Hi guys

I know this has probably been covered a few times but there are some many threads to look through and when i get half way through ill forget what was said first.

Ive got an basic ish digital camera and decided its time to treat myself to something a bit nicer. I have been looking at the nikon d60 slr but after reading a couple of threads i see some people say having an slr can be a pain as you need to carry extra lenses.

I want a camera with a good zoom mainly for taking pictures of animals, cars and landscapes.

Ive got a budget of around £400.

any ideas welcome?

cheers

Unless you are desperate for an SLR -

PANASONIC Z28

Should be able to find it for just over £200 - whack in a 16Gb SDHC memory card, get a spare battery and you're sorted.

Edited 4 March, 200917 yr by thebrymar

Hi guys

I know this has probably been covered a few times but there are some many threads to look through and when i get half way through ill forget what was said first.

Ive got an basic ish digital camera and decided its time to treat myself to something a bit nicer. I have been looking at the nikon d60 slr but after reading a couple of threads i see some people say having an slr can be a pain as you need to carry extra lenses.

I want a camera with a good zoom mainly for taking pictures of animals, cars and landscapes.

Ive got a budget of around £400.

any ideas welcome?

cheers

A D60 with 18-55mm kit lens is not going to give you a long reach zoom. To get a bit of length you will need something like a 55-200mm VR to accompany the above. That will set you back another £230+ so add that to the £350 for D60 kit and your in for £580 & it will mean changing lenses. For the inconvenience of lens changes you will get better image quality than a point and shoot.

You could also look at the D40 with 18-55mm for around £250 + £230 for 55-200 VR.

Or there is the Nikon 18-200mm VR which will do it all without changing lenses but that will set you back £500+ just for the lens.

Of course there are third party lenses like Sigma & Tamron who sell the above lenses for a lot less but make sure they will work with the D40/D60. These cameras can't auto focus with all lenses. You will need lenses with auto focus motor built in.

The Sigma 70-300mm for example has the required motor and sells for £170+ Couple that to a D40 kit with 18-55 and your looking at around £420.

The Sony A200 is defo worth a look at £379 and comes with the required focal length kit. You get a 18-70mm & a 75-300mm which is plenty reach to begin with. Have alook here Sony Alpha 200 Digital SLR with 18-70mm + 75-300mm Kit (DSLRA200W.CEH) - Warehouse Express

You could also go the secondhand route to save a bit more.

DSLRs can ruin you but if you have the dough and are serious about getting into photography I would recommend going for one. There are plenty of bundles out there and tons of places to buy from so shop around.Also read plenty of the reviews.

If you don't fancy the above the Panasonic is a more practical option and a decent camera to boot. All depends what you want to do and how often you are going to use it.

HTH.

cheers guys for all your help and for pointing out some interesting points. I like the look of the panasonic z28 and think that might be a good starting point.

cheers

Have you considered the Canon G9/G10? I've had the G9 since Dec 07 and find it a brilliant bit of kit. I'm lucky enough to be able to borrow an Eos 3 and 1DN should I want but was looking to get a small SLR of my own. In the end I chose the G9 as it gives great quality shots, is reasonably compact and has the ability to manually select settings. Another prime reason was that with any cheap SLR I was going to be underwhelmed when it came to speed compared to something like the Eos 3 or 1D. The G9 as far as I have compared it is certainly a match for any entry level SLRs, the only downside being the inability to swap lenses. But that downside is also it's advantage - it's small and can fit in my trouser pocket if I'm out wandering around, or in the car door pocket so I can quickly get to it. Shilst SLR's are certainly what most people want, I think that they are missing a trick with what I would describe as the pro level compacts.

I have a fujifilm s8000. Not an slr, easy to use, take decent pictures, 18x zoom and about £140

cheers guys for all your help and for pointing out some interesting points. I like the look of the panasonic z28 and think that might be a good starting point.

cheers

I got mine Panasonic FZ28 on Tuesday

(Jesspos £249 I had vouchers to use)