Hey there all,
Here is hoping that someone can help / advise. We have decided to splash out a bit and get ourselves a digital SLR. Trouble is neither of us are experts. The one that has attracted our attention is the NIKON D80 with the 18-135mm lense....with Jessops they also have an offer on a tamron 70-300mm so may also get that.
Now this camera seems to be a fair bit more than the offerings from Canon / Pentax etc etc. Is the Nikon worth the extra investment or is there another camera we should consider?
Thanks all
Mr & Mrs Nice
Join the most popular community of UK swingers now
Login
Digital SLR
Sexpert
OK, I'll put my hands up and admit....I work in the Photographic industry and have done for years! Bit of a photographer on the quiet too...
So, my advice really is to go to a decent indepenant retail (definitely not Jessops!) and get your hands on the cameras. The D80 is new, and is proving to be very popular. In direct comparison, Canon have recently launched their EOS 400, which is very competent, but a bit flimsy in build quality, and Pentax are coming back into the market in a big way.
I personally use a Canon, allbeit a bloody expensive one! However, I would really urge you to have a look at the Pentax - its "headline" feature is that it has an image stabiliser built into the body, so you get less blurring in low light and also reduce the need to use flash. The K100D retails at about £489, so a touch cheaper than the Nikon. The only slight minus point is that it *only* has 6 million pixels where the others have 10....but 6 is more than plenty to give you good quality up to A3 prints anyways.
The only "lemon" on the market just now is the Sony Alpha - its basically a reworked Konica-Minolta camera, and it hasnt lived up to expectations in the trade.
If you want to PM me with your rough location, I can recommend some dealers to visit :-)
Hope it helps!
Andy
So, my advice really is to go to a decent indepenant retail (definitely not Jessops!) and get your hands on the cameras. The D80 is new, and is proving to be very popular. In direct comparison, Canon have recently launched their EOS 400, which is very competent, but a bit flimsy in build quality, and Pentax are coming back into the market in a big way.
I personally use a Canon, allbeit a bloody expensive one! However, I would really urge you to have a look at the Pentax - its "headline" feature is that it has an image stabiliser built into the body, so you get less blurring in low light and also reduce the need to use flash. The K100D retails at about £489, so a touch cheaper than the Nikon. The only slight minus point is that it *only* has 6 million pixels where the others have 10....but 6 is more than plenty to give you good quality up to A3 prints anyways.
The only "lemon" on the market just now is the Sony Alpha - its basically a reworked Konica-Minolta camera, and it hasnt lived up to expectations in the trade.
If you want to PM me with your rough location, I can recommend some dealers to visit :-)
Hope it helps!
Andy
Hiya,
We have an Olympus E-500 here,
Can recommend them, good quality images, build quality very good.
Lots of functions but very simple to use, only complaint is no preview before the pictures taken on the main screen, but you can live without it!
Got ours from PC World (i know i know lol) but £500 with two lenses ranged from 14-300mm (converted) and a gig mem card cant be a bad deal can it!
Most DSLR's are a good buy nowadays though to be perfectly honest.
Happy snapping
We have an Olympus E-500 here,
Can recommend them, good quality images, build quality very good.
Lots of functions but very simple to use, only complaint is no preview before the pictures taken on the main screen, but you can live without it!
Got ours from PC World (i know i know lol) but £500 with two lenses ranged from 14-300mm (converted) and a gig mem card cant be a bad deal can it!
Most DSLR's are a good buy nowadays though to be perfectly honest.
Happy snapping
Have a look here
They are cheaper than Jessops, but print of the page and Jessops will beat the price by 10 %.
You really need to go and hold the camera's i fancied either a canon or Nikon, after holding the 2 i just had to have the nikon, felt better and more comfortable.
I bought my D70-s from Jessops, havent had any problems with them and also bought the lens your thinking of buying, works very well.
Alex
They are cheaper than Jessops, but print of the page and Jessops will beat the price by 10 %.
You really need to go and hold the camera's i fancied either a canon or Nikon, after holding the 2 i just had to have the nikon, felt better and more comfortable.
I bought my D70-s from Jessops, havent had any problems with them and also bought the lens your thinking of buying, works very well.
