New DSLR for beginner

[James]

My wife has decided she would like to get into photography and wants to take a few courses and will be needing a camera. What DSLR would you recommend to buy. I would like something which is good quality, has reasonably and easy to find (and possibly buy second hand) lenses. I don't know if you can mix and match lenses, like can you use a Nikon lens on a Sony camera?

I also don't want something that is only good for beginners because I don't want to have to buy another camera any time soon but in the same breath I don't want a super-dupa thing that you need a license to operate.

Any help would be great, if you could also let me know why you recommend it, that would help greatly too.

tia

 

[flarkit]

My wife has decided she would like to get into photography and wants to take a few courses and will be needing a camera. What DSLR would you recommend to buy. I would like something which is good quality, has reasonably and easy to find (and possibly buy second hand) lenses. I don't know if you can mix and match lenses, like can you use a Nikon lens on a Sony camera?

I also don't want something that is only good for beginners because I don't want to have to buy another camera any time soon but in the same breath I don't want a super-dupa thing that you need a license to operate.

Any help would be great, if you could also let me know why you recommend it, that would help greatly too.

tia

The Nikon D3100 isn't a bad choice and Nikon lenses are fine IMO. The same is true for the Canon 550D as well though. She should go to a store and take a few practise shots to get a feel for the models. You can't use mix lenses between brands, but Sigma and Tamron make cheaper lenses for the various brands, albeit at slightly lower image quality.

 

[EchoZA]

Happy with my 550D and the wife even used it yesterday and enjoyed it, even though she used it in "chimp" mode

 

[ponder]

She should go to a store and take a few practise shots to get a feel for the models.

+1 The one that feels the best in her hand.

Canon, Nikon, Pentax etc all make good cameras. Check the available lens collections of each. When you buy into a system you buy into lenses and not so much bodies.

 

[ponder]

 

[flarkit]

I'm sure there are some camera stores in the UK that can match or beat that (brilliant) promotion

 

[ponder]

I'm sure there are some camera stores in the UK that can match or beat that (brilliant) promotion

Neglected to check location...

 

[EchoZA]

Don't go for the NIKON Spend a "little" more and get the CANON I got a good deal, Twin Lense bundle, backpack, extra battery, Polarize filter, extended battery pack, remote trigger and a few other bits for +-R12K

 

[Brawler]

and then spend a little more and get the D7000.

 

[EchoZA]

and then spend a little more and get the D7000.

and then catch the bug... Lenstisis...

 

[undesign]

and then catch the bug... Lenstisis...

It's bad...and will eventually lead to the contraction of Accessoritis. Both are incurable.

 

[Quantum Theory]

Depending on your budget, Nikon D3100, D5100 (Coming Soon) or D7000...

Don't go for the NIKON Spend a "little" more and get the CANON I got a good deal, Twin Lense bundle, backpack, extra battery, Polarize filter, extended battery pack, remote trigger and a few other bits for +-R12K

You're not comparing apples with apples. The D5100, which will be out soon, will be competing with your camera and it's upcoming replacement.

 

[bwana]

My wife has decided she would like to get into photography and wants to take a few courses and will be needing a camera. What DSLR would you recommend to buy. I would like something which is good quality, has reasonably and easy to find (and possibly buy second hand) lenses. I don't know if you can mix and match lenses, like can you use a Nikon lens on a Sony camera?

I also don't want something that is only good for beginners because I don't want to have to buy another camera any time soon but in the same breath I don't want a super-dupa thing that you need a license to operate.

Any help would be great, if you could also let me know why you recommend it, that would help greatly too.

tia

Have to say the newly announced Canon 600D looks pretty impressive.

And to answer your qn no, lenses are generally speaking not designed to be usable on other manufacturer's bodies.

 

[EchoZA]

The 550D is a "Baby 7" and with teh extended battery pack feels just as good in the hands but now... time to go shopping for accesories

 

[undesign]

I don't know Nikon's range, but Canon wise the 500D or 550D are both good mid range options that should last you a long time, especially the 550D. And there are great bundles atm. With the 600D being released you should be abe to pick up the 550D at a great price.

 

[James]

Seems a Cannon v Nikon punch up here. Generally speaking if they are both good then I will just take her to feel which one feels better. I will probably look and see which has cheaper lenses and accessories and convince her that it is the better deal

I need to ward that camera against me though as I will end up using it, get the bug and ruin myself financially. I consider my Lumix TZ-10 a pretty sweet camera, can't understand why she wants more

 

[koffiejunkie]

James, since you're in Wimbledonfontein, you have many more options available to you than our brother and sisters in the old country Go to Camera World on Wells street (just off Oxford between Oxford Circus and Tottenhamcourt Road). They're one of the mor reasonably priced shops, their staff are knowledgeable, and they carry all five major brands, i.e. Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony and Olympus, with a variety of lenses for each.

You don't say what your budget is, but I'll name a few good options. The lower-end Canons and Nikons are all nice, but since you want something that might last a bit longer, I would highly recommend you look at the "other three" too. Nikon is selling the D90 for about £550 now, which is great value for money, and if it's in your budget, I would recommend you have a look at it. It's a mid-range sort of body, that is well featured and delivers good results. It has just been replaced with the slightly more higher-end D7000, which is a fantastic body by all accounts, but cost about twice as much.

For about £75 more, the Pentax K7 is a higher end body than the D90 or any of the ones mentioned so far, has much better build quality, is fully weather sealed, and offers many of the features that you expect in higher-end bodies of the competition. Their entry level lenses tend to be of better build quality than any of the competition (the WR ones are even weather sealed), and their bodies tend to be quite compact. Well worth a look.

 

[flarkit]

I need to ward that camera against me though as I will end up using it, get the bug and ruin myself financially.

Very, very, true. This happened to me. I got the D3000 + 2 lenses for the g/f's birthday as she was interested in taking up amateur photography. Then we got a decent backpack, extra 30Mb/s SD card, 2nd battery, Manfrotto tripod, 35mm F/1.8 lens, 70-300mm zoom, etc.

Still, it's a rewarding hobby which you'll both enjoy. Once you buy another body, that is

 

[bwana]

You don't say what your budget is, but I'll name a few good options. The lower-end Canons and Nikons are all nice, but since you want something that might last a bit longer, I would highly recommend you look at the "other three" too.

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say here. Are Canon/Nikon less durable than the "other three"?

 

[koffiejunkie]

I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say here. Are Canon/Nikon less durable than the "other three"?

I was referring to this:

I also don't want something that is only good for beginners because I don't want to have to buy another camera any time soon

The K7 sits somewhere between 50D/60D/D90 and 7D/D7000/D300S and goes for 600D kinda money.