What camera

[gary11]

Just thinking of getting myself a decent camera,been so impressed with th "Le Mans" pictures this year really excellent,what today is deemed to be the best one any help would be good!

[outlaw biker]

The BEST one? It'll cost more than a Ferrari put it that way. But I'd say the Nikon D200 is about as good as it needs to be.

[curtisl]

It depends on what you want to do, your ability and how much you want to spend. I have been into photography for a while now and after owning a few compact point and shoot cameras I got myself a Canon eos 400d Digital SLR. It's a fantastic beginners dslr but to be honest there is so much choice for that sort of market.

[outlaw biker]

What I should probably point out is that the BEST camera will not make you a better photographer...just as the BEST car will not make you the best driver. In fact if you don't know what you're doing a DSLR could end up giving you much worse results than a cheap digital camera.

[tinman0]

another Canon 400D user here. get a long life battery and a 4-16G CF card and job done.

the art to take a good picture though is composition and cropping when you load onto your computer and then messing around with the colours if needs be.

Edited by tinman0 on Monday 23 June 21:53

[Deluded]

I have an Olympus E-510. Very good Entry SLR with lots of features (alot more than some other entry level SLRs) which can produce cracking results. Can also get some great deals on twin lens kits etc.

Or wait a bit and ge the new E-520

[andyquantum]

Nikon?
No, Canon.

No, Nikon.
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon

Decide what you want to use it for, whether you can afford for it to be lobbed around and whether you want a compact or an SLR. That'll largely depend on how much you want to spend

[Gold]

curtisl said:

It depends on what you want to do, your ability and how much you want to spend. I have been into photography for a while now and after owning a few compact point and shoot cameras I got myself a Canon eos 400d Digital SLR. It's a fantastic beginners dslr but to be honest there is so much choice for that sort of market.

If you're looking at doing any motorsport photography you'll need the lens flexibility that only a SLR offers. I have also got a 400D as my first SLR and would highly recommend it.

I would also recommend visiting the photography section.

[outlaw biker]

andyquantum said:

Nikon?
No, Canon.

No, Nikon.
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon

Decide what you want to use it for, whether you can afford for it to be lobbed around and whether you want a compact or an SLR. That'll largely depend on how much you want to spend

I would also add to that, hold it and see how it feels. I chose the Nikon over the Canon purely because it fits my big sausage fingers better. Theres also the issue of wether you want your anti-vibration built into the camera body OR the lens.....so think about how many lenses you are really likely to add to your kit.

[gary11]

Thanks chaps,I should add I dont want to get carried away an SLR with a middle of the road lens would be fine,just dont want to get last years model at this years money,will do some homework and decide probably will spend £4-500 so should get a decent one,thanks again.

[outlaw biker]

gary11 said:

Thanks chaps,I should add I dont want to get carried away an SLR with a middle of the road lens would be fine,just dont want to get last years model at this years money,will do some homework and decide probably will spend £4-500 so should get a decent one,thanks again.

Have a look on Ebay and get yourself a Nikon D50. Brilliant camera. Much better than its replacement.

[CLK-GTR]

A Canon 400D or Nikon D40X/D60 are all you'll need for a long time. I chose the Canon because i though i might find the 3 point focus on the Nikon a limiting factor for shooting fast moving objects, but aside from that they're almost identical [most camera reviews do give the Canon a very slight edge]

[ganglandboss]

outlaw biker said:

andyquantum said:

Nikon?
No, Canon.

No, Nikon.
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon
No, Canon.

No, Nikon

Decide what you want to use it for, whether you can afford for it to be lobbed around and whether you want a compact or an SLR. That'll largely depend on how much you want to spend

I would also add to that, hold it and see how it feels. I chose the Nikon over the Canon purely because it fits my big sausage fingers better. Theres also the issue of wether you want your anti-vibration built into the camera body OR the lens.....so think about how many lenses you are really likely to add to your kit.

Yes. I went with the Nikon for this reason too.

