Canon EOS 1000D poss others

davidh6781

davidh6781

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David
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What are peoples views on entry level beginer dslr? At present i am using a all in one olympus sp560, it certainly does some cracking pics, but it has some areas were it struggles.

I am looking at a options for DSLR, a kit etc, things i like and want to take pics of, Macro close ups, landscapes, night time shots, eg light trails, painting with light etc. as well as family portraits and using a etc. so a general all rounder.

Price wise to spend will be max £500.

Look at the reviews on the 1000d which seems to be ok for a beginer. any recomendations will be greatly accepted.

I did use the search but there really wasn't any thing that answered what i was asking,

cheers
 
for £500 you can get the 450d, which is the next model up.
Not sure what it buys you on the darkside, a D60 is under that I think.
 
I changed to a DSLR from an Olympus sp550. Like you I found that I got some great shots if the light was good but it struggled as soon as I had to turn up the ISO. I have a Canon 40D now and I find it difficult to fault. The 40D is probably outside your budget but a 400D or 450D should be within reach. You can get some good bargains on ebay and from the canon discount store. I am sure you will get lots of good advice from the members here, but it is always best to go to a camera store and see which you are most comfortable with.

Good luck.

Gordon
 
ok canon seems to be good way foward.

what do 1000D and 450D differ? Any one rate sony / Olympus E series?

Lenses, few places have kits with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens but they don't list the brand.

its a mine field,
 
if you are seeing a new canon camera and its marked as a kit the lens will be the canon 18-55 IS.
They are much berated but the IS version you get with the 450D is much improved over the earlier ones. Its a perfectly usable lens, especially for a starter like me.

I don't remember all of the changes between the 1000D and 450D, but I remember that the 450D has more focus points, I seem to recall the 450D has a better sensor too ? so high ISO performance should be better.

Get to a shop and grab hold of each of the cameras, as well as the nikon/sony etc.. see which one you like best. Olypmus aren't that popular and don't have a massive lens choice. I think they are all four thirds cameras too ? (four thirds cameras are basically smaller, this has its own disadvantages and advantages).

I went with the canon over the nikon, mainly for lens choice (nikons are limited at this budget), it felt a bit more comfortable, plus I was used to the controls having played a little with friends canons / my old point & shoot canon.
 
thanks for the info the canons sounds like a good option, not much in price when had a compare earlier for 1000d and 450d

So this liveview i take it its like my Olympus sp560 look at the screen and shoot or is it still the usual through the viewfinder? can the canons be used with software that takes a pic from the pc software?

the kit lenses are good for beginner, and it would let me do the options i want in the first post?

whats all the 18 - 55 mean?
 
davidh6781 said:
snip...
So this liveview i take it its like my Olympus sp560 look at the screen and shoot or is it still the usual through the viewfinder? can the canons be used with software that takes a pic from the pc software?

the kit lenses are good for beginner, and it would let me do the options i want in the first post?
Click to expand...

The liveview puts the images onto the screen at the back of the camera, rather than through the viewfinder.

Canon's come with EOS Utility software that will allow you to shoot techered to the computer via USB lead. You can see picture on screen, and alter focus via keys/mouse, then press button and image is d/l'ed straight to the computer's hard disk.

Kit lenses are much maligned, but they're perfectly adequate for getting started, and a quantum leap better than the glass in mst point and shoots.
 
do the canons come with AF or is that lens dependant?

I am swaying more and more to the canons, read the a350 sony review but unsure about the sony
 
Yes all canons have AF - I don't think there is a DSLR on the market that doesn't.

You wont use liveview, imho its been included on DSLRs because the point and shoots have it. The viewfinder is actually far better to use.. I never used the viewfinder on my point and shoot and when I switched I thought liveview would really help, but I've never used it.

18-55 is the focal length of the lens. If you look on top of the canon there is a circle with a line through it, this is basically where the sensor is. the distance from that line to the glass in the lens will be 18 to 55 mm (depending how much zoom you use). The lower the number the wider the angle (in simple terms wide angle = lots in the picture).
The kit lens only goes to 55mm, which is fine for general stuff but if you want to take pictures of wildlife/motorsport or anything you can't stand that close to you'll need a zoom lens. I've got a 55-250 canon which again is a budget lens but gives some cracking results.

