Is now the right time to buy the 400d?

Hi - Noob alert!!

I've been lurking for a while and have decided to take the plunge into DSLR photography.

I've plumped for the 400d with the Kit lens, since i thought i'd get this lens, have some fun with it and see where (if anywhere) my photographic style is heading and then buy lenses accordingly - i'm into arty, creative stuff like long exposures, fisheye, IR, filters etc. - Also when else can you get a lens for £20-30?!

Is this the right time to buy the camera though - i'm seeing threads about the Kit lens being upgraded to include IS and possibly longer focal range. Is this likely to happen *soon* (as in the next couple weeks - i'm dying to get going!) as i'll be mighty pee'd off if Canon upgrade the kit lens just as i've bought the 400d.

I guess you can always be waiting for the next thing to come along (in which case you'd never buy anything right!?) but is the 450d (Rebel XTi MK II) likely to come out anytime soon also? Anybody know the gossip?

Any advice appreciated.

(Oh, and - Hi everyone - glad to be a member of the forum!)

The Olympus e330 is a great entry level SLR if you want to check it out go to https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=326901

Welcome to POTN, BBB. I think your approach is sound - buy the camera and kit lens, play with it, and see where it takes you. No point worrying about what lenses or features you might or might need until then...

As far as the kit lens rumours are concerned: Canon have announced an IS version of the 18-55mm kit lens - details at Canon USA. Meanwhile Warehouse Express say it will be available in October and will cost £159. So you could buy a 400D body-only and the lens separately; at Warehouse Express (just using this as an example) that would cost you £558 instead of £439 for the kit including the non-IS version of the lens. Personally I think that's too much of a price differential for IS in a short lens, but it's your money. Whether or not Canon will start to bundle the IS lens in a 400D kit, and what it will cost, I have no idea. You can go mad speculating on what might or might not happen. Wait a month or two and rumours will start circulating about the 450D. I'd say take the plunge now.

StewartR wrote in post #3945933
Welcome to POTN, BBB. I think your approach is sound - buy the camera and kit lens, play with it, and see where it takes you. No point worrying about what lenses or features you might or might need until then...

As far as the kit lens rumours are concerned: Canon have announced an IS version of the 18-55mm kit lens - details at Canon USA. Meanwhile Warehouse Express say it will be available in October and will cost £159. So you could buy a 400D body-only and the lens separately; at Warehouse Express (just using this as an example) that would cost you £558 instead of £439 for the kit including the non-IS version of the lens. Personally I think that's too much of a price differential for IS in a short lens, but it's your money. Whether or not Canon will start to bundle the IS lens in a 400D kit, and what it will cost, I have no idea. You can go mad speculating on what might or might not happen. Wait a month or two and rumours will start circulating about the 450D. I'd say take the plunge now.

OK thanks for the advice. I'm going to take the plunge and go for the Body and Kit lens. I guess I just need to get out there now and have some fun with it!

Go for it! Experiment. Ask questions here. Post pictures. Have fun. And lock away your credit cards!

I certainly will! See you in a week with some first pics (hopefully)

I am just about to put my 400d and 18-55 Kit lens on the for sale items, it is just 4 months old and has been taken well care of. If you are interested, drop me a line and I will give you the price and full details.

thanks for the offer but i've got a friend who works in a camera shop who said he can do me one for ~£360 new. If you can beat that then i'd be interested but i'd say put it up on ebay and you'll get £410 for it no problem

You don't say which kit lens you're considering. Seems like the only kit people have been able to get so far is with the 28-135 lens.

I have a 28-105 lens on my 300D and, while it's a nice sharp lens, it isn't nearly wide angle enough for most of my shooting. That's why most of my shots are with the kit 18-55 lens.

If I understand the situation correctly, the new 18-55 IS USM lens will be offered in a 40D kit soon. That'd be my choice.

-js

in the uk the only 'kit lens' is the 18-55mm?? Other than that the option is to buy body only and get something like a sigma 17-70mm or similar.

In the us do you have the 28-135mm lens as standard? That sucks for us in the UK if you do.

The canon "Kit" comes with the 18-55 but there are plenty of packages on ebay, but in reality those ebay packages use cheap accessories to make it look like more of a deal. I think your best bet is the xti and kit lens. Then get a 50mm 1.8 II lens. You should be able to find one for around 50 pounds sterling and its an amazing little lens. I wouldn't recommend spending any money on nice glass until you find the limitations of the 18-55 and figure out what will really fit your needs

BigBouncyBall wrote in post #3954350
In the us do you have the 28-135mm lens as standard? That sucks for us in the UK if you do.

Its not standard for the XTI. Its the kit lens on the new 40d

I say go ahead and buy now. IS is nice, but chances are you will want to get something better than the IS kit lens pretty soon anyway. The standard kit lens actually isn't that bad when stopped down, and for the price of getting it in the kit, it is well worth buying and keeping it if nothing else than to have an emergency lens in case your upgrade lens fails. The next biggest thing you need is free: learn the basics of photography. It really does not take long, and there are plenty of learning sites on the web. This camera takes some great shots, but it is no better than a good point and shoot if all you do is point it and shoot it.

The 'kit lens' normally denotes the EF-S 18-55 lens.
However, Canon is now offering 'kits' that have the (quite a bit more expensive) 28-135 IS lens.

Best regards,
Andy

thanks guys. more great advice. i've heard that the 'nifty 50' is the hidden gem in the canon lens line up and a great lens to learn solid foundations of photography on. For £50 it looks like a great lens with f1.8 too - this means its lets through lots of light hence good for lower light conditions yes?

I've been looking around this forum and there seem to be lots of good books and websites mentioned - does anyone have a particular favorite website for learning solid basics? (while i'm typing i thought i'd ask!)