Is this a good deal?

[xvickyx]

Hi

I am planning on getting my first DSLR at the end of the month, and came across this deal, it is a used camera.

CANON EOS 400D BODY & SIGMA 28-70MM F2.8-4 DG lens

For £269.99

Is this a good deal, and does anyone know what the lens is like?

Thanks
Vicky

[Alastair]

There's a bit of information on the web about that lens, never used it personally.. looks like it could be ok to start with - pretty fast for a lens in that range, and a useful range of focal length for general purpose use. If you do go with this deal.. treat yourself to the Canon 50mm f1.8 sometime soon.. you won't regret it..

I'm guessing that with 99p tagged on the end it's retail.. so I'd offer them £250 and try and haggle a bit off. If it's retail it must also come with some sort of warranty (usually about 3 months) - check how long and what this covers.

A refurbished 400D body only.. admittedly with a 12-month warranty.. is a bit more than the price of this deal.. so to get an ok starter lens with it sounds reasonable. Make sure you have 20-30 minutes to get a feel for it before deciding.. get it outside the shop and snap a few pictures in the street and then view them on a pc if you can.

There are a lot of used DSLRs in pawn/cc shops at the moment.

[xvickyx]

I was toying with the idea of a Nikon D40, but the lenses are limited on this one, and they are quite expensive aswell, and I have seen that canon do ALOT of lenses, and are much more affordable for me :D

I can get the D40 for £229 with the kit lens.

[Alastair]

I think the D40 lacks autofocus in the body.. so that restricts you to buying lenses with built-in autofocus (check this)..

Do a comparison between the two on www.dpreview.com

[xvickyx]

Hmmm they are VERY similar.

I think I might go with the D40 though, save myself £40 LOL.

[cdurkin100]

Hmmm they are VERY similar.

I think I might go with the D40 though, save myself £40 LOL.


Nikon every time for me, I have the D60. Worth it if you can go a little further :)

[manic]

john lewis are selling nikon d40 kits for £246.. i believe they also do a 30 day no quibble returns policy.. so you could try it and if you don' like it take it back. may want to check that though and nikon are offering 2 year guarantee at the moment..

[Alastair]

Don't John Lewis have a 5 year guaruntee on all electricals anyway?

(I think I'd still be tempted to go for the 400D, not sure how closely you compared the two.. but the 400D is a higher spec than the D40.. certainly worth the £40 difference imo).