Cheers
I can understand your point about carrying a smaller compact camera around aswell, I held the Canon SLR today for the first time and it isn't something that you can keep in your glove compartment.
Cheers
02 January 2004, 07:08 PM
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The bad news is that under £1000 your options are limited.
The good news is that the options you do have, are good ones!
The 300D is fine, great image quality but a bit plasticky and has a few annoying limitations that I described in this thread.
Cheaper options, which actually give you more control over your photos and which would let you choose a lens (or lenses) to suit yourself would be to buy a s/h D30 or D60. The D60 gives more detail (if your lens and technique are up to it), the D30 gives you twice as many photos on your memory card. The D60 is also much better for long exposures thanks to improvements in the sensor technology, but then again it is rather more expensive.
If you want the complete kit of camera, lens, batteries, memory cards and other stuff that you don't yet realise you want for under £1000, the D30 is really your only bet IMHO. The 300D kit includes the 18-55mm lens, but I can't get very excited about that - I think you'll be wanting a longish zoom fairly soon as well, which will push you over budget.
Be warned, it can be the start of a dangerously expenive hobby. I bought my D30 a couple of years ago with the 28-135IS lens. Now I'm onto a 1D, a bag full of lenses (including 3 professional 'L' zooms), two flashguns, extension tubes, two tripods... you get the idea). And no, I don't regret it all for a moment. Photos, more photos, even more photos and even more photos!
All taken with the D30...
The good news is that the options you do have, are good ones!
The 300D is fine, great image quality but a bit plasticky and has a few annoying limitations that I described in this thread.
Cheaper options, which actually give you more control over your photos and which would let you choose a lens (or lenses) to suit yourself would be to buy a s/h D30 or D60. The D60 gives more detail (if your lens and technique are up to it), the D30 gives you twice as many photos on your memory card. The D60 is also much better for long exposures thanks to improvements in the sensor technology, but then again it is rather more expensive.
If you want the complete kit of camera, lens, batteries, memory cards and other stuff that you don't yet realise you want for under £1000, the D30 is really your only bet IMHO. The 300D kit includes the 18-55mm lens, but I can't get very excited about that - I think you'll be wanting a longish zoom fairly soon as well, which will push you over budget.
Be warned, it can be the start of a dangerously expenive hobby. I bought my D30 a couple of years ago with the 28-135IS lens. Now I'm onto a 1D, a bag full of lenses (including 3 professional 'L' zooms), two flashguns, extension tubes, two tripods... you get the idea). And no, I don't regret it all for a moment. Photos, more photos, even more photos and even more photos!
All taken with the D30...
03 January 2004, 02:57 PM
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Thanks for the info Andy, much obliged.
I think I may have to stick with a G5 for the time being as I forgot about my car insurance renewal next month which will be best part of a grand
You took some great pics, any chance of you coming to a Surrey meet one Sunday and taking some decent shots of mine
Cheers
I think I may have to stick with a G5 for the time being as I forgot about my car insurance renewal next month which will be best part of a grand
You took some great pics, any chance of you coming to a Surrey meet one Sunday and taking some decent shots of mine
Cheers
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