Entry DSLR

[hOtTiGeR]

Hi, I'm looking at getting an entry level dslr with its respective kit lens. Was looking at the Sony A200, seems okay. I'm not an expert on these things so was looking for some guidance.

At the minute I have a bridge camera (I think?), Canon S1 IS.

Budget max with everything would be about £350. Not fussed about any accessories, I have a sandisk CompactFlash II card if that can be used?

Thanks

[icanhazburger]

EOS400D, maybe over budget abit but you never know if you search for some deals.

edit : Jessops have one with apparently 45 cash back from canon, so 349.99 with lens.

Canon 400D Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm Lens

[idimmu]

im in the same boat, and have been looking at the 400D too, same deal too
Camera Price Buster - UKs cheapest camera gear

this website is very useful for deals

[colmo]

Originally Posted by hOtTiGeR

Hi, I'm looking at getting an entry level dslr with its respective kit lens. Was looking at the Sony A200, seems okay. I'm not an expert on these things so was looking for some guidance.

At the minute I have a bridge camera (I think?), Canon S1 IS.

Budget max with everything would be about £350. Not fussed about any accessories, I have a sandisk CompactFlash II card if that can be used?

Thanks

Dixons have a great deal on the Sony A200 here (Scroll down to 4th in the list). I have the Sony A100, which has a number of 'serious' photography features you wouldn't find on the basic Nikons and Canons - the A200 has better image quality at higher ISOs, a better focus motor and a quieter mirror slap, as well as a revamped (and to my eye, pretty good) user interface.

Once you want some more lenses, you can pick up cheap used Minolta lenses at Mifsuds - you can sort the wheat from the chaff by consulting Dyxum's database of Minolta and Sony fit lenses

Other recommendations in the bargain basement:
* The Olympus E410 which they are giving away because of the E420 hitting the shelves (Olympus kit lenses are a lot better than most of the rest, but it's a camera you'd need to try out for taste).
* The Pentax K200D, which would require a stretch of your budget - this is the only camera in it's class with weather sealing! Supposedly a good viewfinder, too.
* The Samsung GX-10 - a clone of the the Pentax K10D, this is a a bigger budget stretch, but it is a chunky camera which competes with the Nikon D80. Much better build quality and materials than the other cameras here, and a great glass prism viewfinder, easily the best in any dSLR until you get to price the D80 or the Canon 40D, to which it compares on even terms. It's an older camera though, so the Sony beats it on high ISO and AF speed.

On balance, the A200 wins because the Olympus is a bit older and quirkier, the Pentax is just a tad pricey, and the Samsung is pricey and a little old.

[colmo]

Memory is dirt cheap now - I usually check prices on 7dayshop and MyMemory - Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme III compact flash are going for under £15 for 2 Gb and under £25 for 4Gb.

Be careful with memory card types - I believe Canon, Nikon and Pentax all use SD (and SDHC) memory cards. The A200 and E410 at least still use CF.

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by colmo

....

Be careful with memory card types - I believe Canon, Nikon and Pentax all use SD (and SDHC) memory cards. The A200 and E410 at least still use CF.

Not quite.

All current Canon DSLRs use CF, except the 1Ds MkIII (dual slot, one CF and one SD) and the 450D, which is SD. But the 400D, 40D, 5D and 1DMk III are CF.

As for Nikon, their "consumer" models (D40x, D6, D80 etc) use SD, but the "Pro" range (D200, D300 and D3 etc) use CF.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Saracen

Not quite.

All current Canon DSLRs use CF, except the 1Ds MkIII (dual slot, one CF and one SD) and the 450D, which is SD. But the 400D, 40D, 5D and 1DMk III are CF.

As for Nikon, their "consumer" models (D40x, D60, D80 etc) use SD, but the "Pro" range (D200, D300 and D3 etc) use CF.

Thanks for the clarifications on the Canon range, of which I am fairly unfamiliar. I knew about the Nikons, and was thinking only of the budget end of their range.

