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We sent Neil Paton out to get an intermediate D-SLR, lens kit and memory card with a grand in his pocket and not much more than his bus fare home. Here's how he got on.
The challenge was simple. Camera manufacturers are a competitive bunch, so they like to launch cameras in fairly clear groups. Who would be able to offer me a good digital SLR twin lens kit (standard and telephoto), and throw in a 1GB flash card for £1000? Not just that, I wanted lots of bang for my buck, and since it was raining I decided to allow myself a look online too.
Flash Cards... Sorted!
Let's clear the flash card first- it's a no brainer. Elsewhere here in ThinkCamera, I've droned on about underpowered flash cards, and bemoaned the manufacturers who ship them- if they ship one at all. Well, let me advise you, that you can buy a brand-spanking new high-speed SanDisk 1GB compact flash card on Ebay for less than £20. Do be sure to pick up a genuine card- there has been a spate of fake SanDisk cards recently, and not only is it illegal but the data fidelity and access speeds are inferior. If all else fails, sites like www.mymemory.co.uk stock cards at Ebay-type prices. For the rest of this article, I've tried to be faithful to high-street costs, but there's just no way you can ignore online for flash cards.
Know the market
Now, if we are going to buy a twin lens kit as one item, the main reason for doing this is because we are looking for excellent value. I'm therefore going to declare myself interested not just in brand new models but also cameras which have been sold as “new” within the last year. On top of this, we need to consider quality, availability and the price of extra lenses and flash guns.
In the offerings from Nikon, Canon and Sony that I discovered, Nikon and Canon have the edge in terms of accessories, as Sony have not yet put their top-of-the-range Carl Zeiss lenses on the market.
However, the expectations of a modern digital SLR certainly exceed this humble list of requirements. We are also looking for processing speed (which will give us a high frame rate) and high tech features (which is where the new Sony exceeds so well). Then there are subjective issues, which can be equally important: “look and feel”, camera weight and usability, and ease of use. Seasoned photographers, who are used to a certain brand of camera, will be drawn to the familiar controls on a specific model.
Canon
So, let's cut to the chase. Canon currently has an unrivalled position as the most popular brand of professional camera. In terms of the number of options they give the potential buyer, I really think they also offer the “prosumer” market an extra camera body to think about. Keeping in mind my £1000 limit, the Canon 350d delivers well (and is a current model) or there's the 20d which is last year's more expensive offering. Don't feel the 20d has been superseded- it's a perfectly good unit The main consideration though is that the lenses which come as standard kit with either of these two bodies are not going to be that good, so you'll need to spend a bit more. The L series lenses, which are excellent value, really are worth the money though some of them can be very pricey. The EF-S 17-85 isn't an L lens but it's still a great performer. Look at matching one of the bodies above with either one or both of the following lenses:
Canon EF-S 17-85mm USM (£300-£450 from web to high street)
Canon EF 70-200mm f4L USM (£370-£550 from web to high street)
The 17-85 lens also has a built in optical image stabiliser and this will help account for up to 4 f stops, giving you less camera shake. Paired with the 350d, the 70 - 200 L probably weighs more than the camera, which some people find a little bothersome. If this is a problem and you would like something sturdier, find a lightly used 20d kit with the standard lens and buy the 70-200mm lens on top. The Canon 20d has the highest frame rate per second of the cameras discussed here, 5 fps, and great build quality. Current prices for a new Canon 20d kit are around the £600 mark at best. If you do go for a 350d with both of the lenses listed above you will be spending slightly over the magic £1000- you will have 2 very high quality lenses though.
Sony
Sony's new Alpha 100 is the next option to consider. Jessops are currently offering this camera with the kit lens for £599. They are also selling a twin lens kit (75-300mm) for a terrific £750. This is great value for money and with the added focal length over the other telephoto lenses considered in this article, combined with the Super Steady Shot image stabiliser (and those extra pixels), Sony are offering customers an extremely enticing combination. Industry insiders are convinced that the launch of the Alpha series is one of those moments which shakes up the whole business. That remains to be seen, but you, the customer, will inevitably be the beneficiary.
