How much do you need to spend on decent digi SLR?

[A911DOM]

The Mrs and I have been talking about the possibility of upgrading from my rather basic Fuji Finepix A400... which was okay for the occasional holiday snap and rubbish round the house etc, but is failing horribly if anything moves or wont pose whilst it decides to take the photo...

I also have an old Pentax MX which the Mrs kindly bought me some filters for Xmas to have a play with... BUT, we both fancy having a digital SLR so as we can capture the things we are seeing and also have the option to play with the settings at the same time as being able to view them instantly...

So, how much do we need to spend to get something worthwhile?
Which brands offer the most upgrades / adapters / gadgets and add-ons etc?
Is there anywhere safe to buy second-hand? (Im outside UK by the way!)

When I bought my MX I paid a pittance for it really, but I got three lenses and a large flash unit all in, is there anyone wanting to sell a similar digital package here!? Hang on, time to go and check the classifieds just in case Im missing something already...

Cheers
Dom

[GetCarter]

I'd look at Nikon or Canon first. www.DPreview.com may help.

Prices start at about £350. (New Nikon D40 looks good)



Steve

Edited by GetCarter on Saturday 30th December 12:20

[te51cle]

If you've got some Pentax lenses already then you might also want to look at the Pentax K100D. I've seen good results from them and they're easy to use.

[simonb9]

te51cle said:

If you've got some Pentax lenses already then you might also want to look at the Pentax K100D. I've seen good results from them and they're easy to use.

This is a good point - hadn't even thought about it. I've got an older Minolta SLR camera with various Minolta and Tamron bayonet fitment lenses - if I bought a new Digi Minolta SLR camera would I have to ditch all the lenses and start with a whole new set up ??

[GetCarter]

Some lenses will work with some DSLRs - make sure you check!

Only later lenses will have full functionality BTW

[tr7v8]

simonb9 said:

te51cle said:

If you've got some Pentax lenses already then you might also want to look at the Pentax K100D. I've seen good results from them and they're easy to use.

This is a good point - hadn't even thought about it. I've got an older Minolta SLR camera with various Minolta and Tamron bayonet fitment lenses - if I bought a new Digi Minolta SLR camera would I have to ditch all the lenses and start with a whole new set up ??

All of my old 7000i Minolta lenses worked with my KM 5D, been lusting after a Sony Alpha100 as it's the replacement but she'd kill me. Worth looking at even without your existing lenses a lot ofcamera for the money.