What to buy as a Newbie

Hi Everyone

As someone who knows nothing about detectors and wanting to get into it, but i also want to have a good experience and this means to me (("being able to use it with some ease and understand it and also being able to find gold of all sizes but must be able to find small stuff with it is a must"))
otherwise the chances are I'll lose interest in this hobby so i want to give myself every chance to enjoy this experience.
I know people have their own preferences in detectors, but i'm just wanting help to choose something that Dose work and fits into what I've asked
in brackets above. So some useful help and advice on what i should look at to buy will be GRATEFULLY APPRECIATED.

Cheers Brett

G'day Brett and welcome to the forum.

   Not trying to throw you off track here and because your a newbie in the world of metal detecting,I can only recommend either the Minelab SDC 2300 or GPX 5000.My reasoning for this are quite simple.In a time where just about every known gold field has had a hammering with detectors over the last 30 or so years. Experienced long time detectorists are struggling to find gold not alone good gold on a regular basis.For a newbie to buy anything mediocre or less these days through my eyes,is suicidal.Gone are the days where gold was found in abundance where ever one went.Its an enduring struggle or battle these days.
A wise move would be to hire before you buy and see if this hobby suits you,for there are many who enter this hobby with great expectations,only to be greatly disappointed with themselves somewhere down the track.Paying for a course or doing a couple of days tuition with some experienced operator,will give you a better understanding of what your in for.Joining a metal detecting club is also a good idea where one will gain some valuable knowledge from their members as to what might suit you best.

   Cheers Kon.  

Thanks Ken
But as a new comer i'm looking to spend under $1000 i can't afford anything next to $6000 on a hopeful hobby, i understand these are the best one's out there but just way way out of my price range or perhaps i might just be better off just sticking to gold panning and sluicing. Thanks and i do understand what your saying as i realize you it's very hard to play tennis very well with a ping pong bat so to say but i'm either just going to have to enjoy the game as much as i can with the ping pong bat or just play another sport i guess. Thanks for your help and advice and yes that dose sound like good advice to try it with experienced operators once again thanks.

Cheers Ken

Ken,
I have just joined this forum BUT I do know of a couple detectors that could & should keep u interested enough.The first si a gold bug 2 ( about 1K ) ... the second which is more for the coin / relic enthusiast is the Garrett Euro Ace ( about the $500 ) ... these are both new prices but should you want to look at 2nd hand then there are quite a few options .... ball is in your court thats why I threw a few options out there.
Cheers M8 & I hope this helps you

Obviously the $6500 flagship GPX5000 is the way to go if you can but there are options out there for around $1000 if you are interested in getting into the hobby. The most important thing is knowing the limitations of whatever machine you get & researching areas to suit what you have.
I've found gold with 3 different machines, one of which was the GPX5000 the most versatile of them, but you can get gold with others albeit with a bit more effort looking into areas etc.
Some others to consider around the $1000 mark:
Whites GMT (VLF) - shallow, mild ground, mullock heaps, creek beds etc. Very sensitive to small gold but will be noisy in more mineralised ground.
Early SD series models 2000 & 2100 (PI) - renowned for bigger & deep gold, will pick up smaller/shallow gold in places with a small coil
Whites SPP (PI) - not as powerful as the Minelab PI's but appears capable for the price, seen reports of gold down to 0.2 gram so seems sensitive enough too, reportedly handles EMI well.