No Crust Racing

Thanks for all of that mate. After having a look at your suggestions I think it boils down to this for me. The 550D is a touch too expensive and the Panasonic's compromise too much in the way of still photography. HD Recording is nice to have but not the primary function. I think if we want awesome HD video we'll have to shell out for a propr HD video camera. I'm yet to buy myself something even suitable for taking in car footage yet.. Thanks guys. Appreciate the wealth of knowledge and assistance.

K cheers will check that out also, if it's as good as a D90 in every other way but better video then it might be worth considering too.

"To summarise: If your girl is a MRS. then get her a DSLR, if she's a GF then get her a PnS comsumer camera which is almost as good but without all the lenses so far far cheaper." God that made me laugh lol Well it's been over 3 years, we live together, we're building a house etc etc Hell I'm trying to find her a racing seat for the DRIVER side of my track car.. she's a keeper. Anyway... I know of the 5 minute limit on HD video and that's OK as it's not something we'd use a lot of. I've looked ats sample videos online, some are fine and some are pretty average. The D90 also doesn't have autofocus on vidoe recording which sucks. What's the equivalent to a D90 in the canon range, 550D? While the canon does do 1080, it only does it at 20fps =\ I'm not sure how keen she'll be to get into post processing to be honest. She's IT literate but doesn't have a huge love for spening hours in front of the PC. Thoughts?

OK mate thanks heaps for the input I can't see Full Frame being in my price range anytime soon and her birthday is in a few weeks At this stage I think I'll hunt for a decent D90 kit. It might be a steeper learning curve but she's a smart cookie and she's like me in that we usually buy something better than base model so we know it will serve us for a while once we've learned how to operate etc. Once again thanks for the assisatnce guys.

I just noticed the second lense is not a Vibration Reduction lense so I imagine trying to get clear pics at full distance without a tripod might be next to impossible lol.

And how about that Nikon I posted, does something like that look to be good value? From what I can see the D90 has a bit more headroom for her if she decides to get a bit better and wants to do a bit more.

From what I'm seeing the D90 seems to come up trumps in review against those two and appears to be the more future proof and higher grade camera. If I went that route is it a good idea to get something like this http://www.becextech.com.au/catalog/produc...2f2e264bb76b9ba Or would it be better to buy the body only and buy a good lense?

that looks like a good kit questions though, with regards to the AF motor being in the body on the D5000. A bit of research showed up that there were heaps of lenses for it anyway? The D90 appears to be able to use external flash equipment which I'm sure matters if you wanna do semi-pro sit down stuff. And the D90 has an additional battery grip option from Nikon where as the D5000 does not. Does the 500D have the motor in the body or lenses and is there good lense support? what would be a good choice out of those 3 so far if she decided she wanted to get a bit more serious and get some really good lenses and so forth?

I've tried that to this point and it's not helping me a whole lot. Our list of wants is small, as I mentioned above. HD video is desirable because we hate carrying around more crap than we have to and we're not trying to make a DVD so 1280 @ 25-30FPS will be fine for us, it doesn't have to be the best video around just better than my Canon compact. Good to know Canons are a bit cheaper here and handy info on the lense stuff regard full frame and the motor info. How do I tell if the motor is in the lense or camera? To start with I'm sure she will be fine with the 1-2 lenses that usually come in the kit. What we wanna do with it is take better pics than our compact, be able to take good pics in low light conditions with or without flash, take HD video from time to time and take action shots in varying light conditions. Upgrade would not be for a while and price range as mentioned would be around 12-300 for the kit for starters. In the kit I'm expcting a camera, 1-2 lenses, a battery, possibly a memory card, a strap (a bag would be nice).

Any idea what it was made of then? Did it seem safe/sturdy?

Hi Guys, I'm looking at picking up a DSLR for the missus for her b'day and I've spent a fair bit of time researching the options, it's mind boggling. She's an amateur for sure but I think she'd get into it a bit once she had it and by her own admission really wants a better camera than the Canon IXUS point and shoot I have. Now that said, I'm not looking to spend a fortune but I figure that around 12-1300 for a kit isn't a bad place to start. Some of the things that are important is the ability to record HD videos, the ability to buy more lenses from a wide range and not costing a bomb, the ability to take good quality low light (indoors at parties etc) type pics and the ability to capture quick moving objects (like me at the track!) Some assistance would be greatly appreciated. At this stage the Nikon D5000 looked ok if that helps at all. I was looking at D300S and the like until I looked at the price and no it doesn't have to be Nikon. Cheers!

