Best DSLR camera for my needs?

What is a decent older DSLR that I can get pretty cheap? I've gotten some high def camcorders used that have pretty much the same quality as new models costing 4X as much, so I was thinking of getting a used camera too.

My wife has some lenses for a Canon Rebel (non-digital) and I've heard that some DSLRs can use them.
 
What is a decent older DSLR that I can get pretty cheap? I've gotten some high def camcorders used that have pretty much the same quality as new models costing 4X as much, so I was thinking of getting a used camera too.

My wife has some lenses for a Canon Rebel (non-digital) and I've heard that some DSLRs can use them.

If they are EF lenses, they'll fit on any DSLR Canon makes if I am not mistaken. If it says EF-S (which they shouldn't if you were using a film rebel) then the lenses would only fit EF-S camera bodies.... 10D,20D,30D,40D, 50D, rebel cameras....these cameras are not 'full frame' and utilize a sub catigory of lenses available from Canon. (full frame camera bodies are a LOT of money for someone starting out, and not really worth it if just shooting around the house)

I might have a 30D available in the next few days. The 30D is an 8.2Mega Pixel body. Someone local has a kit they are selling, and I might buy it and sell off the stuff I don't need. A 30D isn't real high on the megapixel scale compared to the new stuff on market, but it's a good starting place due to the feature set the camera comes with. Also, with a higher rez camera, you spend most of your time downsizing the images in order to load them online. I was thinking of selling the body and vertical grip as a set for about $475. I'd throw in a lens with it for $575 :D
 
Rebel perhaps?

What is a decent older DSLR that I can get pretty cheap? I've gotten some high def camcorders used that have pretty much the same quality as new models costing 4X as much, so I was thinking of getting a used camera too.

My wife has some lenses for a Canon Rebel (non-digital) and I've heard that some DSLRs can use them.

If you want to stay with Canon I would not pick anything older than the 10 megapixel Rebel XTi (aka 400D, from 2006); there are scads of these out there and you can get one for about $350. More recent bodies are better, natch, the XSi (450D), and esp. the T1i (500D) would be my top choice. Beginners might find the semi-pro bodies a bit daunting.

It would be interesting to know what lenses your wife has; many from that era may not be worth much, but if they are macro lenses or other fixed-focal length lenses it might be good to keep them.

You will want a fast card reader no matter what you get; makes downloading images a snap. They go for about $25. Resizing software and widgets are free.

If you're worried about the size of the files from the larger megapixel cameras, they all have the option of choosing smaller resolution jpegs.

Craigslist is potentially a good source in your city. There's also FredMiranda.com and POTN.com.
 
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If they are EF lenses, they'll fit on any DSLR Canon makes if I am not mistaken. If it says EF-S (which they shouldn't if you were using a film rebel) then the lenses would only fit EF-S camera bodies.... 10D,20D,30D,40D, 50D, rebel cameras....these cameras are not 'full frame' and utilize a sub catigory of lenses available from Canon. (full frame camera bodies are a LOT of money for someone starting out, and not really worth it if just shooting around the house)

I might have a 30D available in the next few days. The 30D is an 8.2Mega Pixel body. Someone local has a kit they are selling, and I might buy it and sell off the stuff I don't need. A 30D isn't real high on the megapixel scale compared to the new stuff on market, but it's a good starting place due to the feature set the camera comes with. Also, with a higher rez camera, you spend most of your time downsizing the images in order to load them online. I was thinking of selling the body and vertical grip as a set for about $475. I'd throw in a lens with it for $575 :D




orrrrrrrrrr....

you go to costco and get for http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10604-Cat83&topnav= for $549.00

orrrr

you go to costco and get http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC10604-Cat83&topnav= For $499.00

lmao a 30d + an unwanted lens for $575.... the camera hated for noise above ISO 1k and with no live view. Just saying.

Imo the Sony is a nicer buy because you get the two kit lenses... with the 18-55 being totally decent over the usually bad kit lens assortment. Though you are giving up liveview.... though Personally I find old fashioned shooting through the view finder somewhat romantic :). I have no info on the 75-300. But it would give you a good intro to portrait and zoom photography, with the option to upgrade to better glass depending on the style of photography you like best.
 
though Personally I find old fashioned shooting through the view finder somewhat romantic :).

I much prefer shooting that way! I really hate the LCD screens! Not at all a feature that interests me!

I went for the 450D to start me off! It ticks all my boxes for a starting camera (that I will one day no doubt upgrade! :p)
 
nah

DGray, would you say my price offering is too steep? or just too much camera?

I don't think your price is at all high; the 30D is a fanastic camera at that price. The simpler contntrolls and menus on a Rebel series are just easier for those starting out with a first DSLR.
 
live view for macros

... and on the topic of "live view", I have this to say: if you shoot lots of macro shots in the field, and you're old and not that good at bending down and contorting yourself in wierd positions to see through the viewfinder, live view is a great advance.
 
... and on the topic of "live view", I have this to say: if you shoot lots of macro shots in the field, and you're old and not that good at bending down and contorting yourself in wierd positions to see through the viewfinder, live view is a great advance.

