Nikon DSLR
Posted by: Calum F on 30 August 2012
I am not interested in other brands, thanks.
Body only? New or used? To take pictures of what..?
Calum, Jamie's question is spot on - it's important to know what you want to do with it, and, very importantly whether your budget is for body only or a body+kit lens.
If you'd indulge me for a second - light passes through the camera lens, passes straight through the empty space in the centre of the camera body and hits the sensor. Given that at this price range most Nikon sensors will be pretty similar, that leaves the lens, and 'you' being the key issues impacting the quality of the photo. The body really just provides features to help you get it right.
So, one variable is your 'ability', ie whether you're skilled in exposure / shutter speed vs aperture, metering etc etc, or whether you want the camera to take care of most of that. This may impact the choice of body.
The other key variable is the lens, what do you want to photograph? Wide angle landscapes? Portraits? Details at long distances? Will you shoot in low light? A standard kit (included with the body) lens at this price is the 18-55mm VR, or the 18-105 VR, which you might pay £70 or so more for.
Without further info, I might suggest your choice is; to buy a cheaper body only with features to help beginners, and add a decent lens covering the zoom range you want (ie 12-24mm, 50mm prime, 70-200mm), although I fear many of these would blow your budget. OR, if the utmost image quality isn't your thing yet, get a better body (as much as you can afford) with the standard kit lens and see how you get on before investing in better glass...
Bear in mind that you can pick up pretty good second hand Nikon lenses for approx half their new price in pretty good condition and Nikon excell at lens compatibility acrossthese years - do check specific examples for compatibility however!
Hope this helps,
Phil
Ps if you google 'phil cork photography' some of my photos are on my webpage - Nikon D200, getting a little old now....
Just look on the warehouse express website.
I would buy the red one.
Either a 3100 or 5100 depending on features, lens packages/deals and how it feels in the hand. I now have a D7000 and love it, but the 5100 is supposed to be as good as albeit in a smaller, lighter body
Well then, the Nikon 18-55 kit lens is actually pretty good and I suspect he will want new!
The 3100 and 5100 are both well rated and have just been 'replaced' by the 3200 and 5200 but are in effect only last year's cameras! All are +/- the £500 mark new.
(Some are tempted by older bodies but because certain online reviewers like them they can go for stupid money. The D40 for instance often sells close on what a new 3100 costs! The D70s is an older design with earlier tech but is way cheaper and still a sound camera (I was using one yesterday) and somehow just feels right in the hand. Can be had for £70 - £100. Stick a brand new or used lens (or lenses) of your choice on it within budget and boom, away he goes.)
None will be awful and as a starter I would be very happy with any. I guess you can compare them for the money, see if any offer anything extra.
Warehouse Express are good if you can visit (Norwich), prices are often but not always better on Amazon though. If you don't mind imports then sometimes DigitalRev are cheaper again.
What body do you use yourself? We could then put some perspective on it perhaps.
Buying a used DSLR is a gamble, since repair costs are easily higher than the value of the camera. Besides after a few years, repair becomes impossible by lack of parts.
D3100, D3200 and D5100 are excellent entry-level cameras. As far as I know there is no 5200 yet. My vote will go to the D5100.
Yep my apologies, the 5200 is in the 'near' pipeline still, whatever near turns out to be...
Gents thanks for all the advice, I was not too clear about what I want as was posting using smartphone. I can get the D5100 incl. 18-55 VR lens for £ 450 in the high street incl. 2 year guarantee (Nikon Store £ 650) which seems
Defo a good camera with a very decent 'starter' lens and yes Jessops/Curry's do it for £450. (Then you can add the 50mm 1.8 so he can learn about fast primes...)
Another shout up for the D3100, a great starter DSLR - because it's been "replaced" by the 3200, it's a real bargain these days, and as Jamie says, with the kit lens it's a really versatile camera.
+1 for the 3100. It's a good camera for the money. The D200 is a good second hand buy but obtain through a Nikon dealer not private. Nikon are great cameras for the money, I've had 3 DSLRs, I gave my D200 to my niece but still have the D7000 and D700.
ATB
Steve
My vote was, and still is, for the D5100 rather than the D3100.
The price difference is quite small on NAIM scale.
Calum
Check Ken Rockwell.com A local guy to me, he has a section on recommended cameras/DSLRs. He recommends the 5100 especially as it is a great deal while everyone waits for the 5200. The difference to the 5200 will likely be video not any real improvement to the camera.
Another vote for the D5100 - it has upped my game considerably
I thought the D5100 would be above Calum's price range but having checked it comes in just above the £500 mark with a kit lens. This is a good buy for the money. The D3100 comes in quite a bit lower and would give some spare cash for tripod, filter, flash, bag etc. Looking at it Calum you can't go far wrong with either. Clay's advise about the Ken Rockwell site is good and it's worth taking a look before you make your decision.
ATB
Steve
Callum,
I forgot to add; if buying lenses don't forget there is a 1.5x magnification factor with the CMOS sensor if you buy standard FX lenses. The focal length is adjusted to the camera with the 'digital' DX lenses. I hope I'm not trying to teach grandma to suck eggs here.
ATB
Steve
I use a D200 with 'FX' lenses. The D200 - along with most Nikons (other that the D3, D3X, D4, D700 & D800) use an APS-C size sensor, which effectively gives 1.5 times magnification. So a 35mm focal length lens effectively is a 50mm (52,5mm to be exact). A 200mm is a 300mm, and so on.
The focal length is not altered - or compensated for - its the angle of view which is changed by the smaller size of the APS-C size sensor.
The 'DX' lenses have a smaller image circle, to suit the APS-C size sensor and can be made smaller/cheaper as a result.
Hope this helps.
Callum,
I forgot to add; if buying lenses don't forget there is a 1.5x magnification factor with the CMOS sensor if you buy standard FX lenses. The focal length is adjusted to the camera with the 'digital' DX lenses. I hope I'm not trying to teach grandma to suck eggs here.
ATB
Steve
The 1.5X "magnification factor" applies to all lenses (both DX and FX) if you have a camera with the smaller "DX" size sensor. Applying this factor gives an indication of the focal length of a theoretical lens on an "FX" camera that would have an equivalent filed of view to your shorter focal length lens on your "DX" camera.
(Although my digital camera is currently DX, I only have FX lenses. They will work on all types of Nikon digital and film cameras, but DX lenses don't work on FX cameras, nor on 35mm film cameras. I see this as future-proofing. Should I ever decide on a new FX camera like a D4 or D800, all my lenses will still work.)
Calum, you said you own 2 other Nikons. May I ask you which models are they and will you be lending them to your son, of course, depending on camera purchased?
KR
Tony