Buying an SLR camera and need advice

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
I work for a major high street retailer and I specialize in the photographic section.

If budget is an issue you should consider the Olympus e-410. It's gone clearance now but is a great DSLR and very decent quality lens.

Going for something a little more current, you've got the Olympus e-420 and e-520, although I would recommend the Canon 450D. This is new and Canon currently has a £50 cashback it. It comes with a standard 18-55mm image stabalizing lens.

Then you've got the Sony alpha range, eg the a200 and a300 are good mid range DSLR's that are packed full of features, surprising good lens.

The Nikon range (D40 and D60) are worth considering, but TBH, go for the D60 as it is 10 megapixels. The D40 is only 6.

If going for the D60, go for the VR option (Vibration Reduction). Unlike compact digital's, most DSLR's have the vibration reduction (anti-shake) in the lens (not the body like the Sony's). the VR being in the lens means you get a faster and sharper focus - great for those action shots. On Canon DSLR's it is called "Image Stabalizer". There is also cashback on the Nikon's(£40 for the D40 and £60 for the D60)

Hope this helps a bit.

Please read this thread (from the top), you'll see my journey.
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Furthermore, after dealing with my local "high street" (though we don't call them that here, but I know what you mean as I lived in England for a year) camera dealership. I decided to buy off the web: two important reasons 1) much cheaper (no rental and so forth) 2) 2 year warranty (neither of which the dealer could match).
 

methodistgirl

New member
I know what you mean by el-cheepo. I bought a little webcam for about
12 dollars. You can't beat that with a stick. I would like to afford a
camera that is better someday.
judy tooley

Yeah! weeks later it winds up in file 13 to be replaced by another one a little bit better. The little 12 dollar camera fell apart almost a month later.
It's the one that I created the video with. Oh well, you get what you
pay for!:rolleyes:
judy tooley
 

methodistgirl

New member
That was a figure of speech for us southerners.:grin: It worked almost a
whole month. It was a pretty good little camera when it did work.
I have a new one now that cost only the price of a kodak.
judy tooley
 

Contratrombone64

Admiral of Fugues
Judy - I know it's a figure of speech, it's used here too, you might be surprised to know. I thought you might have beated your camera, hence its demise ...
 

methodistgirl

New member
After the camera fell apart, I didn't have much to do to it except throw
it away. That's a wal mart camera for you.
judy tooley
 

methodistgirl

New member
That's one of my babies. He pinched me yesterday. The little stink!
That's okay though. If you have pets, get ready to get bitten, scratched
or pinched.:nut: Ouch!:cry: Someone had a rhino bug for a pet. We here call
them pinch bugs and they are a lot worse about pinching than a crab.
judy tooley
 

methodistgirl

New member
He didn't pinch too hard. It left a little red mark but it went away
pretty quickly. He came out of his shell and looked at with his little
bug eyes like he was sorry. It did hurt and he could have done more
damage but it didn't. He just got the edge of my skin not a whole
lot. He little claw does have enough strength to break a small pretzel
apart. In the wild that claw can be handy cracking open a shell to
eat some things like dead shrimp,oysters, and small clams.
judy tooley
 

greatcyber

New member
Red is very dapper, indeed, Judy. I'm sure you will be able to replace your webcam rather inexpensively. Maybe check on E-bay. Even a $25 cam can serve to take pics and do video chats. If you get Skype and you have friends that have Skype you can have video chats for free (anywhere in the world). That's a good incentive.

Stephen

Kiss, kiss on your boo boo.
 

Krummhorn

Administrator
Staff member
ADMINISTRATOR
Here are some more photos ... enjoy

CT64,

Those photo shots are absolutely stunning. So sharp and clear, too. Nice to see where other people here live.

Well, after several months of evaluating and research, I've decided to take the DSLR plunge, albeit a bit on the conservative side. I've ordered a Nikon D40 that comes with two lenses:
  • AF-S DX 18-55mm Zoom Nikkor f/3.5 - 5.6G ED II
  • AF-S DX 55-200mm Zoom Nikkor f/4.0 - 5.6G ED II
Opted for the 4 GB SD memory and an extra rechargeable lithium battery. Comes with the software and cables for downloading, charger - the works!
Should be arriving later in the week ... my last SLR was a Chinon CP5 35mm film camera, so looking forward to the "instant view" of shots taken. Hope to share photos here, too.
 
Top