I’m after a DSLR camera (already have a compact) and looking for a reasonable second hand model that performs well. I’m no David Bailey and just want it for family use for hols etc.

So photography experts of the forum, what would you recommend for a budget up to £250 including lens?

A very quick look on ebay through up Nikon D3100 and D40 or Sony A200 but I’m no expert and would appreciate some guidance.

Cheers, Nick

D80 + kit lens can be had for £150 – £200, great camera.

Seems to get a good review on What Digital Camera – just looking now

350D, 450D, 1000D, etc – all cracking cameras.

Good timing, I’m just about to Sell my Sony A300 (same as a200 but with live view), been researching the values of all my kit in single item form Vs the job lot, it appears it’s worth more stripped into items but I CBA to list them individually so here’s your chance….. if interested.

it comes with AF50 portrait lens, 18-70mm lens, 28-200mm lens, battery grip, auxillary flash, charger, spare battery, 4 memory cards, couple of filters and carry bag. Oh and a guide and book et. I really wanted £350 for the lot or I would let you have it all excluding the 28-200 lens for your £250 + £10 delivery. If you want the lot you can have it for £325 +£10 delivery.

I bought all this earlier in the year and just can’t get my head around photography at all and my hobby of Roller Derby is indoors, often in poorly lit sports halls where the real photographers have better lenses and in most occasions I’m on the track 😆

In Wigan and on 07885 733038 if interested. No negotiating on price, it’s priced to sell at that price.

I’d probably go for this as it looks bargaintastic, depending on how many photos have already been taken and condition of all the bits.

i’m happy to take close up pictures of everything if required. I don’t know how many pictures have been taken, I’ve not used it at all in last three months, I use my little lumix for most things these days. I originally bought the a200 and a friend was in USA so I bought the a300 and she brought it back for me and sold the a200 body, hence the a200 guides.

That’s a great price I’m sure Mick, but budget I have needs to include a lens I’m afraid. A bargain for someone though I’m sure 🙂

geordiemicks price of £250+post includes TWO lenses, not just one. it’s a great deal!

I still love my Canon 40D. I’ve tried upgrading a few times and always found that I’d have to spend £1000 to be happy with anything else. (I want video which the 40D doesn’t have).

They go for about £200 second hand, but the original kit lens was rubbish, so maybe pick up the newer 18-55mm IS version for starters until the bug bites.

That’s my recommendation anyway 🙂

+1 on the D80 recommendation. Only one I would definitively say no to is the Canon 1000D – its made of cheese and feels like it.

Might be worth having a look in Jessops who sell second hand refurbished under gaurantee. Bought a Sony A series with live-view as above two years ago & has been faultless. Came back from Egypt with amazing photos which blow up really nice onto canvas prints.

geordiemicks price of £250+post includes TWO lenses, not just one. it’s a great deal!

correct, it just doesn’t include the 28-200mm lens for the super long range shots. The AF50 included is for portraits and the 18-70mm lens included is for normal to mid/long range shots.

Ok geordiemick thanks for clarifying that – I’ll have a google on it.

I’ve always liked Nikon for compacts – having said that my latest is a Sony HX7 🙂

Just put my 1000d and 18-55 IS lens up for sale in the classifieds for £190. A 30d or 40d would also be a good choice (I’m selling as I’ve just upgraded to a 40d), Canon’s XXd series are a bit bigger, heavier and better built with a few extra features (faster burst shooting etc.), but the XXXXd/XXXd cameras are smaller and lighter if you want to fit it in a camelback, and the photos will be just as good.

Have a look here: outstanding guys to talk to and meet: with warranty that I’ve tested a couple of times. Reasonablish prices – but did I mention warranty.

A Canon 10d for £100 and a decent lens and a flash would get you started and not lot loose much in depreciation. Similar from Nikon. Work your way up the price chain til you’ve maxed the budget. If in doubt – ring them. Proper helpful.

http://www.ffordes.com/category/Digital_Cameras/Digital_SLRs/Canon

I wouldn’t get a 10d as I don’t think it’s compatible with a lot of Canon lenses (you won’t be able to use EF-S lenses designed for cameras with a crop sensor), but a 20d, 30d or upwards from there would be fine.

Thats a fair point mrodgers, but at the budget end of things a 10d is still a reasonable start point and still has the option of all the EF lenses – some of which are cheap(ish). But as the budget increases, options increase. That was kind of my point really – that and talking to the ffordes chaps.

DON’T get a 10D would be my advice. It’s a great camera in it’s own right, and especially for its time, but the 20D really outclasses in speed aside from anything else. The 10D has painfully slow read-write times & isn’t EF-S lens compatible. The shutter release button on my 10D started getting flakey and I got a good deal on a used 50D off here a couple of months ago. Handling is the same but everything else about is is light years ahead. If you’re careful, you can pick up great deals on 30D’s & maybe even a 40D. Build quality and general robustness/feel is far better than the current 60D IMO and they even have some more advanced functionality than the 60D. The 60D just adds video, but looses a lot of other stuff… and blows your budget out of the water. Just trying to say older doesn’t necessarily mean worse, just don’t go too old!

