First dSLR - what to get???

[adrianng]

buy a gd cam and save on upgrade is gd.. currently the specs of new cams are much better than the past, so u can save on upgrade for a few years.

Japan is a gd place to shop for cameras. pay by cash, u can get cheaper price. Reason is because SLRs are produced in Japan, u can save on taxes - import tax and gst. i save 700 on my body grip, i can save 250 more if i had bring cash there.

Japan is a must go for all photographers... +D DSLR bodies and lenses on display on the shelves for u to try out ~~

Oh which part of Japan did u go?? which area is the cheapest??

Anyway how to bring a few $k there sia?? so much of money.. and u are Canon so all in japan but not everything from the dark side is from japan.. will it be cheap also??

wat to look out for when buying things from japan?? need to go airport for tax return??

 

[magnum25]

try fooling around with a fully manual SLR to grasp the core concept of photography.

 

[xunjas]

Oh which part of Japan did u go?? which area is the cheapest??

Anyway how to bring a few $k there sia?? so much of money.. and u are Canon so all in japan but not everything from the dark side is from japan.. will it be cheap also??

wat to look out for when buying things from japan?? need to go airport for tax return??

i find prices online. using www.kakaku.com. find the lowest prices.

Can bring a few thousands, it's a matter of safety and guts.. in short, photography equipment are pretty cheap in Japan, since high end japan products are made in japan, u save on taxes already.

gd pt of japan is that the tax rebate is deducted at the shop. No need to tax rebate @ Japan.

I check the products, packaging, contents, test out the product, check that i have warranty card.

I bought my cam on the 1st day, so i have 1 week to play with the cam during the trip. I took many photos to test the camera in various settings. The cam works very well.

I met a Japanese salesman who can speak fluent Jap, who knows about Sim Lim and SG. He gave me extra 8000Yen discount as well. Good service and experience for me in Japan, Tokyo.

 

[zoossh]

i find prices online. using www.kakaku.com. find the lowest prices.

Can bring a few thousands, it's a matter of safety and guts.. in short, photography equipment are pretty cheap in Japan, since high end japan products are made in japan, u save on taxes already.

gd pt of japan is that the tax rebate is deducted at the shop. No need to tax rebate @ Japan.

I check the products, packaging, contents, test out the product, check that i have warranty card.

I bought my cam on the 1st day, so i have 1 week to play with the cam during the trip. I took many photos to test the camera in various settings. The cam works very well.

I met a Japanese salesman who can speak fluent Jap, who knows about Sim Lim and SG. He gave me extra 8000Yen discount as well. Good service and experience for me in Japan, Tokyo.

a few typos. you mean
... No need to tax rebate @ Japan's airport.
... I met a Japanese salesman who can speak fluent English/Mandarin?

besides, if there is more information, e.g. location, name of salesman etc, do share.

 

[zoossh]

Haha i also think 4K is abit big.. think spending 2.7K for a cam is abit expensive also..

Then i think i wan a good cam to prevent future upgrade in 3-5yrs time.. (i hope..). I was thinking of D200, 18-200 and SB800.. but then suddenly the D300 come out.. so there is a change of plan.. anyway i m buying it slowly.. decided to get the cam n lens 1st.. later then flash n tripod.. as i maybe going to jap in the future.. maybe get it there? (izzit cheaper har??)

pls advise..

i personally think that one who uses a mid range camera for 3 years is just as likely to upgrade compared to those who uses an entry level body for 3 years, simply becos there is always something better or more attractive out there after 3-5 years. D200 hop to fuji s5 pro is an example.

you simply just pay the difference for the ease of usage or complexity of control for that number of years. whether it is worth it completely depends on how aggressively you use your equipment and how long you can ignore the temptation to upgrade. some changes in less than 2 years, some changes up to 3-4 years, and those who uses a model older than 5 years either are really very straightfoward/unchanged in their demands and expectations or are coupling the old model with a new body as a two body shooting.

of cos, it also depends on your affluence level. if you can consider 4k for a system, you can really consider a good mid range. but as most says, reserve some for lens, which is another slow process.

you can read kenrockwell's article on D300, which i'm reading now. as i just got to know of the release a few minutes ago after return from travel.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.htm

a pity that is no antidust facility. something that i would consider D300 over D200. currently i'm still using my first DSLR D50 after 2 years.

