Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-08-22)

http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 35

IN ASSOCIATION WITH PARK CAMERAS

SECONDHAND CAMERAS Testbench

T

here’s no getting away

from it: cameras are

expensive. While it’s

possible to buy a very

basic DSLR, body only, for under

£300, in general a decent

camera and lens is going to be

closer to the £500 mark. If you’re

looking to upgrade to a more

advanced model that’s aimed

squarely at enthusiasts, you can

probably double that. These are

signicant sums at the best of

times, and right now, we’re not

living in the best of times.

Thankfully, though, it’s possible

to save a signicant amount of

money by buying used kit. In this

article, we set out to answer a

simple question. Instead of

spending that £500 on an

entry-level camera, what could

you get by buying second-hand?

The aim was to choose an older

model from each of the major

camera brands that would once

have been close to the top of the

range, with a correspondingly

high build quality, feature set

and performance.

If you go back a generation or

two, to cameras introduced four

or more years ago, it turns out

that you can indeed get

enthusiast-level features and

build for the price of a new

entry-level camera. So we’ve

picked out a set of high-quality

cameras that you can now buy

used in excellent condition for

around £500 (and a couple are

considerably less). We’ve then

recommended a set of four

lenses that should complement

each camera nicely.

You could, in fact, probably buy

these cameras rather cheaper, if

you’re prepared to take a risk on

peer-to-peer sites such as eBay.

But a risk it certainly is, and you’ll

get peace of mind from buying

from a reputable retailer. You can

then be condent that the kit has

been properly inspected and

tested, and crucially is backed up

by a proper returns policy if it

turns out not to work as you’d

like. Just be sure to check

everything over as soon as you

receive it.

Best second-hand

cameras for £500

Looking to upgrade your kit, but working to a budget?

We pick out the best-buy cameras around £500 for each

major brand, and select four lenses to use with them

What about Pentax?

Sadly, we’ve had to make the

difcult decision not to feature

Pentax in depth. While it still

has its dedicated followers, the

brand’s popularity has dwindled

and the supply of decent used

digital kit is drying up. However

for Pentax users looking to

upgrade, we’d recommend the

K-3; it’s a really ne DSLR with

excellent image quality and an

impressive feature set, and

costs about £450 body-only.

We’d pair it with the versatile,

weather-sealed DA 18-135mm

f/3.5-5.6 WR zoom (£230),

and look to add a set of the

rm’s lovely Limited-series

primes; perhaps the 15mm f/4

wideangle, 35mm f/2.8 macro,

and 70mm f/2.4 telephoto, for

about £300 each. For those on

a budget, the lightweight DA

50mm F1.8 and 35mm F2.4

both cost well under £100.

We’ve chosen a great camera

from each brand for £500 or so,

and four lenses to go with it