Newbie... Advice on What to buy needed

[havoc]

Hi, i've been interested in photography for some time now, and i think its about time i buy a good digital camera to aid me in my quest to shoot excellent pictures outdoors. Im into wildlife photography and i was looking at the Canon 300D and the Canon Powershot Pro 1. The 300D (Rebel) is supposed to be very very good and defenetley worth every penny. The 0.25s between shots is a huge plus, especially for wildlife shots, but the all plastic body is a bit offputting. I've been doing research and reading reviews and all that, and everybody says that the Rebel is a good camera both for amatures and pros.

The Powershot Pro 1 looks very nice but the 1s delay between shots is a bummer in my oppinion. But it also got very high ratings in reviews and the like.

Bottom line... can you guys help me out about what to buy please. Any tips or advice or anything. Im not really looking for a cheapie that i have to replace within the next 2 years, but obviously im restricted as to how much i can spend.... bottom line ---> Im looking for a good camera with good value for money.

Thankz alot !!

[Canuck]

We have discussed this a lot and might be better off getting the 10D but this is purely my opinion as I have a 10D. Now for lenses, have a look at the Sigma EX line (perhaps a 100-300F4 EX or 50-500mm F4-6.3EX) as I think the 100-400L is out of your price range. If you go with the DSLR option, get the grip too, BG-ED3 (Big Ed as we call it) to counterbalance longer lenses. Whatever you do, stay away from the Sigma 70-300 non APO lens. It is a very poor performing lens. I had one and sold it. Herein brings up another worthwhile idea...invest in quality lenses, they will more than likely outlive your camera. Here's what I mean. I have 2 Canon L lenses (a 16-35mm F2.8 and a 24-70mm F2.8) and a monster Sigma EX lens (120-300mm F2.8) w/ the 10D, say I upgrade to the 1D Mark II, the lenses are still going to work w/ the Mark II so I opnly have to buy the body in that case. The Pro 1 can yeild some great pics, but being 8+MP and having a small sensor causes noise looking like grain in 35mm terms. There are a lot of places to check out for opinions on lenses like www.fredmiranda.com and a few others which have escaped me.

Most importantly is to buy from a reputable dealer! www.bhphotovideo.com is where I bought most of my stuff. Please stay away from the Brooklyn dealers...they are know for bait and switch. Also watch out for unbelieveably cheap prices. Caveat emptor applies on a huge scale. If it sounds too good to be true, it more than likely is.

[dhbailey]

The two cameras are very different, so you need to decide which branch of photography you wish to follow. The Powershot Pro is an advanced point-and-shoot camera, which many people find much more convenient than an SLR, which is what the Digital Rebel is.

You have much more flexibility with the Rebel, but with that flexibility comes more complications, such as deciding which lens to put on the camera to get that perfect picture. But that also means you're more likely to get exactly the picture you want.

The Rebel costs a lot more, especially if you start buying extra lenses, which even if you start out telling yourself the kit lens will be sufficient you'll shortly be saying "if only I had a [fill in the blank] lens to get a better picture."

Point-and-shoot cameras have a lot to be said for them in terms of convenience, but for anybody interested in taking much more than simple snapshots, I would recommend an SLR like the Rebel.

In fact I'd even suggest springing the extra money for the 20D, but that is a huge amount more expensive and may be well outside your budget.

But I (who have been a photography nut since way back in my younger days and I got my first AGFA KLIK snapshot camera) would suggest an SLR to everybody over a point and shoot. Of course I have to remember that not everybody is as gear-happy as I am, so again I'll point out that it is up to you -- both are fantastic cameras for what they do.

The real question is "what do you want to do with the camera?" and what are you willing to go through to achieve that.

[havoc]

Thanks for the replys...

Maybe i'll wait a little longer and get a 20D... im now looking into that too.

And thanks for the advice on lenses...

Im gonna go do some research on the 20D now...

Thanks a mill

[Deckyon]

The 20D is a great camera. I have it and the 1D Mark II and the Pro 1. I had thought I would use the Pro 1 when I did not want to take a lot of gear with me, but find myself using the 20D with a standard lens or my 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens the most with that camera, followed by a 50mm lens. My wife enjoys the Pro 1, and she boasts some very good shots with it. I have some excellent shots with the 20D and I use it for astrophotography because of the low noise on long exposures and the lighter weight than the 1D Mark II (less ballancing work on the telescope/mount.) I use the 1D Mark II the most, however. I love the speed and I love the weight of a solid camera. I use it for sports and wildlife. While I wish I had a longer lens (70-200 is my longest) I do use my 2x tele to get 400mm out of it at f/5.6 and still maintain AF.

Figure out what you want to spend the most time shooting, and then the camera choice will be obvious. If you have to put away a little longer for the 20D, go for it, you will be a lot happier in the end, I think.

