Collective wisdom time. Mrs Browser hits 5 decades this August and would like to get a DSLR, which I know nowt about, so any advice on what to buy welcomed. She's used phone, compact and bridge cameras before but not a DSLR. We've absolutely no objection to buying used if we'll get a good deal that way but I believe one has to be careful how many operations the shutter has performed? Budget is flexible as she'll only be this age once
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slim_boy_fat
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Have a word with these people Ffordes
Long established firm and very good to deal with. I traded my Bronica medium-format gear with them and bought a Nikon outfit. Very fair and helpful people, give them a call and they'll advise on something to suit your/her needs. Prices to suit all budgets, and they don't sell duff equipment.
Their store in Beauly is handy for me, but distance needn't an obstacle.
Long established firm and very good to deal with. I traded my Bronica medium-format gear with them and bought a Nikon outfit. Very fair and helpful people, give them a call and they'll advise on something to suit your/her needs. Prices to suit all budgets, and they don't sell duff equipment.
Their store in Beauly is handy for me, but distance needn't an obstacle.
rcx132
Philip
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Biggest challenge is deciding whether to go down the Nikon route or Canon route. Each camp thinks there's is best and once you've bought the gear it's difficult to change.
There's also a price jump when you go to full frame cameras which have bigger sensors and use different lenses. Basically you need to decide up front which brand to go for and whether to stick to lower end "cropped" sensors or go for full frame.
There's also a price jump when you go to full frame cameras which have bigger sensors and use different lenses. Basically you need to decide up front which brand to go for and whether to stick to lower end "cropped" sensors or go for full frame.
Nomad
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Buying used can work well. I got a very nice Canon Rebel / 350D with upgraded lens in a charity shop for £20 as it was untested ( I wasn't looking to buy but I was there with my folks and one of them pointed it out as a top bargain - it was !). I had to buy a new battery and memory card, now I have what was a semi-pro camera 15 years ago and it cost me very little 
Some cameras come with standard lenses (good but limited), upgrading gives you a better chance of getting a good shot in varied situations but can add £££, go for a kit with standard + extra lens if you see one. Standard lenses can be cheap on Eb@y etc.
One of my camera memory cards has built-in wifi so it's very easy to get photos onto my laptop etc without needing to use cables or put memory cards in card readers, and it wasn't expensive. Mine works with software called wifi@sdcf. Recommend
I'm still learning so can't offer any other useful advice but try it and hope she has have fun
Some cameras come with standard lenses (good but limited), upgrading gives you a better chance of getting a good shot in varied situations but can add £££, go for a kit with standard + extra lens if you see one. Standard lenses can be cheap on Eb@y etc.
One of my camera memory cards has built-in wifi so it's very easy to get photos onto my laptop etc without needing to use cables or put memory cards in card readers, and it wasn't expensive. Mine works with software called wifi@sdcf. Recommend
I'm still learning so can't offer any other useful advice but try it and hope she has have fun
Best advice is buy used. London Camera Exchange are decent to deal with and describe their used kit honestly.
I use Nikon but Canon or Sony are just as good. Something like a D750 is a great body. Can be had for 700 quid, depending on shutter count and condition. A good all rounder lense might be the 28-300 f3.5-5.6. Not the best at anything, but 90% at everything. Nikon shutters are supposedly good for 150,000 actuations, and can be replaced if needed by a Nikon service centre. But anything at that level of usage has almost zero S/H value, so would be dirt cheap.
The D500 is also a superb unit, with a cropped sensor. It can use the DX lenses which are cheaper secondhand, but it is a super fast mechanism which is perfect for photographing fast sports etc.
Maybe also check out some of the mirrorless offerings. Newer tech, so costs more. Will be the way forward long term though.
MPB.com are OK to deal with, as are WEX. I use LCE more cos they have a branch near me.
I use Nikon but Canon or Sony are just as good. Something like a D750 is a great body. Can be had for 700 quid, depending on shutter count and condition. A good all rounder lense might be the 28-300 f3.5-5.6. Not the best at anything, but 90% at everything. Nikon shutters are supposedly good for 150,000 actuations, and can be replaced if needed by a Nikon service centre. But anything at that level of usage has almost zero S/H value, so would be dirt cheap.
The D500 is also a superb unit, with a cropped sensor. It can use the DX lenses which are cheaper secondhand, but it is a super fast mechanism which is perfect for photographing fast sports etc.
Maybe also check out some of the mirrorless offerings. Newer tech, so costs more. Will be the way forward long term though.
MPB.com are OK to deal with, as are WEX. I use LCE more cos they have a branch near me.
I've set mine with separate focus and shutter buttons. You can manual focus, but a DSLR viewfinder isn't a patch on an old school SLR.
AKN
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If you haven’t used one before the best option is to go to a camera shop, be a pain and try them all, as many makes as they have.
I had Canon FD manual focus kit for years til some scrotes nicked it. A friend had Canon EOS both film and digital, I got on fine with the film but never got a decent shot with the digital. Some years later a colleague lent me the Nikon digital equivalent and the was great So that is my digital gear now. My film is Contax / Yashica which I won’t part with and still use.
