Muddled on a new DSLR

[barnesyboy]

Hi,
I've been a reader for many years now but unfortunately due to my job in the Airforce I haven’t got around to buying a Digital SLR, until now (thank god). Unfortunately I’m in a bit of a pickle and was wandering if anyone can help me. Because I’m only starting off and I’ve only stepped up from compacts I’m by no means a pro but I have a reasonable price range (about £700) and have no idea what would be a good all round camera. I’ve got it down to the Nikon D90, the Canon 600D or my slightly preferred Canon 550D at the mo but any expert advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Chris Barnes

chris@frozenriver.net

[MattUK]

I'd suggest the Nikon D5100 to be honest

[ianpinion]

I'd suggest you go somewhere where you can handle all three and see which one you like the best. You'll probably discover that you prefer the ergonomics of one over the rest, because of the positioning of the all important controls feels more natural to you and it fits into your hands better.

Choosing a camera is a very personal choice. Nobody else can make the final decision for you, because we all have different wants and needs, we've all got different sized hands, some of us are physically stronger than others and our brains work in different ways too! What suits one, won't necessarily suit the next!

Just rest assured that each of these cameras are capable of producing great quality images once you've learnt how to exploit their respective strengths and hide their weaknesses.

Enjoy!

[rbarry]

Hi Chris,

As Ian P wrote, get out and handle the goods before you commit to buy. There are no "bad" DSLR cameras, but there is a huge diversity of choice to suit your requirements and budget. The market leaders are Canon and Nikon. You will find the advice you receive will be influenced by brand loyalty (no offence Matt), which is inevitable as no one purchases a camera they don't want!

Perhaps as important to consider is the question of lenses and accessories that are compatible with your brand choice. Once you decide on the manufacturer of your Camera body, all other decisions of brand compatibility have been made for you: you can't easily fit a Nikon lens on a Canon body without a loss in convenience and expense. There are many third party manufacturers of lenses and accessories but the same rules apply: you can't fit a Sigma lens designed to suit a Canon camera on a Nikon body.

You are just starting out with your first purchase of a DSLR and probably won't have any lenses or accessories of any brand yet, so what difference does it make what brand of camera you choose now? The answer is that you will start buying different lenses and photographic paraphenalia to help you expand your skill, and diversify your photographic subject material.
Bear in mind that your Camera body will be the most likely upgrade you make when replacing your stock of photographic equipment. Unless you change all your stock of lenses and accessories, you will have to stick with the same brand of camera when you come to upgrade. For this reason I would suggest you invest in a camera brand that produces a large range of bodies that will give you more choice when upgrading, and that inevitably has to be Nikon or Canon.

I hope you can't tell which one of the three cameras you listed in your original posting I own, but I can thoroughly recommend it!

Rick

[KeithT]

You can't beat handling a camera before buying. All the spec in the world won't mean a thing if you are not comfortable with holding your camera. Moving from Point and Shoot to DSLR will also have its issues for you, but nothing that can't be dealt with. In the old, old days, most of us started out with rangefinder cameras until SLRs came on the scene. Some refused to use anything other than manual because that was what they had been used to. My advice these days would be to book in to a beginners college course to understand the basics of using a DSLR and then to get out and use the camera as much as you can. Oh, and of course, ask as many questions as you can, both here and as many photographers as you come across. And above all, read as much about the craft as you can absorb.
Enjoy!

[mazawatea]

. [QUOTE]My advice these days would be to book in to a beginners college course to understand the basics of using a DSLR and then to get out and use the camera as much as you can.

If you can find a college that runs adult education classes!!!
BUT do try your local Adult Ed programmes and the local WEA or other organisations such as education for the third age.
My local council North Lincolnshire has run very good courses on both photography and digital editing in its Adukt Ed programme
Another source, of course, is a camera club.
Salut
Maz

[wave01]

I can only go along with the advice of go and handle them. But looking at the choice The T2i/550d isn't a bad one and the money saved can be invested in another lens. The T2i/550d comes with a 18-55is which isn't abad onefor a kit so depending on what you shoot depends on what other lenses you would buy

[OldBoy]

Why do you prefer the Canon 550D? This answers your question. In truth, it doesn't matter what camera you choose, they will all serve you well.

[MarcusHoare]

I have a D90 ( picked it up for £400 refurb from Clifton Cameras)

Its stunning - I can post some shots from it later.

One thing - the HD video is fairly pointless but as a stills camera paired with the 55-200mm VR its awesome.

Marcus

[modchild]

I've got a 550d and for the money it would take a lot of beating. Had it for about 8 months now and it still makes me go WOW every now and then