Purchasing a DSLR camera

[Solo]

I am looking to buy my first DSLR camera and have a budget of ~£500 for a body and lens kit. I've been looking around and have found this Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3 that is reviewed well and seems to have good functionality.

I don't have a great knowledge of cameras and features that I should look for so any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Niall

 

[Ibonibo]

I can only talk Canon, but have a look at the 550D (t2i?) and the 1100D (t3).

Especially the 1100D can be interesting as the low entry price, you can add a flash a big card, a bag,...
I bought my dad the 1100D and it is a very good camera for the price.

The biggest choice to make though is what make you going to buy.

FYI, when I looked last week amazon uk has the 550D at 420 pounds. That is a steal. But you need to choose buy at other and choose amazon as retrailer.

 

[Solo]

I shall have a look into both of those models. Being cannon they do have a larger range of lens options from what I have currently found than the Panasonic body (unless my researching is bad again) which is good.

At risk of causing a bit of controversy, what is the main difference between the makes, other than lens compatibility?

 

[carracerptp]

I would also suggest the T2i, it's a great camera and gives you room to grow.

 

[Boffin]

Stick to Nikon and Canon. I wouldn't even go near Pentax and Sony, really (probably going to cop flack for this but it's what I know). As for the differences of them, errrr....ergonomics, software used, how you use them (to an extent). Basically they do the same thing in slightly different ways. A bit like Cider and Beer. There's a huge following behind both and you'll get drunk a decent picture by end of it no matter which way you go.

The sensors come out of the same factory for both Canon and Nikon but I still swear that the tones coming out of the Nikon when both are shot under the same conditions are slightly richer - but nothing that can't be rectified in Photoshop afterwards and there honestly isn't much of a difference, just something that I have noticed. Also the APS-C sensors are rated at 1.6x for the Canon but weirdly 1.5x for the Nikon (meaning its slightly bigger and therefore better) but a lot of Canons these days are running 1.3x so you may be able to get one of those (not sure which models they come on though). If you want to learn more, just google '1.6X sensor crop vs full frame' (or something like that).
Not being a Nikon fanboy, just stating things as they are. I would say you get an awful lot of 'bang for your buck' with Canons these days.

If you are looking at any particular models, try searching to see if DigitalREV have done a review on youtube. They are really insightful on the technical bizniz and they usually do comparisons with other cameras in the same price bracket, so you really know what you can expect. 👍

 

[Ibonibo]

I shall have a look into both of those models. Being cannon they do have a larger range of lens options from what I have currently found than the Panasonic body (unless my researching is bad again) which is good.

At risk of causing a bit of controversy, what is the main difference between the makes, other than lens compatibility?

What makes me take a Canon:
My mom had eos lenses from the 90's and the huge array of lenses Canon has in it's catalogue. Sadly my moms eos was stolen during a robbery, so I never got the old lenses, and Canon Eos series has a good rep (not that the others haven't)

What I still know about the differences when I looked into it before my purchase was:
Canon has slightly bigger resolutions
Nikon has slightly less noise
Sony is compatible with old minolta lenses and has semi transparent mirrors.


If I got the info correctly Boffin studies photography and the other in here have some great knowleadge, so don't take my word for granted.

What everybody agrees on is that even with a 3000€ camera you can take bad shots as you can take great shots with a cheap camera

 

[Solo]

Thanks Boffin. I'll have a look more into both of those brands and the models that fall into my price bracket which are currently the Nikon D3200 and Canon EOS 550D. I think I will take your advice and stick to Nikon or Canon as they have a large range of lenses that I will in the future be able to invest into at a much better price than the Lumix range.

*ibo* S3 Racer - Your advice is appreciated. The pointer towards the 550D seems to be good so far and has a good set of features for the price I'm looking. Thanks

 

[TB]

The only thing I can really add to what has already been said, but was alluded to by Boffin, is go to a shop and see which feels better in your hands. Canon bodies tend to run slightly smaller compared to their Nikon counterparts. If you have larger hands, the Canon might not feel right. Personally, I didn't mind when I picked up my T1i, but my former boss did when he chose his D80.

 

[Solo]

Well, much to my surprise my parents have just given me a very early 18th birthday present of the Lumix G2K. While it isn't the Nikon or Canon I must say I'm happy to have it and am looking forward to producing some good images and playing around with the settings to create different shots.

Very strange how this has all happened today Thanks for all the advice though even if I didn't get to fully use it

The first impression of the Lumix is it feels good, now just to see what I can produce with it!

 

[TB]

I hate to be a complete douche (except for when I'm buying a car but that's a different story...), and you'll have to decide on this for yourself, but is there any chance of trading it in for a Canon (or a Nikon, I suppose ). I'd just hate to see you looking for accessories (lenses, flashes, remotes, etc.) and not being as happy with the selection (and maybe the selection is just fine, I can't say I've ever looked).

Feel free to completely ignore me. I won't hold it against you.

Either way, a big 👍 on the new gear and an early happy 18th!