My SO has a pretty good eye for photography (her left one!) but she’s becoming increasingly cheesed off with the limitations of our (3!) compacts, mainly shutter lag. So, seeing as she’s not a very ‘gadgety’ person who doesn’t really understand how cameras work, but knows what they can achieve, what’s a good DSLR for her, & me for that matter, to look at? 2nd hand is a big option. Also I’ve a Canon EOS 350 with a 28-80 ultrasonic lens, is it worth looking for just a Canon body & using this or starting afresh? Any suggestions?

A Canon 20D or 30D for £200 and £300 respectively second hand. Another £200 for a second hand reasonable lens.

To get the best from any camera, she’ll need to learn how they work though.

I’d suggestt getting a book on the basics of ISO, shutter speed and aperture too.

A Canon 20D or 30D for £200 and £300 respectively second hand. Another £200 for a second hand reasonable lens.

pft! stuff that, just get a cheap nikon D40 (£250 with lens) or cannon equivalent, no need at all to throw that sort of money at it initially. You could spend more if you also want a big zoom lens but TBH the quality of a good DSLR will allow you to crop an image down and still get a great looking pic.

yep, canon 1000d, or 400d from canon’s ebay outlet along with a kit lens would see you fit to begin with.

To make the dslr take ‘better’ pics than a compact though, you’ll (and she’ll) have to learn the basics of the photo taking process – i.e. technically what’s going on. As mentioned, get a book covering the basics of aperture, shutter speed, ISO and how to make these adjustments on the camera.

from the sound of your post I can’t work out if you’re planning on sharing- if so, keep using the 350d, nothing wrong with it, and get yourself a decent lens in the focal length range that your girlfriend (you) seem most to use- look back at the sort of stuff you’ve photographed, and what you’d like to picture, to get an idea of the focal lengths you’d use most.

Oh, and consider buying a proper flash instead- using one can make far more diference to your photography (unless you’re planning on doing landscapes exclusively) than any lens.

was wrong with the 350? Mrs S and I use ours quite a lot and on the way have picked up a couple of nice lenses ready for the day we maybe do upgrade, but for the time being Im not really finding any limitations with the 350.

Yep, buy a new one – that way you know everything is working right (and there are no issues such as scratches or gunk all over the sensor). As to what to get – go and get her to play with them in the shop and see which model is the most intuitive for her. Performance wise they are all much of a muchness at each price point.

Personally I wouldn’t really bother with a flash. Got a reet posh one myself (Canon 580EX mkII) and don’t use it much at all… needed it for a wedding shoot, but managed to use almost exclusivly ambient light which gives much nicer results (and this was in a castle, at night, which was dimly lit). Also stick with the kit lens to start off with, no sense blowing mega money on the outset 😉 I also buy new lenses only these days – had too many hassles with second hand ones that it just annoyed me!

Sorry folks, i didn’t express that my old 350 is a film camera!

Photo forums are full of posts from people who have bought a DSLR and the results are worse than they were getting with their compact.

Honestly, if she’s really not going to learn the basics, don’t bother with a DSLR. All the elements of creativity in the picture taking process come with an understanding of the basics.
People often take a couple of great pictures, but aren’t sure how to replicate them, so frustration often sets in.

This book is great for beginners to digital:www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Photography-Introduction-Tom-Ang/dp/

My partner refuses to read instruction manuals, never mind tutorials or introductory books – she has no patience whatsoever. She much prefers a decent compact.

However, if you fancy a DSLR yourself and fancy a Nikon, try these people:
http://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk

You can buy secondhand stuff with total confidence – they are a bit of a legend amongst Nikon fans.