# D-SLR Replacement for Sony DSC 717 ?



## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

Folks,

My trusty 717 went sick last week. It's CCD sensor has failed and so is winging it's way back to Sony to have this replaced (luckily for free as its from a faulty batch of sensors). In the meantime its now a good chance for me to get a D-SLR and keep the Sony for backup. I'm thinking of the Canon EOS350D (which seems to have better noise performance than the new 400D) and seems to do all i want.

I've been checking out DPReview but does anyone else have any personal experience / suggestions. Budget is up to Â£650 including lens.

Cheers in advance

James


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## J55TTC (Apr 25, 2005)

You cant go wrong with canon, Ive got a 1D and a 10D and they have never let me down.

If your budget will allow I would go for the 400D with the self cleaning sensor - quite a good bit of technology as the sensor will get dirty when changing lenses.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/


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## HighTT (Feb 14, 2004)

Go to a shop that has a selection of makes and just see how they
'feel' in your hand, and look and see which viewfinder you prefer.

That could narrow down your choice.

TBH I doubt if most of us would notice the relative differences
in their performance :? , and ANYTHING you buy will be superseeded
within months


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## Hannibal (Dec 1, 2003)

J55TTC said:


> You cant go wrong with canon,


This is my experience too....Take your pick, but you may get a good deal on the outgoing model although the canon trade places don't discount them as much as they used to.

H


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## TThriller (Feb 27, 2006)

I have a Canon 350D - a great camera. So do check out the 400D.

But the standard 18-55 zoom lens aint worth diddly squat. I went for the Sigma 17-70 zoom. Then added the Sigma 70-300.

Checkout:

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html

A wealth of info and consistent tests on lenses for Canon and Nikon.

TThriller


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

I have the 400D and am thrilled with it, though it's my first DSLR so I have no reference point to compare with.

Agree with the comments about the kit lens, but you can sell them for about Â£50 on ebay which more than covers the exta cost over buying the body only. I am going to replace it with the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 which gets fantastic reviews and costs far less than an equivalent Canon lens would (its Â£280-300).

I have the Canon 50mm f/1.8 which is brilliant for low light photography when you don't want to use the flash. Best bit is it only costs Â£70, almost free!

I also have the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS (Image Stabilisation) lens. The IS is supposed to enable you to handhold and stop down three full shutter speeds - ie if you could get a sharp picture at 1/60 with no IS, you can get equal sharpness at 1/8 second with IS on. Not tested this yet though!


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## clived (May 6, 2002)

Ditto all the above re both the 350D being fab and the standard lens being pretty average - in my case I've gone for the Canon EF-S 17-85/4-5.6 IS USM (and Carlos' comment has pushed me over the decision edge, and I'm going to order a 50mm f/1.8 too  ).

Clive


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

Good review site for Canon & Canon fit lenses

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

coupe-sport said:


> I've been checking out DPReview but does anyone else have any personal experience / suggestions. Budget is up to Â£650 including lens.


Only had mine a month or so but I actually think if I had my time again I'd go for the Nikon D80. Its undoubtedly a better unit than the 400D, but the main thing is, you can buy this lens for it:

http://www.digitalrev.com/en/product_de ... tegory_id=

18-200mm and Nikon's version of IS, you wouldn't need another lens, except maybe a 35 or 50mm prime.

Out of budget though, admittedly. However if you're planning to just get by with the Canon kit lens, I'd forget it. :wink: On your budget I would be tempted to buy a D50 kit and have a couple of hundred quid left to buy some decent lens(es)


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## coupe-sport (May 7, 2002)

Folks - many thanks for the comments and the links. Some useful reading there.

After a play around with a few models i went for the D80 with the AF-S 18-70 Lens and the Tamron 70-300 Lens. Now to read the manual and then go out to play with it tomorrow (cue cloud and rain !) 

Cheers

James


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