Last month I deceided that my little FujiFilm F601 was getting a little tired and I fancied something that would take very nice photos... I got in touch with a friend / ex boss who writes for a few cycling mags... he's also very clued up with his cameras.
Anyway, long story short, I opted for a D70s and the new 18-200VR AF lens and the combination is awesome.
I thought that if anyone here was considering a new camera, my friends advice may be useful.
- Joe
________________________________________________________
Joe,
It just so happens that I have an email (in best Blue Peter tradition) that I did earlier - in mid December as it happens, but nothing significant has changed since.
Current DSLRs:
Canon: The strongest DSLR brand, with their 16.7Mpixel EOS 1Ds at £4675 probably being the best on the market (and so it should be at the price!).
They haven't done so well at the cheaper end, with the original EOS 300D being very trimmed on features (possibly to stop it taking sales from their more expensive offerings) and slow, and nothing like as good as the competing Nikon D70 (which I have). The current EOS350D is much improved, but despite having 8Mpixels compared to competitors' 6Mpixels, is generally described as producing "soft" pictures. The midrange EOS 20D is a very good camera, also 8Mpixel.
EOS350D body £525
with 18-55 £579 (note how cheap the lens is - it gets poor reviews!) EOS20D body £849
Nikon: Along with Canon, one of only 2 firms producing film and digital SLRs across all price ranges from basic amateur to top end professional.
Even if you don't want to spend several thousand on a camera, this is good, as the pro market drives improved autofocus and exposure systems, which quickly ripple down to the budget cameras.
My 6Mpixel D70 is now slightly tweaked to form the D70S, which is still generally regarded as the best "budget" DSLR - even after 18 months! For some reason the D70S is in short supply at the moment.
The newer D50 is also well reviewed, loosing few features from the D70S, and therefore a good choice.
The brand new 10Mpixel upper-midrange D200 looks stunning - I want one!
Ignore the discontinued midrange D100, now being sold off for around £700.
D50 body £398
with 18-55 £462 (again don't expect much from this lens) with 18-70 £582 (a very good lens) D70S body £579 D200 body £1199
Minolta: Minolta still make one professional film camera, but have been very late entrants to the DSLR market. They have lost market share as a result, and have laid of lots of staff recently as a cost cutting measure.
Their DSLRs have one unique feature - built in anti-shake technology in the camera body. These systems work very well, reducing camera shake.
Competitors Canon ("IS") and Nikon ("VR") fit their systems in the lens - which is slightly better technically and also works on film SLRS - but limits the system to certain lenses with the technology inside.
5D body £449
with 18-70 £479 (again don't expect much from this lens, but a good value combination, especially as it has a large 2.5" LCD screen)
Pentax: Another late entrant to the DSLR market. They haven't made a professional level film SLR for years, and haven't even done many mid-range models. As a result they were well behind in autofocus and exposure systems. Their first two DSLRs, the *ist D and the later *ist DS, got poor reviews. The latest *ist DL gets quite a reasonable review, although still not quite as good as the competitors. The *ist DS seems to have vanished from the shops, despite only being launched earlier this year.
*ist DL body only £459
with 18-55 £539
Olympus: After the wonderful OM series of the 70's and 80's (which I used for years), Olympus completely lost the plot when autofocus came along.
They have recently tried to make a comeback, with the all-new E series DSLRs. They have some good features, and their one unique feature is a special device to stop dust getting stuck on the CCD, which can result in dots on the image with most DSLRs. The E1 was launched as a pro-spec camera a couple of years ago, but with only 5.5Mpixels, it hasn't got much hope now in the pro market, so is quite cheap. The later E300 was very poorly reviewed, but the new 8Mpixel E500 is a good budget camera. Very limited lens range. I dont think that the cameras have sold well, so I wonder how long Olympus will keep trying - although they have lots of multi-page ads at the moment for the E500.
E500 body only £569
with 14-45 £599 (a smaller sensor, so numbers not comparable)
Others: Ignore DSLRs from Sigma (e.g. SD10) and Fujifilm (e.g. S3 Pro).
Also dont be tempted by the so-called bridge cameras like the Sony Cybershot R1. All these have fixed lenses, but otherwise most of the features of a DSLR. They almost universally suffer from nasty electronic viewfinders and noisy images, especially in poor light (just like compacts, they use tiny CCDs to keep the cost down, and a tiny CCD means tiny pixels which means lots of noise).
Lenses: Sigma and Tamron make good independent lenses for DSLRs. All are available in Nikon and Canon fit, most in Minolta, and a reasonable selection in Pentax fit. I think that the only alternative for Olympus E series lenses is a very limited range from Sigma.
The Sigma 18-50 at £80 is a better lens than the Canon (and possibly other cheapos - although I haven't seen reviews of all of them).
Sigma also do a nice 18-125 (28-200 equivalent) at £190.
Sigma and Tamron both do 18-200 (28-300 equivalent). The Tamron is the best reviewed at £270, with the Sigma at £255.
Overall, while the Minolta 5D and Olympus E500 have some nice features, Id stick to Canon or Nikon. Being slightly Nikon-biased, I'd suggest the D50 with the 18-70 or perhaps the Tamron 18-200 if you want a long telephoto.
