I'm looking for a good quality first hand Digital SLR camera, with a budget of £200.

[thepcgamer099]

I would like a good SLR camera, and i'm willing to spend another £50 on a lens. I want it to have a good long range and to be good quality. I know my budget is quite limited, so I think it's more about the bang for the buck. I'm afraid I know very little about cameras and photography so it would be a beginners camera, and I'm learning photography etc. I may consider using Photoshop CC to further modify my images, but that is just a maybe. So does anybody know any good tutorial websites or video sites for Photoshop tutorials too please. Thank you all very much, Tom

 

[USAFRet]

At that price point, you're probably out of luck for a true DSLR.
But start here and look around: http://www.dpreview.com/

 

[martinch]

I would like a good SLR camera, and i'm willing to spend another £50 on a lens.

I'm afraid you're not going to find a new DSLR (or CSC) for £200, nor a new lens for £50. The cheapest I could find was a Canon 1200D at £230, and a 40mm f/2.8 for £100, although I'd suggest something like an 18-55mm zoom being more suitable as a general-purpose lens. Some CSC kits (body+lens) are available for around £300 (e.g. Nikon 1 series). I would seriously consider looking for a good quality "compact" with semi-manual controls (aperture priority and shutter priority), or a good-quality used camera from a reputable supplier (e.g. London Camera Exchange, Jessops, etc).

To be honest, I'd suggest asking on a photography site, such as DPReview.

I want it to have a good long range and to be good quality.

I suppose it depends what you mean by "good range" and "good quality". Assuming you mean "high focal length", telephoto lenses are necessarily expensive - you're looking at a minimum of ~£200 new for a "budget" 55-200mm or 70-300mm, around £300-450 for a "good" quality 70-300mm, and up to £2,000 for a high quality (professional) 70-200mm or 100-400mm lens.

I'm afraid I know very little about cameras and photography so it would be a beginners camera, and I'm learning photography etc.

I would strongly recommend getting a good book, such as "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, quite possibly before purchasing a camera.

So does anybody know any good tutorial websites or video sites for Photoshop tutorials too please.

Adobe has some Photoshop/Lightroom tutorials on their site, or look for stuff by Scott Kelby

 

[thepcgamer099]

I would like a good SLR camera, and i'm willing to spend another £50 on a lens.

I'm afraid you're not going to find a new DSLR (or CSC) for £200, nor a new lens for £50. The cheapest I could find was a Canon 1200D at £230, and a 40mm f/2.8 for £100, although I'd suggest something like an 18-55mm zoom being more suitable as a general-purpose lens. Some CSC kits (body+lens) are available for around £300 (e.g. Nikon 1 series). I would seriously consider looking for a good quality "compact" with semi-manual controls (aperture priority and shutter priority), or a good-quality used camera from a reputable supplier (e.g. London Camera Exchange, Jessops, etc).

To be honest, I'd suggest asking on a photography site, such as DPReview.

I want it to have a good long range and to be good quality.

I suppose it depends what you mean by "good range" and "good quality". Assuming you mean "high focal length", telephoto lenses are necessarily expensive - you're looking at a minimum of ~£200 new for a "budget" 55-200mm or 70-300mm, around £300-450 for a "good" quality 70-300mm, and up to £2,000 for a high quality (professional) 70-200mm or 100-400mm lens.

I'm afraid I know very little about cameras and photography so it would be a beginners camera, and I'm learning photography etc.

I would strongly recommend getting a good book, such as "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson, quite possibly before purchasing a camera.

So does anybody know any good tutorial websites or video sites for Photoshop tutorials too please.

Adobe has some Photoshop/Lightroom tutorials on their site, or look for stuff by Scott Kelby

thank you very much, if I considered raising my budget to £300 would I be able to get a relatively decent DSLR, I'm not considering professional photography, just for a hobby as a beginner. I have seen camera's with 18-55 mm lens, are they alright for a beginner photographer. I think the maximum range I would be taking photos is 100m, maybe 150 at a push. Also I have seen this Nikon D3200 DSLR and I was wondering would this be a good purchase for the price? Here is the link, I don't have to buy it from amazon but a supplier that is based in the UK/has fast delivery-not coming from the US would be preferred. Many thanks.

 

[thepcgamer099]

At that price point, you're probably out of luck for a true DSLR.
But start here and look around: http://www.dpreview.com/

I will take a look thankyou

 

[martinch]

thank you very much, if I considered raising my budget to £300 would I be able to get a relatively decent DSLR

You could get a Canon 1200D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for £290, Nikon D3300 with 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6 lens for £330, Panasonic Lumix GF7 with 12-32mm lens or Olympus E-PL6 with 14-42mm lens (both for £320). From what I remember, all of them are good cameras. I would note that the Canon/Nikon cameras are APS-C, and thus you multiply the focal length by 1.5x to get the equivalent 35mm focal length (i.e. 18-55mm becomes 28mm-80mm equivalent), whereas the Panasonic/Olympus cameras are Micro-FourThirds, and thus have a 2x multiplier (i.e. 14-42mm becomes 28-85mm equivalent).

I'm not considering professional photography, just for a hobby as a beginner.

Most modern cameras are of a rather good quality. Given the correct subject, even the cheap ones can be used to produce professional images. (I would note the the longest settings on consumer telephoto zooms tends to suffer a bit)

I have seen camera's with 18-55 mm lens, are they alright for a beginner photographer.

