Which Entry Level DSLR Camera To Choose

There are only two things holding me back from buying the Sony DSLR-A200K camera. One is that all the ones for sale are used (discontinued model), so it comes with no warranty and you never know how long it will last. And two, it's made by Sony. My track record with Sony has been terrible. Every single Sony item I have ever bought or owned has developed faults. This has made me very cautious of buying anything that's made by Sony.

I have had Televisions, Amps, Car stereos, Tape Decks, Mobile Phones, everything ended up with a fault after a while. And I'm very careful with my stuff. Is the Sony DSLR-A200K an exception. It does seem so with such a huge amount of positive reviews. I know that Sony products used to be very reliable back in the 70's and 80's, and I'm sure some of their products still are today. However, it can't just be a coincidence with how many of my items have developed faults. I think Sony's quality has dropped over the years. But I'm tempted to give them one more try with the A200K..

Sony A58 DSLR Camera - Picture Credit: Köllner

Then there is the Nikon D3100 entry level DSLR Camera. It certainly looks the part. I'd look like a professional photographer! Most of the reviews are positive. The not so positive reviews complain about poor battery life, poor build quality, bad auto focus, and a slowish shutter speed for a DSLR. This camera would be at the top, the very top, of my budget. I'd hate to spend so much money on a camera and end up not being blown away by how good it is. Maybe I'm focusing too much on the negative reviews. But for this particular model they are hard to ignore when some of them are written by people who seem to have a lot of experience with different cameras and photography in general. One negative reviewer claims to have been a photographer for over 50 years. I get the feeling that they know what they are talking about!. Or perhaps they expect too much from an entry level DSLR. Although I doubt that to be honest.

I've never heard much about Pentax cameras as the market seems to be jam packed with Canon and Nikon cameras. From what I have read Pentax cameras are right up there with the mighty Canon's and Nikon's of the world. The Pentax DSLR's seem to be very under rated. I'm not a badge snob so a Pentax K-x DSLR is a possibility. There is even a white version of the Pentax model I've been interested in and it looks very cool. I don't mind what brand it is as long as it takes excellent pictures and is very reliable. One good feature that Pentax DSLR's have is that they can use a lot of the older lenses. Pentax lenses dating back as far as the 1970's (with the right adaptor) can be used on an up to date Pentax DSLR body. How cool is that! 

Some of the older Pentax lenses are superb and can be found cheap as well if you know where to look. Car boot sales, eBay, Classifieds, Swap websites, even second hand shops, all are really good locations for buying old photography equipment cheaply. Definitely a tick in the box for buying a Pentax DSLR camera. I'm also tempted by the Olympus E-400 DSLR due to it's small size and good quality sample images.. Any suggestions?

New Planet Descends On The Earth

Not to worry, we're not being taken over by an alien planet just yet. But this weird cloud formation is strange. A storm looked to be brewing and the dark cloud was so huge that it looked a bit like a planet was descending on the Earth. With the right eyes it looks like the Moon or some strange new planet sitting really close to the Earth. Specially when viewed as a thumbnail. There never was any storm. Not even a rain drop!

Night Time Motorway Images UK

A random Motorway in the UK on a damp misty night at around 1am. I love taking images of the Motorway at night. I really like the colours reflecting from the lights and the silent, dull, but colourful setting. With it being so derelict always makes it feel quite mysterious. Then a few hours later and its jam packed again. That circle just keeps on repeating itself. Like most things I suppose. Nice to catch it in a more tranquil setting rather than being stuck in traffic at rush hour times. The shutter speed on the camera was slow enough to leave a trail from some of the car lights.

Are There Too Many Cameras For Sale

I have been looking to buy a camera for months now. I'm stuck in a place that many people in my position find themselves in. Do I buy a cheap used DSLR or a brand new Bridge Camera.. Some of the DSLR's I've had my eye on are the Nikon D40, Canon 350D, Pentax K100D, Sony DSLR A390L Alpha, and the Olympus E-400 (A small dslr). I do want a DSLR camera over any other type but I'm concerned about buying a camera that is now fairly old. And by looking at various photography forums and reading about what camera brands are the most reliable, these choices, specially with the age of them now, don't really fill me with confidence.

The rate at which all the brands seem to have faults and breakdowns is quite shocking to be honest. I would have thought they would have been more reliable..I was surprised to read the Panasonic is one of the more reliable camera brands. With most of the brands being Japanese I expected better reliability. Sadly, it appears to be down to luck of the draw in many ways as to whether you end up with a good camera that will last years or a lemon that has problems.