Keep in mind that this camera is easy to use and due to fast processing can take an almost unlimited succession of larger JPEGs. The colour, white balance and handling of are also top notch. On the downside the body feels a trifle flimsy and the frame rate per second is average. At present the range of extra lenses and accessories is limited although some mid-priced lenses called the “G” series and several Carl Zeiss options are in the pipe line. Like the Canon, this camera has 9 focusing areas, but the controls are simpler to use. It is designed with two articulated thumbs in mind as it has two top plate dials. This unconventional approach lightens the load on the LCD driven menu, so in the long run it may become a feature that will appeal.
Nikon
Lastly among the big players, let's look at the Nikon D70s kit, which perhaps offers the best options in terms of build quality and the quality of the kit lens. Jessops are currently selling the D70s at the same pricepoint- £599- as the Sony Alpha 100 kit. (That said, Sony is claiming that their new offering is the equal to the more expensive Canon 30D. I told you it'd get confusing…) This really is an excellent value kit, as the kit lens is first rate, being made of higher quality materials and having a bigger subject-facing lens element than any of the other kit lenses.
The camera body is also well built, although Nikon's setup routines and menus are not as easy to use as the Sony or as business-like as the Canon 20d. I suspect much of this is subjective, but the Nikon demands precision and perhaps a little more effort. Controlling the Nikon can be a little complicated as it is a sophisticated beast. However, the colours are superb and like the Sony's Dynamic range optimiser, it has a D-light feature that brings out the detail in the highlights and the shadows. I have always found the colours and bracketing worked really well on this camera.
In terms of zoom lenses, Nikon are offering a cheaper zoom lens at the £119 mark. You can also buy a high quality 18-200mm lens with built-in optical image stabiliser for around £500 on-line. This kit would therefore come in at around £1050; again just slightly over budget.
More options to consider
So what else is on offer? These three big players should undoubtedly be top of your list, and as discussed above, there's no question that the Sony Alpha is shaking up the market. But there are other options worth consideration. The Samsung GX-1S might be an a lesser known brand, but underneath it's a Pentax through and through. You can pick it up in our twin-lens configuration (18-55 and 50-200) for between £600 and £700; which will leave plenty of change from our £1000 limit. Second-tier price gets you second-tier performance, though: 6.1MPixels won't set the world alight in today's marketplace, and there's a sense that this is a fully-featured camera which has been stripped down to match a pricepoint in the market. Nice touches like sturdiness and an information-rich viewfinder won't solve this fundamental conundrum- it would be better to spend the extra and pick up a more expandable product. The Pentax *ist DL falls into the same category: great price and well respected as a workhorse, but ultimately lacking any upgrade path. Both the Samsung and Pentax are top choices for photography students on a tight budget or new photographers who need comfort and reliability more than power performance.
If there's really to be a worthy competitor to the Big Three, look to make a tradeoff between brand and performance. The Fuji FinePix S3 Pro is a fine camera, enormously appreciated by its users (who come back to websites like this in their droves to deliver five star satisfaction ratings) and with a decent heritage (the S2). Its unconventional looks belie superb usability (the squidgy grip is delightful), presentation of information is superb- ergonomic and full, and 12MPixels will do the job nicely. But you're going to pay a minimum of £800 for the body alone; which puts our desired package into the £1200 range. If you can sacrifice the top brands and swallow another £200, though, the S3 should be on your list.
More options to consider
The truth is, each of these cameras are very different both in character and practice. Even if you try to cram in as much value as possible by buying online, go to a camera shop for a play first. I have enjoyed using all of these cameras; and for serious photographers they each offer a slightly different set of advantages. For value, ease of use and advanced technical features (though these will not last for long) bag the Sony Alpha 100. For workmanlike performance, kit expandability and rugged construction choose the Canon 20d with an L series lens. For the excellent basic kit, excellent lens and uncompromising (and sometimes unforgiving) quality choose the Nikon D70s kit.
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