Buying 1st DSLR Body

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rob13

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Rob
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I've been around here for a few weeks now debating on what to buy. I initially set my eye on a 450d but then started reading about the 40d and my eye was set on that. Once I started working out what lenses I wanted, including tripod and flash etc, things started to get out of hand in terms of the budget. I'm still here some 4 weeks later still deciding on what to buy. I think the worry that I'm spending a huge wad of cash for my first DSLR is a concern in case I dont get use of it or my interest wanes at any time. I have had a bridge camera for the past 2 years but feel that its really just a big compact with a few extra manual features.

Ideally, I would like a UWA lens and kit lens to start with and possibly a 50mm prime. Budget would like to be around the £500-£600 mark. My budget was completely blown when looking at a 40d as even a used one body only was over £400. Should I look towards the 450d again or should I go for a 20d or 30d? I would prefer Canon over Nikon as I prefer the functionality of the Canons.
 
Just a thought here mate but the glass is the investment.

Get good lens's and upgrade the body in a year or so or when you have more money.

If your interest wain's in a year or so and you decide to knock it on the head then you can stick it in the for sale section on here or fleabay.

As long as you look after the kit you should pretty much recoup what you spend in the beginning.

Good luck :thumbs:

J.
 
I love the ease of use of my 450D, and with its price dropping more and more since release, that would be my suggestion. As old wrek says, its the glass thats the investment. Cant go wrong with the 450D :thumbs:
 
On your budget you will not get a UWA lens plus all the other kit.
As you have stated your prefence is Canon, If I were you I would start with the 450D and kit lens then expand if you don't lose interest
A UWA lens from new will cost £350 upwards so as you can see, £600 will not bring you up to that level.
Although for £600 you could get a second hand 40D and a 17-85mm IS lens which was the standard kit lens for the 40D.
 
Looking at a site just now where there's a Canon 40d for £449 and a Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM for £209. A little off budget but would probably suit you.

40d is excellent btw but a 30d or a 350/400d would still probably be ok. It's a steep learning curve if your coming from point and shoots btw. I've had my 40d for over a year and I'm still learning :thinking:
 
rob13 said:
Should I look towards the 450d again or should I go for a 20d or 30d? I would prefer Canon over Nikon as I prefer the functionality of the Canons.
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Don't rule out anything until you know what you want to shoot, then choose body, then glass = good choice
 
I'd go for the 450D, its very good. :)
 
Or even a 400d for now - that's the digicam SLR I started with. Get the lenses now, and the body can be upgraded later. The lens is also the best investment, as it loses less value long term, so if your interest does fade after 12 months, you'll still get a good proportion of your money back. You could have an EOS 1d (if you had the money) - but if you only have Canon's cheapest kit lens on it you'll probably be disappointed. Make sure the lens you buy is the best you can afford, and the body can be upgraded later.
 
what does UWA stand for? I assume something like ultimate wide angle or something?
 
i'm not sure on canon, but it's good if possible to have a hold and feel of each
 
rob13 said:
Landscapes (Can't afford FF), Event stuff which will mean indoor work, and general other stuff e.g holidays etc.
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For landscapes and general shots the XXXD range are plenty good enough and are cheap enough to help put extra cash towards the glass you will need.

If you are going to be doing events and photography on the fly you will find the XXXD range will limit you quite quickly, an XXD body would be a better first choice with the ability to quickly change your settings.

I went from a 350D to a 30D because of the above, I shoot a lot of events, people and family stuff, I couldn't go back to a XXXD range now, it would be far too limiting for what I shoot.

Like I said before, choose a body that will compliment your style of shooting, then decide on which lens you can afford.

Steve
 
I recently brought a 450D, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 and 50mm F1.8 for £650. You can pick up 450D bodies pritty cheaply, but a Sigma 10-20 is about the cheapest UWA but they are all £250 plus.
 
Don't discount the 20D. You can get it second hand for about 200 GBP. For a very long time the 20D was THE crop camera to have (in the Canon camp) with 5 fps, 8 megapixels, and very clean high ISO's. The 30D was essentially a slightly tweaked 20D; it was that good.

That would leave you 400 GBP for lenses.

Canon 18 55 IS would cost about £70 second hand
Canon 50 f/1.8 MkII would cost about £65 second hand
That would leave £265 for a wide angle. There is a Sigma 10 20 f/4 - 5.6 on sale in the For Sale section right now for £300. Alternatively you could try to find a Tamron 11 18 or a Tokina 12 24 second hand. All of these lenses usually get good reviews. Personally I have the Canon EF-S 10-22 but that would probably stretch your budget too far.

Remember that lenses keep their value well (or might even go up in value), whereas digital camera bodies keep on losing their value over time. However, some of these older cameras still deliver excellent results.
 
500D & 50mm F1.8.

Then start saving for the wide angle.
 
450D Kit lens 18-55IS and Sigma 10-20 Should get that lot for about £800 new if you bargain hard!!

If not buy a new body and kit lens and try for a used Sigma. Should bring it down to arround £700!!
 
i have a tamron 11-18 for the sony which i might sell if i can sell the a300 body, grip, 18-200, etc.
 
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