DSLR Camera Recommendations

[user 1190]

Thanks for the input Plasmid

I'm looking at Best Buy becuase of their no interest financing, but my best option there https://www.bestbuy.com/site/Canon+...?id=pcmprd146200050016&skuId=9999146200050016 is a Rebel XS, not the XSi. Is the XSi just a higher MP?

Also, what lens would you recommend as an upgrade?

I just looked at what you picked, just curious why you picked that? Was it based just on price?

Its a good camera but also kinda old, came out couple years ago.

Unless you have a real need for a 300 lens, I would probably recommend the Nikon 3000 ( about a year old) packages, they are slightly better lenses being the are VR lenses. If you can pop for maybe $100 more I would say get a Nikon 3100 package, that will get you a newer body with better MP and also give you video capability.

 

[MarfMaster]

What do you plan to do with it? Are you ok with needing more then one lens?

I'm really just planning on taking pictures of my daughter and my collection, maybe a few landscapes here and there.

I just looked at what you picked, just curious why you picked that? Was it based just on price?

Its a good camera but also kinda old, came out couple years ago.

Unless you have a real need for a 300 lens, I would probably recommend the Nikon 3000 ( about a year old) packages, they are slightly better lenses being the are VR lenses. If you can pop for maybe $100 more I would say get a Nikon 3100 package, that will get you a newer body with better MP and also give you video capability.

I chose that one mainly because I was looking at best buy for the interest free financing, and because it was the only one in my price range. But if it's an older model I may just bite the bullet, get the cash together and buy from somewhere else

I'll take a look at those Nikon's you suggested, thanks mfoga

 

[user 1190]

I'm really just planning on taking pictures of my daughter and my collection, maybe a few landscapes here and there.



I chose that one mainly because I was looking at best buy for the interest free financing, and because it was the only one in my price range. But if it's an older model I may just bite the bullet, get the cash together and buy from somewhere else

I'll take a look at those Nikon's you suggested, thanks mfoga

You can get the two Nikons I mentioned in a similar price range.

The 3000 which is about year old but and really a older lower version of 3100 but it's about the same price as the Canon or you can get the 3100 for about $100 more if you get a package from BB.

 

[Havok]

I noticed my Best Buy had the Canon XS and I think the T1i. If you were gonna get the XS, I would say spend a little more and get the XSi instead. It's newer and has some more features that the XS doesn't have.

You can buy just the body on special at Adorama.com right now for $500. You could get the body and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens and I think that would set you up pretty good.

I would honestly stick with the Canon Rebel line though but that's just my personal opinion. They are great cameras. Here's the link to Adorama.com for the body they have on specal and the 50mm lens. Do a search and take a look at what else they have, and they also have a Bill me later option which is like financing. You might find the 50mm lens a little cheaper if you look around a bit.

https://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIB.html

https://www.adorama.com/CA5018AFU.html

 

[user 1190]

I noticed my Best Buy had the Canon XS and I think the T1i. If you were gonna get the XS, I would say spend a little more and get the XSi instead. It's newer and has some more features that the XS doesn't have.

You can buy just the body on special at Adorama.com right now for $500. You could get the body and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens and I think that would set you up pretty good.

I would honestly stick with the Canon Rebel line though but that's just my personal opinion. They are great cameras. Here's the link to Adorama.com for the body they have on specal and the 50mm lens. Do a search and take a look at what else they have, and they also have a Bill me later option which is like financing. You might find the 50mm lens a little cheaper if you look around a bit.

https://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIB.html

https://www.adorama.com/CA5018AFU.html

I would still stay away from getting the XSi its even older then the XS. .

Having the 50mm as an only lens would not be a very good way to go IMO. A good 50mm lens is nice to have but still puts you a good distance away for taking pictures of collection or can make it hard to get photos as you a limited where you can stand. Having at least some sort of wide zoom lens is very important for the average user.

 

[Deak Starkiller]

Canon. I love my old Rebel.