Because we were talking about macro... i leaned over and pulled out my 100mm and started to play... I couldn't seem to get the focus right when shooting my lens cap. I ended up switching on the live view and zooming 5x..... was able to get the 'canon' in focus, evenly. I used manual focus and looking at the screen rather then being bent over and rocking back and forth changing depth of field. I am not old... but when the DOF is thin, ever little bit of movement effect the image.


KevinZamp05_30_20102942RS.jpg


Edit: the 30D is now home with me and ready for sale if anyone is interested in it. I have the vertical grip, 430ex flash and could throw in a 18-55mm IS lens. If I don't hear from anyone I'm gonna list it on eBay this weekend. I will take photos and list it on the CF classifieds until the weekend.
 
well, if we are talking about cheap and good lenses or bodys, we should clarify what the quality issues look like on the pictures.

My camera is a 2 year old Pentax K20D (maybe comparable to EOS 500D and Nikon D90), and this picture was done with the very cheap and ugly standard kit lense 18-55mm freehand without tripod. Flashlight was body integrated with minimum intensity setting:

Lemur.jpg


More experienced photographers here might see the quality issue as I do as well, but it is a nice picture anyways. Good enough for me, to order a poster-sized print for my living room. - What about the quality issue of the lense: well, on this picture you see the chromatic abberation at the leafs above the Lemurs head.

Same thing at the next picture. The Sifaka and the tree is fine, the branches in the back show chromatic abberations in blue. - But for me and my private use its still great. This was shot with a cheap Sigma 70-300.
Mantella%20%281%29.jpg


But you see effects like that only in extreme zoom positions: very wide angle or far tele. - But even with this cheap lenses, you can shoot beautyful pictures if you stay in less extreme zoomrange:
CebuhornArtist.jpg


at least I cannot see any quality issues here, no dark shadows in the corner, no abberation (standard kit lense and body-flashlight again)

Even if I have a expensive Macro, you can do macros with a cheap tele-zoom also. Even freehand. They dont look as good as macropictures with a real macro-lense, but look at this. Shot freehand with the Sigma 70-300 lense:

Bug.jpg

Mantis.jpg


Not perfect, but good enough for postersized and showing to others (non-photographers usually dont see these quality issues and find these pictures very nice)

and one last picture to show another ugly quality issue:
indianocian.jpg

this was shot at the east coast of madagascar. Also, noone of my guests did see the quality issue, even if I find it very ugly: You see the corners are darkened. This is caused by the cheap lense and even the best body cannot avoid that. Well, fortunately you can correct that with one click with nearly every good software.


All pictures were shot freehand in madagascar. I didnt want to bring the expensive lenses there... - Even with the best and most expensive body, you would get those quality issues on your pictures if you use cheap lenses like I did, but you would get better pictures with same body and better lenses. So I absolutely agree with those who say: most important is the lense. -- even if cheap lenses might be good enough to start, and still do better pictures than compact cameras.

So what about the body:
if you are new to DSLR, you might want to use automatic motif-programs like "portrait" or "landscape" etc, since you are sometimes in a hurry and not yet good enough to do the perfect settings quick enough. Without automatic programs, you might get frustrated very early and stop using the good DSLR. - More expensive bodys dont have automatic programs and no integrated flashlight (what is good enough and very practicable to brighten shadows on sunny days), while the cheapest don thave the ability to do settings by hand (aperture, shutter time, flashlight intensity etc), so the best for you might be something in between like a EOS 500D or Nikon D90 etc. which can do both.

And remember: even the cheapest body and the cheapest lense do much better pictures than every small compact camera can do. Also because of the bigger chip these cameras are less sensitive to Infrared-noise in hot environments.

So now you can see if a cheaper (not cheapest) setting will do it to start. If some time passed by and you learned to take pictures with DSLR, you might know better what further equipment you might need, like a tripod, a stronger flashlight or better lenses. But to start, settings like this are good enough, in my eyes.

Hope that helped a little. - I posted closeups and tele-pictures since this is probably what you want to do if you shoot chameleons.

(and yes, there was 2 dust-particles on the chip as you probably see ;) )
 
Thank you

well, if we are talking about cheap and good lenses or bodys, we should clarify what the quality issues look like on the pictures.

My camera is a 2 year old Pentax K20D (maybe comparable to EOS 500D and Nikon D90), and this picture was done with the very cheap and ugly standard kit lense 18-55mm freehand without tripod. Flashlight was body integrated with minimum intensity setting:

Lemur.jpg


More experienced photographers here might see the quality issue as I do as well, but it is a nice picture anyways. Good enough for me, to order a poster-sized print for my living room. - What about the quality issue of the lense: well, on this picture you see the chromatic abberation at the leafs above the Lemurs head.

