Canon 1000D 18-55 IS

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Liz
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I think I have narrowed down my search for my 1st SLR camera to the Canon 1000D with 18-55 IS lens. Jessops seem to be only place to do this as a package (other shops have the non IS lens).

Anything awful I should know about this camera?
 
Hi Liz, my cousin bought one of these as his first DSLR, I borrowed it of him, and took some shots at a wedding i was going to, i was really surprised at how good it did, for an entry level DSLR that is. you could do worse!
 
thanks so far.....

what would be the next step up from the 1000D? I did the rounds of the camera shops in Nottingham today and in Jessops saw the 500D but I dont need video facility.

The 1000D seems to meet my needs at the moment but just wondering on whether I should get a better camera for the sake of maybe another £200ish(?) so that in a couple of years I am not thinking I want to upgrade. If that makes sense!!
 
also should I look for a better model 2nd hand? But then worried about no warranty etc, I am getting so confused as to what to do.

In ideal world I would like to get camera body, bag, lenses - 2 ideally - say an 18-55 and then one with a better zoom. But dont want rubbish lenses and then live to regret it, all for £500ish. Have got an 8gb memory card so should be OK with that for now.

Will be mainly taking photos of my baby & people, not so much landscapes etc.
 
I've got a 500d and find it really good, I never use video but that's not the only difference between the 1000 and 500. From what I've Been told the 1000 isn't great in low light, just what I've heard though.

Another good option would be a 2nd hand 40d..
 
what ISO setting would you use on your 500d in a low-ish light setting, say for example a wedding reception disco? I know on the 500d you can set the ISO level loads higher than on the 1000d, but one of the guys I spoke to in a camera shop today said anything above ISO 800 and you get so much noise the photo wouldnt be very good and so he said he would go for 1000d if video function not important to me. I dont know how true this is as I am a complete SLR beginner!
 
Would second the advise to look at 2nd hand kit:thumbs:
Maybe 40d or even a 50d for that sort of money, downside is you would still have to fund lenses

No idea on the relative ISO between the 1000 and 500d as not owned those models:shrug:
 
I've photographed a christening with the 500, no problems with highish iso and Its fairly easy to reduce noise in lightroom.

It's best to seek independent advise than that of the sales assistant in jessops, they don't always give the best advise.
 
just struggling to find impartial advice hence coming on here, totally appreciate people in places like jessops a) might not know everything there is to know and b) will try to get as much £ out of me as possible.

If 1000d is by all accounts going to give me good quality photos and will perform in low-ish light levels then I would go for that one, but just dont want to be disappointed so also condsidering 500d 550d 450d 50d etc etc etc! Just all getting very confusing and looking like it could get VERY expensive. Although I want great shots of my baby & family I think spending upwards of £700 is a bit excessive and thats what some of the models are looking like.

God knows! Keep the advice coming if anyone can make sense of what I want/need!
 
To be honest-I think it depends on two factors...
Firstly-How much are you really going to need to push ISO up?
If what you really want is family portraits/baby shots etc,then to be honest i cant see too much low light work there..
Second-Obviously the 500d's 15mp is somewhat higher than the 1000d's,but to be honest unless you plan on some seriously large prints,then you wont notice it too much.
(I have poster sized prints from a 1000d and they are just fine)

The 500d is obviously a superior piece of kit-Digic 4,more AF points,faster shooting etc..The question is,are those differences enough to justify pretty much double the price tag for you personally?
In the majority of situations,the 1000d is capable of producing images that are pretty darn good.
The money you would save over a 500d kit could go to getting lenses/flash etc,which in all honesty are far more likely to have an impact on your photos than the difference between the two camera bodies.
Whichever you choose-Cant see you being too dissapointed! :thumbs:
 
thanks mischief I think you are right.

I wont really be taking too many photos in low light, its just my compact digital (fuji EXR) is RUBBISH in anything less than daylight really and is very poor at night so I wanted to make sure I got a camera that performed better than this. Sounds like an SLR will prob knock spots off a digi compact anyway though so I prob shouldn get too hung up about it.
 
Would also recommend considering Canon's 50mm f/1.8 Mk2 lens,and a flashgun too.
The 50mm is a great,cheap introduction to Prime lenses-Makes a very nice portrait lens for the cost,and at 1.8 it will also open up the low light options a little more too.
While the onboard flash is "functional",it isnt a patch on a dedicated flashgun,and again these need not cost the earth..
Hope you enjoy your first DSLR-Im sure you will,Just remember its a learning curve,and a very enjoyable (and addictive) one at that. :)
 
I have some great shots coming out of my 1000D, I decided to spend a little extra on lenses and it proving worth it :)
 
What about the Nikon D3000? Isn't that a better camera than the Canon 1000D?
 
I think I have narrowed down my search for my 1st SLR camera to the Canon 1000D with 18-55 IS lens. Jessops seem to be only place to do this as a package (other shops have the non IS lens).

