Completly lost

[Jaz1]

Ok
Years ago I had a canon eos 500n SLR. I really enjoyed it but with digital cameras being everywhere I bought one of thoose nasty digital compacts and the SLR was sidelined. I now want a digital SLR

Budget is around £450

Now the thing is I havent a clue what to buy all this image stabalisation lark seems to have vastly complicated the matter and Sony's alpha range is temptingly cheap at the moment.

Really I am looking at the
canon eos 1000d with a 18-55m lens around £399
canon eos 450d body only around £450
sony alpha 200 with its standard lens around £280

My heart says to buy the canon eos 450d but my brain says the sony is just a better buy as it has image stabalisation and is £170 less than the 450d.

To confuse me further I believ if I bought one of the canons I could use my old lenses yes?

I have a canon 28-90mm 1:4-5.6 and a sigma 100-300 1:4.5-6.7 both have uv filters



So are the canon's really worth the extra money?
Are my lenses scrap?
Is the sony a gimick?
Is the 450d £100 better than the 1000d?

Help

[andy153]

Hi Jaz1, welcome to WPF - enjoy the forum. I'm a Nikon man myself and have never used a Canon, but the reviews of the EOS 1000D with kit lens are very good. I do not know if your old lenses will work, I would suggest a dedicated Canon user can give more advice and no doubt one of them will pick up this thread soon. You could try a pm to Saphire who uses Canons - I'm sure she would help as will most members of this forum, if they can. I think that these days many bodies out there are excellent, I try an concentrate on getting the best lenses I can afford because you may well change bodies later but the glass is what really counts.

[miketoll]

All your old Canon lenses will work fine with the "crop factor" multiplying the focal length by 1.6 so you would ideally buy a "kit" lens (18-55 mkll) and then you would have the 35mm equivalent of 28-480 covered by the lenses you have. Too good to miss. I would go for the 450 if funds permit as it is the better camera of the two Canons you mention. You can always add the "kit" lens later if you have to split the cost.

[yelvertoft]

Jaz,

There's no such thing as a bad dSLR out there right now. Get the one that suits YOU the best. You can only tell this by going into a shop and handling them. Get the camera that feels right in YOUR hand, the one that YOU can navigate around the controls and menus easiest, the one that you don't have to stretch to get to the knobs and whistles, the one that feels most logical to you. It's the handling that counts.

Go to a shop, try the cameras you are looking at, try OTHER cameras they have, the one you get on best with may not be one of your 1st choices from the spec sheet. I'm glad you've thought of looking at Sony, not just Canon or Nikon, but also consider Olympus and Pentax (bargains).

Having used the shop to make your decision, buy from them, otherwise they will go bust and we won't have the opportunity to try before buying in the future.

Duncan

[yelvertoft]

Originally Posted by Jaz1

I have a canon 28-90mm 1:4-5.6 and a sigma 100-300 1:4.5-6.7 both have uv filters

Are my lenses scrap?

Help

You want help? Unless you spent a huge amount of money on those UV filters, take them off. You may be surprised by how much the image quality improves.

[Don Hoey]

Well I have got to second EVERYTHING Duncan has said.

Don

[postcardcv]

Is Sony a gimick? - abolutely not - they are excellent cameras and Sony have an ever growing share of the DSLR market (third behind Canon & Nikon), they will be around for a long time to come. Also the use of the Minolta lens mount means that there are a lot of good used lenses out there.

Are my lenses scrap? - no they sould work, the Canon will but the Sigma may not (some older Sigma's don't work fully with digital bodies) take it the shop with you and try it out.

Are Canon worth the extra money? - only you can decide... to be honest I'm not sure.

I the 450d £100 better than the 1000d? - I think so, the 1000D is basically a stripped down version of the 450D, I'd definitely pay the extra for the 450D.

I agree with the others that you should try them and see which you like best, though if you do go for a Canon you'll save some money on lenses. The Sony A200 is a great deal for them money, the twin lens kit is worth a look too - http://www.warehouseexpress.com/prod...px?sku=1024309

[sassan]

Jaz1; I am sorry that you have so much trouble in finding your best choice but remember that you are neither the first nor last in coming with this kind of question and good that you brought it in where the difference of ideas and suggestion may through a light in your path of decision making and hopefully not adding to the confusion.

With all respects, I am to disagree with Don as IMO just feeling a camera fit right in your hand, is not the reason one should buy a camera as I can promise most of us will love the feel of a Canon 1Ds MkIII or Nikon D3x but surely by no means these are not the cameras realistically one might want to shoot with, even if he or she owns it...
I say the first and foremost in merit order are:
- Budget
- Your expectations
- Kind of equipments of your bodies and close friends that are likely to share their tools or experience with you.
- Equipments you already own.
- Equipments you must add in near future.

