decent camera upto £400

[iceman]

i have been looking at the lumix fz38 but apparently every july a newer model comes out so waiting but i'm desperatly looking for one in the meantime, i dont mind if it's a DSLR model because i have been using a average fuji bridge camera to learn alot and i'm ready to step up.

£400 ish

any advice be appreciated.

[iceman]

i'm still looking for a decent camera any advice please.

[macabethiel]

I bought a Nikon EOS 40D about 18 months ago a Digital SLR to replace my old film unit of the same make I am delighted with it.

I tried reading up in What Camera and came to the conclusion that like a computer the best time to buy is yesterday or tomorrow.

Depending what magazine you buy they all seem to have different views including user reviews.

I would buy the one you fancy the look of as long as its not a lemon according to the testers.

You often get better value if you buy a model thats discontinued and discounted accordingly. I would avoid e-bay or buying from China or America due to warranty issues.

I bought mine from Dixons website and was well chuffed as there was a promotional interest free credit deal on offer - this was not widely offered in the store plus a manufactures cash back deal !

The camera pack deals for lenzes deals is usually good value.

[macabethiel]

Sorry its a Cannon not Nikon anyways it will be obsolete now !

[iceman]

thankyou for your info, i have been upgrading gradually from a basic compact camera to a Kodak EasyShare Z7590 10x optical Zoom then onto my last camera a FujifilmFinePix S8000fd, im very interested in the PANASONIC LUMIX FZ38 but i read that every year around july they bring a newer model so i'm unsure what todo.

i would love to crossover to a DSLR but it's hard to know whats best, with the PANASONIC LUMIX FZ38 it has a fantastic 18x zoom which works great according to cameralabs review, so if i go for a DSLR i would like it at least 18x zoom, so what size lens would i need to look for if i get a DSLR.

i'm back to a fuji A800 atm as i sold all the above to help with funds for a upgrade.

what i might consider is getting the Item picture PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-ZS3 as a camera to carry on a daily basis in my pocket and maybe a good DSLR for serious photograpy.

i'm going to goto a local photography class in September as i want to take photography onto next level as a serious hobby.

much appreciated.

[Loz]

I love my Ricoh Caplio GX100, it has the control of an SLR in a small package, I've done timelapse with it & all sorts. It's getting a bit long in the tooth now & it's been superseded by the GX200 but when I come to upgrade I think I may go to a GR digital III or even a GXR if I could afford it! :lol

[AndyW]

I'd recommend having a look at the Pentax range of DSLR's, you should just be able to get a k-x with lens for your budget. I've had lots of Pentax SLR's both film & digital and never had a problem. A big advantage with them is virtually all the old lenses (widely available & cheap!) work on latest DSLR's.

[iceman]

looked at the reviews and they are nice camera's bit out of my price range.

andyw i have a look at the Pentax range now.

[briggie]

http://catalog.ebay.co.uk/Sony-Alpha-DSLR-A200K-10-2-Megapixel-Digital-Camera-18-70mm-Lens-/65981161?_fifpts=1&_pcategid=625&_pcatid=119&_refkw=sony+dslr&_trksid=p3286.c0.m271

[iceman]

just convince myself on a pentax kx model the briggie puts a spanner into the works lol.

AndyW where is the cheapest place to get one, could you tell me what lens size is equivalent(confused in the mm sizes) to about 20+ optical zoom you would get on a compact camera.

i live right next to lough erne and so i need to zoom, also i need a good camera to get me to take pictures of my sons playing rugby when they are the far side of the pitch.

btw some irish members are here i like to say as a proud daddy my youngest cub is in the UU19 squad and was also scouted by irish selectors,

[iceman]

ok please can anyone tell me is there a cheaper one then this price which has a second lens as well.

PENTAX K-x Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm Zoom Lens & 50-200mm Zoom Lens £449.99

[macabethiel]

My brother has the Cannon Powershot and he does a lot of fancy pictures on it, seems as good as a DSLR but nice & compact. Not that expensive either plenty of pixels etc

[briggie]

just spoke to my son in law on the phone , hes very heavily into photography .. he highly reccomends the nikon d50 or d90

[macabethiel]

Not exactly a camera you can carry in your manbag or pocket though is it ?

[iceman]

after alot of reading reviews on mentioned cameras here and after seeing a youtube vids i went with the "PENTAX - K-x Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm Zoom Lens & 50-200mm Zoom Lens" i managed to get it with a voucher code for £ 427.49.

thx for the input here.

