Looking for DSLR (2 Viewers)

[Hedgeland]

I know there have been a number of these but reading all the forums and reviews just confuses me even more.

Basically I am looking for a DSLR upto the £300 range. In future I would add additional lens around the 70-300mm range but cant afford to start off with.

I have been looking at the following

Nikon D60 with 18-55mm VR (£315.00)
Sony A200 with 18-70mm (£269.00)
Canon 1000D with 18-55mm IS (£319.00)

I am confused as to what to get on following grounds.

Nikon D60 can only use selected lens due to needing lens with VR. Does this limit the available lens and therefore costs of future lens i can buy?.

This seems similar to Canon also....

The sony seems to get better reviews and has internal image stabaliation but am i being snobish for thinking nikon and canon are better?

Is there a good variety of lens available for the sony? The tamron 70-300 seems to be cheaper for the sony - is this due to not needing internal IS/VR?

Sorry for so many questions. If it helps i want in future to have a decent camera to occompany my walks and general wildlife and birding pics. Also for my wife for general photography.

Thanks in advance.

H

 

[hollis_f]

I'd say you should be looking at the lenses you might want to buy in the future and basing your decision on that. It's likely that the lenses will cost more than the camera and are probably much more important when it comes to getting good bird shots. You don't want to find yourself in the situation of having to pay out a lot more for the lens that you want because of your choice of body.

For example - looking at zooms up to 300mm.

Canon EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM Lens is £350
Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G AF-S VR IF-ED Lens is £300
Sony 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G SSM Lens is £530

So the Sony may seem tempting now, but it might turn out more expensive in the long run.

 

[Hedgeland]

Thanks for the suggestion but where is the best place for eviews on lens?

I fond this
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=1013656

which is 75-300 for dony for £141.

Am guessing you get what you pay for and this is not good????

As i said i know very little so any help appreciated.
regards
H

 

[Duke Leto]

The D60 doesn't need vr it needs lenses with there own focusing motor so quite a few of the Nikon, Sigma & Tokina lenses will all work plus a few others
The Nikon kit lenses are quite good so should suffice for general photography and the D60 isn't a bad option, take a look at warehouse express's web site for indicative costs of various lenses and of course there will be a number of used items available through the normal channels.
I would get along to a shop such as jessops and handle the goods to see what you prefer, it might help you decide, generally at that end of the market Nikon and Canon will offer a good start into D-SLRs.
As Frank states, look at the lenses you may want to purchase to see if that helps.
Steve

 

[carlj]

Frank, you've picked the G lens for the Sony - basically equivalent (though reviews rate IQ higher than) the Canon L range....and it's less than £500 at Jessops. Comparative consumer 70-300mm Sony is £150, with stabilisation.

Sony took over Minolta, and as a result have legacy lenses from 20 years to choose from, including unique lenses such as the 500mm F8 reflex AF and 135mm STF. Agreed, though, is the fact that Canon offer a wider range of lenses, even if many duplicate focal lengths. Sony do have good 3rd party support (with an 11% share in Tamron), and will be increasing their lens choice shortly. If you can get the lenses you need in A-mount, than the built in stabilisation is fantastic. If not, then the Canikon option becomes the only one.

 

[Hedgeland]

Thanks for advice so far.
Am kind of leaning towards the Nikon D60.... (i think....)

As this nikon does not have body image stabilisation as it is within the lens, is this true of other nikons?. ie - if i upgrade a D60 body will the lens' i have be usable on the new body.

 

[carlj]

VR is a lens characteristic and will work on all nikon bodies. However, the D60 lacks an in body autofocus motor, so not all lenses will autofocus on that body. Sensor is the same Sony made 10mp sensor in both nikon and Sony a200.

 

[Hedgeland]

Ok thanks
So all nikon lenses will work on any nikon, but I would have to have certain ones with AF motors for D60.

If a lens has a AF motor and is on a body with AF motor does that work?? Guessing one overides other?

Sorry for sounding stupid here but i really dont want to get something that i have to sell everything to upgrade.

Thanks again
H

 

[jamesrtaylor]

In the present Climate financially I would look at a second hand Nikon D200 as they are going for a song right now. The D60 is a resonable entry level camera but feel you will soon grow out of it.

I use the Nikkor 18-200mm VR lens the Nikkor 70-300mm vr lens Nikkor 15-28mm lens and the new Sigma 150-55mm lens with SO (Sigma version of VR) and HMS,. I just sold my Nikkor 80-400mm VR lens as I found it very slow. The lens I have now have all produced work that I think is good

 

[Hedgeland]

Will have a look at D200
You looking second hand i take it#???

What reputable dealers do you know offer these?
Thanks
H

 

[jamesrtaylor]

Amazon UK are doing them at £495.00 new and 2nd hand

 

[Claymore]

I know there have been a number of these but reading all the forums and reviews just confuses me even more.

