First Camera… Help!!!

[leanne134]

March 25, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Hey guys,

I am totally new here and i have been going through every forum and posts and reviewing almost every SLR camera out there and I am totally confused as to which one to go for! By what i’ve read, the Canon 500D and the Nikon 3100 seem to be the most popular for beginners. I have also been having a look at the Nikon D5000. I am just wondering can anyone give me some advice as to where to start please? This will be my first time with an SLR camera so I really want to make the right choice? When I am reviewing them, what should i be looking out for mostly? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million,
Leanne :)

[jungle]

March 25, 2011 at 1:28 pm

Hi and welcome. My first camera was the 550d which is very similar to 500d. I loved it. I had it for 6 months and learned pretty much from scratch on it.
So I’d recommend the 550d.
Cheers
Al

[GrahamR]

March 25, 2011 at 1:31 pm

550D gets my vote too! :o)

[leanne134]

March 25, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Thanks guys,

Is there much difference between the 1000D and the 550D? I’ve just been on the pcworld website comparing them and there doesnt seem to be a lot in the difference?? Sorry to be a pain! I just don’t want to end up with something not so great!

[GrahamR]

March 25, 2011 at 1:53 pm

550D Has
•18 MP APS-C CMOS sensor
•DIGIC 4
•7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots

1000D Has
•10.1 MP CMOS sensor
•2.5” LCD with Live View mode
•DIGIC III processor

…be careful about PC World, they are an electrical shop not a camera shop, have a look at Conns Cameras, Berminghams Cameras and http://www.the-digital-picture.com/” onclick=”window.open(this.href);return false; for specs and stuff.

[pelagic]

March 26, 2011 at 1:52 am

Leanne,

Advice and reviews are very nice, but have you handled any of your canidates? The Canons and Nikons are very similar at most price points and both companies have a huge assortment of lenses that you are buying into.

But how the camera feels in your hands and how you interact with it is probably more important to the fun you’ll have and how fast you’ll learn.

[The Fine Print]

March 30, 2011 at 1:42 pm

It doesn’t matter what you’re getting. Period. Any DSLR out there allows you to take outstanding but also mediocre pictures. Just get the cheapest one, with the kit-lens and get going. You can always buy another good lens later, once you know what focal length you prefer and whatever else you need. Handling a few cameras in a shop is usually not enough to make a more educated decision anyway, but still better than buying off the net. The www is good to narrow it down a bit initially perhaps. then take your shortlist with you. Chances are, your shop hasn’t got all the models on your list anyway though.

[roryaherne]

April 8, 2011 at 3:55 pm

Hi Leanne,

I’m new too and like yourself have done a tonne of reasearch and I’ve decided to go with a used Nikon D80 and here’s why:

The Nikon D90 is approx €300 dearer used and that’s mostly for the video feature which I will never use.
I can use that €300 for lenses which will be transferable to my next upgrade
The D5000 and D3100 do not have any motors for focusing so they are really false economy as lens with their own motors are much more expensive. I dont know if the Canon 500/550D also have this issue?

I’m sickened as I just missed out on a D80 package used for only €395.00 by about 6 hours so I’m willing to bide my time for the right bargain. Try the equipment for sale section here and also http://www.adverts.ie. if you have any interest in a second hand cam – just make sure you know how many times the shutter has been used (shutter actuations) before you buy (should be less than 20,000 really to be any use).

Cheers

Rory

[jaybee]

April 9, 2011 at 9:36 am

ditto what fine print said….

now that the digital slr Market is mature, any camera you buy will be excellent…

put it this way… I just bought my wife the 550D for the video function, and with the exception of fullframe it will happily take as good a photo as my €6000 1Ds mkII…

I would happily bet a 1000 that no one could tell whether two photos were taken with a 7d or a 550d

I’d also agree with the op… if video is if no interest buy second hand and invest in lenses….(sorry just noticed the op didn’t say that!)

the one difference I would recommend is not to buy a kit lens… buy a 50mm f1.8 and nothing else until you have grasped the basics of framing, composition and exposure… but I’d be old fashioned that way… when I learned we had to use a full manual camera and a 50mm lens shooting a min of 4 rolls a week for the first year…

brand doesn’t matter, no matter what anyone tells you!! I’m a canon fan but only because I am familiar with them and like their lenses (the real world doesn’t care about mtf charts!!) and any canon vs nikon argument can be demolished by a hasselblad… :)

[pelagic]

April 9, 2011 at 10:49 am

Ditto what Jaybee said.

I have one small addition Jaybee’s suggestion. On a full frame digital or film 50mm is considered the “normal” lens. It sees approximately the same field of view (FOV) as our eyes. On cropped frame cameras, like the Nikons and Canons you are discussing, a 50mm lens has a more narrow FOV so it is really the equivalent of an 85mm portrait lens. That means you’ll be zoomed in from the view of 50mm on full frame

Therefore many cropped frame photographers use a lens between 28-35mm as a their “normal” lens.

I’m not familar with Canon lens but I assume they have something like the Nikon 35mm f/1.8. Another choice is the Sigma 30mm which is very good and used by many Canon and Nikon owners, but it’s more expensive.

In addition to being great for learning, these normal prime lens are fast [for low light], inexpensive and excellent image quality.

Here’s some reading on normal lens and angle of view:

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/forums/thread106.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_lens