privateer Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Budget £600 Can anyone recommend a camera please You'll need to provide a bit more info to get a steer, there are plenty on here who will provide that without resorting to shameful responses that attempt to belittle the questioner. In fact, there is nothing more irritating - disgusting actually - than people with experience sneering at questions from those who are likely rookies. Photography and I.T. are two fields I've seen it happen a lot. So, I would suggest you consider offering the following information: What prior experience do you have? Are you a complete novice looking to buy your first camera? Are you looking to upgrade, if so from what and why do you want to? What can't you get out of your current kit that you'd like to be able to do? Are you looking at an SLR-type with lots of features or something of the "point and shoot" type? Do you know what the subject will be? Family snaps, landscapes, sports, portraits or what? How often will you use it? Do you want to spend £600 on kit that you'll use a few times a year taking snapshots of the dog/kids/Xmas Dinner with the Party Hats? Please, don't tell me you want it because you've agreed to be someone's wedding photographer! Reading between the lines you aren't ready for that yet! :winkold: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 23, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 23, 2012 Budget £600 Can anyone recommend a camera please You'll need to provide a bit more info to get a steer, there are plenty on here who will provide that without resorting to shameful responses that attempt to belittle the questioner. In fact, there is nothing more irritating - disgusting actually - than people with experience sneering at questions from those who are likely rookies. Photography and I.T. are two fields I've seen it happen a lot. Actually its good advice, if you don't know why you want a camera, why waste £600, when £150 will do you perfectly well. And the question is irritating because a) it gets asked all the time (it this very topic) and its rarely followed up with the reason people want a camera. People need to know why they want a camera before they go and buy one, they need to know what they want to do with it. What plans they have for it in the future, if those questions haven't been pondered then the person buying the camera is going to waste their money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b23avfc Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Watch this and see the results the Zack man gets with a bog standard camera and a flash that's not really designed to be used with it.. Then save some money Beginners after a dslr look at Nikon 3100 kit or canon equivalent. But watch this first. (to the end so you see the results) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I am a complete novice, the only camera I have is on my phone. I'd like a decent camera for all sorts of uses really I'm prepared to go upto about £600 for something decent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 23, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 23, 2012 I am a complete novice, the only camera I have is on my phone. I'd like a decent camera for all sorts of uses really I'm prepared to go upto about £600 for something decent What do you plan to take pictures of? Do you want it to have interchangeable lenses? Is it just for casual use or will you be using it quite often? Do you want a large camera or something easily carried around in your pocket? How serious are you about photography? So far from what you've said, I'd say you were way over budget, spend no more than £200 on a decent pocket camera. Get a feel for what makes a decent picture using that before spending large amounts of money on a camera. by and large it isn't the camera that takes great images its the humans eye, the more expensive cameras just allow you to take more control over the image but theres no point in spending large amounts of money straight off. If its to be a lasting hobby you can spend larger amounts of money later on, when you feel you've outgrown a small pocket camera. And when you do buy more expensive stuff, buy it 2nd hand in excellent condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 CI, I recently bought an obsolete (nos) Olympus Pen EP 1 plus a second changeable lens all for £209 It's job is to sit in the boot of the car, and when I see something interesting I pull it out of the boot, point it at the interesting thing and press the button. it's on auto, it works everything out. One day, when I've got time, it has all manner of controls and settings I can play with, but for now it takes a fairly decent picture. It's also a lot smaller than a £600 full on dslr. You'd also still have £391 in your pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Thanks for the advice, yes I want something with interchangeable lenses I'm a novice with cameras but have studied art so understand composition, framing etc so am not a complete pleb with a camera Where would you go for decent 2nd hand gear ? And are any makes better than others or more importantly are there makes to avoid ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted July 23, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 23, 2012 I second chrisp65's and Bick's posts. I did similar in some ways. Save yourself 300 or 400 quid, and you can still get a cracking camera. I don't much bother with all the settings on mine, I mostly just leave it to work out the best settings and it takes pics which to my untrained eye seem more than fine, in terms of images of what I point it at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I thinks Mr Bicks has mentioned elsewhere, just take the photo, get home and play around with the colour and the framing there. If you get into it, build it up. But at the 'CI newbie' level, just buy something with a known name on it and spend 6 months with that. If you really need more than that, there are tons of camera review sites such as dpreview. If you are one of these people that need to have awesome kit straight away and piss everyone around you properly off with your new found obsession and expertise, I direct you towards Leica. Second hand can be good value, but might be a duffer. Jessops will sometimes haggle. I got £40 off mine because a lens cap was missing. The replacement was picked up by going to another Jessops and complaining it was missing a lens cap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Ok cheers, Jessops is just new kit though right? Anywhere good for 2nd hand gear ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 23, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 23, 2012 Depends what you want to buy but if its Nikon, Grays of Westminster, they charge top dollar for second hand but they don't bullshit you with the quality of the second hand product, if its MINT it really is. There is also a company in Brighton called MBP Photographic who will sell you Canon & Nikon. I've dealt with both and never had a problem buying or selling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 This kind of goes full circle to Bicksters original query of do you know what you want the camera for? Are you looking to spend £600 on something used? Or are you now looking to minimise your spend? What is the reason for second hand? Your local independent camera shop will most likely have a window half full of used stuff. My nipper is still in primary school and took the photo above whilst wandering around with my camera, there's no way I'd have handed over the camera if it cost £600 - I also wouldnt leave it in the boot of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briggaman Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Photo I took during the London Bridges Walk that has turned out quite well, I think: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KjParton Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 One of my more recent ones there. I'm more of a Wildlife Photographer and have quite a bit of kit. Including the Canon 5D Mark II with numerous external lenses. The type of camera you get completely depends on what type of photography you do. If its bird photography for example, you'd want a camera with a reasonably fast shutter speed and frames per second. I'm also on a Wildlife media project with a bunch of professional wildlife photographers/film makers check it out if you have time: http://www.2020v.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark359 Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Clicky That is the fifth parrot photo with a very crude levels adjustment Thanks very much for that, I get the idea now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b23avfc Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 213 headshots of the same guy in 30 seconds in HD (Has audio, mute if you're not an audio slideshow fan) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 Photo I took during the London Bridges Walk that has turned out quite well, I think: The bridge looks a bit out of focus but I see what you were attempting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bickster Posted July 29, 2012 Moderator Share Posted July 29, 2012 The bridge is meant to be out of focus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 The bridge is meant to be out of focus I presumed I'd either utterly misunderstood his comment or he was trolling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Hey guys, need some help please. Need a decent DSLR camera off Amazon for under £400 - the best possible one for that price. Cannot go over. This is a present for somebody who has just completed a photography course. Need to order asap. thank you all again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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