Thoughts / advice

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Soutie_za

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I'm looking at getting into the Photography game and purchasing an entry level SLR camera, while not looking to break the bank too much.

At the moment I am looking at the Nikon bundles, the one is of a D3200 Body with an 18-55DX and a 55-200DX lenses. the other option is a D3100 body with 18-55VR and 55-200VR+ lenses.

Now the question, from what i can see the VR is for vibration reduction which sounds great but the other bundle has a better body. Which way should i be leaning on this, the better body to begin with or the Vibration reduction lenses? Bear in mind that I am an absolute beginner.
 
On a serious note - what is your budget and how much are you willing to spend over the next year?
 
I only want to spend in the region of 7 - 7.5 to start with. As for what I am willing to spend in the next year, depends on how much I get into it I guess.
 
See here and here

/puts on flamesuit for posting something from snapsort

The D3200 looks like the obvious choice to get a good body into your hands. As far as the lenses is concerned, there is certainly a trade-of to keep the costs more or less the same. You have to decide what is more important to you - if I were to go for Nikon and that was my budget, I would say the Canon ... oops ... sorry the D3200. It has better IQ than the D3100. This way all you need to do in the near future is get other lenses and the body will last you for a while.
 
A definite no for the D3100. I wouldn't spend that amount of cash on a DSLR. I would rather get a compact camera for that price. The D3200 would be a much better buy, although I suggesting in spending a little more cash for future proof purposes.

I also do not recommend buying those boxed bundles. Those lenses will leave you wanting more since the camera will outperform the lenses. You won't get the desired shots you were hoping for. As your budget is about 7k that is a bit tight. I would say that is the minimum you should spend on a body alone.

I honestly recommend going to a camera specialist and having a chat with them too. They'll normally beat the price of any major chainstore in any case.
 
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$m@Rt@$$ said:
A definite no for the D3100. I wouldn't spend that amount of cash on a DSLR. I would rather get a compact camera for that price. The D3200 would be a much better buy, although I suggesting in spending a little more cash for future proof purposes.

I also do not recommend buying those boxed bundles. Those lenses will leave you wanting more since the camera will outperform the lenses. You won't get the desired shots you were hoping for. As your budget is about 7k that is a bit tight. I would say that is the minimum you should spend on a body alone.

I honestly recommend going to a camera specialist and having a chat with them too. They'll normally beat the price of any major chainstore in any case.
Click to expand...

Thing is that I'm not really looking at spending 8 grand on a body and 10 grand on lenses for what is for all intents and purposes an Experiment. I have absolutely no experience with a SLR camera, and if i decide to pursue it further I will be willing to sink more money in, but on the off chance I dont I would rather swallow a small loss. Learn to run when you walk and all that.

I thnk the 3200 does look like a better option though
 
Last week I would have said take R3k, go to Makro and buy their EOS-M kit but that ship has probably sailed. :o

From the choices you've given I'd go for the better body to start off with and then look at gradually improving your lens selection if the bug bites.
 
Soutie_za said:
Thing is that I'm not really looking at spending 8 grand on a body and 10 grand on lenses for what is for all intents and purposes an Experiment. I have absolutely no experience with a SLR camera, and if i decide to pursue it further I will be willing to sink more money in, but on the off chance I dont I would rather swallow a small loss. Learn to run when you walk and all that.

I thnk the 3200 does look like a better option though
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, why Nikon and not Canon - not trying to persuade you otherwise, just interested because a good mate of mine walked away from Nikon because he "... found the Canon more reliable and after sales on Canon in SA to be better than Nikon ..."
 
Those Canon kits are pretty good value for money. A few years ago I got the 600D kit and have never looked back. Added on a few lenses now but its a good starting point.
 
don't stress too much about getting a phenomenal body. get the best you can, obviously, but once your experiment is over, you will most likely get the body that meets your requirements. the first body will be your second unit - very handy in certain situations where you don't have the luxury of time to switch between lenses on one body.
 
OGroteKoning said:
Just out of curiosity, why Nikon and not Canon - not trying to persuade you otherwise, just interested because a good mate of mine walked away from Nikon because he "... found the Canon more reliable and after sales on Canon in SA to be better than Nikon ..."
Click to expand...

The reason is that I compared the two bodys, the D3200 vs the 600D Canon, and then the 100D canon and it seems that the Nikon was pretty much superior.

Excuse the snap sort link, for some reason it seems to have a bad reputation around here.
http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-600d-vs-Nikon-D3200
http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-100D-vs-Nikon-D3200

It sorta seemed that the Nikon was a much better entry level camera. Persuade away, I have very little Background information on this and any/all information one way or another is appreciated.

droplet said:
don't stress too much about getting a phenomenal body. get the best you can, obviously, but once your experiment is over, you will most likely get the body that meets your requirements. the first body will be your second unit - very handy in certain situations where you don't have the luxury of time to switch between lenses on one body.
Click to expand...

that's pretty much what i was thinking, get something to start with and then slowly over time upgrade the lenses, then the body if need be. With enough time one can build up a pretty neat kit but you need some type of base.
 
Ek se boet, get yourself a lekker Canon EOS 5D Mark III. This camera will make the ladies squirt their lovejuice on your face when you do a closeup shoot on them. It is so advanced it can even take pictures in the dark with no flash.
 
Shaun108 said:
Ek se boet, get yourself a lekker Canon EOS 5D Mark III. This camera will make the ladies squirt their lovejuice on your face when you do a closeup shoot on them. It is so advanced it can even take pictures in the dark with no flash.
Click to expand...
I'm sold - I need a backup camera anyway.
 
Buy this

http://www.guzzle.co.za/specials/view/796051/

or have a look at that site for some specials on nikon as well.
have a look at ORM's site and outdoorphoto.

Buying a kit when starting will get you a lot more for the price. You don't get the best of lenses but they are a lot better than most non SLR options.
Have fun learning to use the SLR and when you want to do anything special rent a lens and be amazed at the difference of the better quality lenses.

I would recommend Cannon as there are more rental lenses available and also more second hand lenses available. If you get into this you will spend most $$$ on lenses.
 
Not sure where they would find a non-VR 18-55 mm lens anyway. There might still be a few 55-200 mm non-VR lenses in stock somewhere, but I wonder if this is not just a typo/omission in the spec. Also, keep in mind that VR is great on a long lens (like the 55-200 mm), but I find that I do not use it that often on shorter focal lengths. Why? Well, if your subject is moving around (kids, pets, whatever) then the VR does not help to remove all the blur (stable background, but blurry subject). To reduce the blur, you have to shoot at a faster shutter speed (say, 1/250s as a starting point), which means increasing ISO (not a problem on D3200), or using a larger aperture (not really possible with the kit lenses, especially the 18-55 mm which gives you only f/5.6 at 50 mm).

Anyhow, just to make your experiment more interesting, I would recommend the 35 mm f/1.8 DX AFS lens (about R3k?). The larger aperture will allow you to go overkill on shallow depth-of-field (to get it out of your system :)). This is still a great lens to leave on the camera for everyday use too.
 
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