[iceman]

camera arrive today, i took it out to test, spent ages looking for the zoom button and realized like a total utter tosser that it does not work like that and know i understand AF and MF lol.

i'm confused slightly using lenses like the 18-55mm Zoom Lens and 50-200mm Zoom Lens, i found that the 50-200 did everything that the 18-55 did and better from macro close ups to a long shots, so why would i need use a 18-55 at all as i would not like to change if it's not neede to protect from dust.

i like the 50-200mm zoom what is the next size up from this to get a better zoom.

HD movie is fantastic

[lacroupade]

camera arrive today, i took it out to test, spent ages looking for the zoom button and realized like a total utter tosser that it does not work like that and know i understand AF and MF lol.

i'm confused slightly using lenses like the 18-55mm Zoom Lens and 50-200mm Zoom Lens, i found that the 50-200 did everything that the 18-55 did and better from macro close ups to a long shots, so why would i need use a 18-55 at all as i would not like to change if it's not neede to protect from dust.

i like the 50-200mm zoom what is the next size up from this to get a better zoom.

HD movie is fantastic

Iceman well done on your new camera. If I'd been around I'd have said get a Nikon or Canon at the top of your budget but the Pentax is almost as good.

Dont get carried away with the zoom thing though. There is a massive technology jump in moving from a standard lens to a medium zoom and again to a longer zoom. It may not always be obvious but picture quality suffers unless you spend serious money.

The standard non-zoom lens is always the best quality, but most DSLRs are fitted with a short/medium zoom lens that gives a reasonable combination of quality and performance. But if I told you that, at the professional level, you can easily pay 4-5 times the price of the basic camera for a 50-200mm zoom, you get the idea.

Its often just as easy to work with a better quality medium zoom and crop the photo.

But be aware, a bit like the Lumix thing, that your camera will be relatively out of date within 2-3 years - something that was NOT true of film-based cameras. CCDs will continue to increase in sensitivity and capability...when I bought my first digital camera years ago, 1.5MP was serious resolution...the next one I got was 3MP, the next about 4MP and the last, a Nikon D70S bought only a couple of years afgo, was 6MP. Now you buy anything under about 10MP at your peril.

Having said that, you can have as many mega-pixies as you like but its your lens thats the key - my Nikon will still crap all over a whole bunch of modern DSLRs because of its excellent quality lens.

But now I'm going all retro and dusting off my old Nikon FE film camera that I bought to photograph the 1980 British Grand Prix the one that Alan Jones won for those old enough to remember!!)...and it will, without any problem, outdo just about any DSLR you want to stand it up against frankly, cos it doesn't do pixels LOL.

Good luck with your hobby and the studying is a great idea...you'll have a lot of fun!!:thumbs:thumbs

Oh and now you have to start buying Photoshop-type software at yet more expense LOL

[andrewk]

i went with the "PENTAX - K-x Digital SLR Camera + 18-55mm Zoom Lens & 50-200mm Zoom Lens" i managed to get it with a voucher code for £ 427.49.

Congratulations on your choice of camera. Whilst I don't know about the 50-200mm zoom, the 18-55mm ALII zoom is one of the best kit lenses around.

Have fun
Andrew

[andrewk]

your camera will be relatively out of date within 2-3 years - something that was NOT true of film-based cameras. CCDs will continue to increase in sensitivity and capability

True - but for all practical purposes, it doesn't really matter. Just about any modern DSLR and the cheapie kit lens it came with with is capable of taking photos that appear razor sharp on prints at any size that most folks are likely to want.

It's only when "pixel peeping" at 100% magnification on screen that you'll ever notice a difference - and even then, only when the kit lens is at or near wide open (assuming, of course, that the photographer can keep the camera still and focus properly). For most folks, a kit lens is all the quality they ever need.

Andrew

[iceman]

this lake is at the back of my house and i always taken pictures of wildlife this is why i was looking for a camera that can get close to the action without them knowing.

i found some similair shots of a my old camera the fujifilm finepix 8000fd (18 optical zoom) below.



18-55mm normal shot

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/5268/11855.jpg

50 -200mm normal shot

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/8682/250200.jpg

fujifilmfinepixs8000fd normal shot

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/4663/3fujifilmfinepixs8000fd.jpg

18-55mm full zoom

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/841/41855close.jpg

50-200mm full zoom

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/948/550200close.jpg

fujifilmfinepixs8000fd full zoom 18 optical

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/524/6fujifilmfinepixs8000fd.jpg

i carry the fuji finepix a800 everywhere i go so i don't miss a shot like the ones below.

fuji finepix a800
this was taken last week before i got my new camera, wish i had it for this shot.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/3063/7fujifinepixa8001.jpg

fuji finepix a800
this my chocolate labrador, he is 16 months old and has had 3 ops on his right hip and going in for a op on his left in a few weeks time......he looks good in this shot.

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6108/8fujifinepixa800.jpg