new camera help please

[darrenwest1]

are there any photographers out there who would be able to advise me on a new camera please

i have a budget around the 500 pound mark and would love a good dslr camera with a decent zoom on it
i have only owned normal digital cemeras in the past but we are off to disney world soon and i would love to get some really good pictures
any help would be great
thanks

 

[Hawks]

I know there are some keen photographers on here with some tip top cameras, so I'll get in early with my tuppence.... we bought one a few years ago and didn't have a huge budget but wanted a quality camera..

I picked up a 2nd hand Canon 20D like this

added a decent zoom lens and a general purpose one and I think we did well, takes great photos and still plenty of manual options to explore... :thumb:

 

[Aleman]

Nikon D70/D80/D90 should all fit the bill
Canon 40D
Sony Alpha 580 Great specc'd cameras haven't got the rang of glass that the other marques have, but cover what the majority of users want
Pentax K-r and K5 much underrated cameras

They will all do what you want, I'm biased to Sony because of the Minolta heritage, but could be just as happy with any of the others.

once you have an idea on what models get to a local camera shop and play with a few to get an idea of handling . . . no good setting you heart on a canon 450D to find it's so small that you get cramp in your hands holding it.

And have a look at Camera Price Buster for the best Online Prices and Discount codes

And whatever you do Avoid buying from Pixmania at all costs!!! :twisted: :twisted:

Warehouse Express ar a very good online retailer :thumb:

 

[Sean_Mc]

Mrs Mc is into her cameras, mostly Cannon and I'm allowed to use the Fuji bridging camera :grin:

Its an expensive hobby, most of her lenses cost more than my 100ltr stainlees steel beer set up :evil:

Enjoy Disney, we've done it several times and would go back in a heartbeat, The Dibb is a great site for Florida and Disney tips

 

[anthonyUK]

£500 might get you a DSLR body but as mentioned a decent lens will cost more than that.
Have you looked at one of the 'superzoom' bridge cameras.
I've bought a number from Fuji's refurb shop without issue.
Something like the one below.

https://secure.fujifilm.co.uk/shop/cons ... epix-s4000

Some of the pros :-
One camera
no additional lenses
30x zoom
good picture quality - Not quite as good as a DSLR
uses AA batteries :)
A macro mode - http://www.flickr.com/photos/smouty/274 ... /lightbox/

 

[Runwell-Steve]

If you really want a DSLR spend the bulk of your money on the lens, pick up a second hand body.

There is no point having a good camera body if you put a cheap bit of glass on the front.

To be honest though, if you are going to Disney do you really want a big DSLR to be carrying around all day, then finding somewhere safe to put it when you go on all the rides. Unless you spend a lot of money on one you will not get any better pictures than with a superzoom / bridge camera. Oh, and you can do video with them as well, which you can't on the older DSLR's.

For £500 you could get a really good bridge camera or even an excellent compact which would produce just as good photos as a cheap DSLR.

It is not the camera that takes good pictures, it is the person using it.

 

[darrenwest1]

i dont want a second hand unit as i cant afford to replace it if it goes wrong
as for getting a compact ,the prob as far as i can see is that a compact uses electronic zoom with a small image receiving lense so you loose quality
where as if i can get a dslr with a reasonable zoom lense and usually dslr cameras have a larger image receiving lense so a better photo

even tho mega pixels are important from what i remember if they are being received on to a small lanse the picture will still loose quality
where as a lower mp camera with a larger lense will give a better photo

I THINK

but i could of miss read that

 

[Aleman]

Darren You have it pretty much spot on.

Most compact / bridge cameras have a sensor that is 1/1.8" (7.18 by 5.32 mm - 38 sq mm)
A APS-C Digital SLR has a sensor that is around 23.6 by 15.7 mm - 370 mm sq
A Full Frame DSLR has a sensor 36 by 24mm or 864 mm sq

Now consider a 12 mega pixel camera sensor. if it was 1/1.8 the gap size between photo sites is much smaller than that of an APS-C camera. The closer the sites are together the more likelihood there is of neighbouring sites exciting each other and generating noise (1/1.8 sensors generate 4 times the noise of an APS-C sensor). The less noise a sensor generates the better the low light performance . . . and the better coluor fidelity.

I have a Konica Minolta A2 Bridge camera that has 8MP, and the quality of the images compared to my Sony Alpha 100 (12MP) is noticeably grainier, and less sharp. Focussing is also poor (many use video camera focussing) which is a PITA when trying to capture moving subjects. I upgraded to the Alpha 100 because the A2 was limiting what I wanted to Achieve.

FWIW I reckon Nikon have some of the best sensors and noise reduction software around (Sony make the sensors ) . . . but at this point it starts getting silly, unless, like me, you normally print at 20" by 16" or larger you will not notice the difference in quality between the different APS-C/APS-H sensors

 

[keith1664]

I have a Canon 30D which although old for a digital SLR is still a great bit of kit, unfortunately I got fed up carrying it around on the family trips.
So when we went to EuroDisney earlier this year I picked up a "refurbed" (I think more like excess stock) Olympus E-P1, on ebay for £229 (original price was £699) downloaded the latest firmware and I'm very impressed.
So might I suggest you take a look at some of the "micro system" or "EVIL" cameras for something with the picture quality but a bit more portabilty.