The sonys have a growing fanbase from what I see here and the cameras appear to be quite capable, I think they fall down on lens/accessory choice - but thats to be expected as I don't think they've been around that long ?
 
hi david...

i have both the sony A700 and the A350 cameras,and are both excellent bits of kit.the common feeling is,go to a camera shop and try out the ones within your price range...as what one tog will prefer,another won't...so you must find what is right for you.menu's,feel in hand,ease of access to changing settings like white balance,ISO's etc....all pay an important part in your eventual choice.
 
thanks for the info. let me get this right, the 3.5fps etc, what does this mean?

I assume i can take pics of sport etc with fast shutter speeds but can some one confirm what the 3.5fps does and how it affects the image.

that dpreview site is cool.
 
be careful, canon seem to have taken the 18-55mm IS off the 1000D, now its just shipping with the older non-IS lens off the 400D.
 
3.5fps = means the shutter can open and close 3.5 times a second. This does rely on having a half decent memory card though, a slow memory card will take longer to write the data, filling the cameras buffer, leaving it unable to take another shot. I think most cards on the market should be capable of doing this.

For the difference in price the 450D with IS lens wins over the 1000D with an non IS lens

IS = image stablisation, helps get a sharper picture when handheld.
 
spot on, swaying more n more to the 450D, Canon seems a good choice with good amounths of external options.

the 18-55 IS lens sounds a good alrounder to get started with, it does macro doesn't it and zoom slightly?
 
davidh6781 said:
the 18-55 IS lens sounds a good alrounder to get started with, it does macro doesn't it and zoom slightly?
Click to expand...

Not true macro, but it will focus pretty close up (down to 9.6 inches from lens to object). As for zoom slightly - approx 32mm would be normal size, so 18mm is almost half normal size image and 55 is almost double. (apologies to techie's on here who'll be cringeing at that simplification :lol:)
 
TheBigYin said:
Not true macro, but it will focus pretty close up (down to 9.6 inches from lens to object). As for zoo slightly - approx 32mm would be normal size, so 18mm is almost half normal size image and 55 is almost double. (apologies to techie's on here who'll be cringeing at that simplification :lol:)
Click to expand...

Or one can say that the 18-55mm is a 3X Optical zoom. Great starter kit lens, with decent (in DSLR World) Image Quality, low distortion at 17mm, some chromatic aberrations that cam be easily deal with software, Canon Digital Photo Professional is an excellent tool for that, for example the 17-85mm ain't got better IQ, just has got a nicer to use range, but in terms of IQ won't brig anything better them the 18-55mm IS lens.

The only drawback that I had with the 18-55mm IS was, the rotatable front element, makes using polariser filters a bit of a pain.

Were is a macro for you with 18-55 IS on a Canon 1000D, no editing
3489553690_a82dc10aee.jpg


3488739379_3ea0a4f6b7.jpg
 
davidh6781 said:
spot on, swaying more n more to the 450D, Canon seems a good choice with good amounths of external options.

the 18-55 IS lens sounds a good alrounder to get started with, it does macro doesn't it and zoom slightly?
Click to expand...

already explained by others, 18-55 has x3 optical zoom, which sounds silly compared to a point & shoot, but never mind the width, feel the quality as it were :)

If you want to do real macro stuff you could stick a raynox on the end of it. This is a lens that screws to the front fo your existing lens and lets you go uber close, about £35 ? Loads of threads on here so do a search, if you go to my flickr, then contacts look at Albys stuff - he does brilliantly with his raynox taking pictures of bugs and stuff.
When you are more flush a mate has the canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens, gets plenty close with that too.
 
thanks for this, them pics are sweet, i will take a browse also at this raynox attachment.

considering the 1000D and 450D are very similar baring a few features, would it be worth the extra money to get the 450D over the 1000D, I have ruled out the other brands for now until i can try them as these canons seems to be good choice.
 
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