First D-SLR

BigM1218

BigM1218

Member
I'm trying to get into photography and am planning on buying my first digital SLR camera. I'm looking at the Nikon D40x, the Canon Rebel XTi, and the Sony a300. Which of these do you guys recommend? Or is there any other camera less than $700 that I should look at? Which is best for shooting sequences? Any thoughts?
 
30D 30D 30D...5fps..can be found under $600. put the extra $$ towards a lens. forget the sony..and if you looking at nikon and are really going to get into it id recommend something besides the 40 and 40x.

 
Where can you get it for under $600? I'd love to get a 30D, but I have a real tight budget and I cant find it that cheap anywhere.
 
Yea, I was looking for a new one, but if I can find something nice on those sites then I'll take it. Thanks a lot man
 
sites def. not legit. there's nooo way you could find it for so cheap. with cameras, if it looks too good to be true: then it is.
 
thanks man. I'm probably gonna buy an XTi for Amazon instead because it's cheaper. But that probably could have saved me a ton of trouble with that site.
 
no problem man. are you buying it with the kit lens or without? I bought mine with it, and used it for a number of months, but right now I'm looking to replace it and I was thinking it would have been a better idea to go with a nice lens from the start. I guess it's up to you really, the kit lens isn't terrible but compared to my 70-300 it's not nearly as sharp and that's why I want to replace it.
 
well I was planing on buying the kit but I'd like to have the extra zooming and photo quality that I can get from a different lense. The only thing is that I'd like the wide angle that I can get from the 18-55 that it comes with. I don't have a ton of money to spend on a real good lense, but if I can find something that can give me a decently wide anngle and have a pretty good zoom, I'll consider buying just the body and getting the better lense.
 
cool I am glade you are going with the canon. Great warrenty I think. atleast for me they had a good warrenty
 
I wouldn't recommend the kit lens either, you'll end up upgrading at some point so you might as well spend a little extra now. I didn't have a lot of money to spend when I got mine and ended up with a Sigma 17-70mm wide angle that I've been pretty happy with--it was about $370. It's really amazing how much photo quality goes up once you get a nicer lens. I shot pretty much all the pictures in my profile with an XTi and that lens if you want to see what it looks like.
 
word. I'd go with what he's saying if I were you. Only thing is, is the Sigma 17-70 made for a 1.6x sensor crop like the Canon EF-S lenses?
 
Tameron lenses use better glass in them, they are some of the best lenses out there. bhphotovideo.com is a good place to look for your cam as well. They usually have good deals.
 
check that link i just posted. that lens looks good to me to go with the kit lens but I want to know what someone more experienced with photography thinks.
 
that lens is meh...
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Can...-af-55-200mm-f4-56-dc-lab-test-report--review

this lens is much better than the older kit lens for sub $200
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Can...on-ef-s-18-55mm-f35-56-is-test-report--review

or if you really wanna spend next to nothing..this lens is AMAZING for $60, although it is a prime, its good for learning while not draining your wallet. then you can save up and buy a tamron 17-50 f2.8 for a very sharp lens, paired up with a sigma 50-150 f2.8 later.
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Can.../160-canon-ef-50mm-f18-ii-test-report--review
 
heres a sample from the 50mm f1/8..underexposed, but you get the idea..you cant beat it for the price and it will be a lens you will use as long as you have a canon dslr

41513

 
ok, I think I figured it out. This is what I'm planning on buying soon:

Canon XTi Black Body Only - $528.88

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - $175.95

Sandisk 2GB Ultra II - $19.50

Tiffen 58mm UV Filter - $6.99

Lens Hood - $11.95

All of this is from Amazon and it comes out to $743.27 with free shipping. What do you guys think? Is there anything else I need right now? Or anything there that I shouldn't buy? 
 
sweet, tell me how the 18-55 IS performs. That seems like a pretty good way to start off, esp. the hood/ filter. I don't know much about filters (when I buy a new lens I know I'm getting one for it though), but make sure it's relatively high quality otherwise a good lens is wasted.

I have the Sandisk Ultra 2gb and I'm planning on buying a bigger size right now. Probably a Sandisk Extreme (prob.in 4gb or 8gb.. I think they come in 2,4,8,16 maybe more) because from what I've read they're more shockproof/waterproof and they're more secure. Plus I need another card for more space for a trip I'm taking next month and I think Sandisk is having a sale right now.

btw, on my XTi with the 2gb card empty I have [about] 2800 pics on the smallest res., 850 on the Medium I normally shoot, there's another diff. quality Medium which I have about 1500 on. If you're planning on shooting RAW then be warned because I only have a little more than 200 in RAW and a little over 100 in RAW + High Quality JPG.

