Thread: beginner DSLR

My suggestion is to make sure the lenses you get are going to suit you - good glass is very important I have kit lenses I never use because the prime is suited so much better to how I shoot. They were a waste of dollars for sure.

Canon and Nikon are the market leaders, and for good reason. Look at professionals and they will have one or t'other slung around their necks.

Which one? It's a bit like Ford v Holden... For what it's worth I prefer Canon (going back over thirty years).

There are some very good deals available, especially now Kogan has gone online with name brand DSLRs. If you are going to shoot vehicles a medium format lens, 70 to 250 or 300 will be ideal. Most shots will use a faster aperture and be well lit, so the speed (F-stop) is relatively unimportant, a F4 lens is fine. This means one of the twin lens packs will be attractive.

I recently bought the 60D, and am absolutely stoked, but my old reliable 300D still goes everywhere with me, it sits permantly behind the seat in the ute.

Do a bit of research, and go to a reputable dealer (preferably a specialist camera dealer) and look and feel each brand. Pick the one you like best, if its Canon or Nikon doesn't matter. And, if you mention you have looked online they will do something on price. Take a screenshot of any online pricing as proof. They may not be able to match an online price, but if they come close go with it.

I've had a 350D for about 6/7 years and it's not been treated especially kindly but it's still going strong (it gets to ecperince a few crashes with me on the mtb every now and then and generally gets thrown around) - I ditched the kit lens and picked up a 17-85mm lens for my everyday stuff, a 50mm prime for low light/portraits but I probably need a longer zoom if I'm honest but it would get minimal use.

I would also say get a good bag - I use a lowepro toploader, not cheap but has done it's job extremely well.

Assume nothing. Tell the "expert" exactly every thing you want it to do. Even down load the user manual and have a good read prior to a purchase.

I have just been caught out. I have a nikon D300 and just love it, it does every thing I need and is rock solid. On the net purchased a D3100 for a specific task at work. Like most cameras the D3100 has aperture priority and I assumed it would work just like my D300 but no. I need it for a manual lens with a fixed aperture with no CPU. I find out after purchase that the D3100 shutter will not release in anything other than manual mode without a CPU style lens. In manual mode there is no light metering so it has to be just trial and error exposure settings with a non CPU lens. This is just an example of needing to be very sure with these high tech cameras that they will do what you assume.

Originally Posted by theresanothersteve

Canon and Nikon are the market leaders, and for good reason. Look at professionals and they will have one or t'other slung around their necks.

Which one? It's a bit like Ford v Holden... For what it's worth I prefer Canon (going back over thirty years).

There are some very good deals available, especially now Kogan has gone online with name brand DSLRs. If you are going to shoot vehicles a medium format lens, 70 to 250 or 300 will be ideal. Most shots will use a faster aperture and be well lit, so the speed (F-stop) is relatively unimportant, a F4 lens is fine. This means one of the twin lens packs will be attractive.

I recently bought the 60D, and am absolutely stoked, but my old reliable 300D still goes everywhere with me, it sits permantly behind the seat in the ute.

Do a bit of research, and go to a reputable dealer (preferably a specialist camera dealer) and look and feel each brand. Pick the one you like best, if its Canon or Nikon doesn't matter. And, if you mention you have looked online they will do something on price. Take a screenshot of any online pricing as proof. They may not be able to match an online price, but if they come close go with it.

Pretty well summed up.

Both Canon and Nikon are on par, for me, it comes down to ease of use, and the Canon is much easier for me to use.

I've been through the XXXD series, the XXD series and am now on a 1D (slowly turning photography into my main job). Each have their pros and cons, however for a beginner the entry level SLR's do just fine.

the main thing you need to focus on is your lenses. As it was said the kit lenses are pretty rubbish, as a beginner, you're better off getting an entry level SLR and spending a little extra on lenses. Bodies come and go, but lenses stay forever.

I agree on the good bag, I have a lowepro as well.

Originally Posted by Land Rover Widow

I agree on the good bag, I have a lowepro as well.

Good bags are essential.

I have a lowepro and a crumpler 7MDH.

Also check out the thinktanks.