Help for first SLR Canon

Lemaildetom

Lemaildetom

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thomas
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Hello,

I didn't see a thread for presentation so before asking your help I will first present myself. My name is Tom and I just come up to Orkney island in north scotland. This is a beautifull place for taking picture and i like to take picture but never had a SLR yet.
To explain, I start taking picture with disposable picture long ago, after loosing some picture from bad printing experience I bought my first digital camera last year. I took a Lumix FZ-8 which is a bridge, which is cheap but already allowed to play a bit with setting and had a 12x zoom and I also bought a cheap wide angle.

It was good for a bit but I want to start SLR now with Orkney and it's temptative coastline and archaeology.
The trouble I experience with the FZ-8:
-still not have reactivity of a slr
-better than most basic digital compact but struggle at low light
-struggle with over exposure.
-i want to try grad filter I'm bored of white sky or dark landscape,
-i want to try long time exposure

I'm looking to start SLR on a budget, I like to take landscape, building and sea picture. And I particulary like morning and evening light and I'm sometime motivated for indoor family picture.


I looked at 2 option:
-Canon 450D with 18-55mm lens (from 250pound on e-bay)
-Canon 550D with 18-55mm lens (from 550pound on ebay)
to start with and I thought about the 50mm 1.8f fixe lens for indoor.

The only main difference I saw with the 550D is the ISO going up to 12600 (for 1600 for the 450) and the number of pixel of 18M (12M).

1) In the kind of picture I discribe with morning-evening low light Am I going to be really limitated with the 450?
2) Is those difference worth 300£
3) If I get starded with the 450 it mean I can buy more accessory and maybe in the futur upgrade only the body?
4)The idea of the 50mm 1.8f lens, it's just because i read about it, will it be a really good improvement in indoor picture?

what do you thing?
Thanks I hope my question are understandable and interresting!
What other accessory (lens or filter) would you recommend to?

Thank you :)
 
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Firstly welcome to TP.

There is a section for saying hello it is the very first one in the list :)

You can change the thread title by clicking on edit and then "advanced edit" then changing the title there.

I am a Nikon shooter myself but from what I have seen the 450d is a good camera and for landscapes I doubt you will see much benefit from the newer model. My advice would be to spend more on the lens, maybe some filters (ND, ND grad & CPL) & a good tripod.

A canon person will be along shortly to say which lens or to disagree ;)
 
The later models such as the 500D and and again the 550D have better noise handling, meaning they work better in low light.
The 500D in particular is dropping in price now the 550D and 60D are out in the shops and I would imagine it will continue to drop.

I would look out for the 500D + 18-55IS kit lens and the 50 F1.8 is a no contest bargain of a lens.

I would try contacting Stuart at DigitalDepot and see if he can do you a decent price on the kit.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/member.php?u=1554
 
A 450D will do everything you want of it, and will give you some extra money to invest in a quality wide angle lens and good quality filters.
Yes the 500/550D have slightly better noise handling at higher ISO, but I dont think you would be disapointed with the 450D.
I bought a 450D after switching from a Nikon D700, which has one of the best High ISO's out there, but I was suprised at how well the older and far less expensive 450D coped. Obviously you will get some noise after ISO 800, but its certainly manageable up to ISO 1600 with some minor noise reduction in PP.

The 50 1.8 is great or maybe you would also like the 35mm f/2. Slighty wider, and not quite as fast, but may suit your landscape work a bit better.

So, yeah my vote if for the 450D and better glass and accesories.
 
Ok thanks,

I'm still a bit confused but I appreciate your info. I was optimistic saying that the 450D was at 220 on ebay.
It looks more like 450D at 300 pounds, 500D at 450 pounds, 550D at 550 pounds.

I'll keep looking, but i'll have to take a decision quickly as Orkney and Shetland are inspiring me a lot. Should I look other possibility what equivalent for exemple in Nikon would you recommend?

I'm also looking on ebay the full pack 2nd hand sold which seems to have been loved and care after.

Again thanks for your replies
Tom
 
I have a 450D and before that the 350D.

I bought the 450D on here - as I have bought a lot of gear - and have been very pleased with it.

The ISO issue worries some people but I usually shoot at 1600 ISO all the time - except in the brightest sunshine - and use Neat Image to reduce the noise.

It works superbly well.

Personally I am a bit dubious about buying photographic gear on Ebay and would much rather buy on here - so keep an eye out.

An excellent walkabout lens for the 450D is the Canon 28 - 135mm IS USM.

Works well and is very sharp.

The Canon 50mm f1.8 is extremely sharp and at the price is almost unbeatable as an indoor lens.

I have both these lenses - I bought them on here - and can definitely recommend them.

.
 
My 450d is on Ebay at the moment. Im expecting about £300. With the extra £200 you could get all the other bits you need to get started.

Dont rush into it, Orkney will still be there. There are loads of camera's here and ebay, so you have plenty to choose from.
As for Nikon, something like the D5000 or maybe a older D80 would see you right.
 
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go for 450D and a good tripod. Then buy the 50mm. It will be fine for you and this way you can buy the extra equipment
 
I have a 450d and a 500d and they are both great for a move to DSLR. I personally think the noise handling is better on the 450d over the 500d. if you can cope with not haveing the latest and "greatest" then save the cash and get the older 450d and put the rest of the cash to a nice lens and the other bits you want.
 
28 - 135mm IS USM

Is that a better lens than the 18-55mm IS kit lens?
 
Gigabyte said:
28 - 135mm IS USM

Is that a better lens than the 18-55mm IS kit lens?
Click to expand...

Yes - but it complements it well and the 2 lenses give you good coverage from 18-135mm.

