Digital SLR camera... Any recommendations?

[fossyant]

What about recommended alternative makes - do they work with the auto focus etc ?

I'm new to DSLR - I've used a bridge camera for years - Fuji S9600 which has been fab but my lad is set on a DSLR, so I'm new to all this. Trying to get a couple of good lenses, one for close video (bloody you tube) and one for actually taking decent pictures.

 

[accountantpete]

What about recommended alternative makes - do they work with the auto focus etc ?

I'm new to DSLR - I've used a bridge camera for years - Fuji S9600 which has been fab but my lad is set on a DSLR, so I'm new to all this. Trying to get a couple of good lenses, one for close video (bloody you tube) and one for actually taking decent pictures.

Some can work with an adapter but you will be buying more or less the same standard lens. Older lenses can also be fitted with an adapter - without auto focus though. Here's a 1950's Meyer M42 lens fitted to my Canon 400D

 

[mustang1]

Is cost an issue? If so, I'd strongly recommend using fleabay to get yourself a Nikon D40 - a fantastic bit of kit which you can pick up for a song because everyone wants 27gigapixels these days. Everything you specify, and a great lens. What's not to like?

PS:
View attachment 110844

One of my most favourite cameras ever. Love it.

 

[Andy_R]

This was with the same camera, but with a nifty fifty at f/2.8. No flash, just reflected light from torches.

 

[jefmcg]

My son is after a 700D with all his Xmas monies etc.

This place looks the cheapest. They are about £100 cheaper than most other retailers.

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/

It doesn't seem cheaper than where I bought mine in 2009, and strangely they make no mention on the £50 rebate. Maybe you don't get that if it's a grey import? If you can't get the rebate from HDEW, then I have saved you another £50! I'd highly recommend WEX, and I don't think they do grey market gear.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-...-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-is-stm-lens/p1536818
http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-700d-kit-18-135-stm-1277-p.asp

 

[fossyant]

It doesn't seem cheaper than where I bought mine in 2009, and strangely they make no mention on the £50 rebate. Maybe you don't get that if it's a grey import? If you can't get the rebate from HDEW, then I have saved you another £50! I'd highly recommend WEX, and I don't think they do grey market gear.

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-...-slr-camera-with-18-55mm-is-stm-lens/p1536818
http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-700d-kit-18-135-stm-1277-p.asp

Different lens. Offer. Seen the HEDW offer with 18-55 for £329

http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-eos-700d-with-18-55mm-f35-56-is-stm-1267-p.asp

No rebate - it's stated on the main website as they aren't an 'authorised' canon dealer. Just trying to ensure my lad can afford it - it's a lot of his savings and it's genuine.

 

[gbb]

Nikon D40, I have two (mine and my sons cast off)...both suffer with autofocus problems. The motor is in the lens which is different to almost every other camera. Its fine while its working...but not without its problems, its a known problem with them.
Occasionally ive managed to get one working...one is now but the other is stubbornly troublesome despite numerous fixes suggested online.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Never heard any complaints about hdew, but they sell grey imports, hence the price difference. They're reasonably open about it and claim to match the warranties of Official UK sourced kit, but it'd be worth reading their T&Cs to make sure you're happy.

I bought my Canon 6D from them a couple of years ago as they were the cheapest by several hundred pounds. I did have some worries about warranty etc so before I bought it I wrote to the authorised Canon repairer in Glasgow who confirmed they'd treat it exactly like any other Canon bought in the UK and fix it under the 1yr Canon warranty. The extended warranty would also be honoured.

HDEW's customer support is good and I'd have no qualms buying from them again or recommending them.

GC

 

[ufkacbln]

Slightly OT...

Keep an eye out of Black Friday sales.... there can be some good bargains

 

[raleighnut]

just a thought, when your Eos died did you keep the lenses as they might fit a Canon body (I don't think they changed the mount)

 

[perplexed]

just a thought, when your Eos died did you keep the lenses as they might fit a Canon body (I don't think they changed the mount)

I did, but when I asked a few years ago, they said in the shop that they wouldn't work on auto-focus... Gonna have a rummage...

 

[IDMark2]

I did, but when I asked a few years ago, they said in the shop that they wouldn't work on auto-focus... Gonna have a rummage...

If it was Canon EOS lenses, that was poppycock... Canon changed their lens mount three times, FL then FD manual focus, EOS autofocus. There can be issues with unwanted internal reflections off the rear elements of lenses originally coated for film use and with some third party manufacturers such as Sigma not having compatible circuitry.
If you do have lenses tucked away - and they haven't seen the light of day for some time - it is worth checking them for internal fungus before assuming you can go forward with using them.

 

[KneesUp]

I have to say that if his focus (that's a pun right there) is on video work, a mirrorless camera is better suited as it doesn't have to shift the mirror to shoot video.

 

[KneesUp]

Also, bear in mind that the angle of view afforded by a 50mm lens on film will be different to that of a non full frame DSLR - I have a 50mm for my Pentax (a 40 year old K-M) which produced images akin to a 75mm lens on film because the sensor is 1.5x smaller (1.5 x 50 = 75) than film.

For 4/3rd you need to double, so my 20mm f1.7 is roughly the same as 40mm on film.

However, the smaller the sensor the larger the aperture you need to get the same depth of field effects.

 

[Crackle]

As an aside, in terms of quality and equivalence, film to digital, there's a nice article here, in which the author lays out his personal findings in the form of a nice plot.

http://www.clarkvision.com/articles/film.vs.digital.summary1.html/