[Flibb]

All the cameeras mentioned in this thread will take great photos if you do your bit right, best thing to do is to find a good camera shop and have a play. My final dslr buying decision was purely down to ergonomics and menu layout.

Personally I wouldnt get too excited about any future lens purchases, as there are very few areas that all manufacturers dont fill. Ther are also some cracking lenses made by 3rd party manufactures, Sigma have some interesting stuff thats about to be released with wide zoom range, HSM motors and image stabilisation. The only time I would thinnk about lens ranges is if you have an interest in some thing a bit different, such as extreme macro, or your going to need weatherproofing, thats when you really neeed to consider your manufacturer.

I picked up a new toy for my D70 on saturday, sigma 50-500mm zoom. Big, ugly, heavy, but great optics and very fast HSM focussing. Main use for this is wildlife, especially flying birds. Got some good shots out of it over teh weekend, wouldnt go back to non HSM again on longer lenses.

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by colmo

Thanks for the clarifications on the Canon range, of which I am fairly unfamiliar. I knew about the Nikons, and was thinking only of the budget end of their range.

With current street pricing on the D200, it could perhaps be considered in the top end of "budget", though.

A lotta camera for the money ..... as is the 40D.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Flibb

I picked up a new toy for my D70 on saturday, sigma 50-500mm zoom. Big, ugly, heavy, but great optics and very fast HSM focussing. Main use for this is wildlife, especially flying birds. Got some good shots out of it over teh weekend, wouldnt go back to non HSM again on longer lenses.

Sigma finally showed Pentax and Sony users some love with the first of their HSM lenses for those mounts - off the top of my head, there's the 50-150mm f2.8, the 70-200mm f2.8, the 150-500mm and the 120-400mm. Not exactly cheap, any of them, so beyond the scope of the OP's immediate requirements.

Originally Posted by Saracen

With current street pricing on the D200, it could perhaps be considered in the top end of "budget", though.

A lotta camera for the money ..... as is the 40D.

I had a look last night and couldn't find any D200s significantly under £700, which I found odd. It's a wonderful camera in the hand, though the sensor is nothing special (to be fair, it's a relative of the one in my A100, which I'm still delighted with - just not at high ISO). The 40D is a bit newer and shinier, though likely not as nice in the hand (Canon ergonomics just seem weird to me). It's also nudging under £600 (a fantastic price for this class of camera), which would have been considered 'budget +' a few years ago, and would appeal to wildlife or sports shooters with it's 6 fps and proven Canon AF.
The Sony A700, at about £100 more, has a few more tricks up it's sleeve; the main one is in-body stabilisation (as do all the Sonys and Pentaxes now), which dovetails beautifully with Sigma's HSM non-OS lenses. Some day I'll even be able to justify a Sony-fit Carl Zeiss lens...<drool>

Sorry for veering off topic - this is about Entry level dSLRs....

[BUFF]

A200 looks like an excellent starter DSLR but get down to a shop & handle them all.
They are all capable of great photos but some will fit/feel more natural to you.

[hOtTiGeR]

Oooh was looking at the sigma lens, they look very nice and don't seem too expensive.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by hOtTiGeR

Oooh was looking at the sigma lens, they look very nice and don't seem too expensive.

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.
The rest are varied - probably the most desirable to beginners is the 17-70mm, which is a creditable lens and a cut above most of the generally crappy kit lenses, though I'd personally go the extra £40 or so and get either the Sigma 18-50 or Tamron 17-50 F2.8s.
For standard telezooms, most of the cheap 70-300mm lenses are garbage - the 50-200mm ones by Sigma and Tamron are actually quite good, but don't pay too much for them, I've seen the latter going for £60-70, new.

[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.

[Bobster]

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

[Saracen]

Originally Posted by colmo

....

I had a look last night and couldn't find any D200s significantly under £700, which I found odd.

First place I checked was £649.