Shopping for my first SLR camera

[rodent]

The $350 price was a scam. I looked at reviews & they were good, but they were probably fake. Reseller ratings had bad reviews for that company.

 

I'll stick to a reputable company. The camera is going to be $500-$560 now.

[movephotography]

The other poster is exactly right about lenses - make sure to go to the store and look through the 50mm lens (or the 18-55, set at around 50mm) to be sure that you are comfortable shooting a variety of things with it. Make sure to look through the 50mm lens on an XTI - if you happen to look through it on an EOS 1Ds or 1D or 5D, it will look very different due to the field of view crop.

 

That said, a significant number (probably almost half) of the shots in my photojournalism portfolio have come through that lens.

 

Photography gets very expensive very rapidly!

 

One other thing, make sure also that you want to go with canon and not Nikon. There are good things to be said about both systems, it is largely a matter of personal preference regarding menus and usability (I have to shoot Canon because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to borrow $5,000 lenses from newspaper photo closets to shoot sports).

[movephotography]

The 50mm focal length, by the way, means you would have to step back 12-15 ft from groups of people to photograph them, and it will be difficult to get good pictures of buildings, etc.

 

Just to give you an idea, at my regular working distance from my laptop, a 50mm lens on an XTi won't even capture the entire computer screen (but it comes close). The kit lens is more versatile.

 

But the 50mm will outperform the kit lens by a mile in low lighting or shots where an interesting shallow depth of field is desirable.

[COFPhoto]

You are on the right track checking with Store Ratings and Reviews by Real People - Trusted Online Shopping first. That's a great site for picking out the scammers of the world.

 

For me there's only one place to buy from and that's B&H:

 

B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders

 

Best in the business and usually right in line price-wise with the other reputable companies.

 

As for the one lens that you get, the 50mm 1.8 is nice, but you'll probably quickly regret getting a prime because you don't have the ability to zoom in and out (without shuffling your feet of course).

 

I would look into the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 XR Di:

 

Tamron | 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di Autofocus Lens for Can | AF09C700

 

Personally I couldn't live without a flash, but unfortunately I'd recommend the 580EX:

 

Canon | 580EX II Flash | 1946B002 | B&H Photo Video

 

The thing with photography is, if you end up getting into it more, you'll more than likely regret limiting your budget later on. If there's any way you can save a few more pennies before you jump into a purchase like this, you'll be happier in the long run.

 

IMO many of the consumer-level SLRs these days are quite adequate. Adding a quality lens and a flash makes all the difference.

 

I will warn you that learning how to use a flash like that doesn't happen overnight. But in a lot of cases it can really help your photos quite a bit.

 

HTH!

[TammyB]

Great tips Shawn. So I have a question to add onto Morgan's thread.. (hope it's ok Morgan)

 

I already have a pretty good zoom lens, and I wanted to get the below. Can you tell me if the order is correct or did you find you used a certain lens more then what you orginally thought.

 

Macro

Wide angle

Flash

 

I'm more of a hobby photographer right now, but one day I'm hoping to get into pet photography. (if that helps)

[rodent]

hijack away tammy:)

[rodent]

Thanks everyone for all the feedback! I can already tell this is going to become an expensive hobby. I've been wanting to learn photography since I was a kid, but I put it off because I knew it would be expensive. I do think it's the kind of hobby that will pay off. With pictures, not money. I don't see myself making money with photography which is why I feel like I need to constrain myself with how much I spend. But, I don't want to go to cheap & feel very limited once I start to learn something.

 

My idea was to spend $800 now and then continuously add to my collection. So I want to make sure I get something good to build on.

 

I read Kevin Kubota's Digital photography bootcamp last night. But, it was more about photoshop that taking pictures so I still need a good photography book. Still, I found it to be very helpful in getting some photoshop stuff down I haven't figured out yet.

 

I have been told this is good. Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera Bryan Peterson

 

Any other suggestions?

[rodent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by movephotography One other thing, make sure also that you want to go with canon and not Nikon. There are good things to be said about both systems, it is largely a matter of personal preference regarding menus and usability (I have to shoot Canon because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to borrow $5,000 lenses from newspaper photo closets to shoot sports).

My main reason for picking a canon was that all of my digital cameras have been canon. So I thought it would be easier to learn on a camera that resembles what I already have. Still, I'm not set on getting a canon.

I was reading reviews (that I think were old so possibly outdated) saying that the consumer nikon cameras were specific for their lens. Is this true? I do like that the lenses would work on other cameras so that if I want to upgrade cameras someday I don't have to start over.

[Nic Dragomire]

Morgan buy these:

 

used 20 or 30d

28 1.8

50 1.4

 

then when more funds become available

430ex flash

10-22 zoom (ask Leigh about this lens - she loves it)

70-200 f4 is

 

the 20 and 30d are going to be more sturdy than the xti. try craigslist, but be careful. you can find a great bargins on CL but also get ripped off. I buy all of my cameras used. I buy my most of my lenses new. in fact if you would like for me to keep my eye out on the professional forums I belong to, I will. I bought the tamron 28-75, and sold it, I hated how slow it focused. I like your thinking with going with prime lenses.. you will love em.

[TATrisha]

Tammy, from the research I've done, I'd say invert your list At least that's how my list is.

Flash, Wideangle, then the macro. I figure I will use the macro kind of rarely where as the wide angle I'd get more use out of... and since I hate using the built in flash (stupid blue eyes ALWAYS create red eyes) I'd recommend getting an external flash.

 

Of course... I'm a novice, so you don't have to listen to me!