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03-04-08, 02:01 PM
#1

Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR (April 2008)

Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR
(April 2008)

This is a Have Your Say thread - please see the RULES for this thread here:

Have Your Say: Rules and list of topics

Mainly:
  1. You are only allowed one post - so get everything you want to say into it!
  2. You may not refer to, or quote anyone elses post (either from this site or any other) - unless you are correcting a factual mistake - in that case make a seperate additional post just for that purpose.
  3. Keep it amicable! Remember, consider other people's feelings when posting.
  4. Keep checking the rules thread - I'm bound to have forgotten some!
Kit 1
Nikon D300
Nikon 55-200mm VR
Kit 2
Nikon D40
Nikon 18-55mm
My Compact/P&S: Panasonic Lumix TZ7


     
lambrini girl
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03-04-08, 02:48 PM
#2

Re: Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR (April 2008)

I'll start with the Nikon D40 I think it's the best because it is very simple to use (I had been scared to death of SLRs before the D40), you can get some fantastic images, and the price makes it very accessible.

Cheers

Amanda
Kit 1
Nikon D40
Nikon 18-55
Nikon 55-200
Nikon 18-135mm
My Compact/P&S: Casio Exilim EX-Z60


     
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03-04-08, 03:02 PM
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Re: Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR (April 2008)

The D40 for me, for the price I dont think it can be beat. Its easy to use, the quality is good, Its a brilliant intro to DSLRs.
Kit 1
Nikon D40
My Compact/P&S: Sony DSC-P200


     
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03-04-08, 03:12 PM
#4

Re: Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR (April 2008)

Without a doubt, the Canon EOS 400D.

Incomparison to other "budget" DSLRs currently available, the 400D overshadows them all. You are getting great features and value for money. There are cameras on the market in the same price range that have some better features and even image quality, but as an allrounder, the Canon has it.

This camera will grow with you as your photography progresses and Canon offer a huge selection of lenses, all compatible to the 400D.

The user interface is not nessiarily "user firendly", but is easliy overlooked by the features. The upgrade from the 350D has plenty of great enhancements. 10mp, a sophisitiacted AF system, and a DoF preview button are all thrown in at £450 (body) and the body itself is compact and well made.

The downsides of the Canon EOS 400D, are few, but ennoying. The camera does suffer from Chroma Noise and colour reproduction is not as vibrant as its Nikon rivals. These can easily be corrected if it becomes an issue with basic software.


     
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03-04-08, 03:50 PM
#5

Re: Have Your Say: Best Budget DSLR (April 2008)

My Choice: The Nikon D40

It's probably best if I just explain the process I went through when I was in the position of buying an entry level DSLR...

I started the search for a DSLR camera late last year, with the intention of getting a budget camera to begin with, and perhaps looking at upgrading 6 months to a year later. However one thing that was very important to me was image quality right out of the box (I didn't want to have to spend more on buying 'extras' straight away, just to get the high quality I wanted).

I looked at most of the entry level DSLRs, but narrowed it down to the Canon 400D and the Nikon D40.

Both cameras are fantastic! However after a lot of research I came to the conclusion that the kit lens with the Nikon D40 is better quality than the kit lens with the Canon 400D. I went to sites like pbase.com and did a search for pictures taken with both lens. I went to reviews of both cameras and _only_ compared the full size kit lens pics with each other. The canon kit lens pics were a lot 'softer' than the Nikon kit lens pics in my opinion. That meant I would have to spend around another £150 to £200 to get the quality I wanted out of the box - which would have taken the cost to almost 3 times the amount of the D40!

The D40 however only has 6MP whereas the 400D has 10. However this is only really an issue if you want to print very large sizes, for everyday use the D40 is absolutely fine (and for web use there'd be absolutely no difference!).

The D40 only has a 3 point autofocus system and the 400D a (I think) 9. However 3 point is absolutely fine unless you are shooting very fast moving subjects, like sports (but then 51 would probably be better )

The D40 also only uses the newer AF-S Nikon lenses, as to keep the cost down they left out the focus motor (AF-S lenses have the focus motor built into them) but that really only is an issue if you want to buy older lens, or some of the prime lens (the ones that don't 'zoom', i.e are 'fixed').

I recently purchased the highly respected 55-200 Vr lens for £140, so that, added to what the D40 costs now (about £240) means for £380 you get not only a great DSLR but a fantastic telephoto (zoom) lens as well! And both lens get used as they are both excellent quality. So my new lens is an addition, not a replacement () and it also means I can use these lens with a higher spec camera when I upgrade, so none of my money is being wasted, especially as I would like to keep the less expensive D40 as a back up body, or one to take with me when I don't want to risk taking my more expensive camera.

Pound for pound I personally feel you cannot beat the D40. It costs a little more than the highest spec point and shoot cameras, but being a DSLR offers MUCH more quality, and on the other hand it's cheaper than it's nearest rivals, esp when you consider the quality of the kit lens.

My advice to anyone buying a DSLR is to check out photos taken with it _and_ its kit lens. Not all reviewers show an example gallery taken with the kit lens on some models - I actually find this misleading as people assume as the 'kit' is being reviewed the pictures must have come from the kit lens too.

Good luck! And if you get stuck, post a thread - we'd be more than happy to add our opinions
Kit 1
Nikon D300
Nikon 55-200mm VR
Kit 2
Nikon D40
Nikon 18-55mm
My Compact/P&S: Panasonic Lumix TZ7


     
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