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Ok so FINALLY taking the plunge into buying a 2nd hand DSLR. Only have 200 pounds max to spend. Need some pointers tips advice.
1. I have 10 MP camera now but seems 10 MP DSLR might be out of my price range - what is the lowest MP I can go to without losing out too badly? Most of the cameras in my price range seem to be 6 - 8 MP.
2. Any suggestions on how to deal with opposite needs. We NEED ZOOOOM as that is our biggest frustration but don't want to lose our macro facility (have to sell our current cameras to pay for this you see).
3. Any other helpful suggestions? What should I watch out for?
4. If I can't afford a DSLR that is as good as or better than my L100 would a better prosumer camera be a good alternative?
A 10mp second hand Nikon D40X with kit lens would be a very good starting point I'd say. I started with a 6mp D40 and thought it a wonderful entry level camera. You could then search for second hand lenses for you particular needs ie Macro or tele zoom.
Not sure of prices but ebay would be the place to look. I think the D40X brand new a year or so ago was only £250 ish.
JP
Bottom line a 5 or 6 year old 6 mega pixel DSLR will deliver better image quality, Than any of todays compacts with twice as many mega pixies.....
So armed with 200 sobs, The world is your oyster, Or should that be Ebay.....
Whatever, Just make sure its a genuine one owner from new, Fairly low mileage body, No matter what make it is.
I was looking for something for a relative who did not want to spend to much, I nosed around Ebay and was suprised at how many very decent DSLRs there are for under £200.
Ones to keep an eye out for are Nikon D70 or D70s, Canons 10D or if your lucky 20D, Steer clear of Canons 300D, Though these where a good camera in thier day, The shutter mechanisms had a tendancy to fall apart.
I have an old Nikon D70 ( laugh at the old bit, Coz its only 6 years old ) Anyhow its 6mega pix, And still capable of producing good images, Took it out for a stroll recently and as usual it never missed a shot......
Lens wise is a minefield I'll leave to someone else to discuss....!!!
Add to Johns suggestion, Nikon D50 as well as the D40 & D40x, The only snag with the D40 and X variants is the lack of on-board AF motor, This kinda narrows your lens options a tad, As there are loads and loads of good old mechanical AF lens around......Well cheap too.....!
To be honest, you're not going to get much for your £200... The camera body is no problem - you should be able to pick up a S/H 20D or D70 for around that kind of money, but it's the lenses that will make a big dent in your wedge 
I believe you like doing macro work, so you'll need a macro lens if you want to get close to subjects, a telephoto zoom lens for the ZOOOOM, and a standard or wide zoom for everyday landscapes etc.
I seem to remember you saying that you prefer to use your camera handheld so to get decent results you'd need IS lenses, which are also more expensive...
LOL yes good memory - we do prefer handheld. I don't know .. call it an artistic bee in our bonnet. SEEMS better that way! Ok maybe tripod and all that makes for non-blurry photos but its the spontaneity of walking around and seeing what there is that gets our juices flowing.
So prevailing opinion even as low as 6mp better? there are some good deals in that size range AND my price range.
Dare I venture into the minefield of asking about Olympus?
Quote: Dare I venture into the minefield of asking about Olympus?
You may!
Take a look on ebay. You can find plenty. For example this E1, a capable beast item number 280540137807.
Or check out item number 280539504344
There are plenty like it. And plenty of lenses at sensible money too.
Dave
That may end up over your max budget, but there isn't too much wrong with the E410 on a tight budget.
And before anyone asks, I use an E510 with twin kit lens and a few legacy zuiko manual focus lenses.
Dave
Have fun, and enjoy. Nikon or Canon it aint, but the results are still quite good.
Dave
Quote:
I seem to remember you saying that you prefer to use your camera handheld so to get decent results you'd need IS lenses, which are also more expensive...
WHAT?????????????
Long before anyone had invented IS/VR/OS, superb handheld photographs were being taken, by millions of people using millions of cameras. Hell, millions of superb photographs were taken with box cameras with meniscus lenses with a standard exposure of 1/60 at f/11.
It's really only when you get into poor light telephoto that you benefit significantly from VR. Even at the 200mm end of a 70-200 zoom, you should be able to get a perfect shot handheld if you use a shutter speed of faster than 1/300th on a crop camera. With outdoors macro, it is often image movement rather than camera shake that causes problems and VR/IS doesn't help with that.
Let's not forget that, as recently as 6 or 7 years ago, most of us were taking perfectly acceptable photographs with the type of equipment that is now available within Xioali's budget. That equipment will produce just as good results today as it did then.
My only suggestion would be that, in a few years time, when you can afford something more modern, you may regret it if you do not choose either Nikon or Canon at this stage. If you are sure that you will never want to upgrade (and we have all thought that at some time!!!!) then Olympus, Pentax, Sony, etc are all decent machines.
Funnily enough, my E510 has IS built into the body and I have never had to resort to it......................
Dave
....well here you go.
D70 with macro zoom lens currently £136 and only a few hours to go.
13,000 actuations is nothing on a camera like this.
I am not suggesting that you actually buy this one - but it is an example of what is available within your price range.
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