Entry Level DSLR

allyally2k

allyally2k

Senior Member
Hey,

Does anyone know the best time to buy a DSLR, like are they cheaper at a certain time of the year?

Also which should I get...I've been looking at the Canon 1000d, Canon 450d and Sony 350.

And should one buy a 'refurbished' camera from ebay or second hand or just go brand new?!

:confused:
 
Ok first question - have you got any kit already?

Why no inclusion of Nikon cameras/lenses, I personal think these are the best make in the SLR field, having used Minolta (now Sony), Canon (briefly) and currently using Nikon.
 
Hi,

I use a nikon d40, which is about as entry level as you can get, i think it was about £300 with 18-55 lens.

I bought it to take clinical photos with macro lens/ring flash but later realised that a nikon (only compatible auto focus at time) macro lens costs about £500-£700 due to the auto focus mech being built into the lens rather than the camera body it is ten times more expensive to buy fully auto lenses; which in turn defeats the object of buying a cheap cam in first place so in hindsight I would have spent extra on a decent cam. So anyway i bought a cheaper lens which is manual focus only on the d40. It works but sometimes would be nice to have auto focus!

Sorry a long reply but basically my point is check the little details before you buy an entry level cam as dependiong on what you will be using it for, it may end up costing you more

:)
 
I would definitely recommend getting a Canon or Nikon. I've heard good things about Sony and other brands, but there are so many more lenses available for the main brands, both their own and from third party manufacturers (Sigma, Tamron etc).

You could have the Canon vs Nikon debate all day long, which just shows that they are both a good as each other. Personally I favour Canon as they are generally slightly cheaper and give the same results as a Nikon in my opinion. You wouldn't be disappointed in either brand though, and I must say the colours are nicer from Nikon.

I would go for the 450d - it's worth the extra money over the 1000d. Look out for cashback offers too - Canon run them all the time.
 
It was body and lens, and i got a special deal - another lens free. So i got two lenses and the body for £399!

Just looked on Jessops website and is still the same price but no extra free lens. Just the one :(
 
charles, nikon have just updated the low end (and the d80 to the d90) with the d5000, still without the integrated motor though unlike the original d50 :(
 
Thanks guys...that's a big help.

Cheers Greg - yeah I looked at the a200 it seems pretty good - have you got any photos up on here from this camera?

Thanks for the advice Charles!

I am definitely drawn more towards the canon 450d, I've got £340 saved so will have to wait a bit to get the extra if I want that one, but it seems as tho' it's worth it.

Your photos are great Glen, particularly like the one of The Sage :up:
 
Hope so, i hadn't really looked at any Nikons but i picked it up in pc world the other day and it just felt right lol! Have you got any of your images from this camera up on here?
 
Posibbly a bad time to buy a camera at the moment, new ones seem to have shot up in price like everything else. grrr...
 
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