The 28-135mm is the one I use most now when I go out shooting unless I'm shooting Macro etc.

It's very versatile and at a good price.

.
 
I started on the 450D and I'm now the proud owner of a 550D. The 550D is much better at handling poor lighting conditions, the auto white balance also seems to work better and it has inherited the 7D's superior metering system.
 
Hi again,

As I'm not looking after last model and bigger screen ever on lightest camera ever. I've been looking in the adds as advice buy a member of the forum.

I found an advert for a pack from Turbotoes:

canon 30D
with grip and extra battery
Canon EF 28-105 3.5-4.5
all in good condition
and I think I'm really interested it's the kind of price I want and looking to review there is no revolution since the 20D and they all can take amazing shoots. I've been advise here to look more for the lenses:

*Is this a good lens for walking around and shooting differente kind of thing?

*I looked at the 50mm 1.8f, you said is a good start and they look not really expensive, do I have to be carefull for compatibility as I saw there is some SD on sold but not compatible is the ones EF are all compatible? And what the difference between I and II.... what is the price for a second hand one good condition (trying to think about overall budget)?

*I like taking landscape picture and sea with some wave, so I think it's good to have a quiet wide angle lens? What's a good budget lens for landscape? For landscape plus foreground is it the same? For landscape like sea with quick moving element is it the same again?

I'm hoping to start with the one coming with the camera and buy the fixed one, then to met people which can make me try some other, there lot's of photographer around but mostly bird watcher's.

what do you think?

Thanks for all previous advice!
 
Lemaildetom said:
What other accessory (lens or filter) would you recommend to?
Click to expand...

A third vote for a decent tripod (and perhaps a remote shutter release though you can use the built-in timer).

You can then stop down for better depth of field for your landscapes and forget having to worry about ISO 1600 performance. I did plenty enough shooting in darkness (under urban street lights) with my 300D at ISO 100 five or six years ago.

If you're likely to be shooting in windy conditions, get one you can hang a decent weight off the bottom to improve stability.
 
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"so I think it's good to have a quiet wide angle lens? What's a good budget lens for landscape?"

Gotta remember that these are APS-C cameras and that you therefore have to multiply the lens focal length by x 1.6 to get an idea of how they'll act on APS-C.

28mm is wide on 35mm but on APS-C it isn't that wide and for landscape many people like something wider.

Lenses in the 10-20mm type range tend to be popular with landscape shooters but something in the 17-50mm range might be more reasonably priced and could be used as a landscape and general purpose lens. There are "kit" lenses in this range that start around the £50+ mark and will get you up and running and there are also 17-50mm f2.8's that offer higher optical quality and a wider aperture...for more money.
 
I've been to Orkney a few times, and I would recommend spending less on the body and getting a 10-22mm lens as well.

You really need an ultra wide angle to do that landscape justice.
 
I'm a bit lost now!

What you mean "woof woof" is that the 28-105 is maybe not wide enought in general purposes and that I should get down to something like 17 or 18-xxx. And for landscape even lower.

It's steel seams a good buy to me this 30D, the thing you mention about cropped sensor it's the same on the all the xxD and xxxD no?

Thanks
 
All xxD and xxxD are cropped sensor yes.

A great walkaround lens would be the 17-55 f2.8 or similar.
Still not ultra wide, but would be good enough for landscapes. You could always shoot some panoramas until you get get a wide enough lens to get it all in in one go.
 
Last year I helped a colleague getting into photography. He ended up buying a 450D and has taken it now on trips to the galapagos, kenya and spitzbergen.

The 450D should be a good body for starting with. It has a good balance of features and nice image quality.

The 18-55 IS lens is a great starting point. My partner has one as does my colleague, and both deliver very nice images. The 17-55 F2.8 IS is a better lens still, but at a much higher price and one that I doubt is justified at this point in time.

The other obvious lens to get is the 55-250 IS. My colleague has one of these also and the image quality is superb for the money. These two lenses together give you great coverage and great quality for an affordable price.

Regarding lens lengths... Your FZ-8 has a 6-72mm lens. However, because it has a small sensor, its "35mm equivalent" (which is the lens that would give the same field of view when used on a camera that shoots 35mm film) is 36-432mm. You will note that is a factor of exactly 6, so your FZ8 could be described as having an "FOV Crop" or "crop factor" of 6X. The larger the image sensor, the lower the crop factor. The image sensor used in most canon DSLRs (excluding high-end ones eg 5D, 5DII and all 1D series cameras) gives a crop factor of 1.6X. So, a 20mm lens gives an equivalent field of view of 32mm. The 28-105 you mention gives equivalent to 44.8-168. 44.8 is not really a wide-angle view, and for scenery you will want something moderately wide at least, so the 18-55 is a good choice.
 
Thanks a lot I-S for the comparison of field of view obtain with the FZ-8 and a SLR crop sensor because I didn't understand that yet! :cuckoo:
It really help. It's true than going SLR, I wouldn't like to get more narrow than I have with the FZ-8.

So maybe I can had to the 30D:
-a basic 18-55 which give me an equivalent 29-88 better for landscape
-and the 28-105 as who said give an equivalent 44.8-168 better for wild life

I will look again for bundle and offer and hope to found something which suit me well.
:thinking:
 
Lemaildetom said:
So maybe I can had to the 30D:
-a basic 18-55 which give me an equivalent 29-88 better for landscape
-and the 28-105 as who said give an equivalent 44.8-168 better for wild life
Click to expand...

Yes, that's right.

The 28-105 is really rather short for wildlife - you'd really want something in the 200-300 range (ie 320-480 equivalent) if not longer.
 
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