Now once these are meet and you have done your extensive homework before leaving the comfort of your home and having that extensive resource of knowledge on internet, free of expectation, and only when you have narrowed your list to hopefully 2 or maximum 3 options, it might be the right time to go to a shop that may let you hand on tools. Remember that getting into a shop might be introducing yourself into a "High pressure Atmosphere" where you may be extensively get influence by a seller and don't know about UK atmosphere but many shops in USA will make sure you get out of the door only after leaving maximum cash you had in your wallet left in the shop as the selling manager has his own commission or incentives only by selling. Not to get out of subject but even if wind take my hat into a car dealer, I won't walk in as I have seen people getting out with a car that they never thought may buy, after getting into a situation similar to what I said...

Just to go over your choices, I made a quick comparison chart for you in dpreview that is a good place to start you home work but by no means consider this as a detailed or black and white answer to your questions. I added a few more choices to your list just in case.

LINK

I find reviewing the features very useful as there are things that I know for a fact I like or want such as "Sensor cleaning in more that one way", "Live view", "Larger size of LCD viewer say minimum of 2.7 or 3 inch", type of memory, large number of available lenses of various quality/price class, etc as opposed to things I don't care much like a bit more in pixel resolution etc. Then don't underestimate the power of Brand names though many suggest you go for less fortunate ones. From experience you know how much easier is to find a relief if you ever get into trouble with a manufactures that has a lot more dealer, repair center etc that the one that makes you to refer to only few location on the globe.
Same goes for the possible selling of item. A popular brand will keep to its price a lot better than a not-popular one, in case you feel the need for upgrade to next step, when the right time comes.
If expansion is in future plan then again a more popular brand gives you a lot more options. Just for your self use the word accessory or lens as key words plus name of each of camera manufacturer such as Canon Nikon etc, one at a time to make a search in a large market such as ebay and see for yourself what number of item will show for each brand. Not to say the larger number is definitely a proof of better quality but we are talking of possibilities or aren't we?

After saying these not necessary word, lets get to your simple question;

If you have just a limited expectations with a limited range of optical range, then I strongly invite you to stay off of DSLR and use the high grade non-dslr cameras that give you a lot of manual over-riding when you need to make that effect. I have only two names to suggest here whether others like it or not:
1- Canon G10
2- Panasonic DMC-LX3
No. You are determined that for what ever reason DSLR is way to go,
My first question is are you good with finding a second hand camera that comes from higher grade class than the entry levels you mention for purchase as New? More importantly are able to risk a lower budget in a careful risk taking situation and then would you be happy knowing what you are having is not the New Kid in The Block gadget and gizmo and can you deal with a bit out dated appearance and features but full muscle rather that good looking fat? If so seriously look for:
Canon 20D
Canon 30D
Nikon D200
Nikon D80
These should be at Sony price or a bit more around that figure you quoted. Key is to reduce the possible risks or be ready to walk out of deal if anything appears fishy.

No. You have to buy New because you need the right piece of Mind Comfort in knowing your item comes with at least a year of Warranty, it comes from no bad environment such as surprise to see a second hand item coming from a heavily smoker with reminder in very part of item, Your heart can't deal with a few scratches or paint chips here and there, etc; Then my suggestion is

-Canon 450D

-Sony 350 (The difference in price compare to A200 is a lot lower than huge difference in what you get in term of feature that surely worths that little hurt).

-Pentax K10 that if you are lucky, you will find one new in box for a lot cheaper than what you thought, even you may find a good deal on K20.

Your already own lenses adds a bit to going for Canon. Your Sigma should be compatible with the new EF EFs eos bodies and the incompatibility issue was with older high grade APO lenses with large F number. I have a copy of your Sigma but the one that was made by Sigma, sold under Quanterey name and it works fine with my XT XTi etc and boy this thing is Sharp like razor, wonder how could they sell it at such low price. But then remember that because you lenses are in Canon mount, you probably can easily sell them on ebay and then buy for eg same range in Sigma for say pentax or minolta/sony for cheaper!

-Remember that old manual FD Canon lenses like old MD Minolta or Olympus lenses are not compatible with new AF versions.
-Old Nikons are mostly compatible with new AF once but you of course loss all electrical couplings.
-AF minolta older lens are compatible all with Sony bodies fully.

Do your home work and research before getting out and make sure whatever choice you go for, you are happy with. In reality given a little margin of differences, you will be happy with whichever you chose form your list, unless you are a bit not sure about your decisions and then there is one of those Well determined friend in vicinity that can ruin your mind unless you get exactly what he or she has.

[Craftysnapper]

Plenty of good advise of which I will only add, do not base your decision on the two budget lenses you already own. digital is more demanding of lenses than film was and both those lenses were basic budget lenses designed for film and you will not be happy with them for long.

[cameras]

450D - some really great bargins out there at the moment sub £500.00 inc kit lens>>>>>