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DSLR Help, Which one for £400?


Scott

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I'm on the lookout for a DSLR. I've got £400 to spend but I have no idea which is the best to buy for this budget.

 

On ebay I can get a 400D for around that money with a couple of lenses, batteries etc. The downfall is that it would be 2nd hand and of course there are no guarantees. Looking on Jessops I can get the 1000D brand new with an 18-55mm lens. I'm guessing the 400D is the better of the 2 even though the model numbers would say otherwise (450D is £800ish hence why I have came to this conclusion). I like the fact that you can take 3 pics per second until the memory card is full on the 1000D. Not so sure if the 400 can do that?

 

Essentials for me are Live view, able to take really good photo's, must come ready with everything I need to start taking some snaps and must be re-chargeable in one way or another. I can accept having to maybe spend some dough on a memory card but I want it to at least come with a lens for instant use. Obviously the more toys I can get for the money the better, quality is the main criteria though.

 

Are all camera's different for longevity? I was reading 50k snaps for the 400D? What would be an acceptable amount of uses for a 2nd hand camera?

 

Thanks for your help :)

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Ok its definitely between the 1000D and the 450D. The difference in price is minimal and the features on the 450D seem to outweigh the 1000D. The only differences I can see is that the 1000D takes SD cards & that it can use frame burst to fill the memory card rather than x amount of pictures.

 

Anyone got the 1000D?

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I bought a 450d for my daughter. Really nice camera, I wanted to keep it for myself.

 

Do you really need a full blown DSLR though? I'm currently considering a a super-zoom, probably a Panasonic FZ38. Great spec, reviews and features for the price. Isn't it you that has a Panansonic 50" Viera? If so the FZ38 is compatible with the Viera functions of your TV.

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I bought a 450d for my daughter. Really nice camera, I wanted to keep it for myself.

 

Do you really need a full blown DSLR though? I'm currently considering a a super-zoom, probably a Panasonic FZ38. Great spec, reviews and features for the price. Isn't it you that has a Panansonic 50" Viera? If so the FZ38 is compatible with the Viera functions of your TV.

 

I honestly don't think I need a full blown DSLR but I fancy getting something that far outweighs my necessity at the moment. I quite enjoy taking pictures with my little point and shoot so I'm hoping that if I get a decent DSLR I might actually take up a little bit of photography.

 

At the moment it's mainly for the baby and I will use it a fair bit for my car. In the future, who knows. I'm thinking one big spend now to hopefully do me many years to come.

 

I do have the Panasonic, I guess the Viera functionality would be to slideshow and forward/reverse through the pictures etc? I'll have a little look at it. I'm pretty much set on the 450 now though.

 

I bought a 450D a while back (in Hong Kong), and it's an incredible piece of kit, and look at upgrading the standard lens if you can. :)

 

I may get a lens in the future, for now the camera is basically replacing a point and shoot though so I dare say the lens that comes with it is far better than what I need at the moment. If I get into photography as a hobby then I may well spend a few bob on some lenses. They are very expensive and I am pretty much blowing my camera funds on the camera itself. I've got a £600 HD camcorder to fork out for now too lol.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, pretty much set on the 450D. Thanks again for the link Steve.

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You do know that for around £255 you can get the pany FZ38 as Jake mentioned (27mm - 486mm wideangle -zoom) and like my FZ28 it comes with very good HD video capability?

 

...potentially saving you around £800

 

Sorry to be a nuisance :)

 

edit:

 

Amazon reviews & pricing here :

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002KHMJ78/?tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=4762571371&ref=pd_sl_7gwm01ecpk_e

 

 

To remind you here are the links to a couple of my efforts with the FZ28...

 

 

Kefalonia, October - Nov 2009:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=202703&highlight=kefalonia

 

Devon, July 2009:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=193091

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You do know that for around £255 you can get the pany FZ38 as Jake mentioned (27mm - 486mm wideangle -zoom) and like my FZ28 it comes with very good HD video capability?

 

...potentially saving you around £800

 

Sorry to be a nuisance :)

 

edit:

 

Amazon reviews & pricing here :

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002KHMJ78/?tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=4762571371&ref=pd_sl_7gwm01ecpk_e

 

 

To remind you here are the links to a couple of my efforts with the FZ28...

 

 

Kefalonia, October - Nov 2009:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=202703&highlight=kefalonia

 

Devon, July 2009:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=193091

 

Always loved Canon Scott. I've still got an SLR. :blink: It'll be a Canon DSLR when I get back into it. I'm fed up of compacts.

