Buying a camera

[GingaNinja]

Howdy,

I know there are quite a few photographers on here. Im looking to get into it more and would like any input on what models are the shiz nitz.

So if you were going to buy a camera now and were looking at spending 1500 or there abouts, what would you buy?

Any help much apreciated.

[FancyPants]

You can't go past Canon EOS dslrs. I have a 350D a few years old and a friend has a 40D, both great cameras.

[Chiral]

yeah Canon are amzingly good quality camera's I have a power shot pro 1 with a 4 gig compact flash card....it's 8 mega pixels but has varying resolutions and can shoot in raw mode....has macro and super macro....Canon software is amazingly good as well ...very very user friendly and easy to hook up to your computer etc.

I recomend canon but as far as I'm aware my camera is no longer available it has been superseded by the EOS I think...not sure...mine cost about $1300 new but it and my Mac are the most expensive things I own but I use them constantly and I love them both a lot as the quality is so good and the Canon is very durable too.

H.

[occidentalis]

Personally I prefer Nikon DSLRs - they are compatible with pretty much every lens Nikon has ever made so you can buy old lenses on ebay and from 2nd hand shops and stuff, unlike Canon which keeps changing it's mount design. I also prefer the Nikon ergonomics. You can get a D90 for around that budget which you will be very happy with. I have been shooting with its predecessor, the D80 for a couple of years and I feel I am now starting to approach the limits of the camera but I could still keep using it with satisfaction for a couple more years.

There really isn't that much difference between Canon and Nikon so it just depends on what you prefer. Read reviews on www.dpreview.com and have a play with the different models in a shop and see what feels better.

If you want to get an SLR and take photography a little bit more seriously, then get one with an LCD display and two control dials (ie, don't get the entry level model from either brand, get the D90 or 50D). Don't bother with the entry level models if you want to advance your photography.

Good quality lenses are more important than the latest and greatest camera body so if you must then buy a second hand body in good condition and get some nice glass.

If you are not really that concerned about the technical art of photography, but just want to have fun and produce some good photos, then don't buy an SLR. They are big and heavy and you need to carry a different lens for every photo you want to take. Buy a good quality compact and it will see a lot more use because you can put it in your pocket and you will always have it with you.

If I was going to go compact I would get a Canon G10 or a Panasonic LX3. In fact I am about to buy an LX3 to go travelling with. These two models both have manual controls so if you want, you can experiment and learn more about photography, or if you don't they will take great photos in auto mode.

The only other piece of general advice I have is more megapixels is not necessarily better. Once you get above about 8-10 megapixels, unless you have a full frame DSLR with nice glass, you will not see any improvement and you may see a reduction in image quality particularly in low light situations. You will also need a more powerful computer and a bigger hard drive to display and store all the large image files you create. The megapixels thing is just a marketing gimmick that camera manufacturers unfortunately keep falling back to.

[RonnySimulacrum]

If I was going to go compact Panasonic LX3

Bang on

very good advice all round Occidentalis

For SLR, for around $1750 the best buy would be a Canot 40D with a 17-85 IS

and if you are in melb i sell cameras for a living so some see me, as i love plant heads

all the best

Edited May 18, 2009 by RonnySimulacrum

[alkatrope]

I have Canon 40D & 18-55mm IS, really happy with what I can do with it. Is less than your budget figure.

[RonnySimulacrum]

I have Canon 40D & 18-55mm IS, really happy with what I can do with it. Is less than your budget figure.

is it still working after all that partying?

[alkatrope]

Shh!

[GingaNinja]

Many thanks people, that has been really helpful.

Another question, What are peoples thoughts on where to buy? I havent had to time to go into physical shops yet, but looking online there are lots of varying prices.

Is this because the cheaper ones are lacking something in the package that a camera noob may over look? Im not an ebay person, would it be advisable to buy off there?

And Ronny im a few thousand km's from Melb

[occidentalis]

The main difference comes down to what are called 'grey market' imports

ie these are cameras imported outside of the official channels of the Australian branches of the camera manufacturers. Canon and Nikon Australia are not actually the same company as Canon or Nikon themselves. The Australian companies have to buy the gear from the manufacturers. Because of the low population of Aus they can't buy as many as their equivalents in the US or Japan, so they don't get such a good price. That is why cameras are so much more expensive here than in many other places.

If you went to Hong Kong and bought 100 cameras and brought them back to Australia and set up an online store to sell them, that would be entirely legal, but grey market.

Grey market gear usually does not come with an Australian warranty. It may come with an 'international warranty' but you will need to send your camera overseas to get it fixed if it breaks and the warranty may be more limited than an Australian one.

They may also come with overseas power cords so you will need to get an Aussie adapter, and they may not give you an Australian tax invoice (if you are buying from a company in Hong Kong that is not a registered Australian company). The last point is one of the most important as many people can claim expenditure on a camera as a work expense and get a tax deduction but of course you will need an Australian tax invoice for that.

It is generally pretty easy to tell if you are buying a grey market import, and you can always ask. It is a bit of a risk, but sometimes the savings are pretty damn good and hard to pass up. I bought my last camera from ebay, and saved about $600 off the shop price. I am totally happy with it and haven't had any problems, but it would have been seriously annoying if I had. That was a risk that I chose to take and luckily it has paid off.

If you are not already experienced with ebay, I wouldn't jump in and make an expensive purchase on your first go. Buy a few small things first and get used to it. But there are plenty of reputable online stores, some of which have physical outlets as well. If you search for the model you want through one of those shopping search portals you will find heaps of them. Generally before I buy anything from an online store I do a google search for the name of the store + 'reviews' and I also send them an email with a stock enquiry question just to make sure that they do actually exist and will answer emails.

After all that, if a physical shop can come close to matching an online price, I strongly recommend you give them your business, particularly an actual camera store rather than a harvey norman or jb hifi - they provide a lot of assistance that you will never get from an online store and if anything goes wrong, you should be able to count on the people at the shop to deal with it rather than trying to figure it out yourself. You can always expect a shop to be around 10% more than an online store but I reckon it is worth it, particularly if you know they are dealing with people who are into photography themselves.

[RonnySimulacrum]

what part of the industry do you work in occidentalis??????????????

you sure seem to know your stuff

and yes i see people that have got gray market stuff every day, 3 weeks back we had a 5d II that was from hong kong, the lady come in to where i work just 3 days after buying it with the shutter fallen out, and there was nothing we or canon Australia 'had' to do for here.

[GingaNinja]

wow, thanks occidentalis, much appreciated.

and so the journey begins.....

[occidentalis]

what part of the industry do you work in occidentalis??????????????

I don't, I'm just a nerd