Public Forums > Photography > I am looking for a new DSLR - Need advice.

Hey all.

I'm looking to buy my first digital SLR. I currently have a Canon Ixus 860 and it's done me well. However it is time to move on.

I've been looking at cameras such as the Canon EOS 450D, Nikon D60 and Nikon D80.

What I will be doing is mainly portrait work, on location, usually without lighting. Have a look at the pictures in my portfolio for examples.

My price range is £450 - £600. Also I'd like something where the lenses aren't going to cost me an arm and a leg everytime I want something new.

Also other than the price what is the difference between the Nikon D60 and the D80.

Thank you!

Jess

Hey,

This couldn't have come a better time. I'm actually in the market for a D-SLR camera and have been researching the Nikon D40 or new D60. I've heard that Nikon and Canon are the best in this category, but like Jet, need a more skilled opinion. Any advice would be great.

Red Haute

Hi girls

I am a loyal Nikon user.

The D60 is a smaller camera physically and is less of a pain to carry around.  It is very very similar though to the D40 which is an entry level SLR (in that it doesn't have the fastest recycle time) and is limited in terms of lens fittings - you can't use a lot of prime lenses with it (but would you need that?)  The D80 is bigger, heavier, more sturdy but it depends if you would want to carry it around.  Also, it is slightly faster and more powerful that the D60.  The D80 has a really nice menu screen and easy navigation which I feel the D60 lacks but thats my personal opinon.

Go and have a play!

Thanks for your help Rowena. I've heard that not all Nikon Lenses fit all Nikon cameras. It was the one that appealed to me the most when researching but a fellow photographer told me about incompatability between some lenses and cameras. The Canons however, I am told, can use most lenses with different cameras. I think as a bit of a newbie to this camera thing it might make lense buying a bit cheaper and easier.

For Red, Olympus cameras are the cheapest you can get with bundled lenses and apparently the bundled lenses are better than any other bundles from other makes. What puts me off is that is does't have such a high iso as the Nikons or the Canons.

Any thought on Sony DSLRs? There are a few cheap ones on ebay (£400ish) with lenses that look good but the seller is always going to make them look good.

Thanks Jet,

But I'm a complete loser in this category. What exactly is ISO? And would a beginner such as myself need many lenses or would the standard one suffice for awhile?

Red Haute

I'm not sure what ISO is exactly but it's to do with letting light in. I think higher iso allows more light, less blur good for gigs.

Standard package lense would suffice for now but it depends on what you want to do I think. If you are just doing portrait work then it'll do. If you want to do landscape stuff or portraiture with lots of back ground then you may need to invest in a wide angle lense. I'm just going to stick with the basic lense for now.

Rowena can probably share more light on this. I may be be wrong

x

Hi there

ISO refers to how sensitive the camera is to light.  In the good old days, we bought film with an ISO number, from 100 (rarely 50 unless its a PRO film), 200 or 400. Now we just adjust it in a digital camera menu or choose auto.

The higher the number, the more sensitive it is.  So, if I were to shoot someone near the evening where there is low light I would choose a 400 or 800 because I know it can deal with little light.  A low rating like ISO 50 would work in bright light conditions or if you had a tripod to support it so you don't get shake.

The pay off is that low ISO numbers have a fine grain where as using a high rating can give you the fine speckly dots when you zoom in close.

Hope that helps!

Thanks Rowena,

That definitely makes sense and helps a bit. Jet, I'm interested in getting into fashion photography, mainly in studio settings (at first). So I guess something with a low ISO and a basic set of lenses will suffice until I get more experienced.

Fajr