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Originally posted by Gaz
Can I point out something for you Dan.

Why choose Nikon and have to buy the same lens all over again that your mum already has when you can buy Canon and between you build up a collection of lenses you both can use.

I shoot canon and I have a friend who shoots premier league with some impressive lenses (300 F2.8, 400 F2.8 as well as 70-200 F2.8 and a lovely 16-35mm) So I am forever pinching gear from him, letting me use very expensive and amazing glass on my old 40D. This costs me the price of a brew and a bacon butty every-now-and-then.

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There are some good alternatives around to photoshop. One is called GIMP which is completely free and is pretty easy to use. You can Download a 30 day free trial of the adobe products too. If you are starting out I would recommend adobe Lightroom. It's pretty reasonably priced too. I use Lightroom from a majority of my photos these days. Plenty of tutorials on YouTube to familiarise yourself with it too. I look forward to seeing some photos from you :)

Now bought. Got it for £382 with a Nikon case. I presume its not worth investing in any software just yet?

I've managed to find the D3200 for £370 with the DX 18-55 VR lense. I also managed to find it for £415 with a 55-200 lense as well, but it was a US import which put me off slightly.

[Edited on 22-06-2013 by Welsh Dan]

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Originally posted by Welsh Dan
Although a good suggestion, I don't live with my mum as she's 300 miles away so sharing lenses is not practical. She only leaves her camera on Auto and I don't think she's ever changed the settings on it.

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Although a good suggestion, I don't live with my mum as she's 300 miles away so sharing lenses is not practical. She only leaves her camera on Auto and I don't think she's ever changed the settings on it.

Can I point out something for you Dan.

Why choose Nikon and have to buy the same lens all over again that your mum already has when you can buy Canon and between you build up a collection of lenses you both can use.

I shoot canon and I have a friend who shoots premier league with some impressive lenses (300 F2.8, 400 F2.8 as well as 70-200 F2.8 and a lovely 16-35mm) So I am forever pinching gear from him, letting me use very expensive and amazing glass on my old 40D. This costs me the price of a brew and a bacon butty every-now-and-then.

I just bought one Dan not long ago and I love it, still getting to grips with different modes/settings for what I want to use it for though.

Looking at the options given by Andy1868, i'm going to look at the D3200. Its had good reviews in the What Camera magazine, so i'll have a look around for the best price. Expect some badly taken pics soon.

I agree, its the lens that will make all the difference. I started with a 400D and the kit lens which was fine for when I was learning but as I learnt, it was the low light performance and the softness of the lens that really became an issue for me.

I upgraded my kit lens to a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 and I was blown away with how sharp it was for a non-fixed focal length lens. I used this combo for a few years and then I upgraded the body to a 7D which is superior compared to my old 400D.

I would recommend go with a beginner kit then upgrade when the time is right. You may find that you barely use it and if you have forked out for premium gear then thats a lot of money sat gathering dust!

to be fair, both choices have their merits. the zoom is there for versatility. Especially when you first pick up a camera you want to shoot anything and everything. I admit with a nice prime you'll get nicer pictures fairly quickly but you're going to be limited by the field of view and what have you.

Although a 50mm lens is a cracker its not really a "do-it-all" sort of affair. Perhaps a 35 would be better if you're going for a fixed lens. The Nikon 35mm 1.8 is a lovely thing, and i speak from experience, although my 50 has a special place in my kit bag!

Fair enough points, I still lean more towards my point though.

Very much disagree.

The differences between a budget DSLR and midrange/prosumer DSLR are more to do with gimmicks and lesser used features than to do with actual performance and image quality.
Only exception I can think of is if you're looking at two cameras with different sensor size.

You'll find a much bigger gap in performance between lenses of varying quality.

A long list of features will not get you hooked on photography. If anything it'll be too overwhelming for a beginner and will either a) not be used or b) put the user completely off.

Crisp photos with narrow depth of field and clear colours are much more likely to spike an interest in and joy for photography with a beginner.

But when you work out what sort of lens you need you'll be stuck with a lesser quality camera.

Also, by the time you've gotten to a stage the quality of the lens is holding you back, you'll know how to get the best out of it and won't mind buying another.

No camera is better than the lens you put on it.

Get the best camera you can now and then add lenses on later when you know what you are looking for.

Cheaper camera with kit lens and 50mm f/1.8 would be a far better start than a more expensive camera with only kit lens.

if you're going Nikon then probably the D3200 with 18-55mm lens would make sense. Can be had for £388. Alternatively, if you don't mind the slightly older model you can get the D3100 with 18-55mm and the 55-200mm lens for £430 :)

If you're going down the Canon route then it would probably be the 600D with 18-55 lens for £412. If you don't mind the older version of the Canon you can get a 1100D with 18-55 for less than £300 giving you a little extra for accessories etc.

I wouldn't discount the smaller brands though, Sony and Pentax have some good bodies and some cracking lenses. There does tend to be more choice from the Canon/Nikon lot in terms of upgrades etc which might be enough for you to choose one of those brands. I know I did (in the end) I started with a Sony and sold up and went to Nikon.

Preferably, yes as i'd be worried about it breaking.

ebay
or
www.camerapricebuster.co.uk
Would you want brand new?

I'm looking at buying a DSLR camera. Used my mums EOS 450D a few times which is nice enough, but I know absolutely bugger all about photography and so I want something suitable for beginners, but not something that can't be upgraded further down the line.

I have around £400 to spend. Would rather get something from one of the big manufacturers (Canon/Nikon etc.)

Any good places or deals to check, particularly now that Jessops has gone under. What should I be looking out for?

If it makes any difference, it'll be mainly cars/buildings and action shots at work that i'll be using it for.

[Edited on 20-06-2013 by Welsh Dan]