Reply With QuoteTry the contacts on the lens and Camera, rub them with a pencil and clean away with a rubber this removes grease and crud, it could also be a problem with the lens try another one on the body.
I rescued a Canon 300D from work that was unceremoniously being thrown out and got all excited about finally having a DSLR. One charger, memory card and shiny new lens later I discover that the autofocus is broken and the camera will only take shots using manual focus mode as it has a fault with the secondary mirror. Rather than selling all the bits on like most people probably would I've taken this as an opportunity to buy a better used DSLR body. Nothing fancy. I'm on a budget, but something that I will enjoy using in addition to my good compact. I was all set on a 400d (around £90-100) but have also been eyeing up the 450d and 500d. The 500d is quite a lot more, around £180, so I don't really want to spend that much but I don't want to buy the 400d, be disappointed and wish I'd bought the 500d. The 450d is maybe around £120 and I believe is 12mp as opposed to the 10mp of the 400d and while people have said it's not worth the upgrade from a 400d, it might be worth the extra £30 or so if I'm not upgrading just buying. Any thoughts and advice welcome, thanks :)
Try the contacts on the lens and Camera, rub them with a pencil and clean away with a rubber this removes grease and crud, it could also be a problem with the lens try another one on the body.
Thanks for the pointer, will have a go, but camera definitely has the fault where the secondary mirror doesn't fold out of the way completely and it's not going to be worth paying to fix.Originally Posted by Fords
Buy a 400D.
What 'shiny new lens' did you get for the 300D? If you haven't got the nifty fifty (50mm, f1.8) get one.
Then, if the enthusiasm lasts for more than the first few weeks/months start thinking about saving up for something like a 60D. If you're lucky you'll find a little-used but well looked after one.
Was leaning that way, seems hard to beat for the money. As for shiny new, well am experimenting on a budget and after chatting with a photographer friend who suggested I get one decent, budget all-rounder I got a used Tamron 18-200, which has had great reviews everywhere I looked. I did see that a 50mm is a "must-have" lens!
But not the 50mm 1.8...the 1.4 is the one to have, or maybe even the 1.2L mmm mmm :o)
Body wise don't worry too much about 10mp / 12mp etc, it's the glass that counts.
For a good robust body if you could stretch a bit a 40d would be my recommendation.
By the way, my 300d had same problem as yours, I gave it to my cousin and went full frame. Not sure if she managed to get it fixed but I certainly agree it probably won't be economically viable to fix.
Here is some slightly unusual advice...
First of all I should say that I'm not a photography expert. I just use cameras to take pictures and it doesn't interest me as a hobby in and of itself.
Here is the advice: Consider going for the 600D. Yup, it's further up the evolutionary tree than the other cameras you're considering and it will be more money but it has one key feature that makes it ideal for general, multi-purpose, photography. What is that feature? It's the articulated LCD screen!
At this stage photography experts and pros will be going "HAHAHAHA! He thinks the articulated screen is important" but I can tell you from long experience that it makes a real difference in everyday usage of a camera.
The fact is that any modern DSLR will do to take good photos and to learn 'proper' photography. The 400D, 450D and 500D will all be fine; they will all do all that you need. But in terms of everyday practicality they lose out to a camera with an articulated screen. Really. It's that handy.
I used a PowerShot Pro 1 with an articulated screen from roughly 2004 onwards and when I tried a DSLR without articulated screen I realised just how limiting and impractical it would be as an everyday camera. I italicised "as an everyday camera" because if you are working in more controlled circumstances or if you only want to learn photography as a hobby or skill in its own right then the articulated screen won't matter. But if you're using the camera as an everyday image recording device in a variety of unpredictable circumstances then the articulated screen really does begin to matter in my experience.
There we go. Cue loads of people laughing at my decision criteria for an everyday DSLR. It's just that, as I said, any modern DSLR will be adequate for decent photography. It long since got to the stage that the only remaining significant differentiators for most non-expert users are ancillary features, and in my experience an articulated screen is key to everyday practicality.
iirc thats a common fault on the 300d i had one with the same problem sold it on ebay got a good price surprisingly if you can stretch to it the 40d is a cracking camera, but its a slippery slope youll want better glass and so on and so on
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