Noob needs buying advice

chiffs

chiffs

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Name
Sean
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Im looking at my first DSLR.

Have kind of set my mind on either the canon 500d or 550d.

Main reason for a canon is a mate has one meaning i can borrow lens if need be, i have also used his to take some pictures for a wedding which produced some very nice pictures that i was super impressed with (cant remember which model he has).

Looking at the specs of the 2 cameras there is not a great deal of difference.

The main ones i have noticed are:-
15 megapixels to 18
35 zone Metering to 63 (dont know what that is)
auto iso differs (not overly sure what iso is yet)
better lcd screen on the 550
3.4fps to 3.7 fps shooting speed (not alot in that)
HD movie function (dont really care about movie function)

Might be more differences but have not see these myself. Point out any please if you know of them.

Can anyone explain to an idiot is it really worth the extra ££s for the 550 or would i be better saving the money to add towards other extras or should i go for the 550d.


Will be using the camera for:- my baby which should be arriving very shortly:D, landscape, some motorsport, some weddings maybe.

I understand that i will need extras such as lens but they can wait for a little while.

It would be the body and standard kit 18-55 lens that would be keeping me going for a little while.


Any advice welcome, dont know if i have supplied enough info? if its not please say and i willl add whatever else is needed.
 
You will not really miss any of the above to be quite honest! What is the difference in price?
 
If you don't want the HD movie function then save your money for lenses. The 500D is a very nice camera. I would look at buying a secondhand body and then looking for good quality secondhand lenses. A 15mp sensor needs a reasonable lens to get the best out of it.
 
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Strangways said:
If you don't want the HD movie function then save your money for lenses. The 500D is a very nice camera. I would look at buying a secondhand body and then looking for good quality secondhand lenses. A 15mp sensor needs a reasonable lens to get the best out of it.
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Speaking as the proud father of a 550D, I agree. Spend the money on decent lenses rather than an expensive camera body, unless your budget is lot higher than I suspect it is. If you're photographing your tiny terror the light may be poor so investing the money you save on the body on a F1.8 50mm prime may be a good idea.

Incidentally 1) the ISO number is a measure of how good the camera is at handling poor light. A high ISO setting will enable you to take pictures in poor light but at the expense of a grainier image.

Incidentally 2) Watch out for when your tiny terror gets to the diving head first off the furniture stage. They all go through it, unfortunately.
 
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Around £140 difference in price from what I can see.

HD video would be a bonus although not used much if at all at the moment but maybe later on. So undecided what I need. Aaaaaaaahhhhhh



Just saw an advert after gadget show. New programe starting tomorrow with susie perry on 5 at 730pm, how to take stunning photos.
 
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i agree with Gordon, save your cash, spend it on lenses. You may have a mate with lenses but you cant use them at the same time.
 
That is true about the lens. Without thinking about the hd movie mode are the rest of the differences not work the extra cash or in time would I need/learn to use them?

Sorry if that's a bit of a stupid question but at the moment I don't quite understand what they mean yet. Lots of reading up to do ;)

Thanks for all the rapid replys so far everyonr
 
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alexhcowley said:
Incidentally 1) the ISO number is a measure of how good the camera is at handling poor light. A high ISO setting will enable you to take pictures in poor light but at the expense of a grainier image.
Click to expand...

Not quite. The ISO range simply defines what settings are available. It doesn't say anything at all about low light performance. This is mainly governed by the sensor, pixel density/size and a few other things.
 
chiffs said:
15 megapixels to 18 3MP is nothing
35 zone Metering to 63 (dont know what that is) Means more accurate metering but as long as you have spot, center weight and full coverage metering. you are not going to notice it.
auto iso differs (not overly sure what iso is yet)Hate this feature only works in certain modes and not very customisable
better lcd screen on the 550on the pc and in print they are the same
3.4fps to 3.7 fps shooting speed (not alot in that)not a difference
HD movie function (dont really care about movie function) i have used mine a handful of times! (do you have a camcorder now)
Click to expand...
 

Thats a brilliant answer, think you have pretty much made my mind up to save the pennies and get the 500d:thumbs::thumbs:

No vid camera although i think the misses samsung digi cam has hd video on it if really needed. TBH i have never taken any video footage or had any need really.
 
MartynK said:
Not quite. The ISO range simply defines what settings are available. It doesn't say anything at all about low light performance. This is mainly governed by the sensor, pixel density/size and a few other things.
Click to expand...

You're quite right but I was trying to pitch my comments at a level that could be understood by a beginner.
 
Without trolling through what everyone else has wrote i'd say just go on instict and get what you feel is best for what you want to achieve!

Go and have a hold of the 2 cameras to feel what suits you best.

I have the 500D and i think it's very good!
I got the 500D just incase i ever needed to use HD video i know it's there ready to use :)
 
I had a 500D, never used the video or live view and its LCD is more than adequate

My only reservation was some lack of detail in things like background trees on landscape shots, look fine in 7 x 5 prints though
Noticed that being more of a problem than on my 40D, think its the crowded sensor, but that's just a laymans guess

They are a good price right now and the 550D is still at apremium being new
 
The quality of the lens will make a bigger difference to the quality of your images. Save the cash to get better lens
 
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