Question - Best begginers/budget dslr

[RustyG]

Hi all, I've been wanting to get a proper dslr camera for a while now, but I don't have a clue what I'm looking at, not being a photographer most of the reviews I read are all meaningless jargon to me!
Basically I need a camera that is pretty easy to use (I'm not the most technically minded person when it comes to electronics), relatively compact, good in low light for the urbex pics as well as being able to take action shots of my dogs buggering about and then finally (and probably most importantly) it needs to be pretty tough, I know cameras are delicate things but I also know from experience that any kit I own lives a hard life, it will get knocked about and will most likely get wet at some point so anything a bit rugged or that you can get a protective/waterproof case for would be a bonus.
I've been looking at the nikon D3300 and the cannon EOS 100D, from what I've read they both seem to be good entry level cameras but as I said a lot of the reviews are just meaningless to me.
What does everyone think? Any experience with either camera? personal preferences? Is a proper dslr what I need or would I be better off just getting one of the compact dslrs like the Sony cybershot or nikon coolpix?

Thanks in advance
RustyG

 

[Ojay]

I'm sure someone will be along shortly with some decent recommendations

 

[elhomer12]

IMO, putting all of the childish canon vs nikon fanboy crap aside, you can't really go wrong with any of the current, or fairly recently DSLRS. I haven't used those two in particular, but I can't see what they wouldn't be fine for you. Most of them are very good whatever the brand, but results obviously depend on the person using them

I have no idea about compacts or bridge cameras so someone else can go into that, but a DSLR would be my choice..... you could even get a nice ultra-wide lens for it, a proper umbex lens

 

[RustyG]

IMO, putting all of the childish canon vs nikon fanboy crap aside, you can't really go wrong with any of the current, or fairly recently DSLRS. I haven't used those two in particular, but I can't see what they wouldn't be fine for you. Most of them are very good whatever the brand, but results obviously depend on the person using them

I have no idea about compacts or bridge cameras so someone else can go into that, but a DSLR would be my choice..... you could even get a nice ultra-wide lens for it, a proper umbex lens

Nice one mate, I had a feeling people would say any decent make will be good enough, to be honest my camera skills are pretty poor but they can only get better. I'll probably keep my eye out for a second hand one on ebay or somet to start with, see how I get on with it n then go from there

 

[Oxygen Thief]

Personally, I would go for the Nikon D3300 with the kit lens and a decent tripod. Maybe look out for a D3200 on Ebay. Then save up for a decent wide angle lens.

Read the manual, program your camera accordingly, and practice.

 

[RustyG]

Cheers mate! I've just had a look on ebay n there's a lot of the D3200s for sale well within my budget. Just a case of getting the right lenses for it. When you say wide angle lense do you mean like a fish eye lense?

 

[Grom]

As said previously. What camera you buy isn't too important, all modern DSLR's are decent enough to do the job. The key is more in how you use it. You NEED a tripod for sure, doesn't need to be anything fancy though. The biggest improvement I made in my photography is when I learnt to slow down and carefully frame and focus each photo, rather than just pointing and shooting handheld. You will learn the basics of Aperture, ISO, Shutter speed etc as you go.

Nikon D3300, Canon 600D etc, all will be great to begin. If you can get a wide angle lens all the better. My partner has a Canon 600D and she bought a Canon 10-18mm wide angle lens for £180 and its brilliant for the money.
Personally I used a Fujifilm X-T1 and I love it, but its not for everyone. If you are on the cheap, an older Fuji X-M1 and a kit lens did me very well for a couple of years, was a very sharp camera.

Edit: As a rule of thumb, Camera on tripod, shoot at F8, ISO 100, and let the shutter speed work it self out on auto. 2 second timer on the shutter also stops any shake when you press the button.

 

[RustyG]

Lovely stuff mate! There's a lot of v useful info there, more than enough to keep me busy for the afternoon! Tbh I really don't have a clue about iso n apertures n all that, probly best I get a photography for idiots book, learn the basics whilst playing about.

 

[Grom]

http://amzn.to/2vx0uC1

If you want to read up about the basics, this is a good start. Covers everything you need to know including editing. Bit pricey but worth it IMO.

 

[elhomer12]

I wouldn't bother buying books or anything, just go out and try it. Go out with someone who knows what they're doing and learn from them.

I basically shoot everything at about f8 or f11, ISO 100-400, on a tripod and let the shutter speed be as long as it needs

 

[Adders]

http://amzn.to/2vx0uC1

If you want to read up about the basics, this is a good start. Covers everything you need to know including editing. Bit pricey but worth it IMO.

What an awful idea for a book. Just head on youtube to watch some basic tutorials on the camera you decide on, and then go into the garden and experiment at different times of the day/night to get a feel with how the settings alter the results. Nothing is better than practice, and reading a book about how to over edit your images isn't going to do you any favours.

 

[Lord Oort]

Shameless plug

https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/canon-650d-lenses-kit.t108965

Everything you could need, photography wise at least, to do some serious exploring. Ask me nicely and I might drop £50 too.

 

[RustyG]

Well boys and girls thanks for all your replies! I spent all last night reading dslr photography for dummies and I think I've worked out as much as I can without actually having a camera in my hands! I've bid on a couple of cameras on ebay, just gotta wait n see if I get one for the price I wanna pay!
@Oort That's way more kit than I could ever dream of owning mate! I wouldn't even know where to start with all that lot

 

[RyanWilliamson]

I use the Nikon D3200, decent camera, not so good at low light but all of my photos i have uploaded on here have been taken with it and also all of my images on www.rwmedia.org are taken with it!

 

[Keenamateur]

I " May " get shot down for this however, It might be worth checking out canon's EOS M range of compact system camera's as you mentioned you would like it " Relatively compact ".

I do recommend them with experience, I have the EOS M along with a M3 at the minute, And while it's certainly not on parr with my 80D they are fantastic little cameras that suffer in area's which are not so important to urban photography. They can both be had at reasonable prices second hand and paired with the EF-M 11-22mm Ultra wide lens it's a match made in heaven!

Slow focusing and no viewfinder and the common " Drawback's " Which are no big issue when you shooting objects that don't move. And the Live view is handy for judging Shutter speed / ISO anyway.

- Jamie