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General => General discussion => Topic started by: whiter_than_white on 14 June 2010, 21:43
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looking to spend around £350, looked at jessops at the sony a330, the nikon d3000 and the canon eos 1000d, all with 55mm lenses, im a total beginner when it comes to slr shooting, will one of these be any good? are there any other good cameras out there for similar money? and is jessops the best plaace to get one from?
sorry for all the questions
cheers
will
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Yes.
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would you care to expand a little please DH :smiley:
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No.
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thank you
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Yes.
lol
IMO D3000 or 1000D
both entry level from the big boys, meaning that you've got a wider range of accessories and lenses available, so you wont endup with a load of sony compatible lenses and then then think hey I want that shiny new D90 or 50D but now I've got to buy new lenses too.
take a look at http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_D3000/verdict.shtml or some of the other threads in the photography section as this has been asked a number of times already (which is probably why you got the short answer from DH :wink:).
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great link that ridg :smiley: so is jessops the best place to get one? prices are very similar to other high street shops (currys, comet, argos) or is there a website.other outlet to get cheaper
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Jessops is - in my experience - the best high street outlet. They're a good specialist high street camera store, but only as good as the staff are interested in selling.
Personally I'd rather have somewhere to take big bucks kit back to if it fails. I suspect you'll get more customer service from Jessops than any other high street outlet.
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Jessops is - in my experience - the best high street outlet. They're a good specialist high street camera store, but only as good as the staff are interested in selling.
Personally I'd rather have somewhere to take big bucks kit back to if it fails. I suspect you'll get more customer service from Jessops than any other high street outlet.
i agree thatyou oul probly get a better service from jessops than somewhere like currys, however jessops seem to employ worse staff than halfords for exmple i wanted some info on a product they had online so went into the shop and asked him aboutit and he said 'imafraid theres no such product'.. :shocked: one thing i will add is that the market for new and used canon gear is slightly bigger than nikon.
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Jessops is - in my experience - the best high street outlet. They're a good specialist high street camera store, but only as good as the staff are interested in selling.
Personally I'd rather have somewhere to take big bucks kit back to if it fails. I suspect you'll get more customer service from Jessops than any other high street outlet.
i agree thatyou oul probly get a better service from jessops than somewhere like currys, however jessops seem to employ worse staff than halfords for exmple i wanted some info on a product they had online so went into the shop and asked him aboutit and he said 'imafraid theres no such product'.. :shocked: one thing i will add is that the market for new and used canon gear is slightly bigger than nikon.
Jessops generally actually employ keen amateur photographers, photography sudents, semi pro etc and I've always found there advice pretty good, it's not as good as some forums or pro sites, like kenrockwell, dpreview but unless you have access to a proper photography shop, say camera world, jacobs etc then you wont find better advice on the high street.
The best thing is that you can try before you buy, I was looking at lenses, so took my body to the local store asked to test is as test I did. as well as the price match, you've got 30 days no quibble returns*
So personally I'd recommend them, 90% of my gear has come from there as most of the time they are as cheap or will match the price, and for me knowing if something goes wrong it's a trip down town at lunch is very reassuring as well as the fact it's going to be genuine and not a grey import.
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/ will pretty much give you the best web prices, but as said most places will price match each other
* you'll want to double check this
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i recently got a sony a500 from jessops got to say the guy in there seemed to know what he was talkin about and showed me lots of photos ect he done his self with different cameras ect
i went in there with the thought i was goin buy a cannon but after he ran thru a few things eneded up with the sony the main thing was the auto focusing was so quick and it felt more comfortable to hold
im very new to the dlsr side of things and every one told me to go and feel the cameras before i bought one last thing u want is a camera thats uncomfortable
thats my newbie 2ps worth lol
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Saying that about the Sony lenses has put me off going for a Sony A230/330. Although i'll not upgrade in the near future when I do I don't want to be left with loads of uncompatable lenses.
In the same situation as the OP.
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Saying that about the Sony lenses has put me off going for a Sony A230/330. Although i'll not upgrade in the near future when I do I don't want to be left with loads of uncompatable lenses.
