Canon 550d - Lens Advice

danny_bhoy

danny_bhoy

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Danny
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Hi everyone! Used these forums for ages to glean a lot of really useful info but now I'm after some specific advice.

I got myself a Fujifilm Finepix S4000 bridge camera about 6 months ago. After a fair bit of use I'm beginning to realise that it just doesn't have enough 'proper DSLR' functions for me. (Prob should have done more research first).

So that's going on eBay and I'm gonna fork out for a DSLR. Got an all-in budget of about £600. I'm more or less set on the Canon EOS 550d.

Seen a good looking deal - http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-e...-kit-892-p.asp - but I've heard bad things about the kit lenses offered. I'd ideally like a good all round lens that is capable of good action shots. Not sure either of these lenses is fast enough for that.

I'd really like some advice on:

- if this looks like a good kit deal for a beginner.

- should I purchase the body for about £350 and look for a better lens?

and

- am I overlooking any other cameras that might fit the bill better?

Thanks very much in advance for your replies. You'll be helping me immensely because my head it battered trying to decide :-)

Cheers,

Danny.
 
Hi Danny,

It would be really helpful if you included what particular area of photography you are into, and by extension what you will be predominantly shooting.

- if this looks like a good kit deal for a beginner. The 18-250mm (28.8-400 effective) focal range is going to cover you for most things except genuine wide angle landscapes and macro photography, but as a general all round package it will give you everything you need without being particularly good at any one thing. If you enjoy sports photography you may wish to replace the 55-250mm with a 70-300 lens with a better AF, if you want to shoot wildlife you may want a bit more reach etc... Its worth noting, as I'm sure you know the greater the zoom range the more compromises in image quality at the same price point. 55-250 is quite a large range and considering it is a budget lens its not going to be fantastic in terms of IQ.

- should I purchase the body for about £350 and look for a better lens? Again impossible really to tell without knowing what you are shooting, if you don't mind buying second hand you can get something far superior whilst still in great condition.

and

- am I overlooking any other cameras that might fit the bill better?Possibly, if you don't need 18mp and 1080p video recording at 30fps then the 500D would save you some money, enough to buy a spare battery or memory card. If you don't want/need video at all then a used 50D would be a much better option.

If you really have no preference in what you shoot that package will give you the tools to explorer almost everything and then when you come to upgrade it you can opt for lenses and a body more specific to your requirements.

Alan
 
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