I had Canon FD manual focus kit for years til some scrotes nicked it. A friend had Canon EOS both film and digital, I got on fine with the film but never got a decent shot with the digital. Some years later a colleague lent me the Nikon digital equivalent and the was great So that is my digital gear now. My film is Contax / Yashica which I won’t part with and still use.
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So there's only Nikon and Canon to choose from 
I've had Pentax kit since the 70's SLR then DSLR, happy with the results, but I've never considered myself a photographer, just someone who likes taking pictures.
I've had Pentax kit since the 70's SLR then DSLR, happy with the results, but I've never considered myself a photographer, just someone who likes taking pictures.
Bullet2012
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Check the Sony alpha range
I have the a6000 and it is nice and light with some good features, also it’s nice and light and compact.
mine is a work tool but gets used a lot for personal stuff.
I have the a6000 and it is nice and light with some good features, also it’s nice and light and compact.
mine is a work tool but gets used a lot for personal stuff.
CompoSimmonite
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I've got an Olympus DSLR and am happy with that
Go to charity shop and look for modernish SLR with autofocus lenses, you might find a whole kit of lenses there. Then buy the DSLR they fit - bare body or with the cheapest lens you can find. I had Pentax SLR for years so moved to pentax DSLR which has same lens system so my zoom lenses from 90's work with it. Still look at the local oxfam for any interesting accessories.
Still a pain to cart around though, so very rarely use it.
Still a pain to cart around though, so very rarely use it.
Maker
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Agreed, get a mirrorless, not a DSLR. Electronic viewfinders are brighter than optical ones, not that anyone ever uses them because you've got a great big screen on the back. If you want to play with vintage lenses too, mirrorless is the better option as the flange distance is so short on them, literally every SLR (Or DSLR) lens can be adapted to fit a mirrorless. I've got a Sony A6300 (For some reason I had to have 4k video recording, literally never shot a single video with it
) and as much as I like it, I'd much rather have a full frame sensor, like a Sony A7 or Nikon Z5.As for brand, people online bang on about different manufacturers having better "colour science", but what really matters is how nice it is to use, so I'd find a brick and mortar shop and see how they handle if you can.
Shedendman
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AI will destroy photography
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Apart from me
I find it much easier to compose/frame a shot with a viewfinder than waving a screen around in front of me, hard to break the habit after nearly 60 years of taking pics.
Farside
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For a beginner at DSLR, I'd recommend the lower-end range of Nikon D3xxx series.
The D3200, for example, is 24MP, cropped sensor, but has a very intuitive control panel / layout and an 'easy' mode for just picking it up and getting going, without having to study the manual. The D3200 is also cheap as chips, relatively, and can be picked up for around a hundred quid.
I got one last year, to just throw in a pannier and go, at that price I don't particularly care if it gets nicked or broken.
Same time I picked up a D600, also 24MP, but full frame, to go with the box of Nikon-fit legacy lenses I have from film days.
Of course, the other makes also provide beginner-type cameras, and almost any DSLR can be configured to pretty much a Point-and-Shoot if you want.
At this stage, earlier DSLRs are dirt cheap and most of them have plenty of life left in them. To just learn how to use one needn't cost more than fifty quid - for example, a Canon 10D or Pentax K10D are available for a song and still provide useable results. It all really boils down to what use the final results will be put - if only sharing on the 'net even the 10D is perfectly adequate and can print a decent 8x10 if you want it.
The D3200, for example, is 24MP, cropped sensor, but has a very intuitive control panel / layout and an 'easy' mode for just picking it up and getting going, without having to study the manual. The D3200 is also cheap as chips, relatively, and can be picked up for around a hundred quid.
I got one last year, to just throw in a pannier and go, at that price I don't particularly care if it gets nicked or broken.
Same time I picked up a D600, also 24MP, but full frame, to go with the box of Nikon-fit legacy lenses I have from film days.
Of course, the other makes also provide beginner-type cameras, and almost any DSLR can be configured to pretty much a Point-and-Shoot if you want.
At this stage, earlier DSLRs are dirt cheap and most of them have plenty of life left in them. To just learn how to use one needn't cost more than fifty quid - for example, a Canon 10D or Pentax K10D are available for a song and still provide useable results. It all really boils down to what use the final results will be put - if only sharing on the 'net even the 10D is perfectly adequate and can print a decent 8x10 if you want it.
Ross365
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If it's a 50th birthday, then it's special!
I've always wanted to be a good photographer, but the reality is that I get bored by the technical stuff. Deciding I wanted a DSLR, a friend recommended me to buy a used Nikon D70 about 12 years ago. I don't think any one would have much bad to say about it, but I've rarely used it and I've certainly never mastered using it in anything but the most basic way. I'm really just happy with my compact.
Clearly, lots of people do love their DSLR's, but I wonder how many just sit on a shelf?
I've always wanted to be a good photographer, but the reality is that I get bored by the technical stuff. Deciding I wanted a DSLR, a friend recommended me to buy a used Nikon D70 about 12 years ago. I don't think any one would have much bad to say about it, but I've rarely used it and I've certainly never mastered using it in anything but the most basic way. I'm really just happy with my compact.
Clearly, lots of people do love their DSLR's, but I wonder how many just sit on a shelf?
