Beginner (used) DSLR??

[Boom78]

Hi guys,
My daughter is keen on getting into photography, I’ve been looking at used DSLRs and lenses on places like Harrison Cameras but I simply haven’t got a clue what I’m looking at. The canon 40D looks a good shout but what general purpose lens would you get? Budget is £150 max for body and lens.

Thanks

[Fastchas]

40D is a good shout, 60D is better but if it's to get into the photography 'ins & out' then its a decent camera.
50mm/1.8 lenses are quite cheap and give good results, maybe look into Sigma for equivalent Canon alternatives. I would look at a Canon 18-135mm myself if I was starting out.

[sociopath]

Depends what sort of photography she is interested in, but my go-to lens is my 24-70. Ok it's an L lens so it's very good quality, but I find it lets me do 95% of what I want to do without the weight of a bigger range.

[Fastchas]

sociopath said:

Depends what sort of photography she is interested in, but my go-to lens is my 24-70. Ok it's an L lens so it's very good quality, but I find it lets me do 95% of what I want to do without the weight of a bigger range.

You haven't read the brief. What price the 'L' lens?

[Simpo Two]

I'm a Nikon bod so would suggest a D200 and Nikon 18-70mm lens. Might just get that for £150.

The 18mm end of the lens gives you good wide-angle for that sensor size.

[shed driver]

Left field thought, but why not an older semi-pro body.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304230445346?hash=item4... - needs a repair, so not good. Next cheapest https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255233162731?epid=10025...

And a new (non-Canon) Nifty Fifty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203461954636?hash=item2...

SD.

[Simpo Two]

Boom78 - my spare D200 could be available but you don't accept e-mails. PM if it's of interest.

[tangerine_sedge]

shed driver said:

Left field thought, but why not an older semi-pro body.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304230445346?hash=item4... - needs a repair, so not good. Next cheapest https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255233162731?epid=10025...

And a new (non-Canon) Nifty Fifty.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203461954636?hash=item2...

SD.

This, but....

Rather than Ebay, I'd use London Camera Exchange or similar. A litte more expensive than Ebay, but they should have at least been inspected/cleaned by someone with some knowledge of the equipment.

10 year old digital bodies are worth peanuts and are plenty good enough for an amateur learning. In terms of lenses, I would always recomend learning on a 50/f1.8, as it allows (almost forces) the beginner to experiment with the equipment.

[Simpo Two]

tangerine_sedge said:

10 year old digital bodies are worth peanuts and are plenty good enough for an amateur learning. In terms of lenses, I would always recomend learning on a 50/f1.8, as it allows (almost forces) the beginner to experiment with the equipment.

If it's a crop sensor camera, make it a 35mm.

[757]

Look on WEX also - had loads of camera gear off here, used ones also - graded well, and good knowledge.

I still use my 2008 Canon 5dmkii for personal gear (Full Frame, great sensor, nice manageable files), such an awesome camera, think ive got well over 260,000 shutter actuations on it, when paired with a good prime lens, its a great combo - I am lucky that work pay for my work cameras I use on shoots, but always buy used when I can

[yellowjack]

In to bump/bookmark this thread.

Long time away from photography for me, looking to start again. Used to use a couple of all-manual Yashica TTL 35mm SLRs with a variety of lenses up to 80-200mm.

I'm currently looking on mpb.com at used Canon 550Ds at £139. Mainly because I inherited my father-in-law's old 35mm Canon SLR, with a couple of lenses I think I can make use of with a digital SLR body. I need to add detail, once I dig out my f-i-l's camera bag, obviously, but any advice appreciated for someone who's been out of the game for a while, and wants to get back into photography on the digital side.

[C n C]

yellowjack said:

I'm currently looking on mpb.com at used Canon 550Ds at £139. Mainly because I inherited my father-in-law's old 35mm Canon SLR, with a couple of lenses I think I can make use of with a digital SLR body. I need to add detail, once I dig out my f-i-l's camera bag, obviously, but any advice appreciated for someone who's been out of the game for a while, and wants to get back into photography on the digital side.

Whether you can use the lenses on a digital body really depends on how old the Canon SLR and lenses are that you've inherited.

If it's a film EOS SLR, it'll have EF lenses, which are compatible with all Canon DSLRs. The EF lens mount and EOS SLRs were first introduced in 1987 replacing the older FD lens mount. So, as you say, you need to check on the actual film SLR model, and the models of the lenses with it.