Anything awful I should know about this camera?

I hate to break this too you but all the bundle deals with lenses on the jessops site are using the standard 18-55 lens, the one without IS.
I have a feeling someone may have given you the wrong information.

In order to get the IS lens you would have to put another £170 to your current budget to get the 500D as this comes with the 18-55mm IS for £519 at cameraworld or it can be bought as a body only for £439
 
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I got a 500D for £579 a few months ago from Jessops, it's now selling from there at £519 I think I saw the other day!

The fact I'm not dissapointed that I bought it earlier and lost out on £60 should tell you all you need to know. It's fantastic and at £519 brand new, great value!

I would have had a 500D but wanted the video function as I don't have a camcorder. Didn't think it would be that good but only wanted to do a few short clips of my 3 week old girl, I was wrong about that too, video quality is fantastic.
 
1000D is very basic. Good value, but basic. I think the 450/500/550D are a better buy. Check out the CameraPriceBuster link posted above for the best deals.

The 18-55 IS lens is completely different to the non-IS version, and much better. The longer zoom to get after that is the 55-250 IS but from what you've said the 18-55 should do most things.

For the future, if you want to develop your people pictures then there are two ways to go. One is to learn off-camera flash technique, and the other is to have a go with a low f/number prime lens like the famous nifty-fifty - 50mm f/1.8. For about £80 that's a good weapon for kids and stuff using available light indoors.

My advice - don't by loads of stuff all at once, even if you have the cash. You'll almost certainly make some wrong decisions. Get the best camera and basic kit lens you can, start with that and learn to use it properly. Then decide which direction you want to develop things.
 
If the 500d can now be had for £520 with 18-55is I'd say that's your best bet. Sometimes buying the cheapest option can leave you wanting to upgrade sooner than you had planned. Don't rush into buying a bigger zoom lens either, I bought the 55-250 soon after getting my camera and whilst it's a great lens I've only used it a few times, the kit lens tends to do fine for most things.
 
Another option and one that I have used in the past, would be a refurbished (by Canon) model from Digigood. Slight downside is they are american models therefore a different plug style and namebadge.
They currently sell a 500D with 18-55 IS lens for £412.

Other than that, look at second hand 40D's etc as already suggested. I've just upgraded to a 40D. Got the body only for £320!

edit, just looking at Digigood again, they also sell refurbed 1000D's with the same lens for £287. That would leave you some pennies for an additional lens, bag etc.
 
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Have a look at canon's shop on E-Bay. All refurbished model, but boxed, with full manuals, discs etc as if they came from the shop. 12 month warranty too, if I remember correctly. I've bought quite a few things from them in the past with no problems.
 
thanks for all of the replies.

In Nottingham Jessops they are definitely selling 1000d with IS lens for £369 but this deal isnt online for some reason, I got them to double check in the shop & it deff is the IS.

Maybe I should go for a better model then, I will keep looking! The thing that put me off the 500d a bit was that 23 already have 2 decent video cameras so I really dont need that function on a camera, and it felt a bit like thats what I would be paying for by going for the 500d rather than the 1000d

I will keep thinking!
 
thanks for all of the replies.

In Nottingham Jessops they are definitely selling 1000d with IS lens for £369 but this deal isnt online for some reason, I got them to double check in the shop & it deff is the IS.

Maybe I should go for a better model then, I will keep looking! The thing that put me off the 500d a bit was that 23 already have 2 decent video cameras so I really dont need that function on a camera, and it felt a bit like thats what I would be paying for by going for the 500d rather than the 1000d

I will keep thinking!

That's not the only difference between the two models though. Have a look at some independent reviews.
 
Liz,

Don't be put off by the fact that the 1000D is the bottom of the range, it's a great camera and the photographs from it will only be as good as the lenses and your technique - the camera spec won't hinder you at all!

I use a 1000D and all of the images on my Flickr page were taken using it, often with the IS kit lens. The images are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevenchristie/

Many of these are in very low light (being shots of band on stage or promo shots taken in alleyways at night) and all taken using auto-ISO. No noticeable grain and not cleaned up in any way.

Save yourself a couple of hundred quid and go for the 1000D - it's a great camera.
 
Thing is, depends how much money one has 'now' that is a big deciding factor!
 
thank you for replies.

OK, my thinking at this moment is to get a 1000d with IS lens (from Jessops Nottingham as I know they do that package for £369) then if I need/want to upgrade in a year or two I can sell the 1000D on ebay as they seem to hold their value well.

Any lenses that I may buy for the 1000d would then also be useable on another canon (is this right?).

LIZ
 
Yes, you're right Liz - unless you want to move to full frame where the EF-S lenses won't work due to the size of the sensor. But that's a shedload of money to do (even 5+ year old full frame cameras are > £600 to buy second hand).
 
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