Id go 20D and good glass.

Agree about the 10D. I’ve got one, and it is slow. Following what’s said above, the 40D looks a bargain, may even get one myself.

Pentax K100D every time…takes ace pics, great intro, super cheap lenses 8) Camera + kit 18-55mm, 50mm manual lens, 50-200mm lens cost me £120 so far…

Abernethy Ardeonaig staff training by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

Canoe river Spey by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

My paddling pool is bigger than yours….. by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

Boy and biscuit by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

Loch an Eilein by matt_outandabout, on Flickr

D80 is a nice camera. Either with 18-55 or 18-135 lens.

I’ve got the 18-135; it’s a perfectly good lens with a decent zoom range for general photography.

Now thats a photo to be proud of >loch pic

I still love my Canon 40D…

The 40d is quite highly regarded as the one that got it right. The sweet spot of the Canons. And can now be had for a nice price. I have a 30d myself and it’s a great camera. I would recommend those for the price range.

Before that I had a 350d which you could pick up for £100 and get a decent lens with the leftover cash, but I wouldn’t like to go back to it as my main camera. Can’t say the image quality is vastly different, if any different at all, but I much prefer the controls on the xx-series cameras, as opposed to those on the xxx-series.

Ive always been partial to a xxx-series myself…

Thanks for all your replies 🙂

There seems so much choice;

Sony A200 – good but no live view
Sony A300 – as above with live view
Nikon D80
Canon (various)
Pentax 100d – 6.1MP – that right?

I think I need to find a second hand camera shop and have a browse and play with a few – that might help me distinguish between them 🙂

I’m no David Bailey and just want it for family use for hols etc

Why get a DSLR?

Why get a DSLR?

The shutter speed on every compact I have owned, including the Sony HX7 I have now, often isn’t quick enough to start up and capture pics of my children for starters. I’d also like the benefits of better low light and action photo performance of a DSLR.

Sell you a D50 for £100.

You may find that those things you mention are available to sufficient degree in bridge camera form, with much less bulk. Do you really want to lug a big camera around all the time?

You should definitely try some good bridge cameras. The Olympus XZ-1 has a larger aperture than most DSLR kit zoom lenses for instance. Also, have you tried DSLRs in low light? You may find that they don’t focus as well as you are expecting in low light.

Just providing an alternative suggestion 🙂

Have to admit the Lumix GF3 I gave the wife for xmas last year is probably as good as my D200 and much more convenient….

Open to suggestions molgrips so your points are valid. In response, I’ve not tried a DSLR in low light to be fair and also not considered a bridge camera.

Do bridge camera’s match the speed of a DSLR then? What bridge cameras would fit in my price bracket second hand?

Thanks

Well just a quick check on that Oly says 15fps in high speed burst mode. Pixel peeping in lower light images is not as good as a DSLR though, but then you have to ask what you are going to use the pictures for. If you are printing them out at 6×4 then this won’t matter.

I don’t know what the startup speed on these things is like though, and I dunno about prices. It might be worth doing some research on bridge cameras because they tend to be a lot more versatile for the money (eg macro and telephoto) and they are more convenient in terms of size – this is a significant point imo.

You could also look at ‘compact system’ cameras, there are usually Olympus PENs on stores.ebay.com/olympusmarket for buttons. Get an E-PL3 if you can find one in budget 🙂

Have a look at:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/9181657/art/panasonic/lumix-dmc-gf2-compact-sys.html
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0057LZHBE/ref=noref?ie=UTF8&psc=1&s=photo

Have been really, really impressed with the Lumix stuff. Lots of flexibility – can pretty much do everything with it apart from really long exposures (I do some night photography).

Oli.

Be aware with the PEN and Nikon 1’s that some of them don’t have an inbuilt flash (in the end that’s why I went for the Lumix). If you’re doing it seriously you’d get a proper flash gun so doesn’t matter but if you intend to use it for everything you’ll wish you had one!

Some PENs do have built in flash, so check. Also bear in mind that you can do a lot without flash, if you have decent enough high ISO performance.

Pentax 100d – 6.1MP – that right?

Yes.
You want budget, you want good pics. Don’t count pixels.

You realy shouldn’t go far wrong, althought he Canon d10 soinds worth avoiding.

My D70s is a dinosuar but its done me proud. I have the 18-70 lens. A bit faster to focus and a bit more range than many kit lenses

Almost everything in my photo stream was taken with it and the kit lens

DSC_0116.jpg by John Clinch, on Flickr

dog by John Clinch, on Flickr

beach-1 by John Clinch, on Flickr

london 2012-16 by John Clinch, on Flickr

If you want a specific recomendation I’d say D80 and 18-70.

Yes don’t count pixels. the IQ from 6 Mp is amazing

But newer cameras like the D80 will be faster and less long in the tooth