DSLR Advice for n00b please

[muddyfox470]

I'm off to somewhere very picturesque, for a very long time so I think it's finally time to cave in to the DSLR world...

I don't have a lot of money to spend, so I want to keep everything reasonable. I wouldn't mind buying legacy lenses to use on the camera too to get some nice portrait shots (one of my friends uses a nice 50mm 1:1.8 lens, so would want to get something compatible with the chosen camera).

I've been looking at a few different cameras, will not spend a penny more than £400 on the body and lens kit. I would possibly look into buying second hand (provided it's a respectable camera).

Ones I have looked at so far:

Olympus E450 + kit lens (~£260 refurb)
Olympus E520 + kit lens (£350)
Nikon D60 (£390)
Sony a230 (£???)
Sony a350 (£???)
Canon ???
I'll be cheeky and add the Panasonic G1 as there are some good reviews, is the flexibility worth the extra?

and any others that you may recommend.

I've had good experiences with Olympus (I used to love my ultrazoom C760UZ until my mate managed to break it).
But obviously DSLRs are a different kettle of fish. So long as it will fit in a bag along with a spare lens and battery then overall size isn't a concern, although in the past I have always found big cameras laborious to transport. But as I'm going to be out for >5 months I need something worthy of the photo opportunities, and something that will last.

The Olympus 4/3 system is a little weird, as it does seem to give more noise than competing sensors, with a little at ISO 400 So please if you have some advice, user experience etc please let me know

Cheers

[BUFF]

go to a shop & handle them - buy the 1 that fits your hand best & you find easiest to operate as at the entry level all current production DSLRs pretty much all have similar image quality.
of course if you have friends whose gear that you can borrow that's a plus point towards getting that system.

as far a Sonys go the older A200/A300/A350 are somewhat bigger & heavier than the facelifted A230/A330/A380 but because they were larger many people find them easier to hold for long periods.
The facelifted models do have a newer & sharper kit lens though.

[jamena]

One thing I would take into consideration as well as the does-it-feel-good test, is whether any of your friends/family have a SLR or DSLR already... borrowing lenses and accessories, or getting them as hand-me-downs is the one thing I am missing out on - my dad went and bought a Canon at the same time I got my Sony...

I plumped for a Sony a200 with the twin lens kit a bit over a year ago (18-70 plus a 75-300) as I was pretty sure at the start I was going to want the bigger telephoto. Both lenses do very well for me (the 75-300 seems to produce "nicer" images, ...not sure how to describe why ) and the range they cover does just about everything I want. I think my decision at the time was based on reviews saying the Sony's kit lenses were a little better than the other kit lenses ...plus the price was right! Once I know what I am doing I figure I can go buy better lenses.

I'd never really used a SLR in anger before this purchase and I'm still learning to use all the options. Only lens on my to-buy list is a dedicated 50mm (the new-ish f1.8 seems good value) for portraits as I tend to take a lot and prefer not having to use the flash.

p.s. I am told that the old Minolta lenses fit the Sony alpha series, although the new Sony f1.8 50mm is only about £140 which I understand is pretty good for a lens!

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by jamena

p.s. I am told that the old Minolta lenses fit the Sony alpha series

Minolta AF mount lenses will - Minolta MC/MD (technically SR mount) won't .

[kalniel]

Originally Posted by BUFF

as far a Sonys go the older A200/A300/A350 are somewhat bigger & heavier than the facelifted A230/A330/A380 but because they were larger many people find them easier to hold for long periods.
The facelifted models do have a newer & sharper kit lens though.

True, but you can often buy the older models with the newer kit lens, for eg:

http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-so...0-lens-kit.htm

(Yes, the URL title remains from the previous one)

[Gunbuster]

Kalniel: wow I didn't know that, makes me think about the A350 new.

FYI www.dyxum.com is an excellent resource for Minolta Dynax/Maxxum/Alpha or Sony Alpha lens reviews.

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by kalniel

True, but you can often buy the older models with the newer kit lens, for eg:

http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-so...0-lens-kit.htm

that's weird
I guess they must be making their own bundles up?

[kalniel]

Could be, but the prices are equivalent to the old kit and it's a good old blighty retail shop so not like it's some weird import thing. I rather suspect they've just responded to demand.. and they've been successful - now out of stock!

Back to the OP,

The Olympus 4/3 system is a little weird, as it does seem to give more noise than competing sensors, with a little at ISO 400 So please if you have some advice, user experience etc please let me know

I have an Olympus 4/3 system camera, but it's the E620, which has quite different noise characteristics to the E420/520. If you are intending to take a lot of low-light indoor pictures without flash then I wouldn't recommend them: Noise-aside, we just don't have a cheap wide aperture prime available, unlike the Nikon, Canon and Sony/Minolta systems. Those primes are also well suited to portraiture, but fitting one in under budget will be tricky.

If you were to use off-camera flash then great, the Oly cameras can wireless control them, but it's more $$$.

The Panny G1 is less flexible however, not more. And if you were worried about noise on the Olympus then I'd avoid this one too.

What would I get? If you had to do portraiture then I'd get a secondhand Canon 20D (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-20D-Di...748574&sr=1-20) (£285) and a plastic-fantastic 50mm f/1.8 (£80). You'll not have any zoom, but it'll make you think about your pictures! Plenty left for a bag/CF cards/filter.

It's just too hard to hit the budget otherwise really.

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by kalniel

If you were to use off-camera flash then great, the Oly cameras can wireless control them,

as can any Sony Alpha with a pop-up flash - they all have built in controller ability unlike Canons & Nikons.

[TheAnimus]

and can the pentax, and i thought pretty much all of them now?

[kalniel]

Originally Posted by TheAnimus

and can the pentax, and i thought pretty much all of them now?

Canon can't. Entry level Nikons can't.

[HSK]

Originally Posted by kalniel

Canon can't. Entry level Nikons can't.

I'm pretty sure the new Canon 7D can.

[kalniel]

Originally Posted by HSK

I'm pretty sure the new Canon 7D can.

Oh yes, you're quite right!

Nice to see them catching up, even if it's with a £1600 model

[HSK]

True, it's something I could of done with a while ago, on my entry level Canon! Oh well

[BUFF]

Originally Posted by kalniel

Oh yes, you're quite right!

Nice to see them catching up, even if it's with a £1600 model

only taken them 20 years - Minolta introduced this (even in budget models) ~1990 iirc ...

[muddyfox470]

After having the E420 in my hands (I know I was looking at E520) but Jessops was closed, so only had access to what was available. Was amazed to find out that they were made in China, it felt cheap and plasticy in my hand.

So considering that I've seen the Alpha Range, they are made in Japan - I'm looking into getting an a300. I would prefer the a300 for the liveview, however they are very difficult to comeby on ebay etc, so may have to settle on the a200 as a temporary measure.

With these cameras, which lenses (legacy or new) could be recommended, i'd like a decent f1.8 50mm lens and maybe a zoom. But 1 lens should do for now.

I've gone for the a200 over the later models because of what has been discussed above and on many other forums...