Buying my first camera system

[daredevil123]

hey buddy,

Just a gentle reminder, if you are getting Canon, bare in mind that they are having buy back program now, u can get the Canon 500D kit with around 1.1k only!

Just get a used and cheap canon camera from the 2nd hand shop (i saw cash converter selling a used camera at $36!)....then u can enjoy the 25% off!

hope this helps....

Not all old canons are eligible for the Canon buy back program. So make sure the model of the camera is accepted before going out and buy a cheapo 2nd hand cam to use as trade in.

 

[photobugg]

If you have got a budget of 1k+, maybe it's more beneficial to get a 1000D + another lens. Maybe a 50mm f1.8 or 55-250.

 

[heshanj]

It is not wise to stretch your budget just to get a camera body and a kit lens. In fact it is better to save more on the body+kit and leave room for other lenses, flash and accessories. What you need to understand that buying a DSLR camera is unlike a PnS or prosumer purchase. You will need/want quite a bit of other stuff before you know it.

If I have to do it all over again, knowing things I know now, stuff I would get if getting my first DSLR would be:

DSLR body + kit lens
Clear/Protective/UV filter (please get good multi-coated one. I use Kenko pro1 D) Reviews of good brands here.
Circular Polarizer (C-PL)
Dry cabinate or Dry box
Simple camera bag
Extra Li-on battery for camera
Lens cleaning kit (I use Lenspen)
Of course, a good fast speed memory card (or 2)

Next down the line I will get slowly one by one (in the order of):
Tripod (cheap one or expensive one up to you. Having one is better than none)
50mm 1.8 prime lens (very cheap, for lowlight, and for background blurring)
Flash gun (get a diffuser for it too)
Tele zoom lens (a cheap 70-300 or 55-200 comes to mind)

After all these, you will have a very good set of equipment that can cover 99% of every situation nicely.

But after you reach this point and got better in your hobby, I can assure you that you will want better equipment and will get the BBB virus!

thanks a lot for that, very helpful! i think i'll go with this advice and stick to the 500D which is wat i was budgeting for.. i didnt know i'd have to buy so much additional stuff..
about filters (another n00b question) can u attach more than one filter to a lens? or do u have to change filters, based on the situation? i also noticed (and a friend of mine who bought a 450D told me) that stores sometimes throw in a free UV filter, are those good enough? thanks

EDIT: and another question about EF/EF-S lenses.. u mentioned that EF-S lenses is for cropped sensors, like the 500D.. does that mean the 500D cannot use EF lenses?

 

[papaho]

I started with a 450D and a Tamron 17-50 f2.8.

I think this is a good setup for a newbie like me where I could explore abit of range and have a fairly good wide angle @ 17mm. Suitable for travel, candids, landscape shots or protraits though it may not be best for each class.

I recently got myself a 50mm f1.8 and its pretty fun to work with as well. If budget is tight for the time being, I think a 50mm f1.8 is good as well , because you can already start picking up the skills in DOF, Aperture, composition, lighting, noise, metering...etc.. with this setup and slowly build up vitamin M to get a better lens.

Hope this helps. : )

 

[heshanj]

thanks papaho.. im trying to see if i can afford that tamron lens.. a lot of u guys seem to recommend it!
EDIT: alas, the tamron 17-50mm lens seems to be over SGD600.. way over my budget.. maybe i'll have to stick to the canon 18-55 kit lens for the moment!

about a flash, the canon speedlite 270 ok for a beginner? it seems the most affordable.. but i only looked at canon brand, so i dunno

 

[daredevil123]

thanks a lot for that, very helpful! i think i'll go with this advice and stick to the 500D which is wat i was budgeting for.. i didnt know i'd have to buy so much additional stuff..
about filters (another n00b question) can u attach more than one filter to a lens? or do u have to change filters, based on the situation? i also noticed (and a friend of mine who bought a 450D told me) that stores sometimes throw in a free UV filter, are those good enough? thanks

No problem. Glad to be able to help. remember some of the stuff will be freebies from the shop. So you may not have to pay for some of these items. Always bargain.

