Amateur needs help picking out new camera

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Mahado

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Hey guys :-)

I have a trip coming up and it's a pretty important one for me. Right now I have a fujifilm S6500 but can't seem to find any lenses for these. I'm thinking about buying another camera (wanted a Nikon D90 before i got this, but the shop i went to didn't have that so went with the Fuji 3 yrs ago) Anyone have any advice about what's a great buy but under R20 000. I'm going on an environmental trip and am supposed to be documenting with images so knowing that I'm going to see some really magnificent scenes, who can recommend a great camera that's not too expensive ?

Many thanks ! :-)
 
Canon EOS. Any of them\. Nikon D range is good too. Between those 2 and their own lenses, or Sigma/Tamron lenses you cant go wrong. I see there's a Canon bundle out with an IS lens now, forgot which body but its a 55mm, 200mm stabilized and a few other odds and ends with the body.
 
Okay found it, EOS 450d+250mm IS lens, + 55mm lens + 8GB media + lowerpro bag + software. comes in one box.
 
You are lucky enough to have R20 000 to blow on a camera, so you should go into a reasonable-looking camera shop and ask for the best camera your money can buy.

Don't spend it all on the camera. You need to buy a good bag, maybe a tripod, a really big SD card or whatever the camera uses, and possibly a filter or two. Get a spare battery for the camera if there is one available.

Get a Nikon or a Canon. Don't worry too much about the techno-babble, it's WAY less important than having fun and getting nice shots.
 
live-view? HD movie? its an SLR not a video camera. why must they try "retailize" the prosumer stuff. it annoys me.
 
plazma said:
You are lucky enough to have R20 000 to blow on a camera, so you should go into a reasonable-looking camera shop and ask for the best camera your money can buy.

lol, i don't have R20 000 - I'm thinking of how much i can put aside during the next few months so no extras at all until i get a camera...lol :D I'm the last person to have this much money to blow :D
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plazma said:
You are lucky enough to have R20 000 to blow on a camera, so you should go into a reasonable-looking camera shop and ask for the best camera your money can buy.
Click to expand...

lol, i don't have R20 000 - I'm thinking of how much i can put aside during the next few months so no extras at all until i get a camera...lol :D I'm the last person to have this much money to blow :D
 
Thank you to all for your replies :-) I'm going to save the info and start saving my money
 
I'm a canon user and love my gear, but here is some advice. Go into the a proper retail store like orms and play around with the Canon and Nikon cameras and see which suits you. As for the range you choose, don't be bowled over by specs. A 15Mpix is not necc. better than a 12Mpix. Play and do research. Also, bodies come and go and get upgraded every 18 months or so, so I would spend more on quality lenses such as the 50mm 1.4 and a better than kit all purpose zoom. Also as mentioned set aside some for the accessories... it all adds up!!
 
Do yourself a favour and buy good 2nd hand stuff instead of new stuff that will drop in value in a few months.

I'm a professional photographer using Nikon equipment. I used to shoot with Canon but they are not really my cup of tea.

Best lens I have used in a very long time (value for money) is the Nikon 70-300mm VR. You will not get better glass than this for the money.

I'd look out for a used D80 and try and get the 18-70mm DX lens with it. Very good lens.
 
Pixual said:
Do yourself a favour and buy good 2nd hand stuff instead of new stuff that will drop in value in a few months.
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I'd buy a second hand lens a lot sooner than I'd buy a second hand body.

An inexpensive, consumer body will take most people as far as they'll ever want to go so why not buy new?
 
bwana said:
I'd buy a second hand lens a lot sooner than I'd buy a second hand body.

An inexpensive, consumer body will take most people as far as they'll ever want to go so why not buy new?
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Canon user, by any chance? :D

Because you will pay two to three times the price and not get two to three times the camera.

When the Nikon D70 came out I paid R15,500 for it. When I sold it (in excellent condition with only about 8000 actuations) I only got about R2,500 for it.

I bought a used D200 with a grip and Kirk L bracket for R8,000. Had I bought it new I'd have paid around R25,000. When I sold that one I got R7,500 for it.

You can get much better cameras if you buy used.

Visit www.outdoorphoto.co.za/forum/classifieds for a glimpse of what's available on the local used market.
 
