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[lee4206]

As above.
Are any makes better, what ones to avoid etc.  Im only looking to spend about £300 ish (im in the states at moment so might get more for my money). I know £300 is not a lot so im not expecting to get any thing realy fancy but any info would help.
Im looking at at a couple so any thoughts on these nikon d3000,  Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi,  olympus e-420 or poss a sony.

Please reply asap as im looking to get either later today or tomorrow.
Thanks
l
Lee

[Entwood]

I have a Canon EOS 350D and am very, very pleased with it. There are numerous piccies taken with it dotted about the forum .. some in my sig 

lenses/flash with the canon label are expensive .. but "Sigma" stuff works well and is very much cheaper.

Some folks don't like them as they are "true" SLR ...   no digital LCD on the back to frame the photo, you have to use the eyepiece .. although you can then view the taken picture on the screen.

Not everyones choice .. but I certainly like it.

[Jimbo B]

Look at the Sony Alpha range they are very good and reasonably priced

[Kevin Wood]

What type of photography do you do? And what attracts you to an SLR?

The main flexibility of an SLR, IMHO, is the fact that you can interchange the lenses to cover any scenario from taking portraits of ladybirds to motorsport, airshows, etc. As your collection of equipment grows your lenses will become the most important (and, probably, valuable) asset.

To my way of thinking, therefore, the choice of camera body relies on easy availability of lenses (whether they be new or 2nd hand), and that makes Nikon or Canon the no-brainers on your list. Even if you grow out of the camera body, buying into a well-supported lens system is important. Once you've collected a few lenses you want to know the system will give an upgrade path for the body to use with your lens collection.

The Pentax K-m might also be worthy of consideration at that price level. It's about to be discontinued without a successor, unfortunately, but there are likely to be a few bargains around because of that. Auto focus is not the best on that body, but it does have image stabilisation in the body so you won't have to rely on lenses with it. If you can stretch a bit more I had a play with the k-x recently and it's very capable, although quite a bit more money. Picture quality is up with most £1k+ bodies, IMHO. AF is much better and it does video. I ended up splashing out on a K7, though (mainly for ergonomic and build quality reasons. I reckon the k-x is up there in terms of picture quality).

Any of the above choices will give you access to plenty of lenses either new or 2nd hand, and reasonably priced, especially if you are prepared to live with older manual focus lenses.

Don't disregard second hand bodies either. Most SLRs are robust if looked after and very reasonable 2nd hand as most photographers suffer from acute upgradeitis  . You can get a lot for your money 2nd hand and if you buy from a dealer you'll probably get a warranty too.

On the other hand, if you see yourself being satisfied with one or two zoom lenses, and not needing a collection of glass, you need to focus more on what camera you are getting for the money, and can cast your net a litle wider and consider the likes of Olympus and Sony and more. If size is more important than ultimate picture quality and flexibility some micro 4/3rds cameras are probably worthy of consideration.

Just my 2 penneth. You'll hear plenty of different opinions.

Kevin

[MickAP]

I've always stuck with Canon, just a personal thing really, I guess knowing your way around them helps.
Traded my old 300D in recently for a 450D, so far so good. Trouble is getting time now to get out and use the new one properly.

Mick

[Omega3]

Have a look here: http://www.kenrockwell.com
Have a great time!

[Kevin Wood]

I've always stuck with Canon, just a personal thing really, I guess knowing your way around them helps.
Traded my old 300D in recently for a 450D, so far so good. Trouble is getting time now to get out and use the new one properly.

Mick

I know the feeling. I think it's rained practically every free day I've had since buying mine. The cat's getting a bit PO'd with being my only subject.

Kevin

[lee4206]

What type of photography do you do? And what attracts you to an SLR?
Kevin

Nothing special just general pics of kids cars holiday snaps etc. As for why a slr  im just fed up with with my digi cameras pics it might just be me i which case i may be wasting my money but none of the settings seem to do what i want ie at the moment im in disney and taking photos of the christmas lights and parades etc but no matter what settings i use the pics seem to blur or be out of focus (its probaly because its not a very good camera).  My thinking is if im going to buy a new/better one i might as well go for a slr as from what ive been told they are much better than non slr's and will give a better pic even as a point and shot camera..
And it might turn into a new hobby (you never know).
Lee

[Omega3]

Nikon with Vibration Reduction (VR) would be my choice.
BTW, previous link I left has list of retailers in states.

