Cameras

What is a good DSLR camera for a novice photographer, which isn’t that expensive?

I am looking to buy a digital SLR camera for around £350 (max £400). Can anybody recommend any particular models, and perhaps a good online store in the UK for cameras and their related accessories. The camera should ideally have a pop up flash on the top, and come with at least a standard lens.

Lenses last a lifetime, hold their value, will be listed in your will. Bodies are good for several years, depreciate rapidly, end up at Goodwill.

I came from Nikon film SLRs, and “wanted to want” a Nikon digital DSLR. Instead, I ended up with Olympus, in large part because their lenses were so superior to other mfrs. Likewise, earlier this year NASA and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) chose the Olympus E-3 and Zuiko 11-22mm and 50-200mm lenses for use on the International Space Station.

My findings that Olympus Zuiko makes the best quality lenses came from reading reviews at dpreview.com, slrgear.com, popphoto.com. Their kit normal and tele-zoom are best in class. The 12-60mm was TIPA 2008 Best Expert lens. In an unprecedented move, EISA’s 2007 Professional Lens award went to the entire Zuiko Pro line(!). The Zuiko 50mm f2 macro is the best DSLR lens ever made for which their are publicly available tests.

All mid- and top grade Zuikos are water and dust proof (an E-3 being doused in beer, rinsed and used can be found on YouTube

For extreme wide and tele, the superb 9-18mm is the most optically accurate super-wide available at consumer prices. The 70-300 is the only camera maker lens that reaches 600mm (35mm equiv) for anywhere near the Zuiko’s price.

Weight… next to optical quality, overall system weight is the most critical element in choosing a consumer DSLR. You will be more likely to carry lighter equipment, and thus more likely to catch that unexpected photo op. The E-620 is the lightest DSLR body made.

Last month TIPA named the E-620 “2009 Best Entry Level D-SLR”. Its built-in image-stabilization applies anti-shake to every lens mounted. Using inexpensive adapters the E-620 can mount and image stabilize almost any DSLR lens ever made.

Olympus invented Live View. I can remember when other mfrs ridiculed it as unnecessary. As a macro shooter, I find it essential.

If you want DSLR IQ with P&S weight, look at Olympus and Panasonic Micro Four-Thirds system. Nothing like it exists from any other mfr. Though I expect copies will be attempted by other makers, their film era lens standards, which they carried over to digital, will have difficulty matching the performance of Oly/Pana’s digital-optimized optics amd sensors.

Ergonomics … hold the cameras. Try them in your local camera store. I know my E-510 felt much more a part of my hand than any competitor.

I wanted Nikon. It was the numbers that convinced me Olympus was the best choice. For that reason I consider myself a relatively unbiased source. Had I had it to do over again. I would choose Olympus again.