Help needed on getting my first DSLR tomorrow! (but on a serious budget)

[MichaelBarry]

So I'm getting my first DSLR tomorrow (or at least I'll be able to afford it tomorrow) and I was thinking I'll get the Sony a200 with 18-70mm, Aperture 2 and an 8Gb CF card.

this adds up to:

Sony a200 with 18-70mm £290
Jessops

Aperture 2 £126
Apple

8Gb CF Card £69
Jessops

So that's my selection. I have a feeling I'm not getting the best value for money with the CF Card as I always hear that they are dirt cheap.

I basically need some help on where to buy my equipment from and what I should buy. My budget is no more than £500 and I definately need a DSLR (preferably Canon, Nikon or Sony) memory card that fits into the camera and I want to use Aperture 2.

I live in the UK so sites that deal in Pound Sterling would be nice.

P.s I'll be shooting Raw so maybe some money left over to buy a hard drive? but that can wait.

thankyou people.

 

[mattyb240]

Well simply don't buy from jessops its the PC world of cameras.

Have you even tried Amazon?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D60-D...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245146541&sr=8-1

Memory Card (SD Though):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sandisk-8Gb...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1245146616&sr=1-2

I would recommend the Canon 1000D which I own but I bought mine for £310 from amazon with a kit lens a few months ago but amazon seem to have got rid and raised prices.

Have you tried out all the cameras in store? Having used my friends Sony A200 I wasn't too impressed but that is all down to personal preferences. Also read DPreview for some detailed reviews.

 

[MichaelBarry]

I have handled most of the entry level DSLRs as my friends have a D40, D60, 1000D and A300 (not the same person though!)

they all seem to fit my hand reasonably well and I could certainly get used to the controls and size etc.

Is this the completely wrong time to buy a camera because it seems to be £330+ body only for a 1000d?

Canon 1000D body only!!: £330+
Amazon

this is depressing as it seems my only choice is the a200 which is the only camera in my budget.

noticed this deal in Jessops though (I know jessops is bad...) I can afford Aperture 2 also now.

 

[mattyb240]

Yeah I don't know why they want so much money for the 1000D, I paid £310 with kit lens and am really glad I chose it over the Nikon. The thing that swung it for me was the easy access to all the main features on the back of the canon, where as the nikon I had to go through a load of menus, which for me wasn't acceptable when I would want to make a fast change. Also the lack of in built AF on the Nikon.

I didn't like the way the Sony felt for me, but its all personal taste, and in various reviews I had seen it didn't compare as well against the competition but you cannot beat it on bang for buck!

After a google it would appear the 1000D has shot up everywhere!

 

[markfc]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00131W8IW/pr-electronics-21/ref=asc_df_B00131W8IW332923

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Extreme-III-SDHC-Card/dp/B000QUUFRW/ref=pd_bxgy_ce_text_b

Camera £490, Memory Card £16

Get aperture later and use iPhoto for now.

 

[elfxmilhouse]

my vote is the nikon D40

great starter camera and its getting really cheap these days

 

[kreuzberg]

Well simply don't buy from jessops its the PC world of cameras.

I have to agree that jessops are pretty bad, the bunch in my local store wouldnt know a good camera if it hit them in the face! That said though, I cant argue with their Sony dSLR prices, they are excellent value.

If you were going to get a Sony though, I would recommend the A300. Its basically the same camera but with a tilting rear LCD for not much more money. I tried one of these cameras out a couple of weeks ago and I thougth it seemed like a bit of a gimmick but it allows you to try out lots of unusual compositions very easily when you combine it with the Live View function.

I also liked that it has in-body image stabilisation which allows you to use any lens, even old 35mm SLR lenses which can be found very cheaply on ebay. (this is something that all similar Nikons, Canons etc dont have)

The only downside was that it was quite noisy, Im not sure whether this was the auto focusing or the stabilisation but it is something to consider if you will be shooting in quiet situations alot.

 

[euanmackie]

spend more money on the camera body than anything else i wouldn't go for such a large card when your starting off. Then in the future upgrade with things like glass and cards etc. Aperture is a must and try ebay. i picked up a 20d with a 50mm for £300 which is a better camera some say than the more newer ones. so its worth a look

 

[compuwar]

I want to use Aperture 2.

If you're trying to save money, then just organize your pictures in directories, and use something like RPP to deal with your raw files. There's no net gain from software and iPhoto is good for most people.

Get good lenses, a camera body is a ~3-4yr investment, a lens a 10-15yr one.

 

[mattyb240]

there is a seller on ebay in the UK selling aperture 2 for £40 apparently all above board with a no quibble money back guarantee! So check it out could be a viable option.

 

[MichaelBarry]

my vote is the nikon D40

I feel like I'm limited by the lenses I can get because it has no built-in AF motor. The Motor has to be in the lenses.

i wouldn't go for such a large card when your starting off.

I need a large card because I'm going on holiday to Thailand for over 3 weeks and don't want to take my macbook over so I figured buying a large memory was the only option (I'd be shooting in RAW too).

Get aperture later and use iPhoto for now.

