Goonersworld

Is there anyone here who knows a thing or two about digital SLR cameras, and which would be best for beginners?
The bird has started a food blog and, has recently been asked by an e-zine to produce a media pack so they may run a piece on her. We were simply using my iphone's camera (4S) but have been advised it only has 72DPI and if someone wanted to print the pics we'd require 320DPI quality.
A mate has lent us his Canon EOS 1100D and we've taken several photos with it and the quality has amazed us simpletons!
I've looked online to see how much the EOS costs and it's a little over what I want to pay. My budget would be no more than £350 (including lens). Should i/we get the 'bug' in the future I'd consider buying the accessories to increase the quality.

I've just had a look at the Sony alpha NEX-5R and the Olympus Pen E-P3 but, I'm unsure if this is what I'd require.

Anyone able to help?

I can help you with this.
Have a look online and see if you can get a Nikon D3100 second hand, that's a great beginners camera. Even better are the Canon EOS 450d, 500d and 550d.
They should all come with a kit lens which is good enough quality.
I don't think you need a brand new one at this stage, you can always upgrade later if you want.

The mrs and i are really into wildlife photography.

The mrs uses a high spec canon dslr and she has really good lenses etc. She's spent a fortune on equipment but is considering trying to make money by eventually selling her photos.

I on the other hand went for an old sony alpha a300 off ebay and bought some old minolta lenses which work well. I had an old minolta film slr and could use some of the lenses with the sony alpha dslr. I got pretty much everything i needed for a couple of hundred quid.

Now if you compare our pics you can see how much better quality hers are (ie when you zoom in you see every little hair on insects etc), but when I show people my pics they are still really good compared to a non slr or to my phone.

In short if it just for your own use no need to go spending a fortune. If you are thinking of making a career of it you'll probably need to spend thousands.

If you plan on entering competitions etc. then spend more on the editing software than the camera.

Didn't know you were into this PG.
C'mon then, get your Flickr out for the lads.

I only take them for myself, the mrs is into posting them online. Maybe we should make a ([wildlife] photography thread? I'll stick some on later.

Jay22 wrote:

Plymouth Gooner wrote:The mrs and i are really into wildlife photography.

Do you only shoot big, tall and powerful ones or do the small, mobile animals get a chance as well?

If its smaller than 6 foot its not worth a picture . . .

Rhinos and silverbacks all the way.

Jay22 wrote:

Plymouth Gooner wrote:The mrs and i are really into wildlife photography.

Do you only shoot big, tall and powerful ones or do the small, mobile animals get a chance as well?

Lol

Cheeky bar stewards!

Google 'andy davies skomer'. Andy Davies is the official photographer for skomer island (where the puffins go) off wales. Last year the mrs booked a day for both of us with him in a nature reserve in wales. We'd just bought our DSLRs and he showed us how to use them properly.

Will be following this thread keenly as me and the missus were talking about joining a photography for beginners class the other day.

Obviously will need some of the kit and I'll be able to divert some of the golf fund to photography now the seasons over... Started following some of those used 550Ds on eBay.

Thanks for the advice fellas. I think I'll follow Inch's advice and pick up a 2nd hand camera. Are the Canon EOS 450d, 500d and 550d's cheaper than the 1100d?

Agree PG, not gonna spend a fortune just yet.

gzagee wrote:Thanks for the advice fellas. I think I'll follow Inch's advice and pick up a 2nd hand camera. Are the Canon EOS 450d, 500d and 550d's cheaper than the 1100d?

When second hand, yes.
You were looking at the 1100d brand new I assume(?) which is around £300 - £350.
If you go on ebay you can get a refurbished 550d for the same price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/Canon-EOS-550 ... Cameras_JN

Nothing wrong with the 1100d but the 550d is so good you probably won't upgrade it for the next ten years.
It's like an affordable bridge between entry-level cameras and professional quality.
Tell you what, you could save even more money by buying it 'body-only' without the kit lens. I've got my original 550d kit lens somewhere and I can let you have it for the princely sum of two pints of vodka.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANON-EOS-REB ... 4ab9ba83e1

So am I right to suggest you're saying the 550d is better than the 1100d?

And I've seen this term "bridge camera"; is that the term used for 'bridge between entry-level cameras and professional quality'?