choosing an slr

[Countyourblessings15]

For my xmas i'm getting my first slr camera i've not had any experiences with one before what would be a good camera for me? i was thinking either nikon D3000,D5000 or canon 400D.I found a nikon d5000 on an american site which works out at only £407 free shipping where as to buy in the shops it would be £500+ which i can't afford would i get it in time for xmas? are you better to buy slr's online or in the shops?

[Greg McCary]

I would say online. Just be careful of deals that seem to good and buy from a good dealer. Check out our camera dealer forum.

[Franglais]

You're in the UK, right?

If you buy from a dealer in the UK then you have:

- Nikon UK guarantee and service
- No issues with it not being in stock, wrong model delivered, battery is an optional extra, etc.
- Somewhere local to take the thing back to if you have any problems

If the buy the thing from mail order in the USA you have:

- Cheaper price
- Perhaps customs duty and VAT to pay on top of what you think you're going to pay
- No option in case of a problem but to send it back to a supplier 5000 miles away, who lose the thing, etc.

I only buy nice simple, unbreakable things by mail order (batteries, USB key, DVD's, bags..). Not cameras.

[readingr]

Have you included the 20% import tax? and possible insurance for shipping? No warranty?

And is the Nikkon from the states the same kit as in the UK

Roger R.

[Franglais]

For my xmas i'm getting my first slr camera i've not had any experiences with one before what would be a good camera for me? i was thinking either nikon D3000,D5000 or canon 400D.I found a nikon d5000 on an american site which works out at only £407 free shipping where as to buy in the shops it would be £500+ which i can't afford would i get it in time for xmas? are you better to buy slr's online or in the shops?

Lets take another look at your choice - two current Nikons and a Canon which is two generations old? It looks to me like you're mostly looking at price rather than features. This makes things easier.

I think that you should look for the best deal on kits with recently-discontinued DSLR's. The Nikon low-end cameras have all evolved from the D40 body:

D40 (6Mpix)
D40x (10Mpix)
D60 (10Mpix + anti-dust mechanism)
D3000 (10Mpix + anti-dust + 11-point autofocus)
D5000 (12Mpix + anti-dust + 11-point autofocus, video, pivoting back)

I think the D40 is already enough to do lots of things, but I prefer the D60 because of the anti-dust mechanism.

The Canon story is similar. Unfortunately the Canon 18-55 kit lens was not brilliant until they added IS to it, and you'll only find it in a kit with the latest bodies.

[SmartWombat]

I prefer in the shops, for the local support and warranty handling.
There are good UK web shops like WarehouseExpress.
Not from the USA to UK though, because they won't have UK warranty.

[havana_joe]

Find a deal on a Nikon D40.