Note - all prices are from a December Warehouse Express ad (www.warehouseexpress.com).
Chris.
Anyway, long story short, I opted for a D70s and the new 18-200VR AF lens and the combination is awesome.
I thought that if anyone here was considering a new camera, my friends advice may be useful.
- Joe
________________________________________________________
Joe,
It just so happens that I have an email (in best Blue Peter tradition) that I did earlier - in mid December as it happens, but nothing significant has changed since.
Current DSLRs:
Canon: The strongest DSLR brand, with their 16.7Mpixel EOS 1Ds at £4675 probably being the best on the market (and so it should be at the price!).
They haven't done so well at the cheaper end, with the original EOS 300D being very trimmed on features (possibly to stop it taking sales from their more expensive offerings) and slow, and nothing like as good as the competing Nikon D70 (which I have). The current EOS350D is much improved, but despite having 8Mpixels compared to competitors' 6Mpixels, is generally described as producing "soft" pictures. The midrange EOS 20D is a very good camera, also 8Mpixel.
EOS350D body £525
with 18-55 £579 (note how cheap the lens is - it gets poor reviews!) EOS20D body £849
Nikon: Along with Canon, one of only 2 firms producing film and digital SLRs across all price ranges from basic amateur to top end professional.
Even if you don't want to spend several thousand on a camera, this is good, as the pro market drives improved autofocus and exposure systems, which quickly ripple down to the budget cameras.
My 6Mpixel D70 is now slightly tweaked to form the D70S, which is still generally regarded as the best "budget" DSLR - even after 18 months! For some reason the D70S is in short supply at the moment.
The newer D50 is also well reviewed, loosing few features from the D70S, and therefore a good choice.
The brand new 10Mpixel upper-midrange D200 looks stunning - I want one!
Ignore the discontinued midrange D100, now being sold off for around £700.
D50 body £398
with 18-55 £462 (again don't expect much from this lens) with 18-70 £582 (a very good lens) D70S body £579 D200 body £1199
Minolta: Minolta still make one professional film camera, but have been very late entrants to the DSLR market. They have lost market share as a result, and have laid of lots of staff recently as a cost cutting measure.
Their DSLRs have one unique feature - built in anti-shake technology in the camera body. These systems work very well, reducing camera shake.
Competitors Canon ("IS") and Nikon ("VR") fit their systems in the lens - which is slightly better technically and also works on film SLRS - but limits the system to certain lenses with the technology inside.
5D body £449
with 18-70 £479 (again don't expect much from this lens, but a good value combination, especially as it has a large 2.5" LCD screen)
Pentax: Another late entrant to the DSLR market. They haven't made a professional level film SLR for years, and haven't even done many mid-range models. As a result they were well behind in autofocus and exposure systems. Their first two DSLRs, the *ist D and the later *ist DS, got poor reviews. The latest *ist DL gets quite a reasonable review, although still not quite as good as the competitors. The *ist DS seems to have vanished from the shops, despite only being launched earlier this year.
*ist DL body only £459
with 18-55 £539
Olympus: After the wonderful OM series of the 70's and 80's (which I used for years), Olympus completely lost the plot when autofocus came along.
They have recently tried to make a comeback, with the all-new E series DSLRs. They have some good features, and their one unique feature is a special device to stop dust getting stuck on the CCD, which can result in dots on the image with most DSLRs. The E1 was launched as a pro-spec camera a couple of years ago, but with only 5.5Mpixels, it hasn't got much hope now in the pro market, so is quite cheap. The later E300 was very poorly reviewed, but the new 8Mpixel E500 is a good budget camera. Very limited lens range. I dont think that the cameras have sold well, so I wonder how long Olympus will keep trying - although they have lots of multi-page ads at the moment for the E500.
E500 body only £569
with 14-45 £599 (a smaller sensor, so numbers not comparable)
Others: Ignore DSLRs from Sigma (e.g. SD10) and Fujifilm (e.g. S3 Pro).
Also dont be tempted by the so-called bridge cameras like the Sony Cybershot R1. All these have fixed lenses, but otherwise most of the features of a DSLR. They almost universally suffer from nasty electronic viewfinders and noisy images, especially in poor light (just like compacts, they use tiny CCDs to keep the cost down, and a tiny CCD means tiny pixels which means lots of noise).
Lenses: Sigma and Tamron make good independent lenses for DSLRs. All are available in Nikon and Canon fit, most in Minolta, and a reasonable selection in Pentax fit. I think that the only alternative for Olympus E series lenses is a very limited range from Sigma.
The Sigma 18-50 at £80 is a better lens than the Canon (and possibly other cheapos - although I haven't seen reviews of all of them).
Sigma also do a nice 18-125 (28-200 equivalent) at £190.
Sigma and Tamron both do 18-200 (28-300 equivalent). The Tamron is the best reviewed at £270, with the Sigma at £255.
Overall, while the Minolta 5D and Olympus E500 have some nice features, Id stick to Canon or Nikon. Being slightly Nikon-biased, I'd suggest the D50 with the 18-70 or perhaps the Tamron 18-200 if you want a long telephoto.
Note - all prices are from a December Warehouse Express ad (www.warehouseexpress.com).
Chris.