In the same situation as the OP.
This really comes down to how far you think you'll go with the camera, if you think you're going to end up a genuine enthusiast, semi pro or even pro then you'll want to start with an established platform like Nikon, Canon, Olympus etc Sony are still very next to the game and as a result the range of lens (sony and third party) isn't as great as Nikon or Canon. So my advice would be go for a well established platform like Nikon or Canon as the glass will be your main investment.
If you're just after a camera that's going to take good shots and probably only end up owning 1-3 lens then you could probably get away with Sony as odds are you're not going to be putting that much money into glass.
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I don't think I'll ever go semi pro or pro :grin:
The problem is the intial investment at the moment, I don't see myself having grands worth of camera kit just enough to get buy and get some good shots. I like making the best of of cheaper equipment rather than partially using the advantages of expensive gear, if that makes sense?
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Sony uses Minolta lens fitment (Sony bought Minoltas SLR range) therefore you can use the older, and very good, minolta glass.
Nick
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if you want a canon go to canon outlet on e bay some good bargains on there also the talk photography site has tests and loads of info
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I've looked on the Canon eBay outlet and there are only 450D's IIRC.
I'vve researched this to death, I just need to buy one now.
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450D's are better than 1000D's if that's any help mate?
Nick
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I don't think I'll ever go semi pro or pro :grin:
The problem is the intial investment at the moment, I don't see myself having grands worth of camera kit just enough to get buy and get some good shots. I like making the best of of cheaper equipment rather than partially using the advantages of expensive gear, if that makes sense?
do you need a DSLR then? Why not buy a good bridge camera?
the only main advantages of buying an entry level DSLR over a bridge is that you've got the option to buy the right lens for the job and better low light handling
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I don't think I'll ever go semi pro or pro :grin:
The problem is the intial investment at the moment, I don't see myself having grands worth of camera kit just enough to get buy and get some good shots. I like making the best of of cheaper equipment rather than partially using the advantages of expensive gear, if that makes sense?
do you need a DSLR then? Why not buy a good bridge camera?
the only main advantages of buying an entry level DSLR over a bridge is that you've got the option to buy the right lens for the job and better low light handling
I've got a Fuji S5700 so that's kind of a bridge camera but want to step up the game a bit. So looking for an entry DSLR.
@ Nick, yeah I know that, they're also a lot more monies :grin: I have had plenty of time with a 450 that I have enjoyed yet out of my budget.
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Sony uses Minolta lens fitment (Sony bought Minoltas SLR range) therefore you can use the older, and very good, minolta glass.
x2. I use an old Minolta prime lens on my camera, quality is the bee's knees!
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kk so you're going to be aware of the bridge limitations then as in only one lens which can limit a lot
not sure on your budget or the OPs but I'd be looking at
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77481/show.html
or
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77514/show.html
the Nikon 18-55 is meant to be really good for a kit lens, the 70-300 is a cheap and cheerful lens, that will let you take motorsports, wildlife etc, it's not that fast so you'll need to use a high ISO or long shutter speed (not much use for sport / wildlife)
But the 18-55 is a versitle range add say an 85mm prime at some point and you've got most situations covered.
If you don't want the telephoto lens, then go for the 18-55 kit, you wont need VR on an 18-55 but it's the new version of the lens and gets good write ups for a kit piece of glass
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Budget is £350, thinking a Sony a330 with 18-50mm lens and a polarising filter.
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Budget is £350, thinking a Sony a330 with 18-50mm lens and a polarising filter.
for £350 i'd be going for
http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/76463/show.html
but you wont get the PL filter for that price.
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Worth checking out prices on Amazon as well you know, I saved a fair few quid buying mine from there.
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like TJG, my budget is around 350, i have looked at the nikon (ridg's recomendation) and also the canon, i just wanted opinions from people who have dslr's as to their recomendations and going off whats been said i'm gonna go check out the nikon and the canon and have a play in the shop and see what deal i can get. Are jessops likely to do any sort of deal?? ie free memory card or case?? or not with such a cheap camera??(cheap compared to most)
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There website offers deals if you check it out. 25% off filters too.
