Digital slr

[Scorer]

Want to get a digital SLR camera for Christmas but don't want to spend a fortune.

Any reccomendations. Ideally around £250.

Cheers in advance.

[mad maxim]

Oh dear, here we go ago.

The Canon fans will say you should get the Canon 1000D (£300ish)
The Nikon fans will say the Nikon D40 (£240 ish ) or D60 (£290ish)
The Sony fans will say you should get the A200 (£270 ish)
There's an Olympus around £300 and a Pentax at about £340 as well.

All much of a muchness, best idea is to play with them in a shop and see which you feel is best for you. Personally I vote Sony over the Canon and Nikon as it has the in-body stabilisation but that's just my personal preference. And if I was going Nikon I'd choose the D60 over the D40.

Biggest question is - are you sure you really want a DSLR?

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

Mad Maxim is pretty much right.

I'm a canon man and was about to suggest a 450D.

They really are all about the same but I'd advise either a Nikon or a Canon if you wat to develop your photography for the simple reason that there are more lenses available and it's the lenses that will ultimately determine the quality of your work.

[Scorer]

Cheers chaps. Was thinking the sony a200 but will check out your other suggestions. Only need an entry level jobby. Just can't stand the delay on even the better "ordinary" digital cameras.

[mad maxim]

Originally Posted by AB22 Easy Tiger

They really are all about the same but I'd advise either a Nikon or a Canon if you wat to develop your photography for the simple reason that there are more lenses available and it's the lenses that will ultimately determine the quality of your work.

How many bleedin' times do Nikon and Canon owners roll out that old chestnut!!!!!! They're obsessed!!!

There are plenty of easily available lenses, including the vastly envied Carl Zeiss lenses, for the Sony/Minolta mount, I've never had any bother whatsoever getting a fair selection of lenses, from online shops, ebay and Charles Eagles. Only if you want to spend several thousand quid on a ludicrously esoteric or obscure lens will you have any trouble on that front.

[SteveFTM]

Ok not a SLR but the Fujica S9000 offers all the bells and whistles that an SLR can offer at a fraction of the cost. If you're looking for a digital camera that can offer professional results but don't want to shell out ££££££ then have a look at this.............

http://www.cameras.co.uk/reviews/fuji-finepix-s9600.cfm

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

Originally Posted by mad maxim

How many bleedin' times do Nikon and Canon owners roll out that old chestnut!!!!!! They're obsessed!!!

There are plenty of easily available lenses, including the vastly envied Carl Zeiss lenses, for the Sony/Minolta mount, I've never had any bother whatsoever getting a fair selection of lenses, from online shops, ebay and Charles Eagles. Only if you want to spend several thousand quid on a ludicrously esoteric or obscure lens will you have any trouble on that front.

There are loads of lenses for everything, but Nikon and Canon have about 10 times the number of (budget) lenses available than the others. Look at Sigma and Tamron websites. It's far more economical to own a Nikon or Canon.

[SteveFTM]

Originally Posted by AB22 Easy Tiger

There are loads of lenses for everything, but Nikon and Canon have about 10 times the number of (budget) lenses available than the others. Look at Sigma and Tamron websites. It's far more economical to own a Nikon or Canon.

Unless you're working as a professional photographer do you REALLY need a vast array of lenses?

[mad maxim]

Originally Posted by AB22 Easy Tiger

There are loads of lenses for everything, but Nikon and Canon have about 10 times the number of (budget) lenses available than the others. Look at Sigma and Tamron websites. It's far more economical to own a Nikon or Canon.

There are more choices for Canon and Nikon but all usual focal length combinations/specs are covered for Sony, we're talking about the difference between choosing from 4 or 5 virtually identical lenses for C/N versus 2 or 3 virtually identical lenses for Sony, all at the same price. The majority of Sigma and Tamron lenses are available in the Sony mount (Tamron is now partially owned by Sony so expect all their lenses to be available in Sony soon).
Second hand prices apart there is zero financial penalty to going Sony, plus all lenses are automatically stabilised rather than having to pay extra for stabilised lenses. (e.g I have the superb Tamron 70-200 f2.8 lens which my camera stabilises, you'd have to pay vastly more for a stabilised equivalent for Canon/Nikon.)

Originally Posted by SteveFTM

Unless you're working as a professional photographer do you REALLY need a vast array of lenses?

Need, no.
Want, YES!!!!
Once you're addicted its an expensive hobby!

[AB22 Easy Tiger]

Originally Posted by mad maxim

Want, YES!!!!
Once you're addicted its an expensive hobby!

We'll agree on that bit then