Which Canon kit with £500 budget?

wippers

wippers

Messages
2,534
Name
Gareth
Edit My Images
Yes
Hi guys, I'm after a little advise for my cousin who is looking to get into photography and has a budget of around £500 all in.
I'm a bit out of touch as have only been buying the higher end stuff which unfortunately is out of the price range.
Can anyone recommend what they would buy for this budget based on a camera and lens.
Mainly for portraiture and landscape, I was thinking along the lines of a 50mm f1.8 which would be fine for portraits and usable for landscapes. What does everyone think about the Canon 50D or 60D. I used to have a 50D and thought it was a well made piece if kit. Nice and solidly built. I know the 60D is a little lighter without the magnesium alloy body, but is it any good?:shrug:

Thanks for looking. Any advice much appreciated.:thumbs:

Gareth
 
I was looking at a 60D, what I didn't like, was no magnesium body and I believe there's no micro adjustment. A 50D probably would be best I think,Micro adjustment and magnesium body. That and a Tamron 17-50 2.8 would cover both portraits and landscape. So say £300-350 for the 50D and £170-200 for the Tamron. Slightly over his budget at the high end.
 
40D is worth considering too.

1D Mark 2 just to throw another into the mix which also gives great AF should your cousin want to do any action shots.
 
I'm not a Canon user so my recommendation might not be good, but I've seen my friend take some really good photographs with a Canon 600d which is also within your budget. My friend uses the kit lens and takes a big variety of landscape and portrait shots and they just look superb (not just my own opinion).
 
Last edited:
Can get a refurbished 600D with kit lens from Canon for £320 which leaves enough money to get another decent lens
 
dinners said:
40D is worth considering too.
Click to expand...

I had thought of the 40D but I think I'd be a bit worried about recommending what is quite an old camera now. Not sure about shutter counts and what functions may be missing from say the 60D & 600D. :)

Thrash said:
Can get a refurbished 600D with kit lens from Canon for £320 which leaves enough money to get another decent lens
Click to expand...

This is an option I'd not thought of. Will have a look at the 600D:thumbs:


As she is very petite, I'm not sure on the weight of the 60D, 600D in comparison to the 50D which was a bit of a lump (which is what I personally liked about it). I think she'll have to go into a shop and get a feel for the different weights and see what is comfortable.

I don't know anything about Tamron lenses. Is the 17-50 2.8 an f2.8 throughout the focus range?:shrug:
 
wippers said:
I don't know anything about Tamron lenses. Is the 17-50 2.8 an f2.8 throughout the focus range?:shrug:
Click to expand...

I bought one to replace my Kit lens. Cost me £200 refurbished with 6 months warranty. It's incredibly sharp, soo much better than my old Kit lens(and that was a sharp copy if stopped down a little). My Tamron is sharp at 2.8 and even sharper at 4. The advantage of the constant aperture makes it perfect for portraits and low light photography.
 
Sounds like a good piece of kit for the money this Tamron lens. :thumbs:
I've sent her to Currys to have a "feel" of both the 60D and 600D to see which ones suits.
It looks like the 60D is a better body, but the 600D would allow a better lens keeping within budget.
 
dinners said:
40D is worth considering too.

1D Mark 2 just to throw another into the mix which also gives great AF should your cousin want to do any action shots.
Click to expand...

1D mk2 would be my cheap throw around body. No 40/50/60D can come even remotely close to all capabilities of the beast.
 
you will have to buy from grey import or second hand to get a 60D for under £500 and thats with no lens.

The 60D is well over £500 from uk suppliers.

60D feels fantastic, i love mine and do alot of work with it, question is what do you need it for? The sensor is the same so in theory can produce the same images but the funtions are nowhere near as fast to use or feel as good...

So its what you intend to use it for as to wether the 60D is worth the extra.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top