This is all my opinion, obviously:

I wouldn't ever buy a new camera (or any expensive photographic equipment-
unless digital- which goes out of date so much more quickly). For about £120
you can get a very nice used SLR and stand zoom (e.g. 28-70mm) such as one
of the Canon EOS 600 series. Look at buying from a dealer, as you won't have
the experience to spot a lemon when buying privately- the dealer should
provide a 6 or 12 month guarantee.

If you want to learn from the ground-up, try an old superiorly constructed
manual focus camera (Nikon FE, Minolta XG-series, etc.) which for around
£120 can get you the body and a 50mm lens.

Auto-focus, auto-exposure, auto-film winding, etc. will not make better
photos, just save time. The more complex the camera is (as a starter camera)
the less likely you are to get the best from it.

As well as Jessops and Jacobs (the two big highstreet stores that carry used
stock) try <http://www.ffordes.com> and <http://www.mxv.co.uk> which I have
found to be reliable.

As a beginner, you will not really know exactly what type of photography you
will go on to do, your preferences for automation, or back-to-basics
mechanical cameras, so don't spend a lot. You can sell on a used camera for
almost what you pay for it, so for the same price as trying one new system,
you can experiment with lots of the years by buying and selling second-hand.

I would advise only getting one lens (and if it is a zoom, get a standard
28-80ish, not an extreme range like 28-300), later on you will probably want
to buy a telephoto zoom, or a macro lens, or a more extreme wide-angle- but
wait until you know from experience what you'd use most.

If you always find yourself unable to get close enough to fill the frame
with your subject, a telephoto is a good choice. If you cannot focus close
enough, a macro lens; if you can't fit in the whole landscape while still
having the foreground interest big in the frame, a wide-angle, etc.

Look at the cheapest models available second-hand, and do internet searches
for how they compare with each other.

Find a good old-fashioned camera shop with used cameras in stock and chat to
the salesperson (who is less likely to be out to sell you the latest thing
that gives him the most commission than a Jessops or Jacobs person) and make
sure you handle the model that you eventually choose.

Why Dixons?

Pat

I've got a bag full of kit (SLR's and lenses, macro stuff etc) you may be
interested in .... email me with a good email address and will send details
srs@srsa.freeserve.co.uk

I've got a bunch of Pentax kit, both old and new (from ME Super through to
MZ-30)  all bought second hand on eBay and I'm really pleased with all of
it. There is a fair amount of tosh talked about the new stuff being more
complicated - it's not. Pentax may not always have all the very latest bells
and whistles but they always think very carefully about ergonomics, I find
all their kit very intuitive and easy to use.

There is also a fair amount of tosh talked about kit zoom lenses. I got a
28-90 with my Mz-30 and it is brilliant -  more detail and contrast than
some of the older Pentax primes that I have got.

I paid ?130 for my MZ-30 + 28x80 on eBay -nearly new. Best bargain ever,
great fun to use. I'm sure the MZ-60 would be just as good. You can still
get at all the manual modes fairly easily but the progamme modes work great
most of the time.

Go for it - Dixons or eBay or anywhere else - it's great value for money
(compared to digital !)

Bob W