which camera

[snapharry]

hi all im kev from lincolnshire im looking at getting into wildlife photograghy i currently own a finepixs 1500s but am looking at buying my first dslr budget of between £300 and £500 would like to get lenses with that and maybe a bag have the tripod already could one of you very nice people point me in the right direction please many thanks

[htcdude]

Hi Kev and welcome to the forum

To get a half decent DSLR you're looking at spending £500 on the camera and it's standard lens on it's own.

It might be worth looking into the bridge cameras which might suite your budget a bit better

Nige

[Jersali]

I agree with htc, I added a teleconverter lens (Raynox 2.2) and adapter for my bridge camera and well pleased with the results.
Try these sites...
What is the best bridge camera 2011? Our top 5 superzooms of the year | Buying Advice | What Digital Camera

Digital SLR vs Compact SuperZoom Bridge Camera

Good luck
Al

[Johnny81]

Could try Ebay although some people want to get a feel of the camera first and are wary of buying a second hand one. I managed to get a canon 40D with a 17-85mm lens (+ small bag, battery) for £500 in perfect condition and I love it. I later got a macro and 70-300mm lens cheap from there too, again in perfect condition.

[JaySteel]

I would also agree with the previous comments. I have owned a Canon 40D from new and I've taken about 50,000 shots with it. I have been slightly tempted each time a new camera has come out but to be honest no new camera has been enough of an improvement over my 40D to make a replacement necessary unless you're talking about spending some serious money. I've even bought another 40D last year on ebay as a back-up. Please check out examples of my shots using this camera here:

http://www.jasonsteelwildlifephotography.yolasite.com

The Canon 40D & 50D are all the camera most of us will ever need unless shooting movies is important to you. Second hand examples represent excellent value as long as the shutter-count isn't too high. Just ask the seller how many actuations the camera has recorded.

Jason

[DRB]

i bought a 50d secondhand a few weeks ago from ebay but no shutter count mentioned but was very pleased when i got it as checked out and found it only had 2250 shutter count

[andrewinpompey]

If you buy second hand from a reputable dealer e.g. MPB, Mifsuds, Park, Camtech, ffordes (plus many others) you will get a warantee e.g. 6 months, which is useful if something goes wrong soon after purchase. Plus you know they have given the camera a check over, and would mention any major faults. Generally you won't get that from eBay.

I only know Nikon, but just as an example, you could get a Nikon D70 camera body for £179 (pretty old now, but if you aren't printing poster-sized photos, may be fine for your purposes), and a Nikon 70-300mm VR lens (a great lens, not bad for wildlife) for £349 = £528 total. Or get the Nikon 70-300mm G lens (not so good, but only about £70 second hand), or look out for a similar lens by another manufacturer e.g. Sigma (make sure it is Nikon fit though).

Then in the future you would perhaps plan to upgrade lens and/or body as finances permitted.