You can do anything you want, question is if the result will be good. Personally, I feel that stacking filters is not a good idea if stacking them do not serve a specific purpose. Even when I do night photography, I take off all my UV/protector filters. This is because, every piece of additional glass in front of your lenses can degrade your image quality. It can also cause ghosting and flare. In certain situations, I stack filters, but this is ONLY when I use the cokin P filter system, and ONLY when the situation demands that I use more than 1 filter to achieve a certain effect. One thing I always tell myself: Less is More. Keep it simple. This is just my personal opinion. Others may have a different approach.

Free filters may or may not be the best. Most of the time, free stuff are less than spectacular. Shops run a business, they want to maximize profit, always remember that. I gave you a link to the good brands in a previous post in this thread. Read it up.

EDIT: and another question about EF/EF-S lenses.. u mentioned that EF-S lenses is for cropped sensors, like the 500D.. does that mean the 500D cannot use EF lenses?

Lenses meant for FF (full frame, like 5D, 1D) can also be used on cropped sensor cameras like the 500D. It is harder the other way round where lenses made for cropped sensors when used on full frame cameras have the tendency to cause serious vignetting.

 

[daredevil123]

thanks papaho.. im trying to see if i can afford that tamron lens.. a lot of u guys seem to recommend it!
EDIT: alas, the tamron 17-50mm lens seems to be over SGD600.. way over my budget.. maybe i'll have to stick to the canon 18-55 kit lens for the moment!

about a flash, the canon speedlite 270 ok for a beginner? it seems the most affordable.. but i only looked at canon brand, so i dunno

The tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is a very good lens. It also serves a specific need for large aperture. I own the same lens myself but I only got it after I see a need for it. My advice is to stay with the kit lenses first, and do not go overboard. Learn the basic skills, the techniques, composition, how to maximize your camera and your current lenses. When you hit a wall in the type of photography you want to do, and notice that you need that extra feature, do your purchase at that point.

As for an external flash, it makes a lot of difference if you go for the cheapest or go mid range. I strongly recommend the 430EX flash.

I am not a Canon user by the way. But I think Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax or even Olympus are fine choices. Personally if I have to start from scratch all over again, I would go for Pentax system, best value for money at this moment, in my opinion.

 

[heshanj]

thanks again, daredevil! i think i will definitely stick to the kit lens then, for the time being..
thanks for the tip on stacking filters.. yeah, i thought as much, that freebie filters wont be that good.. i did read the review page and i also checked up a couple of prices.. they dont seem that expensive, so i shouldnt have a prob affording a filter or two.. im not sure if i can afford the speedlite 430EX, which is over 500SGD i think? but yeah, maybe later on, again! btw, which camera do u own? just curious

im also researching on sony alpha cameras.. i notice that most of them use a CCD sensor, whereas most new cameras use CMOS.. is this a big difference, or just a matter of opinion again?

 

[papaho]

thanks papaho.. im trying to see if i can afford that tamron lens.. a lot of u guys seem to recommend it!
EDIT: alas, the tamron 17-50mm lens seems to be over SGD600.. way over my budget.. maybe i'll have to stick to the canon 18-55 kit lens for the moment!

about a flash, the canon speedlite 270 ok for a beginner? it seems the most affordable.. but i only looked at canon brand, so i dunno

I agree with daredevil123 on filters.. I am on pretty tight budget as well and got a hoya filters.. it scratch easily and it difficult to clean.. end up i remove filter everytime i shoot.

As for speedlite I am not sure.. I got myself a nissin(much cheaper) to fool around but realise that i could not use some of the built in features.. and I am still toying with the basics.. so I cant say much on this.