[outlaw biker]

CLK-GTR said:

A Canon 400D or Nikon D40X/D60 are all you'll need for a long time. I chose the Canon because i though i might find the 3 point focus on the Nikon a limiting factor for shooting fast moving objects, but aside from that they're almost identical [most camera reviews do give the Canon a very slight edge]

I always always put the camera in single point mode for fast moving objects....its never hampered me yet...I'll post a couple of pics in a mo.

[tinman0]

gary11 said:

Thanks chaps,I should add I dont want to get carried away an SLR with a middle of the road lens would be fine,just dont want to get last years model at this years money,will do some homework and decide probably will spend £4-500 so should get a decent one,thanks again.

Last years model is the 400D but you can get cracking deals on it at the moment. Do not for a moment think that some how will hold you back. What it will do is release another couple of hundred quid on a second long lens which is far more important.

You can get cheap 70-200mm zoom lens for next to nothing. I found a B stock lens in Dixons last year for £24 - had to make do without a lens cap..... Does what it says on the tin, and although it wouldn't cut it in the serious stakes, is a perfectly affordable way of getting close to distant things which is what you need for motorsport.

Ideally you need a fast lens, but for your budget (and most peoples budget in fact), you won't get close, and you can compensate for a slower lens by upping the iso anyway.

Ah yes, the Nikon vs Canon thing. The Nikon guys have an inferiority complex

[NiceCupOfTea]

More like the Canon guys have an inflated sense of self worth!

Decent SLRs are cheap as chips now, especially if you are prepared to go second hand. Personally I don't like the newer entry level cameras as they seem to be cut down a lot (D40 et al).

When I bought mine last year I went for a D70S - it's an older camera, but it has a lot of the functionality of its bigger brother the D200 without the flaws (limited lens choice, not taking CF cards) of the D40 etc.

In fact, the only camera I would have chosen over it would have been the D200 which at the time was double the price

If it were my money, a D200 with a Nikon Nikkor 18-200VR lense as a catch all solution.

[RobDickinson]

IMO the D40(x)/D60 are way too cut down. No focus motor, no MLU , no DoF preview, no ISO 100, no bracketing and yes only 3 focus points IS an issue (for shallow DoF Shots focus and recompose is wrong, and for sports shots).

I do however love the D300 - a cracking camera chock full of teck, it doesnt though take any better a picture than the excelent 40D which is almost half the price.

D3 is sweet too but expensive, A D80 replacement should be out soon and will hopefully sit somewhere around the 40D market.

[flat-planedCrank]

I'd stick to Nikon / Canon due to the range of lenses that are available.

I know there is lots of Nikon vs. Canon stuff about, just read the reviews on something like http://www.dpreview.com they tend to be pretty comprehensive.

Imo, for the price bracket, i'd probably be looking at Canon 400D / 450D (or a used 30D / 40D) or from Nikon a D80 / (used) D200.

Its personal preference, but I'd not go for the D40(x)/D60 due to the lack of an auto-focusing pin in their lens mount. (Means that lenses without an internal focusing motor won't autofocus with the d40(x)/d60 - further explanation on the introduction page of the dpreview D60 review)


Cheers.

[outlaw biker]

RobDickinson said:

IMO the D40(x)/D60 are way too cut down. No focus motor, no MLU , no DoF preview, no ISO 100, no bracketing and yes only 3 focus points IS an issue (for shallow DoF Shots focus and recompose is wrong, and for sports shots).

I do however love the D300 - a cracking camera chock full of teck, it doesnt though take any better a picture than the excelent 40D which is almost half the price.

D3 is sweet too but expensive, A D80 replacement should be out soon and will hopefully sit somewhere around the 40D market.

I do agree that the D40 is too cut down. I've no experience of the D60. But I'd say the old D50 is a cracking camera. I'd love a D200/D300, but to be honest I don't think it would make massive improvements to my photography. Not enough to justify the massive price difference.

[outlaw biker]

OK, here are some of my shots with a bottom of the range Nikon D50 to add to the Canon V Nikon argument.....

Edited by outlaw biker on Monday 23 June 23:20