Another What Camera to buy

[Exigeowner]

OK im looking to buy a good quality camera although must admit I know very little ( nothing ) about taking photos, Im hoping that spending a fair amount will compensate for lack of ability and knowhow and give me some surprisingly nice pictures and a good starting point to become more interested to learn.

I have a budget of around £ 500.00 which could be extended if needs be and would be taking alot of pictures of family including our newborn, Cars, horses, Football games ( if subject matter makes any difference to camera choice )

Currently we just have a 5.1 MP Fuji camera thats well used, we do take alot of photos more for preserving memories than creating works or art.

Also advise if additional lenses are needed and what ones.

thanks

[mcflurry]

£500 should get you a Nikon D3000, carry bag, extra memory and a tripod

[RobDickinson]

And no better (proably worse) images than if you'd bought a £100 P&S.

SLR's dont magicaly take great pictures , you have to understand them & photography somewhat to get the best out of them.

If your not going to leave full auto mode and stick win in camera JPG processing jusy buy an LX3 or something.

[Exigeowner]

"and a good starting point to become more interested to learn"


there was your clue

Edited by Exigeowner on Saturday 17th October 01:29

[RobDickinson]

In which case any of the entry level dSLR's, there all good, I;d avoid the 1000D with the non IS kit lens and probably the D40 now, but apart from that go for it.

[thinfourth2]

The answer is

What shape is your hand? Nikon shaped or canon shaped?

You won't know until you pick one up and have a play

[KarlosFandango]

And don't be afraid to go second hand to get more bang for your bucks

[GetCarter]

If you think you might take it up as a hobby (as hinted at) then Canon or Nikon are the way to go (most lenses, well respected by pros, lots of new and second hand stuff etc) £500 will certainly get you on the way.

[wedgeinald]

It really is a "horses for courses" one as I found out on my thread about camcorders.

Decide what sort of pictures you want to take (if its just "snap shots" you won't need that mega zoom?) for the football side of things you'll probably want a halfway decnet zoom though and a "sport" mode to take some of the motion blur out.

I'd concur with the SLR's are not good starter cameras argument, but once you know what your doing they can produce great results.

I'd say for what you want to do you'd need something in between a compact (only really good for snapshots most of the time) and an SLR (too complex?), if you can find one with a reasonable built in optical zoom (20x or better? maybe 10x at a push?) then you'd probably not need changeable lenses (which in themselves can cause extra issues with dirt ingress etc if your not as careful as you need be), I hope you find the right camera for you.

Maybe take a look at the LUMIX range I believe they are quite good.

Just my 10p worth, i'm not an expert.

Norman

[leyorkie]

I would agree with Lumix suggestion
Cameras such as the Lumix FZ18 offer a lot of features for the price, lots of pixels, 18x optical zoom built in. You can use the Intelligent Auto setting or you can play with the settings for asa and colour balance etc.
A good step up from P%S but not full DSLR.

[Exigeowner]

Thanks for the replies, Both the FZ18 and the D3000 seem very good options, Reading the write ups of the D3000 its appears that you can just look and shoot and get very good pictures also having a good zoom etc and get good quality photos without having to know alot about photography, at the same time being able to play and learn with it at users pace.

The price is not a great concern so now I cant really decide between the two !

[rasputin]

When I got my DSLR and tried it on Auto mode - "hmmm, that's not the kind of shot I was going for". Time and time again if I try using Auto mode it will get an OK photo - but not what I wanted.
So I learned how to use it (and am still learning), and spent a lot of money on lenses and accessories - and I've started getting the kind of shots (and quality) that were never possible with a P&S.

An SLR is just too complex to leave on Auto mode IMO. And £500 isn't enough for a DSLR plus lenses that will cover the versatility of a good P&S (wide angle, big zoom, macro, camera bag, etc.)

So if it's something you want to get more serious about - then definitely get a DSLR and start reading! But I doubt you'll stick to £500 after a few months...

[Simpo Two]

The solution that's worked well for me for 25 years is 1 x compact and 1 x SLR. Compact for when size is more important than results, and SLR when results are more important than size.

In other words, and to quote Winnie the Pooh, 'both'

[marctwo]

Going on the premise that the best camera is the one you have with you, and after being spoiled by having an SLR, I decided against the 2 camera route and went for the inbetween option:



So far I am very happy with it, although it is far from the cheap option.

[paddy27]

Don't be afraid of going second hand either. Don't think i have bought any new SLR equipment in years and never had a problem with any of the stuff i've had.
It is worth actaully using a few different types as well. Am a Nikon fan. Have tried Canons and can't get along with them. My Uncle is the opposite.

[Exigeowner]

Was going to buy the FZ18 but cant seem to find any for sale, Any ideas of online sites that may have one ?

Thanks

[marctwo]

It's being replaced by the FZ28 by the look of it.

[Exigeowner]

FZ28 sounds just the deal, Any reccomendations for online camera shops ?

Blimey this market is quick moving , Im being told now that FZ28 has now been replaced by FZ38

Edited by Exigeowner on Friday 23 October 16:40

[leyorkie]

Try www.camerabox.co.uk Good price ,good service

[M5jimmy]

A bit over the budget but herd some good things about these, very interested in one my self. Great price too from the site posted above

http://www.camerabox.co.uk/product1.asp?ProductNam...