 

[zoossh]

oops, i'm wrong. KRW mentioned Ultrasonic Sensor Cleaner.... :think:

 

[adrianng]

i find prices online. using www.kakaku.com. find the lowest prices.

Can bring a few thousands, it's a matter of safety and guts.. in short, photography equipment are pretty cheap in Japan, since high end japan products are made in japan, u save on taxes already.

gd pt of japan is that the tax rebate is deducted at the shop. No need to tax rebate @ Japan.

I check the products, packaging, contents, test out the product, check that i have warranty card.

I bought my cam on the 1st day, so i have 1 week to play with the cam during the trip. I took many photos to test the camera in various settings. The cam works very well.

I met a Japanese salesman who can speak fluent Jap, who knows about Sim Lim and SG. He gave me extra 8000Yen discount as well. Good service and experience for me in Japan, Tokyo.

Oh thanks for the website.. so in Japan the quoted price from the shop should be cheaper from the one stated on the website??

Just found the cheapest price for D300.. is about S$2750.. but i should be getting the body in SG.. hopefully it will be close to 2.7k..

 

[adrianng]

you can read kenrockwell's article on D300, which i'm reading now. as i just got to know of the release a few minutes ago after return from travel.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d300.htm

a pity that is no antidust facility. something that i would consider D300 over D200. currently i'm still using my first DSLR D50 after 2 years.

Oh i read alot liao.. hee.. anyway kenrockwell's version is very well written..

aiming at that.. but got to wait for the review 1st then decide.. =)

 

[Oly5050]

But my fingers are itchy and wanted to shoot leh....especially all my friends are shooting and enjoying themselves so much...

I am just putting Nikon and Canon as examples... I have seen their ads in so many places that I can remember their model numbers easily.

Go buy the Olympus 510. It is user friendly, easy to use, excellent out of camera pics and CHEAP!!!! For the price of 40D bundle, you can get TWO E510 dual lens kit!!!

 

[zoossh]

Oh i read alot liao.. hee.. anyway kenrockwell's version is very well written..

aiming at that.. but got to wait for the review 1st then decide.. =)

you dun mind me asking with regards to your experience with previous cameras, or background with photographic related fields?

i'm not sure whether it is a good idea to jump straight to a D300, even if your budget is big. an entry level may not be that bad. i'm considering using it as a backup when i upgrade.

it may however sound like a good idea if you can cope with it. by the way, 800g+ without battery is really heavy. one can easily go up to 1.5kg with a mid weight lens.

 

[MatCh]

Just entered the DSLR community, now a proud owner of Oly E-510

I've considered D40 and 400D initially, but after reading here and there on the Olympus E series, put it under my list of considered choices.

The things that made me thought really hard over these choices is that:
- D40/x uses SD (which I prefered over CF or the expensive Sony sticks)
- Cannon overally has a better colour production and usability at higer ISO
- Oly E-510/410 has LiveView, SSWF, E-510 has IS and generally better specs on the overall

At that moment, I put a higher overall score for Oly, mainly considering the E-510.
But the price set me back, it was a notch pricier than D40 and 400D.

The recent Commex, I've put the Sony A-100 into consideration as well, mainly due to its fierce pricing and somewhat close specs I was looking for.
If I didn't walk around the Oly booth that day and asked about the price packaging, I wouldn't have been a proud owner of an E-510 today, 2 lens and loads of freebies.

 

[adrianng]

you dun mind me asking with regards to your experience with previous cameras, or background with photographic related fields?

i'm not sure whether it is a good idea to jump straight to a D300, even if your budget is big. an entry level may not be that bad. i'm considering using it as a backup when i upgrade.

it may however sound like a good idea if you can cope with it. by the way, 800g+ without battery is really heavy. one can easily go up to 1.5kg with a mid weight lens.

Me ah.. is using the compact cam.. F31fd.. got interest in photography.. so thinking of upgrade..

i think i somehow set for D200 or D300 liao bah.. just got to wait for the price and review..
hope my interest can last long long..

