Looking to upgrade from my little Nikon Compact which has given me great service, to a DSLR. I’d like something that I can pack in to my bag and take on a days biking. A camera that is fairly simple to use but will get me some stunning pictures.
I have a budget of around 600, and happy to get something secondhand.

Any ideas? What do others take out on to the trail if a camera goes with you?

You can pick up something like a Canon 30D, 5D if you want full frame or 7D if you want video for next to no money these days and then spend the rest of the money on a decent lens. Unless you want super mega numbers of pixels 8MP-12MP will do a sharp A3 print.

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/used-digital-slr-cameras/

Folk will be on with more info I’m sure, but bear in mind you’re going to want a decent lens (or six) to go with the SLR, and to get the most out of it. Something like a Nikon D5200 with a Tamron 17-50 2.8 wouldn’t be a bad start, and should come in budget just about.

For me though (speaking as someone with three DSLRs, a bunch of lenses and a load of film SLRs) I pretty much always take my Canon S95 compact with me riding. It’s small enough I can clip the pouch to my camelback for easy access, and it has a bigger sensor than a normal compact and SLR manual functions when I want them. I generally can’t be arsed faffing with a big DSLR in my backpack unless I’ve specifically gone just to take photos, in which case there’ll be a lot of faffing anyway.

A dslr is pretty big. Do you want quantity of pixel or quality? Are you ever going to print bigger than a3?

I’ve shot a 20D since forever. Stunning images upto a3, magnesium body. And now very cheap.
I finally swapped to a 7D last year purely for low light capability as I’m now shooting indoors low light a lot.

So personally I’d get a 20/40d and some good glass if you REALLY want a dslr.

cheers guys. I will still keep my compact for when hopping off and getting a few pics. The DSLR is for a days faffing!

Not going to print anything A3 size at present… but saying that I should not rule it out.

Lumix gf1 – forgotten how old mine is now, it lives strapped to my riding bag in a waterproof case & no issues yet. Can film in HD too

In that case, few year old body (I use a Nikon D90 for most stuff, they can be picked up for buttons) and a couple of decent lenses. There’s a minty condition D90 just sold for £180 on Talkphotography.

Or the Canon equivalent, as recommended above.

look at canon 40d and 50d, they are magnesium body, very well built and going for not much money. chipps was selling his 50d on here recently.

corking photos from my 50d. Apparently the 40d is a little better noise wise in low light owing to fewer pixels (and also cheaper as slightly older) but don’t think you’d notice a great deal in the real world.

They are heavier and a little bulkier than the smaller SLR’s these days, but if you are still going to be using the compact on some days as well, i’d prefer the more solid body of the 40/50d.

If you are shooting in lower light conditions, I’d consider getting a newer body, over an older second hand body.

A mate of mine has a D7000 and it absolutely wipes the floor with my D80 in terms of low light performance. He can take shots at much higher ISO’s than I would even contemplate and they are essentially noise-free. Gives you the option of shooting hand held as the light falls and avoiding camera shake.

I suspect that even the bottom of the range Nikon bodies would now beat my D80 in terms of noise performance though.

Have you considered getting a mirrorless compact instead? A bag full of SLR and lenses gets pretty heavy after traipsing around all day with it; I love my SLR, but can’t help looking longingly at the Panasonic mirrorless compacts and thinking that they’d be much more handy for lugging around duties….

+1 for a GF series or similar (Olympus Pen etc).

Slight thread hijack.. which case / strap are you using? Keep meaning to take my GF1 out more but would want it to be a bit more accessible than inside my pack.

I carry an uber cheap second hand one with me – that means I do take it on wet or muddy days when needed, and take it canoeing as well….

(Uber cheap being £100 worth of Pentax K100D with two kit lenses).

Not bad images…
[url=https://flic.kr/p/qPhSDj]Loch Achray Canoe[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/p5b7gA]SBC Wallace Monument Hillclimb[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/eTz2RN]Killin SDA[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/d6v3H7]River Awe canoe[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/cVnrXJ]Comrie Croft pump jump track[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dYTd9j]Outdoor Instructor Training Course[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/p5arqE]A day out in the Trossachs[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rfExCY]Red Deer Stag[/url] by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

Stunning one of the Stag.
Will have a look and check out those recommendations. Thank you!

My arsenal consists of a nifty fifty, a 17-50 and a 70-200.

The 17-50 covers most scenarios

A Sony a6000 will do everything a dslr will do for a fraction of the size and weight. Probably not nearly as good value as a dslr if you buy several lenses but if it’s primarily for mountainbiking the size benefit would push me that way.

Any ideas? What do others take out on to the trail if a camera goes with you?

All depends on what I’m up to. If I intend to ride with the camera and take photos of riders then I take a Nikon D7000 and a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 if it’s overcast or a Nikon 18-200 f4-5.6 if it’s sunny.

The DSLR has two main advantages over most compacts, very low shutter lag and fast autofocus (esp with an f2.8 lens). You generally get a higher frame rate as well eg 6 fps +, which helps for action stuff.

If I was shooting riders and not riding myself then I’d take a some pro kit (D4s and 70-200 f2.8 lens) plus maybe a flash.

The DSLR has two main advantages over most compacts, very low shutter lag and fast autofocus (esp with an f2.8 lens). You generally get a higher frame rate as well eg 6 fps +, which helps for action stuff.

While true of older models it’s not necessarily true of the new stuff. The a6000 gives you the same shutter lag, subject tracking AF that is better than all but the most expensive dslrs, and 11fps.

A camera that is fairly simple to use but will get me some stunning pictures.

With respect, I don’t think you’re describing a dSLR here.

Photographers take better shots with dSLRs largely because they know how to operate a camera in order to produce the effect they desire. A lot of work goes in to taking those photos. A big daft camera will be inherently better quality to a point because it has a bigger sensor than a compact, but it won’t automatically create National Geographic centrefolds for you.

If you want to “take up photography” then a dSLR is a good option; but if all you want to do is slam it in “auto” and take a few snaps that are better than the ones from your little pocket rocket then I’d hazard you’d be better served with a high-end compact, or perhaps a CSC at a push (like the Lumix GF2 I’m selling 🙂 ) but even that may be overkill.

I’d maybe think about a Sony RX10. I was very close to getting an SLR but on balance thought this would be easier to carry around. Oh and it takes stunning pics!

Flickr

Large-ish but much smaller and lighter than a DSLR with Lenses. plus its weatherproof.