[chris clements]

If you're interested in wildlife, you must go down the DSLR route (300, 10D, 20D).

The Pro 1 focusses far too slowly/hesitantly and the zooming ring reacts too sluggishly to capture any sort of movement. At the height of last summer (admittedly an English one) I could only get one shot in 5 or 6 properly framed and focussed when just tracking a couple of my friends walking very slowly!

The clincher must be that the Pro uses the deletive-removed Sony chip, which should never have left their labs (noisy, fringeing).

Safest New Year prediction: there'll never be a Pro2.
Even if Sony can make sensor sites that small actually deliver the goods in a second-gen 8m chip, top-end 'bridge' cameras like the Pro 1 have no future. They'll be squeezed out by ever-cheaper DSLR's on one hand, and G-type well-specified compacts on the other.

[Jetmech1]

I'm a new Digital Rebel owner myself. I'm also the owner of a Olympus C-750, which is a very nice point and shoot with lots of manual setting. My Digital Rebel just blows it away. I think you would be much happier with the DRebel than with the Poweshot. Today I took a lot of aircraft landing pictures and I was amazed at how well the DRebel worked with the Canon 75-300 IS Lens. I also have the 28-135 IS lens for it.

[eosster]

Just don't buy Nikon first and convert like I've done...it's so painful when I've seen my wallet and bank account, still hurts.

Cheers,

Charles,

[planesh00ter]

I couldn't swing good lenses and a good body. I opted for the lenses, L-glass, which stay up to date (please,please,please) and a rebel that I can upgrade later as prices come down, then it's a backup.
By then hopefully I will have learned enough to use this pretty cool camera well. I sell mainly 13X19 i9900 prints and the rebel has great detail even this large. There are great used prices and the rebate program, if it is still on, is a great way to get into things "cheap".
good luck

[ronmuller]

I like the idea of getting good lens and as much body as you can afford. I moved from the canon G1 to the 20D, in a word Wow!. This puppy is so quick; I was taking candid snaps of kids playing with dogs and got some great shots. The old G1 P&S would always take the picture after it happened ;)

I spent 1/2 my money on the 20D and the other 1/2 on a 24-70L 2.8 lens. I have no regrets, as the pictures are outstanding. The lens will move with my to my next (D)SLR. Due to the speed of the 20D and my anal-retentive need to shoot in RAW / large Jpeg the next purchase will be a 2 GB sandisk Ultra II compact flash. The 512MB fills up in no time when the action is fast and furious.

Happy Shooting and Happy Holiday,
Ron.

[merrrrjig]

I would go for the rebel SLR, its such a nice camera, I have a nice point n shoot camera right now but its just not enough go for the rebel!

[havoc]

Wow thanks for the updates all... i really dig this forum ;)

I went to a shop yesterday to see what they had, i had a look at the Pro 1... even tho i do think i'd pick the 300D!

But i also had a look at the 10D - wonder why we havnt got alot of 10D's over here? Newayz... that was very nice!

The cheapest place i've found for the Rebel has it at R9 499.95 with an 18-55mm lens and 256mb memory card, this place also has the 20D at R14 999.95 with an 18-55mm lens.

The place i went to yesterday had one 10D in stock and had it priced at R9 999.00 (body only). Which is a good price!

Im gonna aim a little higher and maybe get a 10D... i'll have to wait a little longer tho!

Oh ya just so you all know.... im going to be using it for wildlife photography...

Thanks for all the info :)

[havoc]

Hi again... well a website was recommended to me which lets you import! I stay in South Africa... So i'll be importing a black 300D.

My next question is this ---- What Flash? Is there much of a difference between the Canon 420EX and the 550EX? I'll try do some research but would like your oppinions too please :D

And what are your thoughts on the Sigma EF-500????

Many thanks...

[Canuck]

Hi again... well a website was recommended to me which lets you import! I stay in South Africa... So i'll be importing a black 300D.

My next question is this ---- What Flash? Is there much of a difference between the Canon 420EX and the 550EX? I'll try do some research but would like your oppinions too please :D

And what are your thoughts on the Sigma EF-500????

Many thanks...

The difference in the 420 vs 550 is the guide number, a measure of how powerful the flash is. The 550 is the more powerful of the 2.

I highly recommend getting a 10D over the digital rebel (aka: 300D), just my opinion. I have a 10D and held a 300D and well the 10D feels more solid to me, again opinion.

The 500EF, that's a real big'un! CyberDyneSystems (CDS) has one and is a moderator.

[snibbetsj]

Welcome havoc,
You might look into picking up a used 10D as they're not much more than a new 300D right now. Add a 50 f1.8 and maybe a 70-200 f4L and you're probably around $1600 and have some great gear to learn on. :)

Be prepared for your initial several (hundred) shots to look like s**t until you learn how to use your new camera ;)
Jeff