looking to buy camera.. eos 30?

hi, i want a new camera, but the best digital i have so far is a canon g3. I want to start learning more and making this more of a joy in my life. I really love taking pics and have been told i have "an eye". Is this camera to much for me? If I move forward.. thinking of starting with 2 lenses. I know I will want a macro.

My questions.. is this to much camera for me? What would someone suggest as a first lens and a macro? I would like to start at about 1000 to 1500... this is a award for me, my 1 year quit smoking anniversary.

Also, it seems that the average price for the body is about $500, but looking at this site bestpricecameras.com for $279 along with looks to be really great packages. Is thie to good to be true?

Bestpricecameras.com is probably one of a number of scamming sites that are floating around. I would highly advise not buying from them. $279 is way too cheap to be paying for a 30D. That being said, from what I've heard, it really is a great camera and now that the 40D is out and driving prices down, it can be had for a very reasonable price. If you want to shoot macro, the Sigma 105 and Canon 100mm 2.8 are both highly regarded and almost any macro you get is going to be extremely sharp. It's a matter of feel instead of performance from what I gather. I don't really know what else you would want as you only specified macro, but you're probably going to want a short zoom to cover everything else. Many people rank on it, but if you're just starting off, the kit lens(18-55mm) is great. It's really cheap and it'll let you know what you want in a lens so you can upgrade later.

Good luck.

You can find used 20d for about $500. 30ds from $750+.

When buying a camera, stick to B&H or KEH or even the forums. I bought a 20d off of FM and I love it.

just researched bestpricecameras... thank goodness i questioned them! yikes!!! As far as lens.. a basic good all purpose lens. I am very excited to find a new camera, I just wonder if this is not to much camera for me.

The 30D is a lot of camera but you can learn slowly.
Use it on the more automated settings first
and then as you read you can start to play one feature at a time.
Myself I started with a Rebel XT and used it as a learning camera.
Upgraded to 30D a month ago after using the XT for a couple of years.

The 30D is a fine camera and nothing to be "afraid" of -- if you are serious about learning to shoot and to take control of your photography it'll serve you well. As you are deciding this, you would also be served well to hit a bookstore and find books about SLR/Digital SLR photography -- I like collecting useful books because initially they help me get familiar with a new subject, and then are handy for reference.

As far as where to buy, you can get cheaper than B&H (bhphotovideo.com) but you can't get better -- good service, decent price and fast delivery. And yes, "too good to be true" is too good to be true!

Hope this helps,

Tony

auggielabonte@labonte.​com wrote in post #4235575
just researched bestpricecameras... thank goodness i questioned them! yikes!!! As far as lens.. a basic good all purpose lens. I am very excited to find a new camera, I just wonder if this is not to much camera for me.

A 30D would be a great camera to start with. If you start with an XTi and love shooting with it you will probably want to upgrade. If you start with the 30D it will probably meet your needs for a much longer period of time and is no harder to learn than the XTi would be.

Besides the Canon 50mm f/1.8 which everyone should probably have (at around $80) I really like the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 lens. At Amazon it's less than $365 and is very nice walk-around lens on a crop sensor camera.

the 30D is everything you always wanted / needed - and more. I bought mine 3 months ago and I love it. In fact I plan on a5D in the future.

The 30d is a great camera. Going with the XTi/400D instead, however, won't be much of a downgrade in terms of features and you can take the money you save and spend it on a nice macro lens like the Canon 100mm f2.8. The 30D doesn't really offer all that much over the XTi except better controls and sturdier construction.

Sickness wrote in post #4235340
You can find used 20d for about $500. 30ds from $750+.

When buying a camera, stick to B&H or KEH or even the forums. I bought a 20d off of FM and I love it.

Second this. I owned an XT for a year and got sick of how it felt like a toy. I bought a used 20D from this message board and have had a blast shooting with it ever since. Will I upgrade in the future? Yes, but I will hopefully keep my 20D as it is a great, reliable workhorse camera.

Don't be afraid of buying used, and especially don't be afraid of buying from this message board or fredmiranda. I've bought and sold probably ~$2000 worth of gear on here and every single transaction has been smooth and painless.

I went with the 30D and I was in the same dilemma. I bought used from a good guy and mine looks like it just came from the store. So far very happy with my purchase and the camera is more capable then I am but I will learn and that is the fun of it to me. I agree with others that getting books to start really help. If you look on eby there are alot of books at very cheap prices used and most of them are very good condition when you get them. Happy shooting.

Thank you, I love this feedback.. but now I am waffling! I FINALLY talked myself into an xti until I held the xti then the 30d in my hands today.... just the feel of the 30d made me have to step back and think about this all again... AARRGGHHH!!!! but that's a $400 PRICE DIFFERENCE,,, what to do what todo hahahaaa

Go call these guys in this trhread. Its only a $200 difference between the bodies only.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=391178

I was going to by a XTI body too. Until I found this, a 30D body for $799.

Just so you know, an EOS 30 and an EOS 30D are different cameras.

I do mean 30D typing with fat fingers