Further to this...

If you had bought THIS CAMERA when it was new, you'd have paid over R50,000 for it. The photographer is asking R10k. You will not get a better DX body than this.
 
rurapente said:
live-view? HD movie? its an SLR not a video camera. why must they try "retailize" the prosumer stuff. it annoys me.
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+1 you cant take a decent pic on an LCD (liveview). Have to use a view finder.

for the OP, Get a camera sub 10K, flip, get a body under 7k. Use the rest on lenses. 13k for lenses is not much, but if you shop and look at good second hand stuff.... 10 to 12 megapixel is more than enough. Shutter speed is important (well to me). A good flash is also a good thing (not the standard one on the camera). Especially for macro stuff! I have about 5 lenses and various extension tubes and filters for my Sony Alpha200, I still gets amazing pics... like this:

Dripping%20800X600.preview.jpg



Got the camera for about 4k (had less than 2500 shots on it), A good macro (50mm f2.8) for 2.2k (second hand - but I knew its full history) and quite a few other lenses from my boet (free ;-))
 
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Pixual said:
Canon user, by any chance? :D

Because you will pay two to three times the price and not get two to three times the camera.
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To be fair you rarely know what you're getting when you buy second hand - At least with canon there's no reliable way to even gauge how many actuations have taken place.

Even though I dont use them much I've still got the two 400Ds (yeah I'm a canon shooter) I started with and while I might give them away one day I'd never sell them to some poor unsuspecting schmo because I dont even know what life they have left in them. :o
 
bwana, I have to respectfully disagree with you on the subject of used cameras. Fair enough, Canon do not have the same reputation as Nikon when it comes to reliability (which is why I switched back to Nikon after two years of frustration with the original D30 and D60 bodies), but this kind of thing I have never experienced in 10 years of shooting with Nikon equipment. And I've bought a LOT of Nikons over the years, including film bodies.

I would have no hesitation in buying a 2nd hand DSLR. Unless they've been exceedingly abused (which would be evident cosmetically) they should last for a long, long time. The shutter life on a consumer level Nikon is rated at 150,000 actuations. that's a LOT of pictures! Even if it fails, there's nothing to stop you from having another one fitted - it doesn't cost as much as you think.
 
Pixual said:
bwana, I have to respectfully disagree with you on the subject of used cameras. Fair enough, Canon do not have the same reputation as Nikon when it comes to reliability (which is why I switched back to Nikon after two years of frustration with the original D30 and D60 bodies), but this kind of thing I have never experienced in 10 years of shooting with Nikon equipment. And I've bought a LOT of Nikons over the years, including film bodies.
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Canon unreliable? That's news to me. Film cameras are their own discussion - I've got film bodies that are probably 30 years old but they're rather simple compared to the chips and circuitry inside a dSLR, wouldnt you say? My first dSLRs are horribly out of date compared to newer technology and they're only a few years old.
Pixual said:
I would have no hesitation in buying a 2nd hand DSLR. Unless they've been exceedingly abused (which would be evident cosmetically) they should last for a long, long time. The shutter life on a consumer level Nikon is rated at 150,000 actuations. that's a LOT of pictures! Even if it fails, there's nothing to stop you from having another one fitted - it doesn't cost as much as you think.
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Sorry but we're going to have to agree to disagree on buying second hand. There is often little recourse - apart from throwing more money at it - when you buy second hand and there is a problem. What would discourage a new shooter more than buying a lemon? If you have to buy used then caveat emptor.
 
I sold two of my previous canon bodies and those that bought them got a really good deal. That said, I wouldn't buy a 2nd hand body unless I can ascertain a good history for the body. My 50D is 2nd hand, an unwanted gift rarely used and 1 month old when purchased but it was bought overseas where the prices are much lower.

Looking at local 2nd hands, of available model cameras, I would rather spend a little extra to get proper piece of mind.
 
bwana said:
Sorry but we're going to have to agree to disagree on buying second hand. There is often little recourse - apart from throwing more money at it - when you buy second hand and there is a problem. What would discourage a new shooter more than buying a lemon? If you have to buy used then caveat emptor.
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How many 2nd hand cameras have you personally bought?
 
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