Newb Alert!! Help required....

[TheCrow]

Well i'm new to this forum but am looking for some advice. Although not a photographer i am very interested and love taking photos.

A good few years ago when i finished school i worked for a photographer in the uk. We would go and take photos of motor sport with a digital camera and then show people the pictures on a pc and flog them. Anyway a few time i got to actually take the photos using a Nikon D1 and i absolutely loved it. I could sit there for years just snapping away.

But now i dont work for them anymore and i want to get into photography again. I have been looking at buying another decent camera, but im not the richest person in the world. I was looking at a Kodak DX6490 which i can get for around £200. But since seeing some of your results on here i really want a canon. I had a play with my friends Canon Powershot A400 and thought it was a good little camera. But i want an SLR.

Can anybody recommend a good cannon one that i can get for less than £400. Second hand is not a problem. But i am unsure on which one to look out for.

Thanks in advance and thanks for reading through all this!

[ajbalazic]

Sounds like you might like a Digital Rebel (AKA 300D). Better yet, get the 350D, just released, but it is out of your price bracket.

The price of a 300D is right. A new one is around $800US, but as the 350D starts entering the market, there will be a lot of 300D's out there even cheaper.

People have raved about the 300D for several years now... I quote from Popular Photography & Imaging Magazine (April 2005):

"Image quality: Very accurate and pleasing skin tones, plus high overall color accuracy. Very good contrast with decent shadow, midtone, and higlight detail. Color saturation is a bit higher in the blues, yellows, and oranges compared to the EOS 20D, but doesn't reduce detail in bold colors. Shapness is good for prints up to 10x15 inches... Resolution, Color accuracy, Image quality: all extremely high... Noise: good at ISO100-400 but gets high to extremely high at ISO800-1600"

I love my Digital Rebel (300D in the UK). Although, I can't say I've used the competition. From what I've read in this forum, there are many 300D fans.

Remember too, the 300D accepts all Canon EF lenses so you can upgrade as time goes on. And when/if you outgrow your 300D and want , your lenses will likely fit the higher end Canon models .

--OR-- you could sell your car and buy a CANON EOS-1DS Mark II (16.7MP)

[TheCrow]

Cool! I've been looking at the 300D and it seems a safe bet. I could sell my car but its only a rust old nova so i'll need to rob a bank on top!

Thanks for the advice mate!