Beginner in need of advice with first DSLR purfchase

Hello. I have been taking pictures with compact cameras for some years now, for lesiure solely. Recently I have been feeling restrained by my camera, its unable to take many of the shots that I want (especially in low light, for example taking shots of my friends' band on stage). So, I have finally made the decision to buy a DSLR.

I dont have much money to spend on a camera, my maximum would be about £500. I have been looking at the Nikon D40 in particular, as it seems an excellent low end beginners DSLR. Plus, the compact I own now is a Nikon Coolpix 7900, which apart from its limitations I have been extremely pleased with. Ive had it for the last year and a half, its done really well and survived quite a battering.

I think im going to be a bit biased towards Nikon because of the camera I already own, even though im sure basing my choice of SLR on a compact is a bit silly, but ive got confidence in the brand because of it.

Now, I have seen a package online that includes a D40, an AF-S DX 18-55 mm Lens and an AF-S DX 55-200 mm Lens.

Now, my question lies with this. I can get the standard D40 with just the 18-55mm lens for considerably less. I am a complete beginner to anything past point and click photography, so to be honest I havent a clue what these different lenses will to. Could someone please explain the differences to me and suggest if they think its worth a beginner like me investing in both right away?

Thanks very much for any replies I get :)

With those 2 lenses you'll have stuff covered from 18 to 200 mm though in actuality it will be 27 to 350 mm. I forget what that equals in x which is what they usually stamp p&s cameras with. Probably about up to 12x.
If you are shooting in low light, neither of those two lenses are going to help much due to their lowest apertures, unless you are going to use flash of course.
You may want to look for a lens that shoots with a larger aperture such as 2.8 down to 1.4.
Where did you see the package and did you check the seller at reseller.com or read our dealer feedback forum?

Forget what I said before. Ive spent the last few days reading what must be every bit of information on the internet about the nikon d40(x) and the canon eos 400d. I know I want one of these two cameras, and its driving me mad now being able to decide which to get.

(What I especially want the camera for is shooting landscapes and low light environments.)

Both come with an 18-55mm lens. The thing IS, my dad has an old film eos 600, and hes got a 30-70mm and a 70-210mm lens (or near abouts). So if i pick the canon, ill have a couple of decent lenses for free right off the bad, even if they are a bit big, heavy and loud compared to current ones.

However, that still hasnt totally swung me towards canon. I am a complete beginner to SLR's, and from what ive read the nikon is aimed at people just like me, its easy to use and explains a lot of the features for you.

Also, and this may be a bit of a foolish point, I prefer SD cards over the compact flash that canon uses. Ive had a CF before, it failed on me. I eventually traded that camera up and since then Ive been having a great experience using SD cards.

Threres also the fact that the nikon requires lenses with built in autofocus as it doesnt have an internal motor. this would limit my choice of lenses should I want to purchase more, however photography is just one of several expensive hobbys that I have, and I honestly dont see me getting loads of different lenses.

This next point im a little hazy on, because im only just learning what all the jargon means, but according to the cameras' specifications the canon has a maximum ISO rating of 1600, whereas the nikon has one of 3200 (i think the numbers are correct). Correct me if im wrong, as i likely am, but would this not mean that I would be able to achieve better pictures in low light with the nikon? This is one of the specific things that i want from the camera that I end up buying.


These are just the points that I can think of now. But you can see how hard it is to decide between the two cameras. Like I said, its driving me mad not being able to make up my mind, but the last thing im going to do is to rush into buying something that costs this much!

Any further help would be greatly appreciated!

Are the old Canon lenses FD or EF mount ?
While you can get an adaptor for FD, you can use EF mount lenses directly.

It's the D40X that has the extra explanatory features.

High ISO ?
Overrated IMO, yes it's a means to get images when nothing else will do.
But on either camera the image will be full of electronic noise.
You will get better results spending more on a wider aperture lens to gather more light.
BUT that is a very expensive way to go, particularly with the pro lenses.