My list is(in order):
Sony A230 or 330
canon 1000d
nikon d3000
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like TJG, my budget is around 350, i have looked at the nikon (ridg's recomendation) and also the canon, i just wanted opinions from people who have dslr's as to their recomendations and going off whats been said i'm gonna go check out the nikon and the canon and have a play in the shop and see what deal i can get. Are jessops likely to do any sort of deal?? ie free memory card or case?? or not with such a cheap camera??(cheap compared to most)
You wont know till you ask :wink:
Depends on the manager really, but you would expect to get something from them and if you don't you can walk away.
I'd go;
D3000 better lens and AF
1000D as good in terms of performance
A330 because of the platform
Either of those three are going to be a cracker, it's just which brand you want to go with.
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going off reviews ive read and what people have said my order would be, canon, nikon, sony. canon only beating the nikon by looks but that may change when i actually handle them in the shop
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I think when you're looking at this end of the market, looking for a first DSLR camera there are 2 important things:
a) is it easy to get to grips with?
b) is the package good for the money (or are you going to need to spend more money pretty soon on extras) ?
Since all three options (1000D, D3000, A230/330) will take good photos, it's down to these questions.
Answer these first.
Then ask yourself, will you be wanting to upgrade the camera later or spend money on lenses ?
If you think you'll be happy sticking with the same brand of camera when you upgrade, then investing in good lenses makes sense. But if you think you might switch brands, be aware that you'll have to sell all your lenses and buy new ones.
(I own a Sony and a few lenses, so for me to switch to say Canon, I'd have to sell it all and buy new again)
Also don't be put off the Sony because they technically haven't been in the SLR market as long. This is only partially right. Sony bought all the design and knowledge built up over years from Minolta. So there is significant pedigree there. Ok, so it's not as big as Canon or Nikon, but it's enough.
The main point is that you can buy a secondhand Minolta AF lens and use it on a Sony camera. The Minolta lenses are very good.
Some brand new lenses from Sony are more expensive than the Canon or Nikon equivalent, but then you pay less for the camera itself.
The main thing is try it, see how it feels in your hands, is it comfortable to hold up to your eye, is it easy to use (menu's fiddly?) ?
Then work on a deal with the salesman, remember you'll probably want a case, maybe a spare battery, UV filter (to protect the lens if nothing else), perhaps a tripod. Although all of these can be bought new off ebay for less.
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Thanks :afro:
Been researching this morning and I think it's between the Canon 1000d or the Sony a330. Although glass for the Sony is cheaper but if I wanted to switch later on it'd be a nightmare. Also with a Canon 450d in the house it seems better to go for a Canon as we can share lenses.
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Also with a Canon 450d in the house it seems better to go for a Canon as we can share lenses.
That sounds like another good reason to go for the Canon.
Certainly save you money in the short term, allowing you to borrow a lens or two to try, then buy your own later.
(And if they ever upgrade, you might get first dibs on it)
I have a lens on (permanent) loan from my Dad because his Minolta stuff fits my Sony.
I did just get a load of filters off him too. :grin:
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Also with a Canon 450d in the house it seems better to go for a Canon as we can share lenses.
That sounds like another good reason to go for the Canon.
Certainly save you money in the short term, allowing you to borrow a lens or two to try, then buy your own later.
(And if they ever upgrade, you might get first dibs on it)
I have a lens on (permanent) loan from my Dad because his Minolta stuff fits my Sony.
I did just get a load of filters off him too. :grin:
+1
sharing is caring :laugh:
Makes sense to go for canon as you can share kit, compare settings, enjoy canon talk etc
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Not that my GFs Dad uses it to it's potential and only has the standard lense.
But I guess he could borrow mine as I start collecting
glass.
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Ah, but you could probably persuade him to buy something for his camera and then borrow it every so often. :grin:
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Another thingto consider is that a 450d is £380 from canons refurbished store on eBay.