Entry DSLR

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Saracen

First place I checked was £649.

D'oh! Still a lot of money, though. The A700 beats it hands down, and it ties with the 40D at best.

Originally Posted by Bobster

remember that in-camera IS isn't as good as in-Lens IS..

That's never been proven. It's a rumour that originated from a white paper written by Canon, who have a huge vested interest in in-lens stabilisation.

As it's a desperately difficult thing to test, it's not likely to be proven, either. All I do know is that it works splendidly in my A100, to the order of about 2-3 stops. The advantage of combining it with my 50mm f1.7, my ancient 70-210mm f4 or even my 90mm macro can't be overstated.

[Flibb]

Originally Posted by colmo

That depends on the lens. The EX range of Sigma lenses are generally excellent. The Bigma (50-500mm, it isn't an EX) also has a following, notably birders and airshow devotees.

Just a slight correction the Bigma is EX, but possibly only the later models. Deffinatley no use as a general carry at 1.9Kg. Di read on a forum that all sigma zooms will use a better type of glass and will loose the EX raiting, could be BS though. Have noticed that the new OS lenses dont mention EX.

[colmo]

D'oh! again, memory error, the Bigma has always been an EX - it's the 170-500mm and the 135-400mm (which the two new OS lenses replace) that were not.

[Flibb]

The 170-500 also lacks HSM, which made it a no go for me, but the 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM looks interesting. Does depend on the glass, so lots of people are waiting for user reviews and test shots.

My old sigma was the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO, cost me £70 and did me for a couple of years, but recently found the slow focus to be a complete pain on flying birds. My current set covers most things I want to do.
Nikon AF-S DX 18-70mm f3.5-4.5G IF-ED Zoom
Nikon 50mm F1.8
Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX DG HSM
Macro bellows, with various lenses, rings, etc.



Ideally I would have gone for something faster and shorter than the bigma, but combined with a TC. But funds do not permit that, think I will shove some money in to a new camera next year to get better high iso. The bigma should keep its value so the options would be there to PX it against a new version with OS, maybe the 150-500, but that depends on what the non ex glass is like.

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by colmo

The best superzoom around is probably the Tamron 18-250mm - on Sony cameras at least, AF isn't very quick, but is quite accurate, and image quality is stunningly good considering the compromises the engineers had to make in a zoom of such range.

the Sony version is better as it has higher gearing so focusses quicker but it's more expensive (especially in the UK, in the US there is very little premium between the Tamron & Sony).

[colmo]

Just a quick note, the Sony A200 + kit lens is now under £310 delivered at Amazon.co.uk, and the Olympus E-420 (the new one, with wireless flash and a few other updates) is going for under £290 at PC World Business and Mac Warehouse. Those are both outstanding deals.

[icanhazburger]

Good advice, the A200 looks good, mums got a D40 that my stepdad bought her so I can have a play with that, the biggest bonus with getting the D40 though is the cashback from Nikon I could get and the fact that my stepdad has quite a few Nikon lenses that he assures me are compatable with it.

[BUFF]

well, if you have access to compatible lenses (remember that the D40/D40X/D60 don't have an in-body motor) then as long as you are happy with the Nikon's handling etc. that does give a good reason to lean their way.

[colmo]

It's handy to have a cache of lenses ready to hand, so tempting - As BUFF said, I'd double-check on those lenses, as your stepdad may only be thinking/aware of the physical mount, not the autofocus or metering capabilities detailed in this compatibility chart:

Nikon SLR Camera & Lens Compatibility Chart

How much is the D40 after cashback? Anything over £250 would appear too much to me.