Assuming that they are EF lenses, as used with the film SLR, then they will be compatible with both full frame and crop (APS-C) sensor bodies. For a full frame body (such as an EOS 5D), the lenses will act "correctly" - so a 50mm will give a traditional 50mm field of view. If you put the same 50mm EF lens on a cropped sensor (like the 550D that you mentioned earlier), the smaller APS-C sensor size means that a crop factor of 1.6x will mean that your 50mm will behave as the equivalent to an 80mm.

This is good news for telephotos - you get more reach, but not so good for wide angle lenses, as they aren't as wide.

Just a suggestion, but assuming they are EF lenses, you may want to consider a used Canon 5D (mark 1, or mark 2 if your budget will stretch) rather than the 550D. Although pretty old, it is a good quality full frame camera and is still capable of producing excellent results.

I still remember the improvement in image quality when moving to full frame from APS-C (a 40D to a 5D), and have stayed with full frame since then.


ETA (after seeing your post on the other thread):
For memory cards, I usually stick with Sandisk as they have been really reliable.
If you go for a 5D, you need a Compact Flash card, if the 550D, you will need an SD card.

Edited by C n C on Wednesday 23 February 03:21

[Whoozit]

yellowjack said:

In to bump/bookmark this thread.

Long time away from photography for me, looking to start again. Used to use a couple of all-manual Yashica TTL 35mm SLRs with a variety of lenses up to 80-200mm.

I'm currently looking on mpb.com at used Canon 550Ds at £139. Mainly because I inherited my father-in-law's old 35mm Canon SLR, with a couple of lenses I think I can make use of with a digital SLR body. I need to add detail, once I dig out my f-i-l's camera bag, obviously, but any advice appreciated for someone who's been out of the game for a while, and wants to get back into photography on the digital side.

One thing to think about, is that the game changer of digital cameras (after the sensor) is the electronic viewfinder. Which is only possible in a mirrorless camera. The good thing is there are loads of great older mirrorless full-frame or crop sensor cameras, some even have old-school dials. But not in Canon (or Nikon) mirrorless as they were latecomers to the party.

Another piece of good news is that any mirrorless cameras can easily use your old manual lenses, using an adaptor. It'll be fully manual control over focus and aperture, but you're used to that

Edited by Whoozit on Wednesday 23 February 08:25

[Starfighter]

Boom78 said:

Hi guys,
My daughter is keen on getting into photography, I’ve been looking at used DSLRs and lenses on places like Harrison Cameras but I simply haven’t got a clue what I’m looking at. The canon 40D looks a good shout but what general purpose lens would you get? Budget is £150 max for body and lens.

Thanks

I have a 40D. It is a good workhorse despite the age.

The type of photography is the key question that need to be answered before you will get any meaningful advice.

If you want to learn the science of sensor, shutter speed and aperture then you will need full manual control and that will discount some of the very entry level bodies

Lenses are what makes the image. Kit lenses tend to be poor for any manufacturer. There is no point is spending cash on L or EX glass as a beginner. The type of photography will determine the likely range of lens lengths.

Do not get to fixated on the numbers that go with a camera as it is very easy to get completely lost. Mega pixels aren’t everything.

Www.mpb.com is worth a look for used equipment.

[havoc]

Starfighter said:

I have a 40D. It is a good workhorse despite the age.

The type of photography is the key question that need to be answered before you will get any meaningful advice.

If you want to learn the science of sensor, shutter speed and aperture then you will need full manual control and that will discount some of the very entry level bodies

Lenses are what makes the image. Kit lenses tend to be poor for any manufacturer. There is no point is spending cash on L or EX glass as a beginner. The type of photography will determine the likely range of lens lengths.

Do not get to fixated on the numbers that go with a camera as it is very easy to get completely lost. Mega pixels aren’t everything.

Www.mpb.com is worth a look for used equipment.

What he said.

I used to have a 40D and still regret swapping it with my Dad for his (supposedly better) 7D Mk1. 7D ias harder to drive and gives noisier images (more MP on the same size sensor).

Also consider the weight of the body (& of the lenses) - the x00 and x50 series by Canon are plastic bodied, small, and light for D-SLRs; the x0 series are alloy bodied, bigger and definitely heftier...you notice when carrying one around for a while. The flip-side to that is when you've got a big telefoto lens on the camera feels better balanced, not as front-heavy.

The 5D Mk2 (current mainstay...need to upgrade to a Mk3 soon) is a cracking sensor for landscapes and portraits - there's real punch to the images which the cropped sensors can't quite match. But you'd need a Mk3 or Mk4 to match the frames-per-second and the off-centre focusing behaviour of even a 40D, let alone a 60D or 7D. So for sports, moving wildlife, airshows etc. I'd still go for a 40/50/60D over my 5D Mk2.

Price may be against you as well...full frame sensor cameras are holding their value better than cropped sensor cameras.