Light is faster than sound. That explains why some people appear bright until they open their mouths!

Having decided to purchase a DSLR camera I sought to find which entry level DSLR camera to buy. Its not long before I got overwhelmed by choice and reviews on the web and in off the shelf magazines. Starting with the premise that I’m not a photographic expert, I wanted something easy to use but capable of taking good pictures.

Thankfully  the search was concluded in the London Camera Exchange shop in Tunsgate, Guildford after having narrowed the search down to a Cannon or Nikon because they are market leaders and the lens choice will lock me into future purchases.

I am really chuffed with the decision and the reports give it a good write up. What swung it for me was the;

Small size and light weight body

Easy menu functions, supported by single button feature selection

Package price - £399 was well below the £5-600 I had looked at for what appeared to be little more functionality

Inclusion in my purchase of a 55-250mm telephoto lens (EF-S55-250IS), bring the whole package with case and accessories to £645 (2009)

I chose to purchase on the high street, though the temptation was to race off to the web for a better deal, because the London Camera Exchange gave me all the good advise and if we don’t support the high street at least some of the time (I bought my Fuji 200EXR on line) then there will be a shop to go in and do the touchy feelly thing you can’t do on the web. Had I not picked up this camera and had the sales help, I would have bought blind. My initial check on the web showed just a £10 saving over the package price, though bundling an extra lens increased the saving.

The camera has 10.1 mega pixels, that is more than enough for me, live view, a standard 18-55mm lens, software, connectivity cables and shoulder strap. The only thing I can see that could be worth paying more for at an entry level is the continuous shooting mode whereby the Cannon 1000D only has 3 frames per second and more expensive cameras have 6 frames per second. All purchases are a compromise and this is one I can live with until I get rich or really get the skills or camera bug.

I looked at the Panasonic G1 which I really wanted to be a great camera and natural choice. It has no mirror and a size reduced body but limited lens choice. At the end of the day an SLR is big so a few cm shaved off doesn’t make a huge difference as you have to have a shoulder bag. The 1000D is light and compact so there’s not much in it.

I want to get a macro lens and was recommended to buy the Tamron sp af90mm model 272e.

Update Aug 2010. With my skills improving I started to consider a better camera with more features (not really knowing what I needed) and was advised in several shops to upgrade to the 550D. When I visited the Farnham Camera shop a very realistic expert suggested I would be wasting my money and did not press to make the sale. I do try to support local shops - after all how else can you touch and feel and get expert advise if you only buy on the web - and as a consequence believe these experts deserve my recommendation. www.farnhamphoto.co.uk  

I have a long way to go to learn how to use this great camera but I don’t want a bag full of lenses and found the 55-255 Canon lens was no good for close up shots. This meant I’d have to use the 18-55 standard lens. I reviewed the lense options at London Camera Exchange in Guildford and decided the Canon 18-200 lens didn’t have enough telephoto range compared to the 255 I’d just purchased. I was recommend this Tamron lens that has some seriously good reviews. It was expensive but having played around with it I am really impressed. More

My colleague recommends this professional photography review site More

I hope it will last for years and decided that more invested now would benefit in the future if I otherwise got fed up with the Canon 18-255 and sold it second hand.

I’d still like to buy a Macro lens but need to review this and consider the cost, having now spent so much on this initial DSLR package

Cannon EOS 1000D DSLR camera review

Tamron 18-270 Lens Review

Review Jan 2010

Camlink Pro-series TPPR024A Tripod Review

Having signed up for a camera course I required a tripod to complete several tasks and so looked at many before settling on this one. I paid an extra £10 than I’d budgeted for at £49 and was impressed to find it also had a carry bag!

The controls are very positive and the unit is very robust. I am really impressed. Several of the mid £30 products were typical Chinese, with controls that would probably loose grip and leg clamps that are weak.

From Snapshots to Great Shots - Jeff Revell (Canon 50D) Book review

As  I struggled to really understand how to use a DSLR I must have bought 8-10 books and seldom got past the first few chapters before giving up even though they looked good in store. Then I stumbled across this book and it’s really easy to understand and written in plain English. A Must read for anyone struggling to learn how to use a DSLR, even though it’s not for my model camera and it needn’t be yours either. There is also one for Nikon and several other models.