new camera time - need help

[Kev_mk3]

ok its my birthday in a weeks time and i want a decent bloody camera! at the moment i use my sony K810i mobile phone to take all my pictures or i pinch my mums small sony digi cam.


i have up to £200 max to spend & i was a Digi SLR still camera that i can attach a fish eye lens to ( ive always wanted one of these )

any help will be perfect as im doing a fair bit of traveling and changing my life this year and i want to document it all

Kev

[Fran]

a fish eye lens to

Funnily enough I was talking to someone just last night recommending them to get a fish eye so they can fit themselves head to toe on a webcam.... we decided on reflection that with the fish eye distortion it could either appear very flattering, or simply create the impression of a gigantic beer belly!! 

Perhaps I am veering into a whole other kind of forum.... time to belt up!

F

[Kev_mk3]

no fran - its to do things like this -

[DelBoy]

Hmmm....you can take a picture of a little red cross with ANY camera/lens

Del
 

[Edit]  Ah, got it the second time - why would you want to take a worms-eye view of a few palm trees   

[Piglet]

Kev are you saying you want a digi SLR?  You've got a typo in your post...

I'd imagine you'll be looking at second hand at that price?  Where do you live I can put you in touch with a chap in London. 

[DelBoy]

Lunnon is a long way from Cheshire   

Del

[nopanic - neil]

no fran - its to do things like this -

Looks like you’ve have too much to drink, fallen over, and took a pic to celebrate! 

[Petra]

Buying a digital SLR is one thing, but you'll need a hell of a lot more money to buy a decent fish eye lens. But a little more than 200 pounds should be enough to buy a nice 'beginner' digi SLR like those from Canon or maybe even Nikon. There are also the camera's that are basically pocket cameras but are really close to SLR's when it comes to functions and lens. They do not have the ability to change lenses though.

Take a look at http://www.dpreview.com for lots of information on camera's

[nopanic - neil]

Kev

Local camera shop for advice is:

Camera Solutions Ltd • 18 Frodsham Street
Chester • Cheshire • CH1 3JL

Tel: 01244 40 35 40
Fax: 01244 40 36 25

They seem ok when I brought my camera, and I got a good deal, cost me a touch more than a London shop (Park Cameras - who are good as well - so I'am told). But the bit extra is good if you have any problems on need other stuff.

[nopanic - neil]

If you know what you want and it's a Canon, look at this

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Canon-Outlet_W0QQssPageNameZstrkQ3amefsQ3amesstQQtZkm

Canon Uk web store, goes thru ebay.

Found this after I brought my Nikon.

[Petra]

Found some other interesting pages for you:

http://bobatkins.com/photography/learning.html
http://bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/fisheye.html
http://photonotes.org/reviews/zenitar-fisheye/

Also, you could look for a fish eye adapter. They are much cheaper than an actual lens, but ofcourse the quality of the shots is not as good. They seem OK for playing around though, and usable on a camera with a fixed lens that has a filter tread

I forgot to mention in my previous post that you shouldn't just be looking at a camera, but also at the prices for memory cards and extra batteries. Although often you can buy a 'starters package' that contains not only the camera but also an extra battery, a memory card and a camera bag.

[Kev_mk3]

thanks folks - the camera i think ive decided on is -

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/UK-Canon-EOS-350D-18-55mm-USM-Lens-Boxed-MINT_W0QQitemZ250211076026QQihZ015QQcategoryZ31388QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Jules G]

Kev,

Welcome to the canon club!

just a thought, worth asking the ebay seller if there is a balance of the warranty left on the camera.

For extra bits and bobs..memory chips etc; my memory is a good web site site to use

[nopanic - neil]

Kev

Read the Canon ebay shop site, damaged goods, can be the box, of ex-demo or ex-display.

They also quote

Additional Shop Information
 The customer is entitled to return the product (for any reason) for refund within 7 calendar days after receipt of the product.
 

Seems a good place to look and there stock changes often. Have a good rating as well

[Kev_mk3]

Kev,

Welcome to the canon club!

just a thought, worth asking the ebay seller if there is a balance of the warranty left on the camera.

For extra bits and bobs..memory chips etc; my memory is a good web site site to use

Cheers J I was going to look at memory next. I think about a 2gig card will do? Any ideas?

Kev

Read the Canon ebay shop site, damaged goods, can be the box, of ex-demo or ex-display.

They also quote

Additional Shop Information
 The customer is entitled to return the product (for any reason) for refund within 7 calendar days after receipt of the product.
 

Seems a good place to look and there stock changes often. Have a good rating as well

Looking at the feedback and whats stated the canon shop seems the place to go. I bought my Ipod from a similar place on ebay in a similar situation and its fantastic think I shall order it later today – just do I get black or silver


I need a meet to go to now – North West Meet Part Duex maybe