 

[Havok]

I would still stay away from getting the XSi its even older then the XS. .

Having the 50mm as an only lens would not be a very good way to go IMO. A good 50mm lens is nice to have but still puts you a good distance away for taking pictures of collection or can make it hard to get photos as you a limited where you can stand. Having at least some sort of wide zoom lens is very important for the average user.

Actually the XSi is the model that came out after the XS, so therefore it's newer.

And he said he primarily wanted to take pictures of his daughter and his collection, that's way I suggested the 50mm lens. The only problem I think he would run into is when he takes pictures of his daughter since it's not a zoom lens but for his collection I don't see a problem. I love it when I take pictures of mine.

I was just suggesting one route for him but I suggested originally just sticking with the kit lens to start out, since it's a 18-55mm zoom lens in the Rebel series.

Just get what you think is best for you Marf, these are all just our individual opinions after all.

 

[user 1190]

Actually the XSi is the model that came out after the XS, so therefore it's newer.

And he said he primarily wanted to take pictures of his daughter and his collection, that's way I suggested the 50mm lens. The only problem I think he would run into is when he takes pictures of his daughter since it's not a zoom lens but for his collection I don't see a problem. I love it when I take pictures of mine.

I was just suggesting one route for him but I suggested originally just sticking with the kit lens to start out, since it's a 18-55mm zoom lens in the Rebel series.

Just get what you think is best for you Marf, these are all just our individual opinions after all.

Actually the XSi was release in April of 2008 and the XS was released in Aug of 2008.

 

[Havok]

Well excuse me then, I didn't know the exact release dates of the models.

My main point was and is, the XSi is a more advanced model than the XS, regardless of what the release dates were. A simple comparison of the features of each camera will tell you that.

I don't want to get into a debate in Marf's thread though, so that's all I'm gonna say about it. Good luck again in your choosing of a DSLR camera Marf.

 

[EXOTICLEX]

I have a canon t2i and love it. The advantage of the t2i over the cheaper canon models is that it shoots 1080p video. The video on dslrs are cool because unlike traditional camcorders they can shoot video with a wider aperture meaning that you can have the nice effect where the foreground is sharp and the background is blurry.

this is the one I've been looking at....how is the 18-55mm lens that it comes with

 

[MarfMaster]

You can buy just the body on special at Adorama.com right now for $500. You could get the body and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens and I think that would set you up pretty good.

I would honestly stick with the Canon Rebel line though but that's just my personal opinion. They are great cameras. Here's the link to Adorama.com for the body they have on specal and the 50mm lens. Do a search and take a look at what else they have, and they also have a Bill me later option which is like financing. You might find the 50mm lens a little cheaper if you look around a bit.

https://www.adorama.com/ICADRXSIB.html

https://www.adorama.com/CA5018AFU.html

And he said he primarily wanted to take pictures of his daughter and his collection, that's way I suggested the 50mm lens. The only problem I think he would run into is when he takes pictures of his daughter since it's not a zoom lens but for his collection I don't see a problem. I love it when I take pictures of mine.

I was just suggesting one route for him but I suggested originally just sticking with the kit lens to start out, since it's a 18-55mm zoom lens in the Rebel series.

Just get what you think is best for you Marf, these are all just our individual opinions after all.

Thanks for the links and input Havok! Seems like a good deal on that Rebel body. Is the 18-55mm the zoom lens what you would suggest for my needs (collection/daughter)?

 

[plasmid303]

Hey Marf, you asked this in the Mark IV thread but I thought I'd answer here for convenience:

What lens did you go with for your upgrade Plasmid? I'm looking at the XS / XSi models.

Firstly, I picked up the Canon 50mm F1.8 II. If you're on a budget, this should be your very first purchase. It's a good general-purpose portrait lens. Even though it's inexpensive, the picture quality is well beyond that of the standard 18-55mm kit lens. However, the 50mm F1.8 is a prime lens, so you lose some versatility that you'd get from zoom lenses like the previously mentioned 18-55mm.