I hope some of that helps you with your decisions etc.

 
sounds good man, I'll definitely let you know how the lens is. And as for the memory, I think the 2gb Ultra will be fine for now. Especially because I'm getting it for like $20.
 
sweet man.

yeah yeah, no doubt it's a fine memory card. It's actually been the only one I've had for the past few months. It's never too hard to get a memory card so for now you should def. be set if you don't need more storage.
 
Good Choices, but I would really consider spending some more cash and buying a faster lense. Getting good shots inside without a flash is going to be really hard with that lense... Camera shake wont be an issue because of the image stabilization on the lense, but motion blur will be. Look at a Canon EF 50mm f1.8. Its a prime though so versitility is down a little.

As far as zoom lenses (which are convenient, but expensive for what you get...) Tamron makes an excellent 17-50mm that stops down to 2.8. While it might seem really wide, consider that your ccd on the xti is not a full frame, and it actually makes the lense a 27.2-80mm. Which is an awesome all around lense...The downside is the lense runs about $430...

A similar and better bang for the buck zoom is the Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 EX DG ( go herehttp://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002ALDKO/lensplay-20 ). Super good lense and the price for it on Amazon is a steal. The convetered focal range is 38 to 96mm. A really good range for skiing, and it will still work well indoors without the flash (which ruins photos for the most part).
 
I have the 17-50 on my 20D and this is a very capable combination. I find that, with the right technique, I can shoot almost any low light conditions (no fast action though). If you buy an XTi, which I believe has better high ISO performance than the 20D, and download a noise reduction software or plug-in for Photoshop (like Noise Ninja), you're set.

Seriously-- don't skimp on the glass. Do it right the first time so you don't lose money selling and buying in the future.
 
DON'T BUY CHEEP GLASS get the idea?

sigma makes on or two good lenses (10-20 for example) but for the most part they suck, and don't have good consistency from lens to lens.

Go with canon glass if you are getting the XTi

The first lens you should buy is the 50mm 1.8, it is cheep and supper solid. shoot that for a little bit and then decide where you would like to go, if you want some more reach in your photographs, or a wider lens would fit your style better.

Keep in mind your not going to go out and shoot like Nate Abbot your first time out, so it seems sensless to spend $300+ on a lens you don't like.

just get the 50mm for now and then once you go out and shoot for a few weeks decide what you would like to have and get that.

again

DON'T BUY CHEEP GLASS

 
^ Wait you told him not to buy "cheep glass" and then told him to get something 300 or less. Which is it? Anything with good glass is going to be well over 300. Further more, the lower the aperature of the less the more expensive its gonna be, especially if its a lense for a Dslr.
 
yea I've heard great things about the 50 1.8..... I would just rather get a zoom lens. I think I might go for the Sigma 24-60. I know its not the best, but I'm just getting started so I dont need incredible quality pictures or lenses yet.
 
If you want to know what its like to look through a 50mm lense then just open yours eyes. Your eyes are natural 50mm lenses
 
no your eyes are defiantly not similar to a 50mm lens. they may act like a 50mm lens for things that are relatively close to you but they also provide perspectives much closer to a long telephoto lens when you start looking at things that are far away.
 
see if you can get good deals on last years models. I just bought a Sony A100 a month ago for 300$ Canadian (with the standard 18-70 lens, a half price bag and a free 256 memory card - not much but free).
 
Where can you get last years stuff?? O and I just found out today that one of my dad's friends used to work for canon and may be able to still get me a deal on a camera, I don't know for sure yet though.
 
Yes they are actually, they are the equivilent to a 50mm lense. Objects that are in front of you are same equal proportion that of a 50mm lense. Not speaking of perifial. Macros are different as well as telephotos in the sense that they enlarge the object when looking through the lense, yours eyes do not enlarge the object.
 
go look at some distant object such as a mountain, take a photo with a 50mm lens then look at the photo and the mountain. the mountain will look smaller in the photo then in real life.

 
You also have to factor in the size of the print...

...if you blow the negative up to a 36 inch wide poster, it will then be bigger, not smaller.
 
I am talking relative to things closer to you. So if you have some hills or buildings that are relatively closer to you and a mountain in the background say 40-60miles away, in a photo at 50mm the mountain will look smaller relative to the buildings or hills then it does to the naked eye.
 
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