Any particular type of photography in mind Barra? You can't go wrong with either the Canon or Nikon D-SLRs but they both have their own strengths. Don't be put off the Panasonic though. The optical image stabiliser (IS) is a handy feature which will help reduce the amount of image blur when the shutter speed drops. See for an example of a IS image from a Minolta Dimage A1. It was 1/60th second exposure at the equivalent of 200mm focal length a good 50m from the stage. FWIW I've not bothered tweaking the image. So no sniggering as I know the camera isn't that great but it was cheap and has given me some decent images the past year.

Right after thinking about it I am going to stick to a smaller budget, I will be mostly taking landscapes, and closeups!!

Looking at the Nikon D50 with basic lens kit at £460.

Still looking though.

Right settleing for the Nikon D50 + 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED LENS

£460.

Will sleep on it tonight, anyone used one or heard any nasty stories?

Don't know much about photography, but FWIW I've bought a couple of things from in the past.

Although I think the package you're looking at is £ 469 from them (plus £10 delivery), the times I've used them they've been competitvely priced and reliable - so thought it was worth giving them a .

I prefer my manual for the moment untill i don't have access to a dark room I've got some of my on the internet that i've taken (excluding the colour ones)

No nasty stories Barra. All I'll say is look at the cost of additional bits you think you'll need now. e.g. additional lenses, macro ring flash etc...

Ringflash:
Nikon £350
Canon £330

Wide-angled Lens:
Nikon (12mm-24mm / 35mm equiv: 18mm-36mm) £900
Canon (10mm-22mm / 35mm equiv 16mm-35mm) £550
Sigma (10mm-20mm / 35mm equiv 15mm-35mm (Nikon)) £335
Sigma (10mm-20mm / 35mm equiv 16mm-35mm (Canon)) £335

Macro lens:
Nikon (40mm / 35mm equiv 60mm) £370 (NB: Nikon don't make macro lenses for DSLRs yet, this is a 35mm lens)
Canon (60mm / 35mm equiv 96mm) £320
Sigma (50mm / 35mm equiv 75mm (Nikon)) £195
Sigma (50mm / 35mm equiv 80mm (Canon) £195


Pretty much everything else can be bought third-party made and the same quality - but much cheaper. So depending on what you want to buy you may find one camera system cheaper than the other. Also, if you haven't already, look at the reviews on www.dpreview.net

hmmm, whats a ringflash for then?????

for when taking photos it makes a pretty ring in someones eye reflection, very tasetful

I would want a wide angled lens i rekon defo but at prices like that WOWZER

Ok thanks for the help Me too and all, I have purchased a Cannon EOS 350D, no other lenses apart from the one in with the kit, just got a ultra violet filter.

So hopefully there will be some Mint pics for when I go to Lake Geneva with the Mrs in Feb on our 10 year anniversary!

Good choice IMHO. The 350D was my favourite of the budget DSLRs and takes a cracking picture so I'm sure you'll be happy with it. My only tip would be to set the White Balance setting to "Daylight" when actually outdoors in daylight. I've seen digital SLRs of all brands bugger up in tricky lighting conditions, especially predominantly green subjects, and render wierd off shade colours. Setting the White Balance setting to Daylight rather than Auto helped a few of the customers where I used to work. Just make sure you set it back to auto at all other times. Have a look into getting a for when you go away. It'll cost £25ish but is very handy for adding punch to landscape photographs and often removing reflections on glass.

And advance congrats for Feb

thx for the help.

Ok just bought the filter too.

I am gunna look a complete T£$T if i have shitty pics when i get back LOL.

Lots of praccy next two weeks for me!

Peak district here i come