Hope someone maybe able to give me a bit of guidance about buying a dslr. I have been looking on + off at getting one a for a few years now and lost my bottle last time I bought a camera and went with a bridge instead.

I know I'm going to end up rambling here, so bear with me, I'll get there in the end.

The trouble I'm having is the more I read the more I read, I find myself backing out of a particular choice. With the Canon's, the 550D, 600D and 60D all seem a bit similar (I think I'm right in saying all three have the same sensor and processor?) and although the 60D does have extra fuctions / selling points, is it worth the extra? Also the 60D has been out a little while now, will Canon be looking to replace it anytime soon? The 600D is said to just the same as the 550D but with the articulated screen + better movie mode. The Nikon D5100 seems to get decent reviews for image quality, but almost all reviewers say people will quickly grow out of the camera and its not very intuitive to use. Then I was looking at the Sony A65 with seems to have a lot of good features but low light performance is supposed to be very bad - with noise showing at even low ISO's.

The Nikon D7000 looks to be a great camera but a little more expensive than what I wanted to pay. I think the problem is that unless you've got a serious amount of cash to spend, there is never going to be the perfect choice and at the entry / upper entry level maybe there's not going to be a great deal of difference in what you buy? I think what doesn't help though when making a decision is that both Canon and Nikon cameras only seem to have very short life span of being the current model. The 500D was only out 12 months before the 550D came along + that was only out 12 months before the 600D arrived. Nikon's D3000 was only out 12 months before the D3100 arrived. So with a few of the current models now being around 12 months old or more, how long before the new models come out?

If people out there had a budget of say £800 max (for a body + lens) what would you go for? IMO there seems to be a bit of a price gap between the entry level + the more advanced cameras and £800 isn't really going to get me anything more advanced than say the 600D which is currently around the £580 mark.

I have this lens and use it all regularly, I like it. It is very good hand held at 500mm with the Sigma OS settings. Apart from the Canon 'nifty fifty' all my lenses are Sigma, the 105mm Macro and the 10-20mm 3.5 WA often top the ratings on test in the Canon edition of Photo Plus. I use the 70D which is excellent.

Not sure if this thread is worth resurrecting since the last post was 18 months ago, but here goes.

I need to buy a travel friendly camera, something that takes sharp shots, decent auto focus, not too big/bulky or takes ages to set up but has a good zoom - probably for no more than £300.

Any suggestions?

Quote: Mike Oxlong "Not sure if this thread is worth resurrecting since the last post was 18 months ago, but here goes. I need to buy a travel friendly camera, something that takes sharp shots, decent auto focus, not too big/bulky or takes ages to set up but has a good zoom - probably for no more than £300. Any suggestions?'" Can't pretend to be up to date on all options and prices but from what I have seen Panasonic Lumix compacts are very good. For their modest price Nikon Coolpix compacts (if they still make them) are very good. Canon bridge cameras seem very good too. Edit: Could try this website (one of the places I buy stuff from) - you can input camera type, brand, price range and then look at the options. When you have decided what suits you can then shop around. For a UK based supplier they have been good for what I have bought and you can speak to the on 'phone https://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Compac ... icerange/2 (NB That link is to compact systems - the "digital cameras" section is probably more help).

Quote: Mike Oxlong "Not sure if this thread is worth resurrecting since the last post was 18 months ago, but here goes. I need to buy a travel friendly camera, something that takes sharp shots, decent auto focus, not too big/bulky or takes ages to set up but has a good zoom - probably for no more than £300. Any suggestions?'" Can't pretend to be up to date on all options and prices but from what I have seen Panasonic Lumix compacts are very good. For their modest price Nikon Coolpix compacts (if they still make them) are very good. Canon bridge cameras seem very good too. Edit: Could try this website (one of the places I buy stuff from) - you can input camera type, brand, price range and then look at the options. When you have decided what suits you can then shop around. For a UK based supplier they have been good for what I have bought and you can speak to the on 'phone https://www.cliftoncameras.co.uk/Compac ... icerange/2 (NB That link is to compact systems - the "digital cameras" section is probably more help).

Thx guys, all photo very interesting
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