An 18-55mm lens is a versatile lens, and makes for a good "walkaround" lens - it goes from moderately wide to moderately telephoto. This means it can be used for landscapes, moderate closeups and portraits. I would note that they typically have an aperture of f/5.6, which means that they will struggle to generate very shallow depth of field effects. I would caution against going for really wide lenses until you've got some experience (they're surprisingly hard to use well), and would advise investigating the use of telephoto lenses for landscapes (they're surprisingly effective).

I think the maximum range I would be taking photos is 100m, maybe 150 at a push.

I suppose the question is what do you want to photograph? A sparrow at 10m will not fill the frame when using a 500mm lens on a DX-format camera, but a car at 25mm will fill the frame with a ~125mm lens on the same camera.

Also I have seen this Nikon D3200 DSLR and I was wondering would this be a good purchase for the price?

I seem to remember the D3200 being good, but the D3300 is the current model, available for around £30 more. Here's some reviews:
D3200: http://www.bythom.com/nikond3200review.htm
D3300: http://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/current-nikon-dslr-reviews/nikon-d3300-review.html

Here is the link, I don't have to buy it from amazon but a supplier that is based in the UK/has fast delivery-not coming from the US would be preferred. Many thanks.

Link was missing. I'd recommend getting camera equipment from camera retailers, as you're likely to get better support if you have problems. If you're looking at pricing, have a look at the Camera Price Buster comparison site: http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/. Wex Photographic, Mifsuds, Jessops, and Park Cameras are good mail order retailers, and London Camera Exchange and Jessops are good high-street retailers.

To an extent, camera equipment is personal preference - the ergonomics can vary fairly widely. I would therefore advise handling one prior to buying it.

 

[thepcgamer099]

thank you very much, if I considered raising my budget to £300 would I be able to get a relatively decent DSLR

You could get a Canon 1200D with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for £290, Nikon D3300 with 18-55mm f/3.6-5.6 lens for £330, Panasonic Lumix GF7 with 12-32mm lens or Olympus E-PL6 with 14-42mm lens (both for £320). From what I remember, all of them are good cameras. I would note that the Canon/Nikon cameras are APS-C, and thus you multiply the focal length by 1.5x to get the equivalent 35mm focal length (i.e. 18-55mm becomes 28mm-80mm equivalent), whereas the Panasonic/Olympus cameras are Micro-FourThirds, and thus have a 2x multiplier (i.e. 14-42mm becomes 28-85mm equivalent).

I'm not considering professional photography, just for a hobby as a beginner.

Most modern cameras are of a rather good quality. Given the correct subject, even the cheap ones can be used to produce professional images. (I would note the the longest settings on consumer telephoto zooms tends to suffer a bit)

I have seen camera's with 18-55 mm lens, are they alright for a beginner photographer.

An 18-55mm lens is a versatile lens, and makes for a good "walkaround" lens - it goes from moderately wide to moderately telephoto. This means it can be used for landscapes, moderate closeups and portraits. I would note that they typically have an aperture of f/5.6, which means that they will struggle to generate very shallow depth of field effects. I would caution against going for really wide lenses until you've got some experience (they're surprisingly hard to use well), and would advise investigating the use of telephoto lenses for landscapes (they're surprisingly effective).

I think the maximum range I would be taking photos is 100m, maybe 150 at a push.

I suppose the question is what do you want to photograph? A sparrow at 10m will not fill the frame when using a 500mm lens on a DX-format camera, but a car at 25mm will fill the frame with a ~125mm lens on the same camera.

Also I have seen this Nikon D3200 DSLR and I was wondering would this be a good purchase for the price?

I seem to remember the D3200 being good, but the D3300 is the current model, available for around £30 more. Here's some reviews:
D3200: http://www.bythom.com/nikond3200review.htm
D3300: http://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/current-nikon-dslr-reviews/nikon-d3300-review.html

Here is the link, I don't have to buy it from amazon but a supplier that is based in the UK/has fast delivery-not coming from the US would be preferred. Many thanks.

Link was missing. I'd recommend getting camera equipment from camera retailers, as you're likely to get better support if you have problems. If you're looking at pricing, have a look at the Camera Price Buster comparison site: http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/. Wex Photographic, Mifsuds, Jessops, and Park Cameras are good mail order retailers, and London Camera Exchange and Jessops are good high-street retailers.

To an extent, camera equipment is personal preference - the ergonomics can vary fairly widely. I would therefore advise handling one prior to buying it.

I will take all of this into account, thank you very much all of this information is very helpful i really do appreciate it. II will defiantly refer to this and the website you gave me earlier for more information. The main thing I would photograph would be nature, for example landscapes, I travel often and want to start keeping a memory of my experiences of different cultures, and areas across the globe etc. Here was the link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D3300-Digital-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B00HQCW7TM/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1448644432&sr=1-3&keywords=nikon


Thank you very much, Tom

 

[martinch]

The main thing I would photograph would be nature, for example landscapes, I travel often and want to start keeping a memory of my experiences of different cultures, and areas across the globe etc.

An 18-55mm will be a good starting point then. Maybe look to add a 55-200mm or 55-300mm for "detail landscapes", portraits, and distance shots. FYI, the Micro-FourThirds camera are smaller and lighter than the Nikon/Canon ones (and the lenses noticeably so), which might make a difference when travelling - might be worth having a look (John Lewis or Jessops should stock both).

Here was the link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-D3300-Digital-Camera-18-55mm/dp/B00HQCW7TM/ref=sr_1_3?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1448644432&sr=1-3&keywords=nikon

That's not a bad price, but it's not much less than the D3300 (I'm not sure what the differences are, but they'll be in Thom Hogan's review).