 

Too late, it's bought :D

 

When it comes to this sort of thing I tend not to do things by half. If I was to get that camera and not take the photography any further and not want for an SLR then that would be great. If I want to take it further and hadn't got the DSLR I would always be disappointed that I didn't the first time round. I tend to spend big and spend once. I would rather explain the 1 off cost to the Wife and buy the bells and whistles rather than have to go back to her saying that I needed to spend more on a bigger better etc etc. Of course, on the other side of the coin, I won't be going back to her and saying the £450 was far too much and I should have just got the one mentioned :D

 

AFAIK the camcorder I'm looking at is the mutts nuts. I already have a digital camcorder but I want a really good 1080p one with all the toys. Got a lot of video to be taken afterall :)

 

I've not read a bad review regarding both of the DSLR's I was looking at. The one thing that I am a little warey of is that one review said the Live View isn't the best. Sony is the only DSLR with the Live View as it should be. I am clearly more inclined to go with Canon and live with the Live View faults rather than go with the Sony, although I know the Sony is a very good DSLR also.

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I have a Canon 350d which is obviously a lesser camera than the 450d and i love it. I changed the standard 18-55 for a 17-85 a couple of months ago, and also thinking about getting a nifty fifty.

 

My mate was after a DSLR last year which had live view on. He ended up getting the Canon 1000d. Now he never uses live view, always looks through the viewfinder.

 

Here's a couple of pics i took at London zoo last month

 

image

 

image

 

image

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Yeah mate they were taken with the 350D.

 

They have been cropped and i probably adjusted the colours and maby sharpness as well. Here are the originals from the camera (apart from resizing). It looks like there's less detail in the animals but that's because they're smaller due to not cropping:

 

image

 

image

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Too late, it's bought :D

 

When it comes to this sort of thing I tend not to do things by half. If I was to get that camera and not take the photography any further and not want for an SLR then that would be great. If I want to take it further and hadn't got the DSLR I would always be disappointed that I didn't the first time round. I tend to spend big and spend once. I would rather explain the 1 off cost to the Wife and buy the bells and whistles rather than have to go back to her saying that I needed to spend more on a bigger better etc etc. Of course, on the other side of the coin, I won't be going back to her and saying the £450 was far too much and I should have just got the one mentioned :D

 

AFAIK the camcorder I'm looking at is the mutts nuts. I already have a digital camcorder but I want a really good 1080p one with all the toys. Got a lot of video to be taken afterall :)

 

I've not read a bad review regarding both of the DSLR's I was looking at. The one thing that I am a little warey of is that one review said the Live View isn't the best. Sony is the only DSLR with the Live View as it should be. I am clearly more inclined to go with Canon and live with the Live View faults rather than go with the Sony, although I know the Sony is a very good DSLR also.

 

You won't be sorry. :D

 

Canon lenses are expensive for a reason. Quality. They're the only parts made and assembled in Japan because they don't trust anyone else to do the job. :)

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  • 2 weeks later...
I changed the standard 18-55 for a 17-85 a couple of months ago, and also thinking about getting a nifty fifty.

 

Its all in the lens, the nifty fifty is a little cracker for the money, was even cheaper when I picked up mine :thumbs:

 

I would also highly recommend a decent flash, I have a 580EX II for my 400D and its a great bit of kit, these two were taken using the flash bounced off the ceiling.

 

Kit Lens - 55mm f6.3 1/200 ISO100

image

 

Nifty Fifty - 50mm f4.5 1/200 ISO100

image

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Its all in the lens, the nifty fifty is a little cracker for the money, was even cheaper when I picked up mine :thumbs:

 

I would also highly recommend a decent flash, I have a 580EX II for my 400D and its a great bit of kit, these two were taken using the flash bounced off the ceiling.

 

 

 

 

Yeah a good flash makes all the difference from the photos i've seen, and the standard flash is pretty feeble and make most of my photos look terrible. But a decent flash seems like a lot of money for something that just... well, flashes :rolleyes:

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So did you get hold of the 450D dude?

 

Looking at this camera or I could go up to the 500D for only £489 now... kinda torn.

 

Yeah I got the 450D, fantastic camera. Miles better than anything I require, I'm enjoying playing with it anyway.

 

Definitely go with the 500D bud. Penguin on here can get the 500D direct from Canon for around £460 delivered. I can't remember the exact cost but it is in another "which DSLR" thread.

 

The 500D is the 450D's replacement. Everything about it is more updated. Saying that, I won't be using the 450D to its potential so me getting the 500D would be just as pointless. I just always want better lol.

 

Oh, the 500D can record full HD. Ok, that is what camcorders are for... but still. Handy to have an all in one.

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