UKC

I'm looking to get my girlfriend a camera for crimbo. She seems to really enjoy taking pics and it would mean that she could come and be our photographer when we are out climbing!

Looking for a digital slr but not sure what would be good to go for. Budget is around £200 - £300.

Few questions

Would you go second hand? I'm quite into second hand stuff as you get more for your money if you shop around. I was thinking for 200-300, I should be able to get her a fairly decent camera???

I have no idea about lenses and stuff like that. What would be a basic set up for taking good climbing and nature pics (She is relly into nature piccies and sunsets)

What are the better makes of camera?

As you can tell I am clueless about photography so any help you can offer will be greatly appreciated

In reply to leroybrown: I only have experience of Canons but I would imagine others will be able to give feedback on Nikons etc.

For that price range I would be tempted to go second hand and £300 is likely to get you a Canon EOS 400d or the slightly older but next range up Canon EOS 30d.

I have owned the 400d and it is a very nice camera and i have used the 30D and as well as owning the 40D and this range of camera is also very good but they are slightly bigger and heavier in weight so the new 400D may be the better option. Both cameras are 1.6x crop cameras which means they will have better reach than full frame cameras for example, a 100mm lens would act like a 160mm lens on a 1.6 crop camera.

When it comes to lenses you could easily spend the same again on a decent lens but here are a lot of good cheaper lenses around. Take a look at this forum to see the types of lenses available and what the users thought of them

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33

If it was me I would be tempted to go for a Sigma 18-125mm or 18_200mm as it is wide enough for landscapes but has the reach for climbing shots. For super wide landscape shots you really need a dedicated lens, something like a 10-20 or 10-22mm lens but they will be expensive (£350-£500).

Even if you buy second hand I would still pop into a camera shop to get a hold of the latest version in the range you are thinking of buying as they will still be a similar size and feel and might help you decide what you want to go for.

Hope this helps a little.

Duncan

In reply to leroybrown: Just spotted the 18-200mm lens on amazon for£169 instead of £329, still expensive but a good buy.

To start off with though I spotted a 400d with 18-50mm lens for £280 on flea bay. not bad.

Duncan

In reply to leroybrown: end of last year i bought a Nikon D80 second hand. I bought it from london camera exchange (online), they gave it 4 out of 5 stars, but they mark themselves low, I couldnt tell it had been used. They give a 6 month warranty and werent much more than a good ebay deal so it was worth the extra to me (and many on ebay were going for more, cant remember what i paid now. Another good online retailer is grays of westminster (Nikon only), there are many others too.

Canon 1000D + 18-55mm lens for £370 new.


http://www.bristolcameras.co.uk/p-canon-eos-1000d-18-55-lens-kit.htm#Specif...