LosOjos Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I've been wanting to get in to photography for ages now, I've just never taken the plunge. Well money is tight right now so I'm looking for more hobbies to fill up my time. Can anybody recommend a good camera for somebody starting out? I've been looking at the Nikon D3100, this here looks like a good deal to me: Nikon D3100 with 18-55mm VR Lens - Jessops However, my Grandad is really in to photography too and he always buys Canon (mainly because he has a lot of Canon lenses) so I don't know whether I should go down the Canon route with a view to borrowing lenses from him to try out before I buy my own... The main limiting factor for me is that as money is tight, it's going to have to be from somewhere where I can get finance.
tech_guy Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Nikon or Canon - both good although Nikon gear is dearer, especially the lenses. I have a couple of Nikons and upgrade every so often taking advantage of the various cashback offers. Make sure you get a couple of decent prime lenses such as a 50mm. Edited January 31, 2011 by tech_guy 1
localzuk Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Personally, I'd recommend Canon stuff myself. Canon EOS 500D with 18-55mm lens - Jessops would be the one I'd look at. We've got a few Canon buffs around here, myself, Ric and I *think* Mattx all use Canon. If you can borrow lenses from someone, then that makes it even better! 1
JJonas Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) A photographer friend told me if you have Nikon lenses buy Nikon if not go for Canon as the lenses are cheaper. You have access to a lot of Canon lenses I would find out what lenses he has if they are older lenses they usually can be made to fit at the expense of autofocus. The 18-55mm lens is a good starter lens add to that 70-300 and you should be pretty much covered. fit UV filters to your lenses - acts as a scratch protector cheaper to replace than a lens Edited January 31, 2011 by JJonas 1
riffleman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Gotta agree with the other posters, it makes sense for you to go down the Canon route if you have access to some lenses that you can try out before commiting yourself to the expense of buying them. Usually the older Canon EF lenses fit the EOS 500D, and can autofocus through them. However, the EF lenses aren't calibrated correctly for the CCD in a modern digital camera and so end up adding a mag factor of about 1.6x to the lens, so your 50mm lens becomes effectively an 80mm. Something to bear in mind.... 1
Busybub Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 ... Well money is tight right now so I'm looking for more hobbies to fill up my time. ... However, my Grandad is really in to photography too and he always buys Canon (mainly because he has a lot of Canon lenses) so I don't know whether I should go down the Canon route with a view to borrowing lenses from him to try out before I buy my own... I'd buy a second hand Canon 20D or 30D and borrow some lenses. If you get bored of it, you can flog the camera for pretty much what you bought it for. If you get serious about it, by trying out your grandads lenses you'll know which ones you want for yourself. 1
LosOjos Posted January 31, 2011 Author Posted January 31, 2011 I'd buy a second hand Canon 20D or 30D and borrow some lenses. If you get bored of it, you can flog the camera for pretty much what you bought it for. If you get serious about it, by trying out your grandads lenses you'll know which ones you want for yourself. Only problem is I'm really skint! So I'd be looking to get something on finance with at least one lens with it (my Grandad lives about 200 miles away so it'll be a case of trying out the lenses for a weekend here and there when I see him)
webman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I'm a Nikon fan and currently have a D90 which I'm very happy with. No one says you have to go down the SLR route, though. It might be a good idea to have a look at the Micro 4/3 range of cameras currently available. Smaller footprint and with interchangeable lenses. Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras (GF1, GH2, G2, G10) | Robert White Photographic Ltd They're a little bit cheaper too. 1
mattx Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Personally, I'd recommend Canon stuff myself. Canon EOS 500D with 18-55mm lens - Jessops would be the one I'd look at. We've got a few Canon buffs around here, myself, Ric and I *think* Mattx all use Canon. If you can borrow lenses from someone, then that makes it even better! Quite right - I'm a Canon fan and have that very camera - but have splashed out on some decent lenses - my fav being the Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro Lens. Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro Lens (4657A011AA) - Warehouse Express Loads of good lenses on e-bay - and the good thing is most photographers take good care of their equipment so you should be ok - just check for good feedback. 1
riffleman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Good call from Webman. I have a bridge Fuji that puts together some fabulous images. All the advantages of an SLR without the price and no need for additional lenses. Can highly recommend the S9600 (which I have), which is pretty old now, but its replacement the EXR S200 it a good camera too. 1
john Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I'll upset the apple cart and if your skint and want even better value, but admittidly not as shiny or feature packed or as prestigious, go for one of the Sony Alphas. They take the Minolta / Konika Minolta Lense range, so hundreds are on eBay all the time for them, and Sony are still making some very shiny and expensive glass for them! They are also cheaper than Nikon and Canon. I have a Sony A200 and its a great machine, I got it as I have a lot of Minolta accessories all of which fit it IE the Flash Gun, Filters, Lenses etc 1
localzuk Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I'll upset the apple cart and if your skint and want even better value, but admittidly not as shiny or feature packed or as prestigious, go for one of the Sony Alphas. They take the Minolta / Konika Minolta Lense range, so hundreds are on eBay all the time for them, and Sony are still making some very shiny and expensive glass for them! They are also cheaper than Nikon and Canon. I have a Sony A200 and its a great machine, I got it as I have a lot of Minolta accessories all of which fit it IE the Flash Gun, Filters, Lenses etc If you go for Sony, remember that they're more evil than Dr Evil on an evil vacation weekend to Satan's holiday home in Hell...
