New to photography, need help buying new camera.

Kye · Feb 28, 2009

Hello.

I am new to photography. So new, that i do not have a camera yet.

I am on a tight budget, but i know what i am looking for. Most reviews i have came across make buying a camera more difficult. A small feature that is missing on one feels like a deal breaker, like live view or bad auto af.

I will be shooting 99% of the time in RAW. I am doing this as a hobby first and practicing before i try and branch out and make it into a career. I plan on putting photos on a stock photo site while practicing, which is primarily the reason for the RAW format.

I have nailed it down to these cameras;

Olympus E-520
Sony Alpha A350
Pentax K20D
Canon EOS 40D

Im asking on here, because someone might have experience with these cameras, or know in general which one is better for what im after. Some of them have great RAW and bad Jpeg, which i find confusing in choosing between them. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Kye.

dxqcanada · Feb 28, 2009

If you are shooting RAW then you will be using external software to render the RAW data into another image format like jpeg or tiff ... so do not worry about the in-camera converter.

I do not think LiveView is a vital tool.

Accurate AF is important.

Fast AF is important for those shooting moving subjects.

Put into consideration that a lot of post-processing is available when shooting RAW ... ie colour, contrast, noise reduction ... etc.

Lenses are important to consider. Which system can provide you with the specific optics that you will use over time. Some new photographer's look at the range of optics offered by the camera manufacturer and from other third party optics manufacturers ... and also consider the price of those optics.

AlexColeman · Feb 28, 2009

No D90?

Katier · Feb 28, 2009

Well I'd recoomend the K20D but...

Let's see..

Olympus - give it a wide berth small range of lenses and other issues.
Sony - Not BAD but I am not convinced they're a good choice.
Pentax - Excellent camera, Superbly built. Probably the best build quality in it's price bracket (and above). Doesn't have good Live View and the 'motor drive' is a little slow.. but I've not ever had a situation where Live View would be usefull and never found the drive mode to be slow ( on the similar K200D ) so definatly well worth looking at. It also has the benefit of being 100% compatible with the biggest range of lenses.
Canon - Worth considering for sure. It is however a lot pricier than the K20D, is it REALLY nearly 50% better? I doubt it. I think on that alone I'd go pentax and spend the £300 difference on a decent extra lens.

Nikon is worth considering for sure. Not sure what the comparible one is but if it's the D90 then again your paying a lot more money than the K20D for not a huge amount of extras.

Kye · Feb 28, 2009

After some more research, Its between;

Pentax K200D
Canon EOS 40D
Sony Alpha A700

The Canon and Sony camera's have most reviews going for them. In What Digital Camera magazine, the Canon and Sony cam score 91%. The Pentax has 88%. Saying that though, the Pentax K200D is almost half the price.

I think its going to be the Pentax.

Kye.

Edit: Actually, it is going to be the Pentax. One site is offering great deals on the camera;

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/r/k200d

Lucky me!

dxqcanada · Feb 28, 2009

Have you made considerations on the lenses ?

Katier · Feb 28, 2009

Not sure if they ship to Ireland but SRS Microsystems â€“ Pentax, Nikon and Olympus Digital Cameras, Camera Accessories and Lenses is the best mail order option in the UK for Pentax gear.

The K200D is a lovely camera, I have one and it's so well built and takes great images.

jordan! · Feb 28, 2009

+1 for Pentax. I have a K200D and I really enjoy it. Nice selection of older K mount lenses for really low prices, too, if you don't mind manual focus.

anubis404 · Feb 28, 2009

I would say Pentax, Nikon, or Canon. Don't choose a brand for the features in its body, choose it for the line of lenses. Research the line of lenses and make a choice based on that.

Kye · Feb 28, 2009

That site does not deliever to Ireland. I could have it delievered to a uk address and then here.

That site with the deal is the only site that delievers to Ireland. It also has a bad reputation with deliveries. Some poeple have been buying off them for years and no problems, and most others have horror stories to tell.

There is a local shop that is selling the camera with the lens, but for 880 euro (compaired to the 399 on that website). I will phone them and see if what the story is.

Now i know what im buying im really excited, hopefully i will have it by next week.

Kye.

Katier · Feb 28, 2009

anubis404 said:
I would say Pentax, Nikon, or Canon. Don't choose a brand for the features in its body, choose it for the line of lenses. Research the line of lenses and make a choice based on that.

To be fair if people did that most people would buy Pentax. They have the biggest range of primes around plus the fact they take any pentax fit lens with ease in about the last 50 years ( since 1973 for Pentax K fit and M42 via adapter for 1959 to 1973).

Kye · Feb 28, 2009

I have found the K200D on a site that is highly recommended. It has the deal, the camera and the lens, but it also has another deal with an extra 50 - 200mm lens. I am researching and trying to find out if i would need or want this lens at all.

It is not to much expensive so i can afford it. If someone can put in a nutshell what can be done with it let me know so i can buy it before monday :mrgreen:

Thanks so far for the replies. Like i said before, im very new to photograghy. I hope i can learn from the people here and i look foward showing what i learn from here in practice.

Kye.

Katier · Feb 28, 2009

Kye said:
I have found the K200D on a site that is highly recommended. It has the deal, the camera and the lens, but it also has another deal with an extra 50 - 200mm lens. I am researching and trying to find out if i would need or want this lens at all.

It is not to much expensive so i can afford it. If someone can put in a nutshell what can be done with it let me know so i can buy it before monday :mrgreen:

Thanks so far for the replies. Like i said before, im very new to photograghy. I hope i can learn from the people here and i look foward showing what i learn from here in practice.

Kye.

It's worth it, I don't use my zoom a lot but it's worth having it around for the extra reach.