Looking for DSLR Budget £250 ish

[Lee H]

Nice The sony does look to be a nice piece of kit.

However, how would it compare to the newly announced EOS-1000D ?

[BUFF]

well, at a guess
the Sony will handle better & be cheaper if reported pricing is correct (even allowing for street prices v SRP)
1000D has liveview but the A200 has image stabilisation
image quality will probably be very similar
Canon has bigger system but do people buying these really care that Sony don't do a 600mm F4 atm?

[colmo]

I doubt Canon will attempt to take on the A200 with the 1000D (especially as it is dipping towards £275 with lens), more likely, it'll be a competitor to the A300, as that is the closest Sony in spec.

I had a look at DPReview, and my first impression was it's a half-hearted 'more of the same' camera; the 1000D has all the issues the entry-level Canons have had for a while - uncomfortable grip, no spot metering, no anti-shake, and it lacks those nice extras - no wireless flash controller via pop-up flash, no DRO/D-lighting equivalent.
It should have good AF and a great sensor (similar to the 40D), and I see they've improved the battery from the 400D (as live view is a real energy drain), though the Sony A300/A350 still beats it (500 v 730/740 shots per charge under CIPA conditions).

[shackahn]

That's an impressive picture from a technical POV - a backlit swan shot can go wrong easily, but the exposure is bang on, with no burnt highlights. What metering did you use (spot or multisegment), did you compensate exposure, or did the camera do all the work? If so, then the A200 is an improvement on my A100 - I'd have been switching to the Hi200 mode (gone from the A200) to avoid highlight clipping, and would still have needed to 'chimp' the camera afterwards against the need to reshoot.

I would love to take credit but in fairness the camera did the majority of the work, there was only a slight adjustment in shutter speed to get the right exposure but other than that it was a simple twist on the dial to the portrait setting and click.

Dont get me wrong I took many other shots of that said same swan, and they came out badly due to various reasons

The metering was multisegment.

[bk7]

Fantastic thread - bookmarking this for when i have time to get acquainted with all the terms haha!
Hope i can get into this in a few years time, digicam just doesnt cut it anymore

[shackahn]

Fantastic thread - bookmarking this for when i have time to get acquainted with all the terms haha!
Hope i can get into this in a few years time, digicam just doesnt cut it anymore

I was actually really suprised at the difference in quality between the my old sony compact camera, and my new DSLR. The colours in particular are so vibrant.

£300 might be hard for someone to justify on a camera but after using mine I would find it hard to tell anyone out for a new camera not to buy one.

Even if you are as unskilled as me with one

[Bobster]

Mid-range:
£175.00 Inc VAT | Nikon SB600 Speedlight Flash
£139.00 Inc VAT | Sony HVL-F42AM Flashgun
£135.00 Inc VAT | Metz 48 AF-1 Flashgun
£159.00 Inc VAT | Sigma EF 530 DG Super Flashgun
£165.00 Inc VAT | Pentax AF360FGZ Flash
£169.00 Inc VAT | Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash
£149.00 Inc VAT | Olympus FL-36R Flash

High-end:
£235.00 Inc VAT | Nikon SB800 Speedlight Flash
£229.00 Inc VAT | Sony HVL-F56AM Flashgun
£215.00 Inc VAT | Metz 58 AF-1 Flashgun
£325.00 Inc VAT | Pentax AF540 FGZ Flashgun
£305.00 Inc VAT | Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash (Claim £40 Cashback Until June 30th 2008.)
£310.00 Inc VAT | Olympus FL-50R Flash

fixed, Sigma doesn't make a pro Flash, i bought the 530 DG to use @ my first wedding, it got me through just! wish i'd bought a 430EX instead looking back.. the 580 is great, but Nikon's flash has so much more (wish Canon would get their finger out about their flash system)