 

[xunjas]

a few typos. you mean
... No need to tax rebate @ Japan's airport.
... I met a Japanese salesman who can speak fluent English/Mandarin?

besides, if there is more information, e.g. location, name of salesman etc, do share.

thanks for pointin it out. Tax rebate is done on the spot @ the shop itself.

The jap salesman can speak english well.

The location is @ Yodobashi @ Akihabara. Yodobashi is a large chain of eletronic shop. Sad part is that i din take down his name on my first visit to shop. When i returned again, he was not there.. Maybe he is off or something.

I remembered that he said that he is returning to Bali to work as a photographer. Nice guy, i will remember him. He gave me 7800 Yen of discount besides the tax rebate of 5 percent. I managed to convince him to give me a 3pin plug convertor as well. =D

 

[xunjas]

Oh thanks for the website.. so in Japan the quoted price from the shop should be cheaper from the one stated on the website??

Just found the cheapest price for D300.. is about S$2750.. but i should be getting the body in SG.. hopefully it will be close to 2.7k..

That website states the lowest price available.

I did not bring alot of cash to buy from the cheapest shop. That cheap shop accepts only cash, no CC accepted. Jap ATM only accepts Jap cards and i could not find any other atm in that area. I had to buy from shops that accepts credit cards and ended up paying extra of 250. I saved 700 in all. I could save 950 if i have brought more cash there.

 

[xunjas]

Oh i read alot liao.. hee.. anyway kenrockwell's version is very well written..

aiming at that.. but got to wait for the review 1st then decide.. =)

yup.. wait for reviews of other similar models as well.. buy the best u can get with your budget. =)

 

[zoossh]

Me ah.. is using the compact cam.. F31fd.. got interest in photography.. so thinking of upgrade..

i think i somehow set for D200 or D300 liao bah.. just got to wait for the price and review..
hope my interest can last long long..

if you have some basics already, as long as you got interest, budget and time, by all means. i'm also keen for D300, initially wanted to settle for D200, but dust removing (along with other features) are enticing. if not for dust removing, i may still consider D200.

 

[xunjas]

if you have some basics already, as long as you got interest, budget and time, by all means. i'm also keen for D300, initially wanted to settle for D200, but dust removing (along with other features) are enticing. if not for dust removing, i may still consider D200.

go for the D300. it has significant improved features from the D200. =) Save money on upgrading.

 

[ExplorerZ]

if you have some basics already, as long as you got interest, budget and time, by all means. i'm also keen for D300, initially wanted to settle for D200, but dust removing (along with other features) are enticing. if not for dust removing, i may still consider D200.

agree, but have said that it also depends very much if you require the extra provided by the higher end model or not... its gonna be pretty pointless getting a d200 yet not utilizing the 5FPS, weather seal, focusing(if you do landscape, product shoot)... etc

 

[Thirun Sammy]

if you are new and u buy a d300 = you'll damage the d300 due to mishandling or ur d300=d40x+2mpx cuz u dunno how to use. simple.

 

[zoossh]

go for the D300. it has significant improved features from the D200. =) Save money on upgrading.

actually i dun really see it in that way. buying what one needs and can cope with at that point of time is more important.

let's say a person is new and got his 1st DSLR. it is still a common practice to upgrade to a newer DSLR in a couple of years. it is a bad idea to use a DSLR for less than 2 years and upgrade so fast, leading to a waste of money. but on the other hand, it is not common to see a person use a DSLR for more than 5-6 years.

hypothetically,

one way, 2nd hand D50 (2 years) + 1st hand D400 (4 years)
the other, 1st hand D300 (3.5 years) + 1st hand D400 (4 years)

a better body with sufficient control features might allow one to stick to it for a longer time. but eventually one may move on with better bodies with improved sensor and AF, or larger viewfinder etc.

you pay more in the 2nd option for better bodies for a longer time. you pay less in the 1st option for a slightly shorter time, but it may be what one can cope with initially and subsequently. either way, there is no wastage of money. you pay for what you use, if you optimise the lifespan of a body.

it won't be the price of a single D300 versus the price of an entry body + a subsequent upgrade, unless you look at it this way.

one way, 1st hand D80 (1 year) + 1st hand D300 (3 years)
the other, 1st hand D300 (3 years)