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Hi All,
Keen to purchase a Camera for general use but want something a bit better than a standard point and shoot. Mainly for photos of the kids, at family events/ holidays etc.
Been seeing a number of SLRs around which produce great pics. Happy to spend around the $1000 mark a few q's

1) Will I get something decent for this price
2) Brands?
3) Any other recommendations
4) Where should I Shop

Cheers
Stumps

Stumps wrote:
1) Will I get something decent for this price
2) Brands?
3) Any other recommendations
4) Where should I Shop

Cheers
Stumps

1) yes
2) canon nikon etc..
3 & 4) go some where like Ted's or diamonds, pick their brain and use the knowledge they have. Find the camera/brand/model you like then find who will do the best package...

Love your work mickey cheers anyone have particular models they know like

Just did a quick search..

Nikon D3100 14.2 mega pixel
18-55mm & 55-300mm lenses

Teds Camers website
$899.95

Diamonds website
$934.00

Camera House
$949

mickey wrote:Just did a quick search..

Nikon D3100 14.2 mega pixel
18-55mm & 55-300mm lenses

Teds Camers website
$899.95

Diamonds website
$934.00

Camera House
$949

This is a great selection and will the job for under a grand. Nikon body the way to go and either Tamron or Sigma lenses

Stumps wrote:Love your work mickey cheers anyone have particular models they know like

Soooo badly want a Micro Four Thirds rather than a DSLR.

Considering either the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 or Sony Alpha NEX-F3.

Q. wrote:

Stumps wrote:Love your work mickey cheers anyone have particular models they know like

Soooo badly want a Micro Four Thirds rather than a DSLR.

Considering either the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 or Sony Alpha NEX-F3.

+1 on the NEX


Own a Nikon D300 DSLR, its GREAT for special occasions.

But a pain in the ass to take anywhere for casual use, so it sits in the cupboard for 360 days of the year....

Banker wrote:

Q. wrote:

Stumps wrote:Love your work mickey cheers anyone have particular models they know like

Soooo badly want a Micro Four Thirds rather than a DSLR.

Considering either the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 or Sony Alpha NEX-F3.

+1 on the NEX


Own a Nikon D300 DSLR, its GREAT for special occasions.

But a pain in the ass to take anywhere for casual use, so it sits in the cupboard for 360 days of the year....

I never leave home without my Nikon D90, flash gun, 70-300mm 1:4-5.8 and 17-50mm 1:2.8 Tamron lenses. If I want to be portable I take the Coolpix 5700 which is a real little zinger of a unit

have a look at different models in your price range and have a look at reviews on youtube where they are actually using the camera it makes it a lot easier.

Ok just went through this recently, had same money to spend as u. Did all the online videos and came down to between canon and Nikon, settled on the canon 600d, was 1000 with 2 lens everywhere. Got it online, eBay from china for 799 delivered, delivered in 3 days. It is schit hot. The canon 650d has just come out and is over the 1000 mark so many bargains out there for the 600d. If u want I will post the site of the seller, couldn't be happier.

I used to be into photography in a big way, but I haven't owned an SLR since the film days.
Then I had a Konica, followed by a series of Pentax models. However, looking back I think I'd have been better of with Nikon, Canon, or Olympus for sharpness.

I have, however, been looking at the dSLR market, and am thinking of buying one.

I don't think you can go past Nikon for clarity and sharpness so long as you can afford the Nikon lenses too.
Sony don't look like a bad runner up so long as you use the good German lenses. (I think it is Zeiss that fits them.)
In both cases I wouldn't get too carried away with the megapixel count and would put money towards the genuine lenses rather than compromise that for the extra pixels.

On the other hand I think Canon and Sony get the colour balance nearer right and Canon iS lenses are pretty good.
The new Pentax models are fairly good on colour too but Pentax has always tended to a rather "soft focus" style.

Because I've been travelling a lot I've been using compact ultra-zoom cameras, which are around the $500 mark.

I currently carry a Canon SX10iS, which is a 10mpxl job, and has a 20x optical zoom with a stabilised lens.
One of its advantages if you are off the beaten track is that you can run it on 4 of any old AA batteries you can find - that's why I've stuck with it.
(There were a couple of places in India recently where no one could recharge their batteries as there was no power.)

I've looked at the new Nikon P510 with its 42x optical zoom, but it feels a bit flimsy in the handling and its auto-focus "hunts" a bit as you push the zoom.
So I steered a friend who was looking that type of camera toward the Canon SH40iS which has a 36 x optical zoom and better focussing.

The Panasonic models in this type feel really good and controlled to handle, and use (IIRC) Leica lenses, but so far 26x optical is their limit.
I may go for one of those when they bring out one with a longer zoom.

Steve's Digicams still provides sample shots for comparison from various makes and models: http://www.steves-digicams.com/
This site is good too: http://www.dpreview.com/

Don't buy a camera without first holding a few different brands, the feel of a camera is really important, as different brands have buttons in different spots. Bought my first DSLR about 3 years or so ago, was tossing up between a Nikon and a Canon and after holding both cameras, I found the Canon much more comfortable in the hand because of the weight distribution and shutter release position. There are plenty of good sites on the net to compare camera brand/model photo quality, http://www.dpreview.com being my preferred one.

heres psyber in his old photography days...

Johno6 wrote:here's psyber in his old photography days...

My first camera was actually a compact Baby Brownie I was given for my 8th birthday by my older sister (late 1951). http://www.brownie-camera.com/1.shtml
My parents did still have one of the original Box Brownies though they'd had for years, and my older sister had an Agfa 35mm

When I was in 1st year high school, one of my teachers bought a Pentax SLR, of which he was quite proud, started a camera club.
At that point the BB was a bit of an embarrassment - so I borrowed a Leica from a cousin's camera collection for those outings.
(I could have had his Hasselblad or his Rollei, but they were both a bit cumbersome.)

Later that year, I bought a Yashica, which I kept until I bought the Konica Autoreflex T, which was my first SLR.
(Excellent lens, poor light metering.)

Psyber wrote:

Johno6 wrote:here's psyber in his old photography days...

My first camera was actually a compact Baby Brownie I was given for my 8th birthday by my older sister (late 1951). http://www.brownie-camera.com/1.shtml
My parents did still have one of the original Box Brownies though they'd had for years, and my older sister had an Agfa 35mm

When I was in 1st year high school, one of my teachers bought a Pentax SLR, of which he was quite proud, started a camera club.
At that point the BB was a bit of an embarrassment - so I borrowed a Leica from a cousin's camera collection for those outings.
(I could have had his Hasselblad or his Rollei, but they were both a bit cumbersome.)

Later that year, I bought a Yashica, which I kept until I bought the Konica Autoreflex T, which was my first SLR.
(Excellent lens, poor light metering.)

I have my original Box Brownie and my first 35mm Mamiya and my first SLR Pentax