[Kevin Wood]

Nothing special just general pics of kids cars holiday snaps etc. As for why a slr  im just fed up with with my digi cameras pics it might just be me i which case i may be wasting my money but none of the settings seem to do what i want ie at the moment im in disney and taking photos of the christmas lights and parades etc but no matter what settings i use the pics seem to blur or be out of focus (its probaly because its not a very good camera).  My thinking is if im going to buy a new/better one i might as well go for a slr as from what ive been told they are much better than non slr's and will give a better pic even as a point and shot camera..
And it might turn into a new hobby (you never know).
Lee

Fair points. SLRs are much more flexible than point-and-shoot cameras and there's not much they can't capture an image of. Getting the best out of one does require you to take manual control of some of the settings but they will also take decent pictures in the "green" mode so you can use that as a crutch as you learn how to take it to the next level.

Bear in mind that some subjects, such as the night scenes you've been experimenting with, will be a challenge to shoot hand-held with any camera simply because there isn't much light, which means that a long shutter speed is required to collect sufficient light, so any movement tends to blur the picture. This will also give the auto-focus system a hard time, as you've found.

Having said that, an SLR will probably have a sensor with a much higher maximum sensitivity and a lens with a wider aperture, meaning it'll do better in low light. In addition, you can take manual control of the focus and, if the shutter speed is still slow, image stabilisation will help. If that fails, you'll need a tripod. So, as you see, there is always a way with a camera that's flexible enough, but you'll need to find your way around it to get the best out of it.

It's a rewarding hobby when you get it spot-on, though.

Kevin

[Entwood]

What type of photography do you do? And what attracts you to an SLR?
Kevin

Nothing special just general pics of kids cars holiday snaps etc. As for why a slr  im just fed up with with my digi cameras pics it might just be me i which case i may be wasting my money but none of the settings seem to do what i want ie at the moment im in disney and taking photos of the christmas lights and parades etc but no matter what settings i use the pics seem to blur or be out of focus (its probaly because its not a very good camera).  My thinking is if im going to buy a new/better one i might as well go for a slr as from what ive been told they are much better than non slr's and will give a better pic even as a point and shot camera..
And it might turn into a new hobby (you never know).
Lee

It might ....    and if it does  .. an expensive one .... always seem to need just something more ....  better flash, another lens, tripod, monopod, gorilla ... mind you  it is useful when asked "what would you like for Christmas" ....... trouble is .. takes 4/5 folks to band together to get what you ask for !! 

camera bits are NOT cheap !!

[Omega3]

Cameras have never been cheaper. You can now get the same image quality for £300 that I used to have to spend £2000+ to achieve

[Kevin Wood]

camera bits are NOT cheap !!

.. unless you buy film stuff on Ebay. Bought a very nice AF 35mm slr just for the lens to use on my DSLR. £40 IIRC. Lens on its' own would have been double/triple that. Must be the stigma of buying non-digital stuff. 

Just got a mint Rodenstock enlarger lens for £20.

It is amazing what you can achieve on a budget if you're skillful, but it's also very tempting to spend a fortune.

Having recently seen what the guy who did our wedding photography has achieved with the camera on his IPhone I realise I've got a lot to learn.

Kevin

[Jimbob]

Im a fan of the Canon offering myself, but not much to choose between the big brands in honesty.

I wanted the 350D Entwood has.....till I held it, didnt suit / fit my hands at all, but was lucky and got a very good deal on the larger 20D  (models not 500D and 50D)  you generally can use the LCD to compose these days thanks to live view....but generally defeats the purpose of an SLR anyway to me.

[pscocoa]

What type of photography do you do? And what attracts you to an SLR?
Kevin

Nothing special just general pics of kids cars holiday snaps etc. As for why a slr  im just fed up with with my digi cameras pics it might just be me i which case i may be wasting my money but none of the settings seem to do what i want ie at the moment im in disney and taking photos of the christmas lights and parades etc but no matter what settings i use the pics seem to blur or be out of focus (its probaly because its not a very good camera).  My thinking is if im going to buy a new/better one i might as well go for a slr as from what ive been told they are much better than non slr's and will give a better pic even as a point and shot camera..
And it might turn into a new hobby (you never know).
Lee

looking at your needs maybe you do not need some of the full featured more true type dslr. Possibly the Sony DSCHX1 Cybershot would do the job