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Hi there, my name is Dan. I understand I may just look like I am joining the forum just as a quick way for help. But I assure you that's not the case. Once I buy my new camera, I am looking forward to joining this community and sharing my work 
Okay, so here is my situation. I've always been keen on photography, but never had the advice or funds to get into it more seriously. I am looking at buying a proper camera, for more professional pictures. I've used a standard 3megapixel camera for the last few years, which cost me £100 2 years ago before I travelled Australia.
I've fortunately now came accross some money, which has left me with around £400 to spend on a camera. So I now have the money, but not the advice or knowledge. I don't want to buy a camera without knowing what I'm buying, especially since its a large sum of money for me (considering I am a student, 21 years of age).
So I am looking for information on what the different specifications (such as lenses, shutter speeds etc) actually mean, what I should look for/avoid, and also advice on what camera may be suitible for my price range. All advice and information (no matter how general/obvious) would be appreciated.
I'll leave you with one of my favourite pictures from australia. Thanks for your time,
Dan
link removed by epz.. sorry against t&cs, but please use the gallery here - it is very good
Hi Dan, and welcome to EPZ ( as we call it ) I see you have already broken a little rule, Nice one mate gets it out of the way straight off ( LOL ).
Do try uploading your Picture to the Readers Gallery.
Well you have come to the right place, However your questions are covering a vast area, So to aid those who advise give us some idea as to what your interests are in Photography, ie Landscape, Portrait, Macro etc etc.
Most if not all the Current brands of DSLR will do much the same as each other within a given price bracket, Lens though can vary, and then there's handling and just plain old fashioned personal likes OR dislikes.
So more questions than answers.
haha yes, i am a rebel! i'll upload a picture soon, just going to head out for my birthday meal
photography - well, I like landscape pictures, taking pictures of scenery, but also i tend to like taking pictures of flowers or close objects, with a nice foreground/background out of focus. also a camera that can deal well with night photography would be great! seems i may be looking for something quite general. See, i am not aware that cameras/lenses are best suited for certain types etc.
also... sorry, probably really obvious - but DSLR stands for? if thats the name for nice cameras, then yes, finally I know! I always just say 'black cameras with big lenses, not the silver £100 ones'. hehe.
if there is still not enough information in my reply, maybe if you give me some options to choose from possibly. Thanks for the reply though cameracat.
Dan
Hi Dan, right well have a nice birthday meal, meantime I hope you get some answers.
OK first one DSLR, Yep thats the big blighters with changeable lens, they come in a tasty black mostly, But you can find some that are silver, guess it's what ever turns you on as they say.
Taking your budget into account you need to be looking at a Canon 350/400 maybe, OR a Nikon D40/D50 with whatever lens they come with as a standard bundle.
However as your not commited to a brand already there are others out there that may well give you what you want within budget.
These are Pentax, Samsung ( was Minolta ) ans Sony, Olympus, all their base model DSLR's are great starters in the world of SLR (digital) and will introduce you to DSLR's, there's not a lot to choose really there are Pro's & Con's with all, The 2 biggest names Nikon & Canon are favoured by many because of their big lens range, both within the brand and 3rd party brands.
To cover anything from Lanscape to Macro is a dilema though as you will need a half decent lens for each subject, a compromise is a Macro Zoom, but there are alternatives.
Having said all that your probably best of a newbie to DSLR's to get some miles in with a KIT lens ( these are the standard one supplied as a package with new camera bodies, This gives you a chance to learn all about the camera first without bogging yourself down with to many technicalities, Give it 6 months or so and then see where your going with Photography.
Main thing is to make it a fun thing and learn at the same time, Lest you get P****d off with it.
Thanks for the reply again!
Birthday meal with my lady was good thanks
OKay, a lot of useful information there! I can spend more than 400 in fairness, I just thought it would be a wise limit! but i was talking about it with my girlfriend and thought might as well get a good one if I am going to get any thing! might as well pay £200 and get a good one that'll last (until it breaks and insurence replaces! 
hehe) than get a medium one that i'll wanna upgrade.