Canon 550D - Picture Credit: WikipedianJones

For this reason I would prefer to buy some kind of cover with the camera but I don't think it's available with such old used products. So then that brings me to the Bridge Cameras. There are some excellent ones for sale. I can buy one brand new and with product cover if its available (Square Trade) for the model. Another plus for the Bridge cameras is their versatility. One example is they have super zooms, which is not something I would get with a budget DSLR that comes with the standard lens. Apparently you would have to spend thousands of pounds on lenses to get that same level of zoom capability in a DSLR.

A few Bridge cameras I've got my eye on are the Sony HX300 (Cover available), Sony HS300, Panasonic DMC-FZ72EB-K, Nikon Coolpix L330 + L340 (Cheap to buy), Fujifilm FinePix S9200, Fujifilm FinePix HS50, and the one out of my price range, the Nikon P900 that has a massive 83x Zoom!. The problem is when I narrow it down to a few choices I do more research online and find another 10 cameras of each separate brand that are either very similar to the model I've been interested in buying, or they are slightly better so then the search expands and continues. It seems never ending.

That's why I wrote the title, Are There Too Many Cameras For Sale? And do we really need the latest and greatest camera to get good results. I don't think we do. And neither does this person. Now, in some ways it's great to have a lot of options to choose from, but I would have to say yes, there are too many!. This is choice overload. There are so many cameras of various brands like Nikon, Canon, etc that are basically identical to another 5 cameras of a different brand (Fuji, Sony, Panasonic) in terms of features and appearance. 

They may just have a few slight differences, like add on features, build quality, or upgrades. This makes it very confusing when trying to choose just one. And to be honest, I'm no closer to making a decision now then I was when I first starting looking for a new camera. Now I've discovered those retro style Olympus cameras like the OM-D EM10, PEN E-PL7, and the SH-2. They look terrific! So the search goes on..

This is worse than buying a car! Just not as expensive if it all goes wrong! The main qualities I'm looking for in a camera are super sharp, clear images and reliability. I don't care about having a thousand features like touchscreen and selfie mode that I'll probably never use.The same goes for WiFi. I'm quite old school, a USB cable is good enough for me. I just hope I end up buying one that lasts a few years. Am I asking too much? I will do an update post when I finally end up making a decision and buying one. With the way things are going expect a long wait!

Pictures Of a Nice Cat Behind a Fence

Spotted this cat through a fence while out and about and thought he had strange orange eyes. He was hunting something as he kept looking in the bushes..Maybe a Moth or a Mouse, who knows. Just after these pictures were taken, little did I know because I was looking at the cat, but behind me two dogs were approaching, both off their leads. In the second picture you can see the cat become aware of them, thanks for telling me! They took me by surprise, running up to me with when my back was turned barking and looking like they wanted to bite me when I turned around. But they didn't. However, they did make the cat flap his pants and run off. They spoilt mine and the cats peaceful moment!.

Off goes the man with his two dogs (The other ones by the tree near the goals)

Water UFO

I didn't know that Orb UFOs liked the water..They don't as far as I know. It's an optical illusion. Don't worry I didn't get abducted, its just the reflection of the Sun! Looks pretty cool though.

The Poor Cows

Even though I'm not a vegetarian, so could be called a hypocrite, I do feel really sorry for animals like Cows when I see them staring back at me behind a metal gate. Are they even thinking anything..Could they be thinking "Help us mate"? "Open the Gate"..Or are they just curious to see another living thing that isn't a cow or a sheep. Who knows..One things for sure, I feel bad for them. It reminds me of a quote out of a film called The Hunted, with Tommy Lee Jones where Benicio Del Toro says something along the lines of "How would you feel if there was a species higher up the food chain than us (humans) that lost total respect for us and started slaughtering us wholesale"..Makes you think doesn't it. And it also makes me realise that me, as well as many millions of other fellow meat eaters live in denial. Or at least put it to the back of our minds.

Strangest Chemtrail Formation

Never seen a Chemtrail like this one before. That's definitely not a "Normal" cloud formation. Very strange. What exactly are Chemtrails? Some people think they are dangerous to humans, containing chemicals and heavy metals like Barium and Aluminum. What is their purpose. Some also believe that they are one of the main causes of illnesses such as dementia. Could they be part of a much bigger agenda which involves slowing down the rate of pan evaporation [blocking the sun] in order to make droughts; equating to fake / man made "climate change". Certainly something to think about.