 

[darrenwest1]

for snap shots i have my phone which takes reasonable pics but i wanted somthing decent for those really nice photos
i think i am going with the canon eos 550d 18 mega pixel

 

[Swift Pint]

I used to have a Nikon D80 which I really liked, although I found it to be a bit bulky and quite unforgiving (down to user error!)

I've replaced it with a Panasonic G2 which has a micro 4/3s sensor. So you've got a much bigger sensor than a compact, but not quite as big as a normal DSLR. However it is noticably smaller and lighter than a lot of DSLRs on the market. You have the option of buying better lenses (although I feel like they are comparatively quite pricey).

I'd highly recommend it as a good trade off between the quality and control of a DSLR but in a smaller lighter body. Plus the HD video is pretty good too.

 

[anthonyUK]

You will undoubtedly get a better picture with a DSLR but look at more than the tech details.
I find looking at sample images on flickr as good a test as anything.

http://www.flickr.com/cameras

What is your final goal for the images? Print or view on a PC or TV?

 

[Aleman]

You will undoubtedly get a better picture with a DSLR but look at more than the tech details.
I find looking at sample images on flickr as good a test as anything.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Perhaps try DP Review or ePhotozine for more of an 'enthusiasts' opinion.

Incidentally for those that think a DSLR is a bit of a handful . . . don't ever consider something like the D3x or 1DS . . .or the Alpha 850/900 . . .these things have a mag alloy body and weigh upwards of more than a kilo . . . before you shove a lens on the front. . . . but then I do have a MF Bronica kit and a Speedgraphic Press Camera, so big and bulky is relevant

:thumb: 550 is a good choice (difficult to go wrong really as they are all pretty competent) . . . but do remember that with more mega pixels the better the bottle you shove on the front needs to be, as the resolving power of the sensor is so much better. . . . Still you will get much better pictures than you have so far. Plus buying into one of the two big marques means you have access to a huge range of good quality second hand lenses for reasonable cost, unlike some of the smaller brands / different formats where second hand lenses are like gold dust.

Learn to use it properly as well, so switch it to something like Aperture Priority rather than Auto or the 'dreaded' picture modes, where you make the decisions rather than the camera.

 

[anthonyUK]

Learn to use it properly as well

Totally agree but the OP says he is off to Disneyland SOON
Surely it would be better to have some very decent pics albeit ones that 'may' not be as good as what could be achieved with a DSLR than some very high quality DSLR RAW images that are out of focus, underexposed etc due to a lack of familiarity.

The camera review sites are great for the 'enthusiasts' view but it is also worthwhile seeing what the average guy in the street can do too with a device hence also looking at actual images on Flickr.

 

[Runwell-Steve]

The 550D is a decent camera, but with the kit lens 18 - 55 you won't get much zoom capability. You could add the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS Lens as a second lens, but now you would be carrying 2 lenses with you all the time.

An alternative might be to get the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS Lens as your only lens, although that does cost about £400 new.

There are some decent lenses by Sigma and Tamron that will fit but I don't have any personal experience of them.

The other alternative is being 18 megapixel you can crop the photo once you get home to get the same effect as a digital zoom on a compact, the difference being with the 550D you have 18 million good pixels to play with.

In order to produce a decent 6x4 print you only need about 2 megapixels, and an 8 x 12 can easily be produced with 8 megapixels.

Incidentally for those that think a DSLR is a bit of a handful . . . don't ever consider something like the D3x or 1DS . . .or the Alpha 850/900 . . .these things have a mag alloy body and weigh upwards of more than a kilo . . . quote]

I think it's the fact he talks about wanting a decent zoom lens that is going to add the bulk of his weight. Personally I usually carry around a 5D MkII and it's often got a 70 - 200 2.8 L IS on the front of it. Thats about 2.5Kg combined, thank the lord for the monopod :)

 

[darrenwest1]

Learn to use it properly as well

Totally agree but the OP says he is off to Disneyland SOON
Surely it would be better to have some very decent pics albeit ones that 'may' not be as good as what could be achieved with a DSLR than some very high quality DSLR RAW images that are out of focus, underexposed etc due to a lack of familiarity.

The camera review sites are great for the 'enthusiasts' view but it is also worthwhile seeing what the average guy in the street can do too with a device hence also looking at actual images on Flickr.

i dont go to disney untill x mas so i have plenty of time to have a good play

well i am now the proud owner of a eos 550d camera
so im off to make a cuppa then some reading to do i think

can anyone recoment a good photography book for beginners please

 

[Runwell-Steve]

The 550d is a good camera, I'm sure you will have lots of fun with it.

I still have an EOS400D, which is one of it's predecessors, It's a very capable camera and still gets used to make me money as a second body which, if in wedding mode, would have a different lens on it to my main camera.

I don't know of any good books, but it's certainly worth having a look at ePhotozine as Aleman mentioned. There is a lot of good advice on there.

Have fun