So the lense that comes with it is for general use in a way would you say?? I've seen some, which come with additional lense in a package price, but I havent a clue what the lense is good for. i dont know what the mm's represent if you get me.
Plus is there any difference between cameras and their batterly length? are most rechargable? cause one thing that annoyes me with digital cameras in general is the short battery life. Also, I'd like to take some sport pictures, which would mean split second timing sometimes. Do these cameras take a moment to take the picture when you press the button? do they have the 'hold half way down' sorta feature that digicams tend to have (to focus, then shoot pretty much instantly when u click the whole way)? or would you say burst fire shooting is the best way to try and capture a moment? lots of questions i know, answer in your own time (and anyone else is welcome to reply, along with cameracat).
Thoughts and opinions are welcome, thanks again for your time.
Dan
Yeah I'd say definitely go for a Canon 400D or maybe a Nikon D50 (I'm one of those anti Nikon guys and about to go for a very nice Canon 30D myself).
From what I've seen and heard, avoid the new Nikon D40, it appears to be utter rubbish. I have a friend who works for Jessops and he's tested and no matter what the lens the results aren't that breath-taking.
Ok here's a quick run down on mm's for you as I'm bored and feeling like talking cameras.
The lower the mm, then the wider the angle of the lens is.
For example a wide sweeping landscape shot is likely to be taken with say a 20mm lens or wider, while a close up shot of a bird that was taken from 300 yards away is likely to have been taken with say a 500mm lens.
If you want to take action shots sometimes as you say then you'll not only need a lens that suits how far away you will be from the action as well as how fast it will. This is where aperture comes in.
All lenses for DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras will have a funny little number in the name saying something like f2.8
What this is, is the widest aperture that the camera can shoot at. Apeture is basically how wide the hole that lets light through can go.
F1.4 is the widest and then F22 is around the narrowest.
What a wider aperture then does is allow more light in and as more light means you'll have to use a faster shutter speed, the lens is seen as 'faster'.
As a general guide for what lens to buy, I'd go for a kit lens as has been said above as you're wanting to shoot a variety of subjects. They're pretty cheap (around £50 more than just the body by itself). Both Canon and Nikon have a standard 17-55mm lens as the kit lens for the entry level DSLR's. This lens should meet most everyday shooting conditions.
It would only be if you want a lot of zoom or a very wide lens that you would have to consider upgrading.
I found this site the other day, it has loads of usual camera and lens basics. It's canon orientated but a lot of it is just general useful stuff:
click
Hope all that isn't too confusing for you and that it helps a little.
Good luck and I'll check back on your gallery soon.
thanks skatershrew, for a very informative and helpful reply i now know a bit more, and will write a proper reply with my thoughts and more questions once i've looked up what you said. hopefully tonight, am slightly busy with uni work at the moment though!
anyone else feel free to throw more advice my way, its all appreciated as I want to learn! i mean, i only just learnt what DSLR means!! hehe
Dan
skatershrew:
wow that site has so much information, teaching me loads! so thanks a lot to you for that skatershrew!! can look it all up there, shame you have given me this bible of camera information on a night when i have much of an essay to write
mozzta and fatmod:
Thanks to both mottza and fatmod as well though, i will condsider those closer to the date i buy them.
FAO all:
After looking at a bit of information, I have some more specifics on what I am looking for. I think i may need an extra lense.
I want to take pictures of something in focus, and the background blurred, and also low light / night time pictures, which probably means I am wanting a fast lense.
but then, I am also keen on being able to zoom in, so when I go and see a rugby match, I can get a bit close, or when i see a bird in the distance, i may get a bit closer without tresspassing on farmer bobs property!! but having a zoom cabable lense is almost a trade off for a fast lense is it not??
As i said before, I am now willing to spend a little bit more, perhaps around 600 in total. I'm thinking of getting one that i can keep for a while, and wont be dissapointing. I dont want to just take higher megapixel versions of pictures i can already take on my old digicam.
Feel free for thoughts, corrections, opinions, advice, as I'm growing more and more interested, and more and more eager to run out and buy one!!! haha!
Thanks for your time and I would REALLY appreciate some tips, especially from those with experience
Dan
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