Heyup!!

Right, interested in getting into this whole photo malarky!! Been having a flick through the Argos catalogue (yeah, I know, it's the nearest thing to with cameras in), but I have a Jessops and London Camera Exchange in town, but yeah, been looking through it, I'm not really wanting to spend a huge amount, £150 is absolute MAX, of and DSLR

I've managed to persuade my Mum to give me her old film SLR, but I want a DSLR as well, purely 'cause I don't have to buy film. I haven't a clue as to what make/model the film SLR is, but hey, it's free.

I've seen a Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd 10mp camera in the holy book...*ahem*...sorry, Argos catalogue. £117.39, granted it may not be the best, but I'm not looking for that atm, I just want something to start out, I've also got a Samsung Digimax S800, which is all well and good, I just want something a bit more, well, more really.

Any help is greatly appreciated people!!

Thanks

mars

I'd say find something about the SLR first, and see what lenses it has. If it's, for example, a Canon EOS, then logic says buy a Canon EOS D body. You may struggle for £150, though, but have a looksy.

Edd

You'll be very lucky if you can find a DSLR with £150. What I'd recommend is sticking with the film SLR, using some the £150 to buy a few rolls of film, and get to know how an SLR works. You may find that it's not for you, in which case any money spent on a DLSR would have been wasted. Learn about how to use the different modes, and if you find yourself shooting on auto all the time then you'd probably be better off with a compact or a bridge camera.

If you want to shoot some film and don't necessarily want to spend a bundle, then I can recommend the cheap film Truprint stock.
It's actually an Italian brand called Ferrania, and for something so cheap you get some pretty nice results on it. Certainly comparable to the more expensive Kodak consumer stuff.
It's my 'playtime' film. I don't mind burning through rolls of it so much.
If, on the other hand, I'm doing something a bit more serious, then I'll usually load something more interesting - Fuji, Ilford, Kodak maybe.
I can recommend using www.discountfilmsdirect.co.uk - they often have a clearance on something or other and you can pick up some bargains.
At the moment, they're doing Fuji Superia 400, 36 exposure, in a 10 pack for £13.50!
Try beating that on your high street. It's dated till August, but stick it in your fridge and you'll be cool for a while longer.

There's a few places on eBay that do film as well that are comparable on price (if not a few pennies cheaper on some rolls).

The good thing about a film SLR is that you can forget about having to learn all the modes and options that a digital camera brings and just focus on the photography. The practice of getting the shot you want in the camera. Thinking through the situation and adjusting the camera manually. It's a great learning tool.

Well, here's something I found, yeah, I know Argos blah blah, [url=http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500001501&langId=-1&searchTerms=Fujifilm+FinePix+S1000fd&Submit=GO+%3E]Clicky[/url], and I've already got [url=http://www.samsungcamera.com/product/pro_view.asp?prol_uid=1170&cat_uid=11]this[/url].

Jesus!!! Didn't know film had a use by date!! Lol!! Hate to think what the film in my very first camera is like, probably close to 14 years old now!!

The FinePix is what's called a Bridge camera - between a point n shoot, but not a fully fledged DSLR.
They're not bad on the whole, but I'm not sure how great the difference is between them and a good point n shoot these days.



It's more or less a 'Best By' date rather than gospel. I shot some B&W stuff that was a just a month over and it was fine. I even know someone who froze(!) tons of Super 16mm movie film and we used that on a project years after it went in the deep freeze. Turned out ok, but you're never quite sure...

Well, I won't be able to find out what my mums SLR is until tomorrow at the earliest, in the mean time, I'll charge the batteries on my little compact thingy and do pretty much nothing with it!! Lol, really need to find something/someone to shoot, actually, some people spring to mind Lol

Oh, and for modern point and shoot? Argos don't list my point and shoot anymore so it's not that new

Well, I was just wondering if you'd be better off buying a good point n shoot instead of an average bridge camera.
But maybe I'm muddying the waters.

Lol, muddy all you want man, I need as much advice as I can get, my most advanced camera I have? Probably my Nokia N78...see, the phrase n00b comes to mind right now...Lol!!

I'd say try a decent bridge camera, see if you like fiddling with the settings, shooting, running around with something that size in your bag etc.

I can't really comment on film, except that the wait and the expense of getting it developed puts me off. Practice makes perfect i guess but personally I'd rather check the result on the spot and retake if necessary, than find out days later I've blown a good photo opportunity.

I'd say, get your hand in with the film SLR while you save up. By the time you have enough money for a DSLR, you should know whether or not you really want one. They don't hold their value very well, so it'll be an expensive way to find out you don't like photography as much as you thought!

If you're really set on a DSLR, try the second hand places - hit eBay, Ffordes, etc...

There are models such as the Nikon D70 or the Canon EOS 30D, which were 'advanced enthusiast/semi-professional' bodies at the time. They're not that much behind the current crop and they're brilliant for someone starting out. Check them out and check what your film SLR is - then you can buy the same brand (if they're still in business) and use the lens.

theChipmunk