mattx Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Just out of interest - can Bridge Cameras shoot in RAW ?
localzuk Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Just out of interest - can Bridge Cameras shoot in RAW ? Yup. The S9600 mentioned earlier can, for example.
webman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Just out of interest - can Bridge Cameras shoot in RAW ? The short answer is, it depends. Some do and some don't - you just have to check the specs. Some compact Panasonic Lumix cameras will even do RAW, while high-end compacts from Canon and Nikon won't. I would say most of them do though.
john Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 If you go for Sony, remember that they're more evil than Dr Evil on an evil vacation weekend to Satan's holiday home in Hell... MY Sony has been 110% reliable No problems with it and working well. Got a 3 year warranty on it as well for no extra cash. 1
DAZZD88 Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Some yes. I think the Panasonic FZ series do.
localzuk Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 MY Sony has been 110% reliable No problems with it and working well. Got a 3 year warranty on it as well for no extra cash. Might be reliable, but its still evil...
K.C.Leblanc Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Just out of interest - can Bridge Cameras shoot in RAW ? Some do, just bare in mind that RAW files are not standardised, they don't just vary between makes, they even vary between different models. If you already have software check it's compatible with your camera. EDIT: And also if you haven't already go and try a few cameras. Ergonomics are a big feature of dSLRs, you want to make sure you get something that sits well in the hand. You might even find that a more substantial used camera suits to better then a cheaper new one. Edited January 31, 2011 by K.C.Leblanc 1
LosOjos Posted January 31, 2011 Author Posted January 31, 2011 I'm a Nikon fan and currently have a D90 which I'm very happy with. No one says you have to go down the SLR route, though. It might be a good idea to have a look at the Micro 4/3 range of cameras currently available. Smaller footprint and with interchangeable lenses. Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras (GF1, GH2, G2, G10) | Robert White Photographic Ltd They're a little bit cheaper too. The micro 4/3 cameras look interesting, are there many lenses available for them though?
webman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 The micro 4/3 cameras look interesting, are there many lenses available for them though? Not as many as SLRs, and usually just the manufacturer's own line. But the Panasonic ones seem to have a nice range for what most people want to achieve.
mattx Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 I would say if the camera shoots in RAW, get yourself a copy of photoshop that has camera raw - [ plenty going cheap on E-bay ] and then start playing around in RAW with the shots you do get of say the cheaper side of either a compact / Bridge / DSLR - once you have mastered RAW and believe me it's that powerful [ again plenty of training vids on youtube ] then you won't look back. 1
riffleman Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 Some do, just bare in mind that RAW files are not standardised, they don't just vary between makes, they even vary between different models. If you already have software check it's compatible with your camera. Well, I can confirm that the Fujis I've worked with (S9600 and EXR S200) have very good RAW capabilities and work flawlessly in Photoshop, so I'd have no reason to suspect that any of the newer Fuji cameras don't integrate as well.
nawbus Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) I'd have to agree with @john. Sony Alphas are very nice & reliable. Got one at home and a slightly better one at work. The Minolta background swung it for me having used Minolta film SLRs for years (and not even close to top of the range ones) and having a nasty experience with a Canon film compact. Edited January 31, 2011 by nawbus
36Degrees Posted January 31, 2011 Posted January 31, 2011 The main limiting factor for me is that as money is tight, it's going to have to be from somewhere where I can get finance. 0% Credit card? Widens your options then. I've been looking (again!) at getting a DSLR and there are a few companies on the net that offer 5 year warranties as standard and are chepaer than Jessops.
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