Reccomendations - i need your input

[superted666]

Hi there,

ive been toying with the idea of purchasing a digital SLR camera for a while now, i have had a sony ultra slim 5 megapixel cam for about a year now and i find myself taking lots of pictures but after seeing some of the results of a more proffesional camera i am tempted to venture into proper photography - as a hobby of course.

A few general questions first:
1.Do any of you regret splahing out on your first DSLR?
2.Does it get used as much as you hoped? im worried i will struggle with taking the camera and lenses etc with me when going out places.

Usage:
I mountain bike as a hobby and one of the main uses of the camera would be action shots of bikes travelling downhill etc in both sunny and typical overcast conditions.... and some of your more traditional shots - nothing too long range - close ups of people and maybe medium distance shots of buildings etc....

I have had reccomended the Cannon EOS350d or rebel xt as its known i think ... would this fit the bill?

This seems to come in around the £450 price mark, what am i looking at paying to get this and all the lenses i would need? as a complete package?

Sorry its vague but im hoping you can help and hoping the kinda costs im looking at are not too high!

EDIT : nearly forgot, where is a good place for me to read up and learn about appeture,macro ISO's etc? i have a rough idea but lenses and the more specifics are way over my head at the moment.

 

[Abstract]

If you want to take photos of bikers, I'd get a Nikon, Canon, or take a look at Pentax or Olympus (probably better features for the cost you pay, plus the lenses are decent, particularly Olympus), and if you're only going to get one lens to take shots of bikers, people, and buildings, then get a lens like the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 or Tamron 28-75 mm f/2.8. Their autofocus is a bit slow, but they're fast lenses and you'll have a better chance of taking photos of bikers who don't look blurry as they're whizzing by you.

If you're going to get 2 lenses, get the Sigma 24-70 mm f/2.8, and the Nikon or Canon 50 mm f/1.8, which is cheap as chips.

 

[ipacmm]

I personally would just buy the Canon body (350/XT are the same camera) without the kit and then I would pick up the two lenses that Abstract suggested.

 

[cookie1105]

I don't regret splashing out on my rebel xt at all. In fact I enjoy using it so much it seems to be all that I think about (post processing, what should I shoot next, what gear to buy next..........)

I started off buying body + kit lens + 75-300mm lens + accessories. I ended up selling the 75-300 to buy the ef 50mm f/1.4. The nifty fifty suits me perfectly because I mainly shoot portraits and urban/street.

If I was you I would get the xt body + 50mm f/1.8. This lens gets great reviews and is cheap as chips as Abstract says. You will have some great kit to learn on and if you don't enjoy photography, you won't have splashed toooooo much

Great link to learn from.

 

[superted666]

excellent
Thanks for the help guys!

Im prob gonna get the body and lenses priced up and orderd this week

 

[ChrisA]

Hi there,

ive been toying with the idea of purchasing a digital SLR camera for a while now, i have had a sony ultra slim 5 megapixel cam for about a year now and i find myself taking lots of pictures but after seeing some of the results of a more proffesional camera i am tempted to venture into proper photography - as a hobby of course.

A few general questions first:
1.Do any of you regret splahing out on your first DSLR?
2.Does it get used as much as you hoped? im worried i will struggle with taking the camera and lenses etc with me when going out places.

Usage:
I mountain bike as a hobby and one of the main uses of the camera would be action shots of bikes travelling downhill etc in both sunny and typical overcast conditions.... and some of your more traditional shots - nothing too long range - close ups of people and maybe medium distance shots of buildings etc....

I have had reccomended the Cannon EOS350d or rebel xt as its known i think ... would this fit the bill? .

You are thinking like all people who are staring out with SLRs. They think about the camera body and ignore the lens. Think "lens first" The differences between one camera body and another are so minor you would not notice. But on the other hand lenses can be radically different. Also very quickly you will see that most of your money is spent on lenses.

One thing you will want. It is counter intuitive is a powerfull flash for sunny days. The problem of direct sunlight is not the lack of light but the depth of the shadaows. The camera will not be able to capture both the lit and unlit areas so you need a flash bright enough to compete with the bright mid-day sun. On overcast days, light comes from all directions and the shadows are not so deep.

Wil you take the camera with you and use it? It takes more effort. For biking you would want a Pelican hard case and foam inside and limit your kit to at most a two lenses and maybe a strobe. and cary the case in a backback. With a case the equipment could survice a fall that you wouldn't but the case adds 5 to 7 pounds or weight.

regret splahing out on your first DSLR? No. I bought my fist SLR in the 1970's before I started high school. Then finally digital got good enough and cheap enough so I added a DSLR.

Be sure to read all of the Nikon vs. Canon debates. Then think ahead to where you want to be in five years. What set of lenses and strob(s) and so on. You are buying into a system and the camera body may be the shortest lived part. The lenses will last "forever" but bodies use rapidly changing technology and you will want a new one. So plan it out.

Will you be neededing an ultra-wide angle lens so you can set up under some jumps or do you use a talephoto and get those shots head on from somedistance away. Maybe you will find for those lenses you like what Nikon makes (10.5 fish eye and 80-200 f./2.8) but maybe Canon has better? Will you use a tripod and ball head or hand hold?

 

[superted666]

thanks for the replies!

yea i would take it biking but less on cross country hard stuff more just down to the local haunts throughout the year where i would be there more for the pics than the biking. ultimatley its for the next time i go to les gets in france - some serious biking done there so would love to get something decent out there....

 

[shieldyoureyes]

Personally, I think you should go into a store and actually feel/try a couple different entry level DSLRs. I was planning on getting a rebel xt until I tried holding it. It was way to small for me to get a good/comfortable grip on the body. I ended up going with the Nikon D50 because it felt way more comfortable to hold.

 

[saxamaphone]

Personally, I think you should go into a store and actually feel/try a couple different entry level DSLRs. I was planning on getting a rebel xt until I tried holding it. It was way to small for me to get a good/comfortable grip on the body. I ended up going with the Nikon D50 because it felt way more comfortable to hold.

I totally agree. I was split between canon 20d and nikon d70s until i went to a camera store and handled both. The nikon has a nice button layout and i found the controls more intuitive (for me). Also the nikon screen is much brighter. but the 20d is a good camera too, i could have gone either way.

 

[seenew]

The 350D is a great SLR to start with, that's what I just got (had it about 3 weeks). However, like mentioned above, when starting out a lot of people look at the body too much and not the lenses, which is a HUGE mistake. I made that mistake and it cost me a lot of money. I bought a $1200 package off ebay which to my inexperienced eyes looked like a great value, the 350D, THREE lenses (including the kit lens), a tripod, UV filters, 2GB card, extra battery, and a really nice hardcase. After holding it all in my hands, I was very pleased with everything, except the lenses I got. All of them were slow (fastest being the Kit 18-55mm at f/3.5, which is totally pathetic)! I don't really see myself getting much money for the two others (75-300, 28-90, both f/4-5.6), so I'll be hanging on to them.

Now I'm having to invest another $200 to get a decent fast lens (see my thread). Really disappointed, I should have researched more first and listened to these guys here at MR..