[dave]

a friend of mine who is in prison is thinking about testing the waters of considering his options for researching the posibilty of maybe getting a digital SLR. £600 or less kinda mark, preferably with lens. Its just a theoretical possibilty at this stage.

looks like theres a few out there at the mo for that kinda dollar:

canon 300D
canon 350D
canon 10D
Nikon D70
Nikon D50
Pentax *ist

obviously the 350d and D70 are well jackson, but what about the rest? anyone got one of any of them, etc. Hit me with some science yall.

[SA Chris]

http://www.dpreview.com/ seems to be the best place for impartial reviews.

I got a Pentax *ist D body refurbished with full guarantee off ebay last week for £470, and am pretty pleased. I made sure I stuck with Pentax as I have 4 lenses and a flash that are compatible. No ide how it compares, but a friend has one or the other Canon, and he says it's pretty fast focussing, and smaller and lighter in comparison.

Bear in mind there are two versions of the *ist now, the D and the DS, which is lighter and cheaper, but slightly lower quality.

[Bubba]

I got the 10D - see Cofe for a review though coz he played with mine and actually knows what he's on about rather than me who's still relearning my photo skillz.

[cofe]

coz he played with mine

<sn**ger>

[Bubba]

You loved it you slag.

[dave]

any more for any more?

[Johnny Brown]

Choice is likely to revolve around whether you have old lenses you can use...

D70 consistently gets the best reviews, plus a step above in build quality. Should be cheap at the mo as upgraded version has just come out.

Wouldn't buy a Canon 300/350 cos I'd break it - low price = super cheap construction. Rumours about Pentax are similar but I haven't played wit one. But then I like to play rough....

Don't overlook Olympus E-1, slightly lower res (couple of years old) but full pro build quality and gets best reviews for ease of handling and image quality straight out of the camera. Again upgrade imminent so prices falling...

[dave]

aye cheers JB - thought you had a 'lympus. my current camera is a olympus C3040z which to be honest i can't fault it, bonza lens quality for the money (i payed £150 second hand), but was going to steer clear of them though what with there being like fuck all lenses available for the slrs, maybe its not that big an issue though. The other thing i'd seen was the E-300 which looks a bit queer but has got this new untrasonic dust thing to keep the sensor clean - unfortunatley the reviews of it don't make it sound like the rest of it is up to scratch image-kwality wise compared to the others.

apparently the D70s are quite rugged for a plastic body. have had a look at a 300D and they feel like a airfix kit in comparison.

[dave]

p.s. i have no existing lenses.

[Bubba]

Yeah, the 10d has a magnesium body, and is partly environmentally sealed....i.e. splash/dust proof.

[SA Chris]

partly environmentally sealed....i.e. splash/dust proof.

Is that like being partly pregnant? I guess you will always get dust in if you are changing lenses though.

[Johnny Brown]

Depends whether you need the build quality I guess....

I agree, the E-300 looks queer. Both that and the E-1 have the dust removal ting on the sensor, which peeps rave about. If you change lenses regularly dust is inevitable, all the mags now have guides to swabbing it off, personally I wouldn't wanna touch that chip. There are plenty of lenses available for the E-system, but not so many have made it onto the second hand scene yet. If you like the C3040 the controls, menus and general feel will be similar...

Bottom line is, go into a shop and compare the feel and the viewfinders. Make sure the lenses are similar - you want summat like a 28-105 equivalent, as fast as possible (ie max aperture 4 or less, ideally 2.. The Canon lens you get in the bundle is supposed to be crap, others are all meant to be good. In fact, general rule is that Canon are the best for the technology - highest res etc, but at the expense of build kwalitee.

If you go fo res - 350D
Build kwalitee - 10D or E-1
Somewhere between - D70
bottom line for me is viewfinder and handling.

[dave]

word cheers for the info, will check some shit out - hadn't thought much bout the viewfinder cos i ain't had to use one for the last 3 years!

[Johnny Brown]

Taking pictures using the LCD is known as 'chimping' and laughed at by 'real' photographers. You need to learn how to squint, and fast.

[dave]

word - but you generally gotta do it with most non-SLR digitals cos the viewfinders are generally shit and you're seeing different to what you'll actually be shooting, particularly at zoom. is also useful for reaching out for shots where you can't lean over far enough. Not an issue with digital SLRs though obviously.

[Johnny Brown]

Only jokin Dave - the only ting that matters is the results. Have heard of 'real ale' type photographers gaffa taping the lcd over so they can't check the results until the shoot is over....
You do look like a chimp though.

[dave]

You do look like a chimp though.

i believe the phrase you are looking for is "you are hung like a baboon".

[SA Chris]

. Have heard of 'real ale' type photographers gaffa taping the lcd over so they can't check the results until the shoot is over....

Real ale is still using a Manual SLR and slide or B & W. And a darkroom. And prime lenses.

Like I was until a week ago

Although I might dust off the old prime 24mm, as it will be pretty useful with the smaller field on the digi.

[dave]

one other thing i've noticed is the nikon D50 coming out next week , which is supposed to be like 90% of a D70/s but for like £100+ less (presumably why nikon were doing £100 cashback on the D70 till sunday). It does come with a less-telephoto lens kit though (18-50ish?). That might be worth me looking at, but not going to rush into owt, need to check stuff out have a feel around etc. presumably the D70s may drop in price more now anall.

P.s. apparently the D70 etc will take old manual prime lenses, but you don't get any metering or nowt so you're going commando.

[SA Chris]

P.s. apparently the D70 etc will take old manual prime lenses, but you don't get any metering or nowt so you're going commando.

Shirley you will still get light metering, just need to adjust aperture (set to Aperture Priority?) and focus manually?

[cofe]

think you lose TTL metering but don't think it's that difficult to meter; just stop down lense to desired aperture - think only difference is the viewfinder will get darker the smaller the aperture.

[dave]

took the words right out of my mouth.

[SA Chris]

As Meatloaf once said.

Will dig out manual lenses tonight and have a play.

[Johnny Brown]

The D50 will be built like the 300/350D though. And if it comes with a cheaper lens it'll no doubt be cack like the canon one....

Nikon have the best backwards compatability, fo sho. Whether its any use to you is a different matter.

[dave]

dpreview says

The overall feel of the camera hasn't changed much from the D70, it still feels solidly put together with tight panel gaps, no creaks and a slightly more professional feel than Canon's EOS 350D.

but we'll have to see for ourselves when they hit the shops.