First DSLR?

[matt green]

How many times has this question been asked;)

Within the next month or so I may have the opportunity to purchase my first digital SLR, I've been bitted by the photography bug in a big way and my little kodak compact is too limiting as far as difficult light situations are concerned etc.

My main interest is Creative landscape photography/rural and architectual subjects, I'm not anticipating getting into bird photography at this stage so no need for long lenses, just looking for something thats easy to use and can be purchased as a beginners set-up with basic 90-160 etc zoom/multi purpose lense.

This is a very recent thing and I'm clueless as to what to look out for, which particular models are currently rated around under the £500 mark?

Matt

[gordon g]

Decide on your lens first, and spend money on the best quality you can afford there. This choice may define your choice of system - canon, nikon etc if you go for a branded lens, but dont forget to consider third party lenses. I love my sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX, which was a LOT cheaper than the canon L equivalent and of almost identical image quality. You might find a secondhand one in your budget, but for your subject choice you may need something wider.
Any entry level dslr will be fine as a starting point, and give you all the flexibility from full auto to full manual modes, and if you're printing at less than A4 or just using it for screen images, anything over 6MP will be plenty - so dont pay for stuff that you really dont need.
Also look at the secondhand market - for instance there are a lot of 30D and 350D bodies around relatively cheaply at the moment with the launch of the new canon bodies.
Apologies for the slightly canon-centric post; it's the system I'm most familiar with, but do look beyond the canon/nikon axis before you jump in.

[citrinella]

How many times has this question been asked;)

Within the next month or so I may have the opportunity to purchase my first digital SLR, I've been bitted by the photography bug in a big way and my little kodak compact is too limiting as far as difficult light situations are concerned etc.

My main interest is Creative landscape photography/rural and architectual subjects, I'm not anticipating getting into bird photography at this stage so no need for long lenses, just looking for something thats easy to use and can be purchased as a beginners set-up with basic 90-160 etc zoom/multi purpose lense.

This is a very recent thing and I'm clueless as to what to look out for, which particular models are currently rated around under the £500 mark?

Matt

Hi Matt,

I'd agree with Gordon but think a bit of clarification on the lens length worthwhile. At your budget you will be getting a camera witha 1.5 or 1.6 crop factor. That means the lens is _effectively_ 1.5 or 1.6 times longer. For landscape and architecture wide angle is normally more useful than telephoto. Reasons include : (especially for landscape) - the nearer you get to the subject, the less poor quality air the light has to travel through; and (especially for architecture) the nearer you get to the subject, the easier it is to avoid extraneous material, especially people, in the shot.

Conventional wisdom used to be that 80-90 focal length was ideal for portraits because the perspective - especially degree of curvature on the face - looked most "natural" i.e. nearest to what the eye sees. That still applies except that with a 1.5/1.6 crop factor camera you need a lens about 50-60 mm to get the same effect.

I too know Canon best. I would second Gordon's suggestion of looking at a 350d or equivalent but would suggest a standard 18-55 zoom to start with. That will be ideal for your purposes - really a pretty good set up. They are dirt cheap and not a bad lens at all (don't worry about lack of IS at that length for your purposes). Start saving with the rest of your budget, you'll find that you want to spend more money soon.

Should (as if !) you find you want to move to more extreme forms of photography, like birds, you may need to upgrade the body as well as the lens. However a body like that will still be excellent, will serve as backup so you don't have to change lenses all the time. Changing lenses can become a major barrier to taking photographs. I have a 30d for birds, still use my 300d for just that purpose and the truth is it is a perfectly good camera for normal applications, just not fast enough for birds.

Mike.

[matt green]

Thanks for the replies folks, much to think about!

Been looking at the Canon EOS 4000D and Nikon D40X with lenses, these are in my (possible!) price range so will search the forums for more info etc.

As far as usage, I only really want to continue with my macro and landscape interests. A good £500 DSLR and lense must surely be a world of improvement on my little Kodak easyshare?

Matt

[postcardcv]

Been looking at the Canon EOS 4000D and Nikon D40X with lenses, these are in my (possible!) price range so will search the forums for more info etc.

If you read about on here (and elsewhere on the web) you'll see a lot of talk about the Nikon D40x not having a built in focus motor. This can be quite an issue as it massively limits the range of AF lenses you can use (not a issue with the other Nikon camera). Because of this the 400D is probably a better choice, as others have said look out for a good secondhand bargain.

[Keith Reeder]

Matt,

are you averse to an excellent condition used camera?

If not, PM me...

[RAH]

As far as usage, I only really want to continue with my macro
The Nikon D40X does not have depth-of-field preview (i.e. this allow you to check the DOF in the viewfinder by temporarily stopping down the lens before taking the shot). To me, this is very poor for a camera that will be used for macro photography. For that kind of money, it should have DOF preview. I think you would have been hard pressed to find a film SLR that did not have this feature back in the day.

[pduxon]

Grays of Westminster (http://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk/products/secondhand.php?cat1=4) sell Nikon stuff second hand with a one year guarantee. They have a couple of Nikon's on offer for <400 including the 18-70 lens (which is meant to be quite good)

personally I'd avoid the 40x (i got the d80 which takes any lens) for the issues mentioned above although Sigma are doing a whole slew of lenses to fit it now.

whether to buy Nikon or Canon is a matter of choice. I can't be hung up on what is better, both will be capable of better pictures than I am currently capable of.

may i slightly disagree with Citrinella and don't get the 18-55 kit lenses. I'd spend a bit more not sure if there is a canon equivalent for the Niikon 18-70 but the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 is a rather nice lens. you could get that with a second hand body for £500.

[matt green]

Matt,

are you averse to an excellent condition used camera?

If not, PM me...

I haven't ruled out the secondhand route, thing is I'm not exactly sure what my budget will be ..or when!! ..so while I'm awaiting for the planets to align! I'm still just getting ideas etc

Still in the process of flogging off some excess birding kit to raise the cash tbh!!, one things for sure ..I've been enjoying the photography much more than birding lately so can't wait to get started.

Thanks also for the warning about the 40x ..much appreciated

Matt

[gordon g]

Matt, if you're wanting to pursue macro on a budget, have a look at close-up filters that fit on the front of some lenses. I've never used these - went for a sigma 105 macro lens quite early on after working to the limits of my old 28-200 - but they are a lot cheaper than a dedicated macro lens.