I have found that CF cards are faster than SD cards, and have had no reliability problems.
Except when I upgraded to the 1DmkII when one of my old cards didn't work (the camera is too fast) and the CF card was replaced free by Lexar.

With a limited budget, why not look at second hand too?
Sorry to confuse things by suggesting a 20D for example, pre-owned :)

I use the EOS magazine classifieds ...
http://www.eos-classifieds.com/index.php?a=19
For example http://www.eos-classifieds.com/index.php?a=2&b=1731

And Canon's own refurbished cameras ...
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outle...QQftidZ2QQtZkm
More 400Ds than you can shake a stick at.
- you get Canon warranty on them too.

I would ask you a question before giving advice. How old is your compact and will the newer compacts do the job that you need? Remember that a DSLR is big and bulky so you need to think about this carefully coming from compacts, it could limit your photography depending on your other hobbies. I have a DSLR and still use my compact's because the DSLR is too big to carry around.

Paul - you can get an adapter for FD lenses? Where and will they give full control of the lens aperture?

Roger

Roger

Well there are many things that need to be considered:

1- Nikon being easy to use v/s Canon... that will pretty much depend on you... personally I find Nikon to be counterintuitive... I don't see the logic behind the distribution of menus. (ok that's a bit harsh.... but then again, I am a Canon fan... so.... I'm biased)... but i would still suggest you test them out before choosing.

2- I agree with Paul... as CF cards have proven much better for me than SD..

3- ISO 1600 or even 3200, I have a Fujifilm point-and-shoot, which goes up to 3200. Granted it has more grain than my 20D, but still... whenever we go out and I want to have the camera, I take the fuji instead of the 20D for size purposes... And the grain is one very important thing you need to remember... the higher the ISO, the more noise....

4- If photography is a hobby... it doesn't need to be THAT expensive... the original purchase might be, but things go relatively smooth afterwars and it thus becomes rather one of the cheaper hobbies.

Interesting ideas on easy to use, Marc, I've noticed Canon's menus and Nikon's menus are getting more and more similar with every release :)

Well Harrison, like I said... I am biased... My knowledge with Nikon is not extensive enough, but when I am handed a Nikon... which happened only a couple times over the past 2 years... it took some fidgeting....

I am sure that a Nikon user would say the same... which was my point... just adding to the comment that it is pretty much dependent on the user!

Paul - you can get an adapter for FD lenses?
Sure you can.
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography...focus_EOS.html
"The Canon part number is C54-2131 and the cost 10 years ago was around $240. It was available only through Canon Professional Services."

"Available currently from HAMA (part 30845), which is essentially a short "telextender" that attaches to the EOS EF body mount and which has an FD lens mount at the front end. This does allow infinity focusing of FD lenses. However, there are penalties for its use: 1. All lens focal lengths are increased by a factor of 1.25x (a 100mm becomes a 125mm), 2. All lenses lose about 1 stop worth of aperture (an f/4 lens operates when set to f/4 as a f/5.6 lens)."

http://www.outbackphoto.com/the_bag/...ers/essay.html


Where
(Cheap chinese) http://www.virtualvillage.co.uk/item...edium=shopping
(chip for simple adapters)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=190163737169
HAMA
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search


and will they give full control of the lens aperture?
Yes, manually, and no, not unless it's a 1D series I think.
Even then the 1D will only give you aperture priority as well as full manual.


Samples
http://www.flickr.com/photos/too-intense-to-see/

You mentioned that you wanted to use the camera to shoot a band. Most bands don't mind that you use a flash. I have shot two bands and used a flash both times. The set up was my
Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 and Canon 430 flash. It worked great. I shot one band with another Nikon shooter who used three Nikon 800? flashes two off camera and his turned out great.
There are places that you would prefer not to use flashes. With Canon there is the 85mm f/1.8 for around $350, which is a great bargain, with deeper pockets there is the 85mm f/1.2. I'm sure if you choose Nikon they have lenses that compare with Canon.