Alex
Warming the Bed
As a PRO photographer i can offer some advice here i think....
Remeber that a camera is, basically, nothing more than a light tight box... its the glass in front and the person behind that makes the pic... that said... sensors now play a part in the image quality.
As already stated, for the average user theres probably nothing between the two main players... Dont bother with Pentax...
The EOS 400 is the new kid on the block... ok if using it occasionally as a hobbiest, but wont stand up to the rigours of some serious usage. The 20D or 30D are better build as they're aimed at the entry level prosumer market.
The canon sensors deliver a better image at higher ISO settings.. ive pushed mine to 1600 for hand held flashless indoor church shots.. little loss in image quality... these being for wedding albums etc. a friend with the Nikon D100 struggled to get a decent image at 400iso any higher and there were some serious colour fringing and strong grain.
I have also heard that the after service that nikon provide leaves a lot to be desired..... D70's are renowned for giving up the ghost after 30,000 images.... seems alot... think of how many bodies i'd get through... 25-30 weddings per year @ 1500 images per wedding.. add to that the product, editorial and fashion shoots i undertake and i'd need a new camera every two months......
Alot depends on your intended usage.... If your looking for something that gives a decent image for snaps with a little artistic input from you i'd suggest a top line compact.. restrictive on lens lengths etc...
If a hobbiest either the EOS 400 or the Nikon D80, considering the shutter issue....
If youre wanting something that you could develop your photography with and is a reliable workhorse.. i'd opt for the EOS 20 or 30D everytime.....
Hope that helps...
Regards,
A.
Remeber that a camera is, basically, nothing more than a light tight box... its the glass in front and the person behind that makes the pic... that said... sensors now play a part in the image quality.
As already stated, for the average user theres probably nothing between the two main players... Dont bother with Pentax...
The EOS 400 is the new kid on the block... ok if using it occasionally as a hobbiest, but wont stand up to the rigours of some serious usage. The 20D or 30D are better build as they're aimed at the entry level prosumer market.
The canon sensors deliver a better image at higher ISO settings.. ive pushed mine to 1600 for hand held flashless indoor church shots.. little loss in image quality... these being for wedding albums etc. a friend with the Nikon D100 struggled to get a decent image at 400iso any higher and there were some serious colour fringing and strong grain.
I have also heard that the after service that nikon provide leaves a lot to be desired..... D70's are renowned for giving up the ghost after 30,000 images.... seems alot... think of how many bodies i'd get through... 25-30 weddings per year @ 1500 images per wedding.. add to that the product, editorial and fashion shoots i undertake and i'd need a new camera every two months......
Alot depends on your intended usage.... If your looking for something that gives a decent image for snaps with a little artistic input from you i'd suggest a top line compact.. restrictive on lens lengths etc...
If a hobbiest either the EOS 400 or the Nikon D80, considering the shutter issue....
If youre wanting something that you could develop your photography with and is a reliable workhorse.. i'd opt for the EOS 20 or 30D everytime.....
Hope that helps...
Regards,
A.
A good review and discussion site is and is by make with lots of in depth data. Most folk there are happy to answer both technical and non tech questions.
We have 2 Fuji's, a S7000 now discontinued and a S9500. Both good cameras and no chance of dirt on the sensor as they are prosumer models. The 9500 has a nice manual zoom and produces terrific photos but like all cameras there's a steep learning curve.
The 9500 is used for serious project photography, mainly construction and civil engineering stuff as well as all the usual stuff.
Used with a good image processing programme such as Adobe CS2 and a good printer you will be ok.
If you have not had a digital cametra before then seriously consider where you are going and don't get in too deep first time round. Better to get the feel of things with a less complicated camera first.
We have 2 Fuji's, a S7000 now discontinued and a S9500. Both good cameras and no chance of dirt on the sensor as they are prosumer models. The 9500 has a nice manual zoom and produces terrific photos but like all cameras there's a steep learning curve.
The 9500 is used for serious project photography, mainly construction and civil engineering stuff as well as all the usual stuff.
Used with a good image processing programme such as Adobe CS2 and a good printer you will be ok.
If you have not had a digital cametra before then seriously consider where you are going and don't get in too deep first time round. Better to get the feel of things with a less complicated camera first.