I'll be shooting RAW and want to make the most of it.

 

[mattyb240]

Check it out...http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Canon_EOS_1000D_Lens_Kit_EF-S_18-55_IS_pc.html

 

[MichaelBarry]

Check it out...http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Canon_EOS_1000D_Lens_Kit_EF-S_18-55_IS_pc.html

I've watched the 1000D at Argos for weeks. it's been out of stock for weeks. same with the Sony A200 at Argos.

 

[elfxmilhouse]

I feel like I'm limited by the lenses I can get because it has no built-in AF motor. The Motor has to be in the lenses

true
only a concern i think if you already have many lenses that need the on camera motor.

all the recent nikon lenses have motor built in.

again i think its only an issue if you already have a collection of lenses that require the AF motor in the body.

 

[HBOC]

as far as shooting RAW (and i thought i'd never hear myself saying this), how many images are you planning on printing larger than 8x10" (A4?). with technology now a days, you can get great clear hi-res enlargements from JPEGS!! I shoot mostly RAW myself, but i find that i dont enlarge many pictures and it is a major pain going through RAW/TIFF/CR2 files and PP'ing them just to print out even 5x7 prints. Id say shoot JPEG until you see something you know you will want to print big! That way it will save space and many hours of time, especially if you have 8GB's of RAW files. that is what i would do! Because chances are you wont be printing many photos larger than 8x10. I have never printed anything larger than 8x10 myself, and i have many 10's of GBs of files.

good luck with what ever you choose

 

[marioman38]

Yes, but raw is not just for printing. It is much easier to adjust exposure after the photo has been taken, as well as adjusting the White Balance in a click of a button in lightroom! There are advantages to both, but RAW just has more of them

Nikon makes some great cameras, but in my opinion, the D40 is not one of them. Entry level? The 1000D is the winner at this point in time.

 

[MichaelBarry]

as far as shooting RAW (and i thought i'd never hear myself saying this), how many images are you planning on printing larger than 8x10" (A4?). with technology now a days, you can get great clear hi-res enlargements from JPEGS!! I shoot mostly RAW myself, but i find that i dont enlarge many pictures and it is a major pain going through RAW/TIFF/CR2 files and PP'ing them just to print out even 5x7 prints. Id say shoot JPEG until you see something you know you will want to print big! That way it will save space and many hours of time, especially if you have 8GB's of RAW files. that is what i would do! Because chances are you wont be printing many photos larger than 8x10. I have never printed anything larger than 8x10 myself, and i have many 10's of GBs of files.

thanks for the info but I was more concerned about the ability to recover highlights and shadows, adjust white balance etc.

 

[Phrasikleia]

thanks for the info but I was more concerned about the ability to recover highlights and shadows, adjust white balance etc.

Which is why I shoot raw 100% of the time. I don't want the camera making decisions for me...ever...

 

[BertyBoy]

Not wanting to disagree with everyone else's view on Jessops, but if you know what you want, and can go in store, and get one of the more experienced members of staff - usually by the Canon / Nikon high end stuff. Ask them what they use, and what they had before that, what they use as a backup camera, etc, etc. You should be OK, just ask for a best price after discussing your choice and their choices for 15-20 mins. Big discounts are to be had in store, do your homework first, ie. best price on Amazon was blah, the local camera shop has it for blah, what can you do ? If it's too much walk away. I can usually get them to match or beat internet prices, and I come away with a bit more knowledge.

If you want to save the VAT, check out http://www.7dayshop.com/ some things are cheaper, some are not. CF is never cheap in Jessops. Of course, if you went up to 16GB, it's a lot more cost effective.

 

[Sir SpemzR]

Canon 1000D for the win with the lens kit, ive used (not owned) many SLRs before such as the D40, D60, D80 and i love the 1000D its in the same price range as the others but i think it performs better....personal opinion though so no one chew my head off for it

 

[HBOC]

thanks for the info but I was more concerned about the ability to recover highlights and shadows, adjust white balance etc.

i see what you are saying, but i would only shoot RAW if i was going to print. If just viewing on the web, it will become a JPEG anyways

do you have any filters you are going to be taking with you?

 

[Phrasikleia]

i see what you are saying, but i would only shoot RAW if i was going to print. If just viewing on the web, it will become a JPEG anyways

Yes, but if you shoot raw, it will become a JPEG with the shadow and highlight details of your choice, not of the camera's JPEG processing choice. Ditto for exposure, sharpening, noise reduction, etc.

 

[TarangPrasad]

thinking I'll get the Sony a200 with 18-70mm

 

[Andrew Henry]

my vote is the nikon D40

great starter camera and its getting really cheap these days

This.

I bought my D40 a few weeks ago, it is my first DSLR and I'm completely in love with it. If you can find one, I would definitely shoot for the D40 it's a wonderful camera!

 

[jake.f]

If you have a local store go and ask if they can do a deal on that lens and camera, a bag and a card and also the sony 75-300mm lens. the 75-300 is a great lens i have used it before.

EDIT: Ask mickbab if you dont believe me in saying its a good lens.