[kk7966burton]

So whilst I'm out with the gun an terriers she has something to do.
I want to buy her a good set up. A friend in the business of photography said a Canon5d or a Nikon2dx would be perfect. but I can't find owt for under £700
an then I would have to get her lenses and such.
The price needs to come down.
I don't mind spending quite a lump as I know she'll use the tackle and most of all enjoy using it.
Any advice on cheap second hand places on the web or If any of you are selling a full set up please help us out.
Or are we aiming too high with above camera spec?

[MuttleMcTuttle]

Maybe something like this? - Camera

Nice bit of kit for someone who is serious about photography as a hobby, has more features than either of the cameras you mention, and plenty good enough for full page pics in magazines.

Be wary of secondhand DSLRs. You can pick up a bargain if you're lucky, but it's always going to be out of date next week. If your wife is really into landscapes then a 5D would be the tool for the job, but it's not the easiest camera to get good results from. The full frame sensor is nice to have, but I could live without it, and it's not the fastest camera in the world when it comes to sports and wildlife pics. The D2x is slightly better in that respect, but it's still old technology.

But I think that unless your wife is already an experienced photographer and finds her present camera very limiting there is little point in spending so much on a camera body.

If you still want to go for a big gun, I have a 5D and 24-105 lens which I was considering selling, but I'd be looking for rather a bit more than £700... like double! :cry:

[Kay]

I am really happy with the body i have , canon 1000 D i got 2 lenses with it 18 55 & 70 300 and memory card cost abot £ 550 from jessops new, well pleased with it so far

[kk7966burton]

Kay, on Nov 2 2009, 10:40 PM, said:

I am really happy with the body i have , canon 1000 D i got 2 lenses with it 18 55 & 70 300 and memory card cost abot £ 550 from jessops new, well pleased with it so far

Thanks Kay,
so are all the lenses interchangable ? Say I got same the kit as yours now plus a few more lense then went for a better spec body at a later date?

Cheers Burt

[kk7966burton]

MuttleMcTuttle, on Nov 2 2009, 10:24 PM, said:

Maybe something like this? - Camera

Nice bit of kit for someone who is serious about photography as a hobby, has more features than either of the cameras you mention, and plenty good enough for full page pics in magazines.

Be wary of secondhand DSLRs. You can pick up a bargain if you're lucky, but it's always going to be out of date next week. If your wife is really into landscapes then a 5D would be the tool for the job, but it's not the easiest camera to get good results from. The full frame sensor is nice to have, but I could live without it, and it's not the fastest camera in the world when it comes to sports and wildlife pics. The D2x is slightly better in that respect, but it's still old technology.

But I think that unless your wife is already an experienced photographer and finds her present camera very limiting there is little point in spending so much on a camera body.

If you still want to go for a big gun, I have a 5D and 24-105 lens which I was considering selling, but I'd be looking for rather a bit more than £700... like double! :cry:

Cheers for advice MMc, defo going to have to look lower. Much lower. Kays below sounds a good pack. Jessops for me this wkend

Cheers Burt

[MuttleMcTuttle]

Yes, the 1000D is a good camera for someone just getting into photography, quite good specs but maybe not quite so robust as the more expensive models. Go for the best lenses you can afford though as they will hold their value should you ever want to sell them. However, expect to lose loads of money on the camera body when you upgrade :(

One thing to remember is that the EF-S (digital) lenses will not work on the full-frame camera like the 5D. They will fit on it but when you fire the shutter there will be a very nasty clattering noise as all the bits inside the camera explode :icon_eek: So if you are ever considering getting a full frame Canon it's best to start with the EF lenses, not EFS.

Hope your wife enjoys using the camera, we expect to see some nice pics of terriers now :)

[kk7966burton]

Hi again,
sorry to be a pest.
just found a Canon EOS 1000d Rebel xs on Ebay with so many extras to put in here.
would this be the same one as the one Kay was talking about?
It seems to be from a shop with a buy it now figure £385.
sounds too good, Is it?????
cheers Burt

[MuttleMcTuttle]

Would all the extras be something like this list? -

Wide Angle Lens
2X Telephoto Lens
UV Digital Filter
Digital Flash
8GB SD HC
*Extra* Li-ion Battery
Professional Camera Bag
CF Card Reader
57 INCH Tripod
Lens Cleaning Kit
Mini Travel Tripod
LCD Screen Protector

If so, then yes it is too good to be true because basically it's a load of rubbish. The so called wide angle & telephoto lenses will be naff, the battery may well spontaneously combust at any time, the tripod will probably collapse, the flash gun will go pfutt and die, etc etc... The actual Canon kit will be ok, but the rest isn't worth a lot, it's tempting because it sounds like you get a lot for your money but it's not quality kit :( I'd suspect that at this price the camera is probably a refurb in a plain white box, and the rest is the carrot.

This series of Canon DSLRs are known as "digital Rebel" in the USA, but the spec is the same.

Be careful buying from Ebay, make sure you read all the small print - some of the suspiciously cheap cameras are "grey imports" which may not be covered by Canon UK warranty, and there is a lot of "refurbished by Canon" stuff out there which won't have the full warranty either.

