Camera Labs

Hello, I'm a first time poster here, have been reading the forum for quite some time. And have purchased my camera after recommendation from the forum and the website.

My girlfriend is going to buy her first dslr and she doesn't have a big budget, about 500 euro to start with. In a couple of months she will probably have some money to buy a second lens.

We have been in and out the store and they all advise us to take the d3100, the k-r or the 1100D. But now her mom found some old minolta lenses on their attic. The lenses are minolta 28-105 F3.5-F4.5 and the minolta 100-300 F4.5-5.6. So my question is, can she better buy one of the above cameras (and do you advice one of them?) or should she spend more money on a a35 and the old minolta lenses.

Thank you in advance for the advice.

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sony a33

You said you've been to a store - has your girlfriend held the cameras and navigated their menus?

You can't really go wrong with any of those cameras in terms of feature sets so I would say the decision would come down to which one your girlfriend finds the most comfortable and convenient to use - that will likely be the one she'll use the most, making the most of her investment.

Whether it's worth buying the Sony a35 and using the Minolta lenses (I take it they fit the AF mount?) depends on whether your girlfriend likes the feel and the menu of the a35

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

yeah she did held all three of the cameras but she didn't really prefer one.

The lenses work on my a33 so I think they should work on an a35.

I'm not really sure if these lenses are useful, how sharp they are and how good they still are.

For more info, my girlfriend is a master in biology so she really likes to make outdoor pictures. She wants to photograph from flowers to landscapes.

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sony a33

In that case, nitpicking may probably help her decide better e.g. If she's likely to use a tripod, the 1100D's memory card slot shares the same lid with the battery (at the bottom) so it's not exactly accessible.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

Shed better be buying a Sony too, as you can use the same accessoires etc. If you buy a flash, your girlfriend could use it. If your girlfriend wants to buy a remote control, you could use it too. I youre buying a macro lens, your .... etc! Why should she buy another system? I really recomment against that. Let her try some Sony models, maybe even used ones (like the A550, a really good one).

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Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

Yeah that sounds as a smart choice. But I don't know where I can buy a trusted secondhand camera here (the Netherlands). I have looked on ebay but I could not find a good deal.

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sony a33

Hello vdjong, and welcome to the friendly Camera Labs forum!
To enjoy your stay here please have a look at the house-rules!
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In addition to the comments that were already made I'd like to point out that with the Minolta lenses going starting only at 28mm might be a bit too long for landscaping (=42mm equivalent focal length). So you might want to consider a deal with a standard kit-zoom starting at 18mm.
As to your question re dealers I'll alert some of the Nederlandse jongens here on the forum.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

hey fellow dutchie.
kamera-express.nl sells occasions and is a very reputable company. same goes for camera.nl, and I think cameranu.nl also sells secondhand cameras. then theres the trusted vraag en aanbod on tech site tweakers.net if you can't find anything on the aforementined sites.

the lenses are decent. let me know if you bought the sony one, I think I can get you a fast prime for around 10 euros inc. shipping (thrift store/kringloopwinkel near my house) (Im also searching for lenses for Ruben there)

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Welcome to the forum vdjong! As others have said, I think it would indeed be a good idea for your girlfriend to buy a Sony. Now I don't have a lot of experience buying used gear (in fact, I have none), but you'll probably find some good offers on Marktplaats as well. Make sure to join your girlfriend when she picks up the camera in person so you can check if it's working properly.
You might also be able to find a store with old stock of an A350/A550, at a reduced price I suppose. Use the price comparison site of your preference to shop for those deals.

- Bjorn -

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