Same thing at the next picture. The Sifaka and the tree is fine, the branches in the back show chromatic abberations in blue. - But for me and my private use its still great. This was shot with a cheap Sigma 70-300.
Mantella%20%281%29.jpg


But you see effects like that only in extreme zoom positions: very wide angle or far tele. - But even with this cheap lenses, you can shoot beautyful pictures if you stay in less extreme zoomrange:
CebuhornArtist.jpg


at least I cannot see any quality issues here, no dark shadows in the corner, no abberation (standard kit lense and body-flashlight again)

Even if I have a expensive Macro, you can do macros with a cheap tele-zoom also. Even freehand. They dont look as good as macropictures with a real macro-lense, but look at this. Shot freehand with the Sigma 70-300 lense:

Bug.jpg

Mantis.jpg


Not perfect, but good enough for postersized and showing to others (non-photographers usually dont see these quality issues and find these pictures very nice)

and one last picture to show another ugly quality issue:
indianocian.jpg

this was shot at the east coast of madagascar. Also, noone of my guests did see the quality issue, even if I find it very ugly: You see the corners are darkened. This is caused by the cheap lense and even the best body cannot avoid that. Well, fortunately you can correct that with one click with nearly every good software.


All pictures were shot freehand in madagascar. I didnt want to bring the expensive lenses there... - Even with the best and most expensive body, you would get those quality issues on your pictures if you use cheap lenses like I did, but you would get better pictures with same body and better lenses. So I absolutely agree with those who say: most important is the lense. -- even if cheap lenses might be good enough to start, and still do better pictures than compact cameras.

So what about the body:
if you are new to DSLR, you might want to use automatic motif-programs like "portrait" or "landscape" etc, since you are sometimes in a hurry and not yet good enough to do the perfect settings quick enough. Without automatic programs, you might get frustrated very early and stop using the good DSLR. - More expensive bodys dont have automatic programs and no integrated flashlight (what is good enough and very practicable to brighten shadows on sunny days), while the cheapest don thave the ability to do settings by hand (aperture, shutter time, flashlight intensity etc), so the best for you might be something in between like a EOS 500D or Nikon D90 etc. which can do both.

And remember: even the cheapest body and the cheapest lense do much better pictures than every small compact camera can do. Also because of the bigger chip these cameras are less sensitive to Infrared-noise in hot environments.

So now you can see if a cheaper (not cheapest) setting will do it to start. If some time passed by and you learned to take pictures with DSLR, you might know better what further equipment you might need, like a tripod, a stronger flashlight or better lenses. But to start, settings like this are good enough, in my eyes.

Hope that helped a little. - I posted closeups and tele-pictures since this is probably what you want to do if you shoot chameleons.

(and yes, there was 2 dust-particles on the chip as you probably see ;) )

nice examples, I enjoyed your post.
 
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100 at 2.8

Because we were talking about macro... i leaned over and pulled out my 100mm and started to play... I couldn't seem to get the focus right when shooting my lens cap. I ended up switching on the live view and zooming 5x..... was able to get the 'canon' in focus, evenly. I used manual focus and looking at the screen rather then being bent over and rocking back and forth changing depth of field. I am not old... but when the DOF is thin, ever little bit of movement effect the image.

...

Edit: the 30D is now home with me and ready for sale if anyone is interested in it. I have the vertical grip, 430ex flash and could throw in a 18-55mm IS lens. If I don't hear from anyone I'm gonna list it on eBay this weekend. I will take photos and list it on the CF classifieds until the weekend.

That is a real demonstration of the point. Nicely done.

Your camera should go quick. That's a lot of kit for the money.
 
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Thanks for sharing! Those pics look great to me! :D

I just papped these shots off real quick having just got my camera and lenses! My god, it feels awesome (sorry for the blasphemy!)

IMG_2862.jpg

IMG_2865.jpg


I know they aren't great pictures, but it just felt nice to quickly snap something! :D

The first one was taken at 18mm and the 2nd at 250mm. I got a shot at 55mm using both lenses and the difference is quite something!

I tried getting a pic of my chams, but Dante still hates this camera and Nero was hiding already! Never mind, there's always tomorrow!
 
There's not much to snap in my garden, but I took a few plant pics just because I needed to photograph something today (also got a pigeon flying and a bee!) I need that macro lens! :D

Flying pigeon:


Various flowers:





Honey bee:
 
I've looked around and I was thinking of getting the Rebel XS or XSi. Is the kit lens something my wife would probably want or do I not need it? I found the old lenses and they are:

EF 75-300mm 1:4 - 5:6 (I think she paid like $200 for it 10-15 years ago)
28-80mm (I think this one came with the camera)

The kit lens is supposed to be a EF-S 18-55 IS. Would the above two make it redundant or would it have some new features?
 
The 75-300mm is a 'kit' lens if I am not mistaken.

I don't know anything about the 28-80.

Google 'the digital picture' and search on the site '28-80mm' and there should be a review there.

you'll find the 18-55mm IS lens is better than the version before. It is a good value lens, but nothing GREAT. I like it for what it cost me. to get a similar focal length lens you'll need to spend $1100 (new) for a 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM..... not cheap lol you can find them used in the 800-900 range.
 
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