FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

OK, We are in the process of browsing the digital camera market place and would like some advice.

We dont wanna spend an arm and a leg (£500 ish max) but still want to get a nice good quality camera.

I quite fancy one of those digi SLR jobbys, but knowing nowt about them am worried I'll be out of my league?

How easy are they to use and does the image quality and useability compensate for the extra weight and size?

Anyone reccomend a goodun in our price range?

TIA Fluffy....

Lunnons

I don't know if this helps but I would leave it until you come here - they seem alot cheaper here than UK to me!

rcladin

dude, you are in the wrong place,

i would suggest you checkout www.avforums.com

and checkout the forums under digital cameras etc, these guys will have the drop

sorry can't help i dont have a digitial slr, but i think you may be lucky to get one at a 500 quid limit?

Plenty of mags in the shops too

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

We have seen a few in Jessops in the sales for under this price, obviously not a Canon EOS but seem pretty good makes!
Will check other places in due course, thought maybe someone on here might know though first!

Thanks anyway

Wol

It does depend a lot on your experience and what you want to do with it!

I've been into photography for more years than I like to talk about but digital has transformed the field - no more dangerous chemicals, enlargers etc.

But the corollary is that the cameras have got in some cases so complicated that you can't work out what the hell does what!

I have just got a Canon EOS350D to replace my Olympus C2500L, which was state of the art four years ago - 2.5Mpix no less! The manual is ⅓" thick, printed in tiny fonts and full of icons which mean nothing until you translate them. It makes a 747 manual look like a pamphlet. There are so many functions, each with different sets of parameters to input and remember, that it is tempting just to use it on auto all the time. Which is what you do with a camera costing a fraction, which has almost as good quality images.

So, while a SLR is nice to have, the advantages of being able to slip a compact into a pocket and have it available all the time make it a good choice for most people, I reckon.

YoSemite

fluff
have just pruchased a new beastie myself.. also fancied an SLR but when adding on all the extras it was getting a bit outta my price range (which was similar to yours)

i've just got a Konika Minolta Dimage Z6 and have to say..... it's bloody fantastic.

have taken a whole heap of absoltuyl cracking photos and even a couple of short vids and found it very similar to friends SLR cameras....

actually can't rate it high enough.

got a very good package from http://www.fotosense.co.uk/shop_deta...productID=1265 these guys

want a couple of sample pics then check out my thread called "edinburghs hogmanay" in the BBQ.... even makes an amateur like me seem 1/2 way decent!

FluffyTheCampfireSlayer

Thanks Rog, useful advice - what I feared to be honest!
Seems a bit futile spending all that money to have functions you will never use. Will bear it in mind.......

wargod

I've got a Nikon Coolpix 8700 and it works well !



From memory it cost me about £350.00 - 8Mega pixels - good quality easy to use and has a handy flip out screen a bit like a cam corder

cadman

I have recently bought a Nikon D50 dSLR here in the UK from Jessops onlone for £462 for body and kit lens (18-55mm zoom).

Here is my gallery, most taken with my D50, some (oz pics for example) taken with Fuji Finepix 6900Zoom (what they call a prosumer P&S - between a compact and a dSLR)

http://cadman342001.deviantart.com/gallery

If you want to take it seriously get a dslr. If you just want to point and shoot get a Point & Shoot!

You will get much better quality from a dSLR if you use it properly due to the larger sensor size.

Andy

JaneandJim

I bought Jim a Canon Eos350 for Christmas and here is a picture he took from a clifftop of a stingray in the water. (Hope it comes out alright!) He's no expert. An advantage of the SLR is being able to use different lens' with powerful zoom. Disadvantage is the cost. Memory cards cost upwards of $150 and don't come with the camera. I got a good deal on the camera but found out later it is cheaper on Amazon.

Jane

HiddenPaw

I've got an EOS 10D and I love it - just got a new zoom lens for Christmas.

We take it with us on days out but it is bulky - sometimes the little old canon mini digital (whose name has slipped my mind) is far easier to carry round and we take a lot of pics with that.

My biggest regret is that we didn't have the difital SLR when we travelled around Oz. We saw so many beautiful things - landscapes, sunsets, waterfalls, wildlife, beaches, rainforest, etc etc and it was all snapped on the compact digital. The image quality is poor in comparison, especially when you want to blow up a great photo to put on your wall. If you are planning on doing a lot of travelling and want top quality photos then consider an SLR. If you just tend to snap at parties, people, etc then a compact digital is a lot easier and you will be more inclined to slip it in your pocket and snap what you can. I also found lack of decent zoom on the compacts very restrictive.

I got my DSLR in Singapore - it was a lot, lot cheaper than the UK

Happy snapping!

Wol

>>You will get much better quality from a dSLR if you use it properly due to the larger sensor size.<<

I think not - most of the SLRs have much the same sensor size: there *are* one or two coming out now with 35mm size sensors but they COST!