Help please!
 

hi!
im interested in buying a good camera...i love taking photos but i dont know whats good or bad..
max spending price is £450
i want something thats good for landscapes eg sunsets etc..i love scenery...but also fairly good up close eg raindrops on a leaf..
something thats a must must is variation in shutter speed...i love slow shutter speed photos where theres lots of traffic..i love those!
i pretty much want a good all round photo which is suitable for someone whos still learning yet wont force them to buy a new camera in a year..
and a good variation in manual control but also some pre set would be handy..
ive been looking at nikon D60...sony A200...canon 450D and 400D
im not sure whether i want a DSLR or a compact camera with full manual controls..

help me please :D

thanks

im tempted with the sony A350 and canon 450D
the sony more though

I wouldn't get too hung up over which particular model to go for, there's no such thing as a bad dSLR out there at the moment. Whichever you chose, of the models you've listed, they all offer the degree of manual, and fully automatic control you need. Go into a shop, take a look at the models you're interested in, have a play with them, buy the one that you get on the best with. You are the best person to decide what you like best once you've got it in your hand.

Duncan

thanks for the info..
well a friend has the A200 and he likes it...does the job..and another the canon 450D and she likes that..
to be honest after reading reviews its down to sony A200 (if i go cheap) and sony A350 and canon 450D if i go expensive..
is it worth spending the extra £130? or is the sony A200 fine? the only difference between it and the more expensive ones is less megapixels (not alot) and no live view...

any more feedback?

Hi, Richard, try googling dpreview to get reviews of different cameras. Don't get concerned about megapixels - more is not necessarily better (in some cases, worse). However, being a Canon user, I'd go for the 450D.

thanks guys for the feedback...
im going A200...it may no have all the features the other two have but its a good camera...especially for a newbie like myself..
it can be my learning camera ...plus it takes some pretty sweet photos..my friend has one..
and also..whats the point of me having an extremely good camera but not know how to work it...and therefore not take good photos..
i think at the minute easier the better...and its still a good camera so its ok..it has everything i could need...
and the money i save im getting a tripod and bag..as..i love hiking and rambling...and i love photos which require slow shutter speeds...eg photos of sunsets..moon..stars...lights...traffic etc...

what you think?
plus any good decent tripods? i saw a sony one for £20 that seems aight

Before buying a tripod, think about how you will use it - will you be carrying it, if so, how (on rucksac, in hand, in its own bag...), how far will you carry it for, what height range do you want, will you need to set the legs at different angles, eg ground level or on uneven terrain, what weight camera/lens combo it will support. Also think about a head for the tripod - again considerations of weight, how heavy the camera/lens is, intended use, quick release plates (would recommend one with a quick release plate - this can stay on the camera and makes setting up much easier). Three-way heads are a good general purpose head, easily adjustable. Ball heads are very compact, but not everyone likes how they handle. (I use one most of the time, but that's my preference)
Another thing that might be worth considering for tripod based photography is a cable or remote release, especially for long exposures where even your finger on the shutter button might introduce too much camera shake. If your camera cant use one of these, then self-timer would do, but that introduces a delay in shutter opening that you might find annoying if timing is critical.
It's worth spending a bit of money on a tripod that will do the job properly - there are lots of brands, but manfrotto/bogen is a good mid-range starting point.

Richard, take Gordon's advice. It is worth spending a bit of money on a tripod. I wouldn't get a £20 tripod. A quick release plate is a very good feature.

As for:
"plus it takes some pretty sweet photos..my friend has one.."
It's your friend that takes the sweet photos, not the camera. You can give the best camera in the world to a bad photographer, and find it very capable of taking bad photos. Get a camera that you are comfortable using, and get out there and use it. there's no substitute for experience, regardless of which model you choose.

yea..i see what you mean..
well i will be carrying it far when hiking or going to the beach etc and it will be on uneven terrain..
i want it to be able to look up vertical for sky photos..

i totally agree!...thats why im going for the sony A200 over the A350 and the canon 450D...its easy to use and about £150 cheaper yet still has good features....
it was my friends first camera also...
i know a fair bit with exposure and ISO and what not...ive just never put it to practice as my camera is just a crappy compact thing

You read so much fanboy nonsense on various websites when the 'which camera' question gets asked, this statement should be copied and added to every such thread.

so are you trying to say the sony A200 is crap for a first proper Dslr?

