New Hobby, Help Me Pick A Camera To Buy?

Dirtt_Diver

Hello!
I want to start photography as a new proper hobby, and im sick of using normal compact digital cameras! i would like to buy my first DSLR! I have a price range of 200euro maybe up a lil bit more depending! any ideas!? remember now i am a complete n00b! and please no comments about how i shouldnt get a DSLR if im not ready or anything! remember you had to start somewhere aswell!! Thanks all!!!

Mycroft H

Two real options here for the price - nikon or sony.

Nikon d40. Advantages over sony - larger range of used lenses. Some cant see beyond the brand. Little cheaper then the sony. Able to use 30 years of lenses. Some say its slightly less noisy but i havnt seen any evidence. Small size

Disadvantages: thers no auto focus motor in the d40. This means you cant buy every new auto focus lens and have auto focus (theres no screw drive motor in the 'body' part, it has to be in the lens.)

The only ones are the ones with the usm motor in them. Expect to pay 100-150 more for the equivilent lens without it.

General comments: takes good pictures though.

Sony: advantages:
Has the auto focus motor missing in the d40. Has image stabilisiation. Compensates for your wobbly hand. More megapixels.
This is not always a good thing btw though!

Disadvantages: bigger in size then the d40. Slightly dearer (difference is v small though)

General comments:
I like it. Takes good photographs too

CabanSail

In the FAQ Stickie there is a link to the DPreview Selector which should help compare models.

I think €200 is too light to get a new DSLR. Maybe one of the cheaper Bridge Cameras, but still seems a bit low.

If you are buying a DSLR you should look at the whole system, as that is what you are buying into. Does that brand have the room to grow into for what you want to achieve.

DutchGuy

I think you might have to look at the second hand market, I got my Canon 300D (without lens) for about €150 inc postage last year which has served me fine as a beginner. I then paid another €90 for a 50mm f1.8 lens, but you might be able to pick up a cheaper second hand kit lens somewhere.

Good luck with the new hobby!

whitetea

Hey,

First of all, you need to ask yourself is what pictures you like taking the most. There is no camera that will make happy everybody. Each kind of photography needs something else...
Second thing you need to realize is that the component that will determine the quality of your pictures is lens.. so you should buy a best lens possible and with that a body that you can afford. It will be easier that way to upgrade your equipment in the future. Unless you think its just a temporary hobby that will not last for long... That is another question to ask yourself.

Skai

I'm going also highly recommend the Nikon D40. It was my first DSLR and I still use it from time to time. Lightweight and really simple to use. In fact it's designed to be so... With graphic representations of aperture settings you really cannot go wrong.

Top camera in my opinion.

Dirtt_Diver

Thanks for all the advice guys please keep it coming! I checked out the Nikon D40, this is going to sound really really stupid and completly novice like but here it goes! The D40 is a 6.1 mega pixel, i have a C905 phone with an 8.1 mega pixel camera............. when it comes to DSLRs is it just the mega pixel that makes a much better image or all the tweaky settings you can opt for? and dont get me wrong i know the more pixels=more colour=clearer image, i guess what im asking is whats the main differances between a great camera phone and a DSLR??

whitetea

Lens makes the difference

Dirtt_Diver

haha thanks! im just trying to look up info on wiki for DSLRS now and see!

ThOnda

Errrr... that'll be long.
For the first - lens, because it creates the picture.
Mobile phone has tiny piece of plastic and they call it a lens. Compact cameras have bigger and more complicated piece of plastic called a lens. SLRs could carry on their body any compatible lens made from plastic, better quality plastic, glass or better quality glass. Therefore you can increase and improve image quality by changing your lens.
Quality of the material used in lens and also manufacturing quality increases with the diameter of the lens - it is just easier :-)
And now the sensor. Sensor is a semiconductor chip crampled with light sensitive circuits. The higher density of the sensors on the chip, the higher possibility of negative effects on recorded image. Compact cameras have larger sensor and DSLRs have even larger chip.
Pixel amount cannot be compared. That would be like comparing 5l V8 engine from corvette and 5L V8 engine from minibus. The numbers are the same, but performance is not.

There were few threads on this topic in last two weeks and there could be even something in the FAQ sticky. A little of searching should help you a lot.

whitetea

OK, there is more to it then just a lens... But I would say lens its a crucial part. For the further, tailored advice you need to ask yourself:

What kind of photography you're planning to do (what is on your pictures)?
Will you want in the future upgrade your equipment to more professional?

Dirtt_Diver

whitetea wrote: »

OK, there is more to it then just a lens... But I would say lens its a crucial part. For the further, tailored advice you need to ask yourself:

What kind of photography you're planning to do (what is on your pictures)?
Will you want in the future upgrade your equipment to more professional?

Well i love taking pictures and capturing the moment, always have and always will! i could say where im coming from is i traveled Europe last summer and maybe again this summer, and the things i have seen, the compact camera just does not so the sights justice, and that is just one of very many reasons why i want to learn to use a camera that i can take a picture, show people and do the scene justice, Im still young and want to learn but i have to start somewhere, and to answer your question my choice of picture would be mainly nature orientated and occastional people for events etc.

whitetea

You see.. If you take most of the pictures when you travel, probably very important factor would be no to have your camera too heavy

Choosing Nikon system gives you a great opportunity to upgrade your set over and over again.. For example ths year you'll buy Nikon D40 with a good lens and that will give you good results... next year you will want something more and you'll buy more advanced body and keep the good lens... Then you decide that your budget allows to to buy a great lens that you'll be able to use for a rest of your life while you keep upgrading other bits of your equipment... So lets say Nikon would be a good solution if you're planning to go far.

If you looking for a light, a bit more compact, but a great quality camera to do pictures from your travels and what not and you think in 10 years you may change the subject to photograph your family and events that are important for you... I would then recommend to go for Sony as they have a great range for advanced amateur photographers. Seems like a perfect choice if you don't need to make your living from photography.

I wouldn't probably go for a second hand DSLR myself because this stuff gets old very quickly. For example what was a top shelf proffesional camera 3 years ago would be worse than amateur, semi-prof camera today because of old technologies used and so on.

With the lens... Danger of buying stuff like this online is that they might have some scratches or failures that you'll not notice in the first instance and it could be not much of a use for you. There must be a reason why they don't want it anymore