Basically I am looking for a DSLR upto the £300 range. In future I would add additional lens around the 70-300mm range but cant afford to start off with.

I have been looking at the following

Nikon D60 with 18-55mm VR (£315.00)
Sony A200 with 18-70mm (£269.00)
Canon 1000D with 18-55mm IS (£319.00)

I am confused as to what to get on following grounds.

Nikon D60 can only use selected lens due to needing lens with VR. Does this limit the available lens and therefore costs of future lens i can buy?.

This seems similar to Canon also....

The sony seems to get better reviews and has internal image stabaliation but am i being snobish for thinking nikon and canon are better?

Is there a good variety of lens available for the sony? The tamron 70-300 seems to be cheaper for the sony - is this due to not needing internal IS/VR?

Sorry for so many questions. If it helps i want in future to have a decent camera to occompany my walks and general wildlife and birding pics. Also for my wife for general photography.

Thanks in advance.

H

Argos are selling Nikon Slrs for less than £300 in their sale, might be worth checking out?
Cheers
Brian

 

[Gentoo]

Ok thanks
So all nikon lenses will work on any nikon, but I would have to have certain ones with AF motors for D60.

If a lens has a AF motor and is on a body with AF motor does that work?? Guessing one overides other?

Sorry for sounding stupid here but i really dont want to get something that i have to sell everything to upgrade.

Thanks again
H

On a D60 the lens has to be AF-S or AF-I. Regular AF requires a screw drive to connect the lens to the camera motor. The D60, as with the other two Nikon entry level SLR's, lacks this motor.

 

[Hedgeland]

Cheers for that - but does this mean that higher level Nikon bodies cant use AF lens?

 

[Gentoo]

Cheers for that - but does this mean that higher level Nikon bodies cant use AF lens?

Yes it does, The others have the motor and screw drive connector. Now as far as how fast this works does depend on the camera body. Older ones tend to be slower than newer ones and the prosumer ones are better than the midrange ones.

My 300mm F4 AF works ok to slow on a D70. Better on a D200. The best on a D300. In fact it's a bit faster than my AF-S 70-300VR on a D300! I imagine it even better on a D3 but I've never used a D3. From what I hear, AF lenses are about the same or a bit better on a D90 compared to a D200. I've never put mine on my friends D90 to test it out.

 

[Hedgeland]

So if i want to upgrade a Nikon D60 i would also have to change my lenses.
This would be costly and put me off the nikon entry models.

Is it a similar scenario for entry level canons?

and Sonys for that matter?

cheers
H

 

[hollis_f]

Frank, you've picked the G lens for the Sony - basically equivalent (though reviews rate IQ higher than) the Canon L range....and it's less than £500 at Jessops.

Sorry, I just looked on Warehouse Express for 70-300 lenses from the actual manufacturers.

 

[Gentoo]

So if i want to upgrade a Nikon D60 i would also have to change my lenses.
This would be costly and put me off the nikon entry models.

Is it a similar scenario for entry level canons?

and Sonys for that matter?

cheers
H

What are you shooting with now and what lenses do you have?

Entry level Canons aren't like this. However if you have no Canon gear now, you will have to buy new lenses anyway. Another thing is, if you really get into it and can one day afford a full frame camera, if you are with Canon you will once again have to buy new lenses as their cropped sensor lenses don't work on their full frame cameras. Nikons do although it uses the center of the sensor so you lose about have your megapixels, the lens will work though.

Nikon is generally more expensive but everything is compatible. Canon has a few more lens choices but are known for changing things so gear you have now may not work later.

 

[RJM]

Get the D60 with the 18-55 VR and 55-200 VR lens kit. It is a great camera and these lens' are very sharp and lightweight too. They may be the only lens you ever need.

Don't worry about the lack motor drive in the body not allowing some legacy or third-party lens to auto-focus. You don't have a stock of legacy lens anyway. Nikon is committed to making fully compatible auto-focus AF-S lens in all the required focal lengths and third party lens makers like Sigma are doing likewise too.

The Nikon D60 has a built-in menu HELP too which is invaluable for the dslr beginner so you don't have to carry the manual around in the field. Don't know what a menu setting does? Press the "?" button and up pops the answer. Kewl!

Happy New Year,
Rick

 

[Gentoo]

it's been said before that 200mm is really too short for birding, even in places where birds are tame it sometimes may not have enough reach. Forget about it with small birds. The minimum is 300mm for birding. I know this from personal experience too. My first DSLR was the D40 with the exact same lens combination mentioned just before. This is great for some scenery and people shots but wildlife requires more investment I'm afraid.

It's true that you can go with a camera without motor drives ans stick with the AF-S/AF-I lenses. Sometimes however you can get super deals on really good older lenses that in most cases are just as good as their current replacements. Their only missing AF-S.

As mentioned before, since you're a wildlife shooter, you will soon outgrow the D60. Now I haven't offered a suggestion for you yet so if I may, I would recommend saving a little more and perhaps getting a D90.