Our christmas present to ourselves this year will be ....

[Polar Bear]

A dslr.   We went looking in Jessops at the weekend and came out favouring the Sony Alpha 350.   One of the things that makes it my favourite is that firstly I can use my existing Minolta Dynax 7000i kit with it, and secondly, Polar Bearette was taken by the camera too.  She takes more pictures than me so that's good.   I also like the fact that the image stabilisation feature is in the camera body, not the lens.

Naturally, being tight-fisted gits we'll be waiting for the sales to see if we can get a few more quid off.

 

[alan]

I have seen a cashmire & wool calf length overcoat but at £400 I too will wait for Saletime before spending.
Still shopping around for best price on a Specialised Dolce for Marj.
So our Christmas may happen in January.

[toekneep]

I have seen a cashmire & wool calf length overcoat but at £400 I too will wait for Saletime before spending.
Still shopping around for best price on a Specialised Doce for Marj.
So our Christmas may happen in January.

  clicky

[alan]

Mega TKP.
You are so sharp you may one day cut your own throat.
















Or I may do it for you on Friday

[Biggsy]

Did Jessops have any Pentax or Samsung dSLRs?  They have in-body stabilisation and provide generally unbeatable value for money.

This is virually the same as the Pentax K10D: Samsung GX-10 - £279.00 - Park Cameras .

Or there's the Pentax K20D if you can afford to pay more.

As for using old existing lenses, that was my plan when I got my first dSLR too, but I ended up replacing them with more modern ones anyway.

[Zipperhead]

Naturally, being tight-fisted gits we'll be waiting for the sales to see if we can get a few more quid off.

Have a look here as well. You might save some more.

[David Martin]

Nikon D40 is just over 200 quid, an excellent camera and gives access to a wider range of lenses than you could ever hope to use.

..d

[Polar Bear]

Naturally, being tight-fisted gits we'll be waiting for the sales to see if we can get a few more quid off.

Have a look here as well. You might save some more.

Ah, interesting link.  Many thanks for that.

Nikon D40 is just over 200 quid, an excellent camera and gives access to a wider range of lenses than you could ever hope to use.

..d

Thanks David but the Sony is the preferred choice.   

As for using old existing lenses, that was my plan when I got my first dSLR too, but I ended up replacing them with more modern ones anyway.

It will be necessary for starters and allow us time to decide what other kit to buy later on.

[Biggsy]

Remember that you won't have wide angle on an APS-C camera with a lens that would have been wide on a 35mm film camera, unless it was very wide indeed, so probably you will want one new lens straight away at least.  Sorry if I'm teaching granny to suck eggs here, but so many people don't realise this point, or overlook what a difference it makes.

I think it is a mistake to let the decision have much to do with your existing lenses, unless it is a big and really excellent lens kit.  You only need one or two budget lenses for starters.

[David Martin]

I realised very early on that rather than spending $$$ on a body which could take my manual lenses, I could get a D80 and save money by buying new lenses which were better quality.

..d

[frankly frankie]

Remember that you won't have wide angle on an APS-C camera with a lens that would have been wide on a 35mm film camera, unless it was very wide indeed, so probably you will want one new lens straight away at least.

That's assuming you ever found a use for your widest lens and didn't just regard it as an expensive mistake.
Personally I see the so-called 'crop factor' as all positive, it gives me reach I never had before in a handleable package.

[David Martin]

Remember that you won't have wide angle on an APS-C camera with a lens that would have been wide on a 35mm film camera, unless it was very wide indeed, so probably you will want one new lens straight away at least.

That's assuming you ever found a use for your widest lens and didn't just regard it as an expensive mistake.
Personally I see the so-called 'crop factor' as all positive, it gives me reach I never had before in a handleable package.

Wheras I am after a yet wider lens than my 17mm.

Horses for courses.

..d

[Vernon]

Which is why we purchased the 10.5mm fisheye when we were in the USA

[Jaded]

Please give the 35mm eqiv in brackets after your posts. 

[Biggsy]

Remember that you won't have wide angle on an APS-C camera with a lens that would have been wide on a 35mm film camera, unless it was very wide indeed, so probably you will want one new lens straight away at least.

That's assuming you ever found a use for your widest lens and didn't just regard it as an expensive mistake.

That's assuming you even have an extremely wide lens (for film) - quite a specialist item.  24 or 28mm hardly counts as wide on APS-C.  You need 18mm on APS-C just to get moderate wide angle.

Personally I see the so-called 'crop factor' as all positive, it gives me reach I never had before in a handleable package.

It's certainly handy for telephoto.

[Jaded]

I find 18mm on my Nikon digital to be quite constricting (27mm 35mm equiv) compared with the 24mm I had on my Olympus OM cameras.

[ABlipInContinuity]

14-24mm f2.8 - fast

16-85mm f/3.5/5.6G - most useful range?

12-24mm f/4 - slow

[Polar Bear]

Well, we ordered the Sony Alpha 350 yesterday lunchtime from Warehouse express for £390.49.   Free postage and £50 cashback to come from Sony making it a bargain at £340.49.   The doorbell rang at 08:06.  Parcel Force.

Battery charged, an old compact flash card inserted, a few experimental pics have been taken.   

I have to spend the day working now so I guess I won't get to play until tomorrow.   Looking forward to it.   

[clarion]

I'm excited on your behalf!  Hope you have a lot of fun with it

[Polar Bear]

Thanks Clarion.   I sorted out a whole bunch of my old Minolta kit and my Dad's kit yesterday.   Flash guns, slaves, filter kits, screw on filters, cable release, diffusers, reflectors, and two lenses.   I have also been offered a studio lamp.   Need to go and buy a decent, sturdy tripod next            

[clarion]

Tripods always seem expensive till you see the first pics you get from using one

Tip:  Buy a slightly more expensive one, as it'll be lighter for the same strength.  Your tripod can be as solid as you like, but, if it's awkward to carry, it'll be sat at home when you need it on top of a mountain...

Alternative: Go for a monopod.  And there are walking poles, if you're into them, that can be adapted as a monopod.

[Polar Bear]

I already have a walking pole monopod and a tabletop tripod of truly sturdy construction (metal and solid, not one of the flexi ones).  We also have two lightweight tripods suitable for our compact digitals which will come into their own in 'studio' mode with flashguns atop.   

Time to surf the sales for a 'pod 

[clarion]

Funny story about tripods (well, funny in retrospect): I bought a small tripod for my photomontage work.  I set it up, fitted my Mamiya to the plate, and set it horizontal using my spirit level.  Bit iffy, but OK.  Lined up the shot, then (as it's a TLR), I used the clever gizmo to shift the camera and get the taking lens in position.

That's when it all keeled over, dented my precious camera, scratched the table, and bent the tripod leg

[Polar Bear]

Ouch.  That's not funny really.   

Seen a decent Manfrotto with a decent pan/tilt head for about £140.   Just about budget.

[mike]

I've got a feisol, bought direct from taiwan which is incredibly light and very robust, but with the pound / dollar it's more expensive than the manfrotto.  I cant decide if this: Photocart is madness or genius - if you wanted a feisol, I'll go halves on the shipping to get one of them!