Has anyone had experience with these? Specifically this model http://justjap.com/store/product.php?produ...at=0&page=1 There's on going for an OK dollar on NS.com and I'm thinking it might be good for the missus as my Velo is full fixed to my positition and she wants her own seat. By her own admission she wants something half decent that will last that she can later put into her own car when she gets one. For reference this is all for track work, no street. Her seat will go into my car first just so she can learn a bit about track cars and being on the track. Cheers EDIT: She was also looking at these, I've never heard of them? http://www.soldsmart.com.au/l3.aspx?goods=...Seat&cam=14

It's now getting close to chuck out time guys, if you want any of this gear let me know. Of the things that have gone, they have been given away for free (in one case I go a sticker!) if that helps you understand how much I want the stuff passed on rather than binned.

Thanks mate appreciate the response

Yeah I used to do that sort of thing back when I had my Skyline and then the GT-R but my Silvia isn't really suitable. It's road reg'd but if I get pulled over there's no chance I won't get defected as it's a track car. Plus after almost losing all my points I've tried to keep my nose clean since Will let you know how it goes.

Yeah mate I do, but a mate of mine is going to take a look at them in the very near future as he might want'em for his race car. If he doesn't they are all yours. Either way will be good to have them go in a local car I'll update as soon as I know. OK to PM you?

Well you guys have done a good job selling the place. What are the downsides that bother you the most.

Well 2 venues at about 70-90mins away is better than just one at the same approx distance which is what I have here.

No specific areas in mind just yet, I think that will be more dictated by the cost of accomodation. Appreciate the informative responses, and the effort to be unbiased. Am I right in being excited about being between 3 different motorsport venues? does anyone else want to contribute, agree disagree etc?

Awesome thanks for your insight. A few extra queries. Where abouts in the area do you live and how long have you been there? Are there any areas to avoid specifically, every city has suburbs and regions that are less desirable for sure but usually people know that specfic areas have higher crime rates and are home to people of lower socia-economic status. I'm just in the middle and I don't want to live in a sh1t hole lol What's it like getting around when you're driving your own car (traffic) and how is the parking situation, is it paid almost everywhere?

Good point. Specifically things that interest me. Employment Oppurtunities and pay rates, I'm guessing being a larger centre the pay rates are a bit higher but there is more competition. FYI I work in IT as a consultant and am looking to move into project management roles/team leadership etc. Missus hasbeen a property manager for 10yrs but is looking to move out of this field, perhaps HR or something. Cost of living interest me Events/nightlife interests me Access to good quality food REALLY interests me, and when I say that I mean being able to go out for a meal and eat some awesome stuff. Public transport is important also And again if anyone has some insight into what the hay fever season is like that's also very important.

Yeah we looked around at some of the palces out of town so to speak and the rents were much more reasonable. that's onep art of the puzzle but what's the area like?

Hey guys, in the next year or two the missus and I will be looking to get out of here (Albury/Wodonga) and we like much of the NSW coast. We've spent some time up around Coffs/Sawtell/Kempsey etc and the climate is quite nice and the lack of hay fever suits as both quite well. The downside to going that far north is SFA in the way of racetrack access unless I wanna drive over 4hrs each way, whereas here winton is an hour down the road. This led me to look at race tracks first then locations second lol This then led me to the Wollongong area of coast as there's Wakefield, Oran Park, and Eastern Creek all within about 1-2hours. This of course made me flip my shit and get excited about being within range of 3 different tracks. More important than that though is what it's like living along that area of coast and/or in Wollongong. We had a bit of a look last night and it seems real estate is quite expensive and that average temperatures are a bit more what we're looking for rather than the plus 40's we get here some days through summer. What's the hayfever season like up that way? I know it sounds a bit off but the missus suffers badley and I do a bit also but to a lesser extent. I'd like to hear from some people living in or around Wollongong and tell me what you think, what's good what sucks and if you'd go there again etc etc. Give me an impression of the place. We're keen to come take a look around over a short holiday or something but I'd like to hear from people who are living there now. Cheers Dan

Updates....

Just to clarify, I got given a sticker for one thing but the other thing I literally gave away if that helps people work out how flexibile I am on price/trade.