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D-SLR Camera recommendations

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43074

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Good morning,

I'm looking at upgrading from my current Olympus E-450 to something a more up to date, I was just wondering whether anyone has any recommendations for D-SLRs released within the past 2/3 years. I would buy second hand and have been looking at the Canon 700D and Nikon D5200 models; Does anyone have any experience of using either of these models, or is able offer any recommendations for similar mid-range (i.e. above entry level but not too advanced) D-SLR cameras?

Many thanks in advance
 
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Haydn1971

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Personally I prefer Canon for its ease of use suits my style - but to be perfectly honest, you can't go wrong with Canon or Nikon, both have excellent ranges of lenses, both are reliable and cameras being a core market. I'd personally steer away from Sony, Samsung, Pentax and Fuji, for a variety of long term reasons.

If you are buying as a kit, forget the basic 18-55mm lens, try get a kit with a lens with longer reach - Canon often offer the 18-135mm with their kits, Nikon I'd imagine offer something similar. There are other "kits" offering twin lenses, these are perhaps less useful in the field if you find swapping lenses a bit of a handful.

Other advice ? Get a second battery, a suitable weatherproof bag for all the bits you'll need in the field, try the bags with your new camera in the bag, as these are potentially expensive mistakes - I've had several over the years and wasted more on these than anything else.
 
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Johnny_w

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I've been using the Nikon D5300 and Sigma 18-250 since Christmas. Love both of them and the sigma means I don't need to change lenses 'in the field' especially when the field is normally saturated with steam and coal particles!

Also have a 35mm prime lense [fixed focal length] that I love for all manner of reasons.

As above though, don't fall for the ridiculous Nikon-vs-Canon rubbish. Both are fantastic cameras.

I moved from Bridge cameras to DSLR and haven't looked back.

JW
 

Haydn1971

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As above though, don't fall for the ridiculous Nikon-vs-Canon rubbish. Both are fantastic cameras.


Absolutely ! The Internet is full of this nonsense, it's just down to personal preference.

Primes... Mmmmm... Don't get drawn into GAS either (gear acquisition syndrome) - it's bad for you bank balance ;)
 

43074

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Apologies for the late response, thanks for your comments.

I the end I decided to go for the Nikon 5300; I'm using a kit lens at the moment however am looking to upgrade that in due course.

I've got plenty of gear as it is, I've been through a few GAS phases!
 

rf_ioliver

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I'm still using a Canon D500 which is an excellent camera...I'd recommend any of the "low" end DSLR series (D700 is the latest?) as being simple enough to use quickly and good enough to get superb quality photographs.

However, I *strongly* recommend you take a short camera course on how best to use the shutter speed, ISO and aperture settings. Once you understand how depth of field works etc you photo quality will improve immeasurably. You local friendly camera club or shop can help here.

The next thing is lenses - and this is where you really need to concentrate. Just having a good camera is one thing, having the right lenses is another. Get a good general purpose zoom lens, eg: 17-85mm for everyday work. I personally use primes (50mm and 35mm) but that's another thing - if you end up doing portraits then a high-quality 50mm is worth its weight in gold.

I've also a wide-angle lens (Sigma 10-20mm) for huge panorama shorts and the absolutely gorgeous Sigma 150-500mm telephoto for the long work. The Sigma lenses are relatively cheap and just as good quality as the Canon or Nikon stuff. You'll probably at some point will want to seriously look at one of these.

Finally a tripod and remote shutter switch --- both cheap, thankfully as by this time you've mortgaged your house and bought a great lens :)

Finally, go to a camera course... yes I've said this once, but really, don't buy a DSLR and expect great photos. There are many many people who have bought DSLRs with the kit lenses and use them as they would a standard, automatic camera with no better results other than huge picture sizes.

Finally, I like Canon...it doesn't matter whether you go for Nikon or Canon in the end - the differences really only matter once you've a pile of lenses for one or the other :)

t.

Ian
 

Rich_D3167

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I recently upgraded from a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40 compact camera to a Nikon D3300 DSLR camera. After 3 months or so of getting used to it, I can thoroughly recommend it if you're just getting into DSLR photography. As it's an entry level DSLR, it's functions are easy to pick up, & there's a built in guide if all else fails. I now shoot in manual mode rather than a semi-automatic that I was using on the compact, so it has been a big learning curve from the start (& still continues!).

The lens it comes with (18-55mm) is fine to begin with, but if you are used to a compact or bridge camera with a reasonable zoom length, it will be severely limited! Others have recommended Sigma lenses for their low price. I cannot comment on these, as I have never used them. I upgraded the lens to an 18-300mm Nikkor lens to keep the body matching the lens. Costs quite a bit more, but the quality is excellent, so if you can afford it, i'd recommend that, too.
 

Bevan Price

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Camera choice and use depends on what type of photography you prefer. It is often a compromise. And beware of the "too much equipment syndrome" -- remember that you have to carry it all, and as one gets older, one gets increasingly tired, and/or susceptible to aching back problems if you regularly carry lots of equipment. Also remember that there are some locations where tripods are unwelcome.

So - a wide range zoom lens can be a better option than carrying several prime lenses, even though the optical quality may be slightly inferior. But - apart from courses - the most important thing is probably practice, practice, and even more practice until you get photographs that YOU like from YOUR camera.

And don't worry if you join a club, but never win photographic competitions - the verdict is only the opinion of one (or a few) people, who may all have different views about what makes a good photograph.
 

Haydn1971

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One book I'd like to recommend is "understanding exposure" which essentially takes about 100 pages of photos to explain the exposure triangle of:
- Shutter Speed
- ISO
- Aperture
These three settings balance in every single photo you take.

Autofocus and white balance are perhaps less vital to learn, because autofocus generally just works and you can always use auto white balance until you feel confident to push your photography.

I'd also recommend reading up on the rule of thirds, getting an understanding of leading lines, the use of near details on ultrawide shots and general composition techniques.

I've a collection of "gadgets" such as fast primes, a fisheye, selective focus lenses, graduated neutral density filters and black glass neutral density filters as well - these can gobble £100's in cash with steep learning curves but often amazing results if you put that effort in.

Finally, I shoot in RAW and digitally develop in a program called Lightroom. This however creates a large photo cache and certainly means you need to consider your hard drive storage space and perhaps most importantly your backup and safe storage off-site from your normal storage.
 
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