Since then I've picked up a couple others, but I'm not sure what your price range (for a lens) is so I don't know if I can recommend them (28-135mm IS and 100mm Macro).

I recommend visiting this Canon DSLR and lenses review site:

https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

Actually, before going out to buy any new lenses, if you're planning on getting a dslr kit, you should try out the 18-55mm kit lens included in the box just to see how you like it. I know I said that the 50mm should be your first purchase and that I threw out my kit lens a while ago, but my needs and your needs may not be the same. No need to spend more $$$ if it suits you just fine. But go to a store and try one out if you can.

 

[Havok]

Thanks for the links and input Havok! Seems like a good deal on that Rebel body. Is the 18-55mm the zoom lens what you would suggest for my needs (collection/daughter)?

Yeah the 18-55mm lens is the one I would suggest for what you want to shoot. I pretty much agree with all of Plasmids points about the 18-55mm and the 50mm and if you got both of those lenses, I think you would be set for quite a while, unless your shooting interests shift. I kept my 18-55mm even though I have the 50mm cause I still think it's a really good lens and I personally like to have a zoom on one of my lenses.

Glad I could help you out a little.

 

[MarfMaster]

Thanks again guys I think right now I'm definitely leaning towards picking up the Canon XSi that Havok linked along with the 50mm f/1.8 (great value from what I gather) to start and then picking up the 18-55 mm a little later if need be.

 

[nash]

bad move. you're going to be SEVERELY limited in taking photos conveniently with a 50mm f1.8 lens. Since there is NO ZOOM and it is a fixed zoom lens, you'll be the one having to walk forward or backwards to "zoom" in or out on your subjects.

The 50mm is fine for stationary things like your collectibles or portraits where your subject is standing in one place...but if youre going to be shooting your daughter or family, I think you'll soon find out how limited it really is.

But hey, cameras are like sunglasses. No one can tell you which one to get. You have to be the one to try it out and see how it fits for your own needs and features.

 

[user 1190]

bad move. you're going to be SEVERELY limited in taking photos conveniently with a 50mm f1.8 lens. Since there is NO ZOOM and it is a fixed zoom lens, you'll be the one having to walk forward or backwards to "zoom" in or out on your subjects.

The 50mm is fine for stationary things like your collectibles or portraits where your subject is standing in one place...but if youre going to be shooting your daughter or family, I think you'll soon find out how limited it really is.

But hey, cameras are like sunglasses. No one can tell you which one to get. You have to be the one to try it out and see how it fits for your own needs and features.

I agree I would never want a only a prime lens. Especially if you try to take pics out and about. I would have loved to use just my prime lenes in Europe but sometimes that not going to work, you make not be able to get far back enough, you may have people in all the pictures since they have to walk in front of you. Sometimes even my 35mm prime was to much. IMO the lenses that come in kits aren't very good, but I will also say most DSLR users would never know and are very happy with quality. I would strongly suggest getting at least the kit with an 18-55 zoom lens, its always a nice fall back lens when you need it.

 

[The Josh]

For me I have a bigger zoom lens I use when I go to sporting events or something like that. For the shots I take at Comic-Con or of my stuff here at home I just use the kit lens. I'm usually pretty happy with my shots.

 

[nash]

I'd rather have a kit lens with a moderately priced flash unit than an expensive lens with no flash unit. something else to think about.

 

[The Josh]

Thats what I still need to get is a flash attachment.

 

[user 1190]

Thats what I still need to get is a flash attachment.

I would get a good prime lens first. A flash is nice but a good prime lens can help eliminate the need for one. Which can be very helpful for places like comic con, by eliminating flash and still shooting a higher shutter speed you will get better pics of stuff behind glass. It also very nice if you go to museums where you can't use a flash, you may still be able to get nice pics you couldn't get with a slower zoom lens.