SECOND-HAND CAMERA BARGAINS
With mirrorless cameras ruling the roost in the professional and enthusiast photo/video spaces, the used DSLR market has become a bountiful place to find some astoundingly good deals. Professional DSLRs that would have run you up a four-figure bill not all that long ago can be picked up without straying over our £500 budget.
With most DSLR lens systems also offering plenty of cheap options, the used DSLR market is one of the most cost-effective places to kit yourself out as a photographer.
An important thing to remember when shopping for DSLRs is to always check the shutter actuation count before buying. All DSLRs are rated to a specific number of shutter actuations, and reputable sellers will always list the number of times a DSLR’s shutter has fired when they put it up for sale. While this isn’t a hard and fast guide to how long the camera will last – many DSLRs can and do exceed their stated actuation counts – it will give you a rough idea of how much use you can expect to get out of a used DSLR before parts start to wear out.
All the cameras in this section are priced body-only, meaning you will also need to factor in the cost of a lens if you don’t already have one. While we’ve picked some bodies that run to the upper limit of our budget, we’ve also nominated plenty of great cameras that can be picked up at prices that will leave you space to get a lens, too, and still stay within £500.
Canon EOS 70D
• Expect to pay: £200-350
An enduringly popular all-rounder DSLR, the Canon EOS 70D is pretty adept for video as well as stills – it was quite popular among YouTubers for a while. With highly capable Dual Pixel autofocus in both photo and video modes, the EOS 70D acquires focus quickly and reliably, and having the fully articulating touchscreen gives you plenty of flexible composing options, in addition to the lovely optical viewfinder.
Elsewhere, you get burstshooting at a decent clip of 7fps, while image quality from the 20.2MP APS-C sensor is consistently impressive. Detail from the EOS 70D is surprisingly resilient even as you push the ISO up – you can shoot at 12,800 and still get grainy but printable images. However, the expanded ISO 25,600 setting is best avoided unless there’s absolutely no alternative.
Having access to the Canon EF stable of lenses makes the Canon EOS 70D an excellent option for the budget-conscious photographer – you could pick yourself up a used EOS 70D body and a second-hand flexible zoom like the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, and still stay within our £500 budget.
Nikon D800
l Expect to pay: £350-510
• 36.3MP full-f
