Help with a purchase

digital paradise wrote in post #16703078
My wife's boss is going to the Arctic for a vacation this summer.

Did you mean antartic by the way? Prudhoe Bay and the Alaskan Pipeline are hardly travel spots.

No. The North.

John from PA wrote in post #16703619
Heed carefully the advice like that above.

Actually if you use P mode it is like a P&S. I used it before I took lessons and you just basically lose full control of DOF and shutter speed for action. I'll check to see if she wants to expand on later or is just happy with a P&S type rig.

I'm often consulted for advice on cameras, and I never make specific recommendations to people.

The first thing I suggest a person do is go to a friendly store with a camera department (I do make a store suggestion, a very specific London Drugs location), where the staff are knowledgeable, don't apply sales pressure, and are happy to let people play with the cameras. I recommend the person interested in buying a DSLR decide on a brand during that trip. I recommend that they determine what brand feels best in his/her hand, and what interface he/she is most comfortable with. Interesting point to note: well over half have chosen Nikon. It seems to be all of the buttons on the Nikons that they like.

Once the person has decided on the brand, we sit down together and discuss the options that fall within the person's budget, and the pros and cons of each with regards to what he/she wants to shoot. We also review what accessories they should be getting for what it is that they want to shoot.

In this case, your wife's boss will want a bag, and maybe a tripod depending on what she wants to shoot (I'd love to try shooting those arctic landscapes!). She'll probably want a couple of good memory cards, and an extra battery. Depending on when she's going, she might want to pick up a flash gun as well. The T5i kit you've mentioned (hopefully it has a bag and tripod, I know some do) would exceed her budget if memory cards and a new battery were thrown into the mix.

Honestly, I think the T3i is a terrific place for most beginners to start if they aren't familiar with DSLRs.

I am really mystified by the number of people on this forum who treat taking pictures with a DSLR as akin to rocket science. I have known a number of non photographers who are quite smart enough to pick up a good camera and start taking very fine pictures. Maybe they won't be Nat Geo quality, but I bet 99% of the forum members haven't been published there either. This lady's boss has until summer to practice, and might possibly be a very smart person. I agree that it is difficult to give advice to a person three times removed from the forum, but then it is also presumptuous to think they are so inept that they can only handle a P&S.

This person has $1,000 to spend, is retiring, and may just want to continue photography afterward. Might as well go for the best gear in the price range. Perhaps a 1DX is overkill, but they do call the Rebels the ENTRY level cameras.

My not very humble opinion - feel free to flame me.

Just got an email from my wife. Photo Central is the place I suggested checks out. Looks like she may go with a DSLR.

"Diane was thrilled to hear about photocentral – just what she was looking for. She had a SLR with lenses years ago so she understands the concepts. She was thinking about taking lessons too."

Yno wrote in post #16703803
I am really mystified by the number of people on this forum who treat taking pictures with a DSLR as akin to rocket science. I have known a number of non photographers who are quite smart enough to pick up a good camera and start taking very fine pictures. Maybe they won't be Nat Geo quality, but I bet 99% of the forum members haven't been published there either. This lady's boss has until summer to practice, and might possibly be a very smart person. I agree that it is difficult to give advice to a person three times removed from the forum, but then it is also presumptuous to think they are so inept that they can only handle a P&S.

This person has $1,000 to spend, is retiring, and may just want to continue photography afterward. Might as well go for the best gear in the price range. Perhaps a 1DX is overkill, but they do call the Rebels the ENTRY level cameras.

My not very humble opinion - feel free to flame me.

Why flame? All suggestions are good. You never know what they can lead to. Thanks

Well, I kind of just collectively insulted lots of forum members, and you just never know who is going to take it the wrong way. If people ask me about DSLRs I am glad to talk to them about DSLRs, and I don't go shooting from the hip and saying they should get a P&S. That is entirely up to them.

There wasn't enough info on the boss for me to make judgment in whether DSLR was right for her. Hence the safe advice for her to learn about basic differences between systems.

I had a friend of my SO asking for a good dslr to purchase for their honey moon trip to Hawaii.

They've never had experience with with digital cameras other than the typical point and shoot, their only criteria was and perception was that it had to take good pictures and naturally dslr would in that case.

I recommended the camera that I had at the time, 1d mark 3 with the 24-105mm, they were in for a price shock but bought it anyway.

Boy, I had to show them how to use the damn thing for at least 3 weeks before their travel.

They ended up selling it on craigslist and getting a gf3.

I stopped giving my opinion to people who ask me for a good camera to buy.

They wont know crap, and would be happy with a super zoom point and shoot that' even crappier at image quality/

digitalP,

I agree with your find... a package that included two lenses that are both STM. I got my wife an SL1 and a couple lenses but the 55-250 STM hadn't bee released yet. I have one showing up today. From what I've read, it has better IQ, can be used more easily with a CPL and has better construction. All of these benefits might be subtle, but I figured it was worth the upgrade for her.

no text.

p00kienrayray wrote in post #16703977
There wasn't enough info on the boss for me to make judgment in whether DSLR was right for her. Hence the safe advice for her to learn about basic differences between systems.

You are correct. My wife asked me last night so I started to check things out. I could have waited but you always get good info here that others can benefit from. I really wanted to know more about the gear than anything else. Seems like the T5i is a pretty solid intro camera and the lenses - decent but you get what you pay for.

It is tough to get a package with some decent range in lenses for under $1000. She is going to head down to the store and figure out what she wants to do and which manufacturer to go with.

unfaix wrote in post #16703989
I had a friend of my SO asking for a good dslr to purchase for their honey moon trip to Hawaii.

They've never had experience with with digital cameras other than the typical point and shoot, their only criteria was and perception was that it had to take good pictures and naturally dslr would in that case.

I recommended the camera that I had at the time, 1d mark 3 with the 24-105mm, they were in for a price shock but bought it anyway.

Boy, I had to show them how to use the damn thing for at least 3 weeks before their travel.

They ended up selling it on craigslist and getting a gf3.

I stopped giving my opinion to people who ask me for a good camera to buy.

They wont know crap, and would be happy with a super zoom point and shoot that' even crappier at image quality/

She owned an SLR an lenses. I did provide DSRL, mirror-less and P&S options so it is up to her now.

digital paradise wrote in post #16704007
She owned an SLR an lenses. I did provide DSRL, mirror-less and P&S options so it is up to her now.

At least then she wont come back and ask you to give her basic training :P