I'll have to lend you my "Boys Book of Photography" which was my introduction to picture taking in the 1960s. Complete with info about filters, f-stops, depth of field, darkroom techniques, film speed and the advantages and disadvantages of going faster ... aimed at 10 year olds

These days terms like ISO seem like black magic. Who remembers ASA ratings? (you can read up here: Film speed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

how big is the 30D though? I had problems with the Eos 400, and the Nikon D40 because they were too small for my hands.

I'll have a budget of around

Have you sold a kidney? :P

I have the D80 and love it. With the VR 18-200mm it's all the camera and lens I'm likely to need. I've not encountered any noise issues, and low-light performance has seemed okay (especially when using the excellent 'auto-iso' function which can bump the iso to maintain a target shutter speed).

My Dad has just bought the Canon 40D (upgraded from the old 10D) and it seems very impressive.

It's worth bearing in mind that Nikon and Canon have been clever enough to never go directly head to head, their models are slightly staggered in price and capability: The D40 is a true beginners DSLR with some excellent easy to use functions and auto modes, the 400D is a step up in terms of capabilities and manual settings but in a small cheapish package, the D80 is a small step above the 400D in features and packaging, the 40D is the first camera in the list with a magnesium body and is bordering on the semi-pro, the D300 is definitely semi-pro....etc etc, you get the idea.

Lens wise both Canon and Nikon make excellent lenses, and the newer Nikons can still use most of the old classic Nikkor prime lenses even if you lose auto functions.

As has already been said, there's no bad cameras out there at this price-range. A lot comes down to how you like the look and feel of the thing. It's worth popping into Jessops and handling them before you make any decisions.

Have you sold a kidney? :P

Nope lol

I'm just looking to get some proper kit that'll last me a while, with a possible route into going semi-pro :eek:

So ideally I'd like a camera that can cope really.

Few reviews that might do your head in even more

DCRP Review: Nikon D80

DCRP Review: Canon EOS-40D

Another of the EOS

Canon EOS 40D Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

which does compare images - but with Nikon D20

is the Eos 40D worth the extra over the D80 though?

is the Eos 40D worth the extra over the D80 though?

is the Eos 40D worth the extra over the D80 though?

I would say it depends entirely on your needs - it IS a better camera, but do YOU NEED the extra over the D80? Or the D80 over the 400D? This is my point.

Of course, there are others - the Sony Alpha, the Panasonic/Leica, Samsung, Pentax, Olympus......those are harder to quantify as they don't fit so neatly into the Canon/Nikon matrix....

Saw a Samsung GX-1L DSLR for

I'm just looking to get some proper kit that'll last me a while, with a possible route into going semi-pro :eek:

So ideally I'd like a camera that can cope really.

If you are going "semi pro" you have to consider what field of photography you are likely to be working in. Once you are using the kit to earn money, the onus shifts away from price and features and onto performance and ergonomics. In all honesty, if I were looking for a hobbyist camera, the options are pretty wide, but if I wanted to look to professional use, I would say your budget is going to fall short of paying for a body. Most pros will be using full frame DSLRs or the top end of the Nikon range. Lenses are the key to image quality above any particular brand / model of camera and good ones don't come cheap. You also need to consider forward compatibility when buying lenses so if you go full frame later, you have compatibility. A lot of the latest lenses are made for the "normal" APS sized sensor used in most DSLRs. These lenses will not work if you go full frame later. One of the key aspects though is how the camera handles and feels as the last thing you want in a work environment is to have kit that is not completely comfortable and intuitive to use.

Something else to consider. If you spend less on the body now, you can get one good lens and add a better body / lenses later if the commercial opportunities materialise.

Just my opinion, but if you are looking to go semi pro, you only relly have two choices at present, Nikon on Canon.

Chris

Lenses are the key to image quality above any particular brand / model of camera and good ones don't come cheap.

Amen; I want an EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens for my 350d as a general purpose walkaround lens. But it'll cost me twice the amount my camera cost. If you're thinking of going pro then your money should go into the lenses, as the bodies are peanuts in comparison to most pro and semi-pro lenses.

righteo

cheers guys.. I think I need to sit down and have a good read about all this

if you are intrested I have run the 30d for about 18 months and it has been great.

the thing about it at the time over ther 350/400 was that it felt far more substantial with a metal case and fitting for the lens.

the other thing is that you can pick up some great older second hand L series EF lenses which go strate on and give some great results

if you buy a canon you will not be disapointed

The 30D and the D80 are similar in size and bigger than the 400D.

any recommendation on books?

any recommendation on books?

Try Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. An excellent read for learning photography.

Amazon.co.uk: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera: Books: Bryan Peterson

I've been shooting using a normal camera for ages, and I appear to have a good eye for shots, I just now need a better camera to go further with it. And obviously an understanding of all these crazy terms

Books - some PDFs available, but plenty other stuff on many sites.

To get you started :-

Five reasons to get an SLR -

Imaging-Resource Article: Five reasons you need a digital SLR

Imaging-Resource Web Photo School

The Imaging Resource: Getting Started

Photography Techniques - Learn - ePHOTOzine.com

we got ourselves a Pentax K10D today

I'll be back with some results once I've

a) learned how it works

taken some proper pictures

I'll probably let it run in JPEG mode for now, until I'm taking the sort of photos that need me to play about with RAW files.

If anyone's interested in Nikon particularly, I'd recommend Thom Hogan's website: Thom Hogan's Nikon Field Guide and Nikon Flash Guide His books (aimed at Nikon body cameras) are excellent and am learning an awful lot with my D200

If anyone's interested in Nikon particularly, I'd recommend Thom Hogan's website: Thom Hogan's Nikon Field Guide and Nikon Flash Guide His books (aimed at Nikon body cameras) are excellent and am learning an awful lot with my D200

Nikon Eh? Sort of surprised you did not go Sony? I presume you were already into the Nikon lenses etc?

Chris

Babs, have you still not bought your new camera? I would personally recommend the new Canon 40D, a colleague at work has one and it is so much nicer to use than my 350D. I enjoy taking pictures at Sports meetings and the 6.5 fps burst is tremendous for this. Also the ISO is very usable even at high settings (ISO 800 looks quite OK on standard sized prints).

One thing you might want to consider (there

Go get a DSLR, they are cheaper than ever at the moment and you simply wont regret it.

This is very true! I borrowed a compact camera recently and while it ticked all the mega-pixel boxes, etc, it was simply leagues behind the DSLR and as a result I only managed to get a couple of pictures worth keeping :(

How did I manage before?!

Chris

This is very true! I borrowed a compact camera recently and while it ticked all the mega-pixel boxes, etc, it was simply leagues behind the DSLR and as a result I only managed to get a couple of pictures worth keeping :(

How did I manage before?!

Chris

Sadly the thing that Compacts do well, eg light, small, decent shots in low light, they no longer do. The dammed race for pixel counting has made the manufacturers put too many pixels into the tiny sensors and now the pictures look very poor in low light, Even Fuji, who produced a great series of little low light cameras (20/30/40FD etc) have now blown it with the 50FD and crammed ridiculous numbers of Headlining Pixels into it