I'm certainly not saying that and I don't think anyone else on here would either - the A200 is a very capable camera and I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it. I was just agreeing that you can read as much as you like about differnet brands and models (often written by those who use it and have a definite bias) but nothing beats getting to a shop and seeing which you prefer.

I'd second that. It is very hard to buy a bad entry level dslr these days. They are all capable, all offer manual and semi-auto modes, all have enough pixels to print easily at A4. The differences as far as the bodies go are down to ease of use, handling etc - and to tell that you really need to handle the camera.
There might be some advantage of some brands over others in terms of lenses and accessories, though. Konica-minolta had backwards compatability with it's older lenses, some of which were superb (and very cheap secondhand). I dont know if that has been continued with Sony, which bought K-M out - someone on here will know for sure.

Sony models certainly are compatible with the later K-M accessories and lenses.

Richard, I'll say it again, ANY of the models you are interested in will offer all the features you need, and produce perfectly good pictures. Go into a shop, have a play with them, buy the one you get on with the best, FROM THAT SHOP, and go out and take pictures with it.

Whichever camera you choose, it will not make you any better or worse a photographer.

Richard, here is an example of how hung up we get - I'm a Nikon fanatic, have been for over 30 years so I would recommend a Nikon D60 and wash my mouth out before mentioning any other brand, But truth be told, there are some very good cameras in your price range, If you go to Jessops you can get your hands on most of them so do that and see what suits you sir!! Do not be fooled by the sales persons mega pixel myth - most 4 to 10 MP will give you very good results up to 16" x12" print size. The thing to concentrate on is the quality of the lenses. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus Leica, all make good "glass" and have been doing so for years. Some Sigma and Tamron lenses are very good as well. Get a camera that YOU feel comfortable with and does what YOU want - as for a tripod - you can spend more than your budget to get a good one; and a poor one is a waste of money ( example - The Arca Swiss Ball Head alone on one of my tripods cost over £200, weighs over 1lb and that's without any legs!) .

im now starting to think of buying an advanced compact?
like a canon G10 or something..
or is that not a good idea?
to be honest ill be stick with whichever stock lens i buy for a DSLR...
like i just want a camera thats good quality with manual controls esp of shutter speed..
how slow can a canon G10 go?

Advanced compact or DSLR? Depends what you want from a camera. The compact is light to always have with you and will take excellent photos in reasonable light. The DSLR is far more versatile (especially as you gradually add lenses, flash gun and other bits and pieces over the years) and will inherently give higher quality, especially in poor light but rather bulky to take out casually. The G10 is a fine camera capable of superb results but ISO 800 is the maximum you can set for reasonable quality without too much noise but 400 is better and the lower settings better still. For the specification of the G10 have a look on Canons website. http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Prod...ex.asp?specs=1

i think its more me to be honest..it has 15secs max shutter speed which is enough...
takes good photos... fun and serious...a wide lens (im a landscape junkie)
and easily carried..
easy to use..
fully manual..
what you think?

The most important thing is that you think you will have it with you. There's no point in owning a bells and whistles camera if it never leaves the cupboard. As Mike says, dslrs are more flexible, mainly because of interchangeable lenses, but if a G10 meets your needs and you like the feel of it, go for it!

i would use the G10 alot more...easier to use and can fit in my pocket...
has alot of great features eg 15sec time delay...face recognition...wide angle lens etc..

but i dunno if its worth the £350 to me personally..

i think i will go for it..

Amazon have it for £339.40 with free delivery if you are interested. You will have to budget for a big SD card (2g or 4g?) and some sort of pouch from the likes of Lowepro or Tamrac or one of the many others. I would not bother with an ultra high speed card, not worth it for a compact.

yea i gonna get it from amazon with a 4bg Sd card

I got the Sony Alpha A300 for christmas. Basically identical to the A350 with the exception of 4 million pixels and £150 quid.

Got it at Jessops and I got:

• A300 with kit lens
• Tamron 70-300mm lens
• Bag - holds camera, 2 lens and other accessories

for £390 :D