[Keeps]

If you aren't restricting yourself to a Canon, why not try one of these, a Nikon D90? slightly over £700 at £799 in Jessops at the mo, including the lens. http://www.jessops.c...75332/Show.html

Its what I use and I am very very happy with it :) I know of one or two very good photographers that have switched to Nikon from Canon recently..

[Bilyboy45]

kk7966burton, on 03 November 2009 - 07:17 PM, said:

Hi again,
sorry to be a pest.
just found a Canon EOS 1000d Rebel xs on Ebay with so many extras to put in here.
would this be the same one as the one Kay was talking about?
It seems to be from a shop with a buy it now figure £385.
sounds too good, Is it?????
cheers Burt

Hi.Been off here for a wee while.But if you get a canon body.Then i have 2 pretty decent wee lenses for sale,since i upgraded to the more expensive,but briliant L lens series from Canon.Ive been getting very good results from both of these.But since upgrading my camera body,to the 40D.Then i also wanted a bit of profesional glass,to go with it.The lens's are a Canon 75/300,and a Sigma,18/200,which im still using,and took the photo's of my 5 week old pups with today.If you like.You can check the quality of the Sigma lens out.By going to the for sale section,and look at the photo's.If i had £200,for both of the lens's,id be happy enough.As im trying to buy another L lens,for serious portraiture work.That would leave you being able to buy a good body,like the Canon 40d,or a Nikon,equal.Am also trying to buy a small studio kit.

[MuttleMcTuttle]

I had a Canon 75-300 lens, and it was pretty good, rather regretted selling it!

Billyboy - if you're looking for some quality lenses the Canon 100mm macro is a good'un. It's not L, but I reckon the quality of the glass is comparable, and it does make a good portrait lens. The only problem is that at 100mm on a crop sensor you need to be further away than is sometimes possible in a small studio. I've used my 50mm quite a lot for portraits, and also the 70-200L is a very handy lens.

I think Interfit do a 2 head studio starter kit for about £200.

[Bilyboy45]

MuttleMcTuttle, on 07 November 2009 - 05:23 PM, said:

I had a Canon 75-300 lens, and it was pretty good, rather regretted selling it!

Billyboy - if you're looking for some quality lenses the Canon 100mm macro is a good'un. It's not L, but I reckon the quality of the glass is comparable, and it does make a good portrait lens. The only problem is that at 100mm on a crop sensor you need to be further away than is sometimes possible in a small studio. I've used my 50mm quite a lot for portraits, and also the 70-200L is a very handy lens.

I think Interfit do a 2 head studio starter kit for about £200.

Cheers for that.I have a 70/200 f4 L lens at the moment.Bought it for the action stuff,at the lurcher,and greyhound racing.For ports,its spot on.But you need to be close mostly,which is why im looking for summit like 18/135,IS,as a simple wee walkabout,come portraight lens.But if i can get these 2 sold.Then i'll make the effort to get my hands on a wee L lens,for the portrait stuff.Anyway,thanks again.

[BellySlater]

You really neeed to consider what the lens is going to be used for. If you are after close up shots of Roe and Red Deer from half a mile a way a 100mm lens is not really going to do the job. You will see a lot of heavily cropped pictues about that have a halo effect which is the result of bring the subject closer digitally rather than optically. ( I know there will exceptions to this rule .... =@ ) If its close ups of fauna you will need something else etc. etc.
My personal opinion is to get a decent body with a kit lens, use this lens until you know how it works inside out and what perfomance it will give in different light conditions / shutter speeds/ exposure. In this modern age of memory cards you can shoot to your hearts content...the more you practice the luckier you get. When you are ready to move up to a new lens the best advice I can give is go for the most expensive and fastest glass you can afford.

In complete contradiction to what I have said above one of the best lens' I own is a 50mm 1.8 ( £90) but as I said 1.8 = FAST

Cheers

Belly

[Kay]

BellySlater, on 12 November 2009 - 03:23 AM, said:

You really neeed to consider what the lens is going to be used for. If you are after close up shots of Roe and Red Deer from half a mile a way a 100mm lens is not really going to do the job. You will see a lot of heavily cropped pictues about that have a halo effect which is the result of bring the subject closer digitally rather than optically. ( I know there will exceptions to this rule .... =@ ) If its close ups of fauna you will need something else etc. etc.
My personal opinion is to get a decent body with a kit lens, use this lens until you know how it works inside out and what perfomance it will give in different light conditions / shutter speeds/ exposure. In this modern age of memory cards you can shoot to your hearts content...the more you practice the luckier you get. When you are ready to move up to a new lens the best advice I can give is go for the most expensive and fastest glass you can afford.

In complete contradiction to what I have said above one of the best lens' I own is a 50mm 1.8 ( £90) but as I said 1.8 = FAST

Cheers

Belly

i recently got a body & 2 lense kit , i must admit i am not using the 18 - 55 lense a great deal . but the 70 - 300 i am using every day one way or another

But your point about shooting away to your hearts content is right , i must have taken a few thousand pics in the last few months , just getting the feel of the camera & how it is differing from my point & shoot .

I am sure the camera i have got is well capable of getting the action shots i so want to get , just need to keep at it & maybe get a good pic one day with it :laugh: