Right, I'm fed up with reading about twenty posts a week asking about what DSLR to buy, so hopefully I'll be able to cover enough of your questions in here. Can i just clarify; This is not a discussion thread, i have tried to be as impartial as i can in this, i hope it's informative. Want to ask something you can't find in here or on google, check out this thread Part 1: Genesis. When you first look into getting a DSLR the first two brands you are likely to encounter will either be Canon or Nikon, you may also find others such as Sony, Pentax, Olympus etc... the important thing to take into account is that whilst the other brands may appear initially cheaper, you may be restricted in the area of lens compatibility, so you need to take into account to what extent you will be using a DSLR, if it will just be for 'snaps' and stuff, you can just buy a 'cheaper one' (the other manufacturers make some very decent low end kit) and be done with it, OR as the case is now, you will get better pictures straight away with a higher end Point and shoot camera, Remember, DSLR cameras have a steep learning curve, not to dissuade anybody from buying one, but please if you do buy one, read the f**king manual! (no names mentioned Dave) Part 2: GO AND TRY THEM IN A SHOP! Right, assuming I've lost the folks who don't need a DSLR, or only want one for general photo duties, this is where we begin; step one, Budget, i'm assuming here we're looking at sub £500, and again assuming you want to make this easy for yourself, I'll stick with nikon/canon, as to be honest, you'll end up back at one of the two unless you find your own niche filled by another manufacturer. step two, as the title says, go to a bloody camera shop and try them all out, you'll probably be looking at the; Canon 350D (if it's still available in shops, better off online) Canon 400D (this will be everywhere) Nikon D40 (unsure of availability, maybe online) Nikon D40X (in the shops) these are all discontinued, don't hold your breath for a new one. however, ebay/old stock may yield some joy. The currently available base-line models are Canon 450D Nikon D60 these are the lower end models that they produce, there are others that would be considered 'better', but if you're looking at buying something higher up the spectrum and have the money to do so, you probably won't be reading this anyway . at entry level, it really doesn't matter which one you choose, the biggest factor in getting good pictures is you, these cameras will probably all put out a very similar image. don't believe the shit on forums, don't believe the number wars, it should be based on entirely your own personal choice on how it feels and how easy you find it to use (and price, you cheapskates). oh and megapixels don't mean shit (unless you intend to make large prints). Part 3: But what about eBay? it may be cheaper on eBay, but with anything on there, it's a punt. some people have good experiences, others end up with nothing, or a fake camera that breaks after a few months, that's up to you, but don't be afraid to buy online. Part 4: Glass lenses (plural, take note) should hopefully not need to be looked at right away so unless you know you will need something more than the kit lens straight away buying hundreds of lenses won't help you much. assuming you buy a lens kit (camera body + kit lens) you will have a fairly limited focal range (zoom) as far as i know, both Nikon and Canon kit lenses are 18-55mm (approx 3x, but you learn this differently now) which gives you a decent wide end and a small mid range, basically the higher the number the larger the magnification, so just a word of warning before you go and pick up a camera with a 200mm lens. but assuming that this is your first, I'll leave that for now, because your main concern should be learning to use it properly and taking lots of pictures. Part 5: Shop around just because it's on offer at one place doesn't mean you won't find it cheaper elsewhere, shop about just to make sure. I believe that jessops price match from magazines, I think Tomm managed to get a price match off the net with them as well, it's worth a shot. i think that's about it as far as a buyers guide goes. if you really are too lazy/remedial to use google, try these links warehouse express Jessops 7dayshop Hope this was useful. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________ Second edition. This is a bit I'm tacking on to cover all of the other stuff, seeing as everyone who needed this thread when it was made has moved on and wants fisheyes and radio triggers. Flashes/flashguns/off camera flash Yes, we've all read strobist, yes it's really cool, yes you can do it with your camera. part of me is tempted to just tell you to go and read that, but, indolence is prevalent and I've fallen into the delusion that i never asked all of these questions and annoyed people. Everyone has to start somewhere, but the search button is there for a reason. I digress... I'll do flashguns first. what do you want it for? if it's going on the camera's hotshoe and you want TTL metering, you'll want a dedicated flash, Canon EX / Nikon SB models will be standard fare, Sigma make dedicated flashes for a bit less. these are expensive, you're looking at £100 minimum for a new one if not more if it's going to be strictly off camera flash, you can look at cheaper manual flashes such as sunpak or vivitar, these start at a much lower price, expect to find a decent manual flash from about £50 you can use some manual flashes on the hotshoe but if you're at the skill level to do that, you don't need to be reading this. also non dedicated flashes with funny trigger voltages. will kill your camera. so double check. yes jessops make a £9 flashgun. yes it's shit. that's why it's £9 spend some money and get something to meet your needs, otherwise you'll be down £9 when you buy a proper flash. Wireless/Off camera flash Back to strobist again, we've all seen it and you want to take pretty pictures with the flash you've bought Some combinations of nikon cameras/flashes will be able to interact via infra red in commander mode, however light don't bend round walls, you might find you want/need another option of firing your flash remotely. you will either need a hotshoe cord which is an extension lead for your hotshoe, relatively expensive and only really any good if you can poke up with always holding your flash, or alternatively. you could use radio triggers now, these range in price from £25 from ebay, to hundreds of pounds each for pocket wizards. you'll probably want to start with ebay. Personally I reccomend the gadget infinity shop which is the ebay store, just not on ebay and in all fairness, they all come from the same factory, so I'd rather deal with these guys than mr UK CAMRA SHOP RADIO WIRELSD FLSH guy selling them for a quid less. there are other variants such as radio poppers or skyports, but this is the easiest and cheapest starting point. to be continued...