 

[daredevil123]

thanks again, daredevil! i think i will definitely stick to the kit lens then, for the time being..
thanks for the tip on stacking filters.. yeah, i thought as much, that freebie filters wont be that good.. i did read the review page and i also checked up a couple of prices.. they dont seem that expensive, so i shouldnt have a prob affording a filter or two.. im not sure if i can afford the speedlite 430EX, which is over 500SGD i think? but yeah, maybe later on, again! btw, which camera do u own? just curious

im also researching on sony alpha cameras.. i notice that most of them use a CCD sensor, whereas most new cameras use CMOS.. is this a big difference, or just a matter of opinion again?

heshanj, no problem.

My DSLR setup so far:

Nikon D40x
Lenses: Tamron 17-50/2.8, Nikon 18-55 ED2, Nikon 55-200 VR, Nikon 50/1.8D. (I do use a lot other old lenses I have access to but do not own).
Flash: Nikon SB600, Stofen diffuser, Gary Fong lightsphere.
Filters: Cokin P system, Kenko Pro1 D protectors, Hoya both sides coated UV (kit lens), Tokina C-PL, Hoya ND4 and some others.
Tripod: old $50 Velbon CX-570

Yes, not the best equipment. Old technology and entry level. A lot of people "see me no up" Hahahahaha. I am cheap, what to do? I got the D40x and kit lens for free too. ;p

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

You take good photos. That's all that matters. Don't care what people say about your equipment.
The results speak for themselves.

 

[daredevil123]

I agree with daredevil123 on filters.. I am on pretty tight budget as well and got a hoya filters.. it scratch easily and it difficult to clean.. end up i remove filter everytime i shoot.

As for speedlite I am not sure.. I got myself a nissin(much cheaper) to fool around but realise that i could not use some of the built in features.. and I am still toying with the basics.. so I cant say much on this.

The Nissin range of flashes are excellent value for money. I am considering one for myself. That is one thing the TS can consider. Some 3rd party flashes are quite good and a lot cheaper.

 

[daredevil123]

You take good photos. That's all that matters. Don't care what people say about your equipment.
The results speak for themselves.

Thanks for your vote of confidence bro!

 

[daredevil123]

im also researching on sony alpha cameras.. i notice that most of them use a CCD sensor, whereas most new cameras use CMOS.. is this a big difference, or just a matter of opinion again?

About your question on CCD vs CMOS:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question362.htm

One thing to note is that the technology has come to a point were CMOS can match the quality of CCD.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

The Nissin range of flashes are excellent value for money. I am considering one for myself. That is one thing the TS can consider. Some 3rd party flashes are quite good and a lot cheaper.

Try it out and let me know how it goes!! :devil:
I see you also own an SB600, so I'm guessing you want an additional flash or a more powerful one.
At the moment I feel more at ease to use Nikon Speedlights, but of course there's a price premium.

 

[papaho]

The Nissin range of flashes are excellent value for money. I am considering one for myself. That is one thing the TS can consider. Some 3rd party flashes are quite good and a lot cheaper.

looks like I need be more confident in the stuffs I buy.. Flash photography seems to me like a totally different set of knowledge.. lots more to catch up on.

TS.. time to take the plunge... you will enjoy the process of shooting more than the process of choosing.

 

[daredevil123]

looks like I need be more confident in the stuffs I buy.. Flash photography seems to me like a totally different set of knowledge.. lots more to catch up on.

TS.. time to take the plunge... you will enjoy the process of shooting more than the process of choosing.

Asking is always a good move. Make sure you do not get conned.

 

[daredevil123]

Try it out and let me know how it goes!! :devil:
I see you also own an SB600, so I'm guessing you want an additional flash or a more powerful one.
At the moment I feel more at ease to use Nikon Speedlights, but of course there's a price premium.

Yes bro. Since my camera do not come with CLS commander, I was thinking of getting a flash that can act as a CLS commander.

I am looking at the new Nissin Di866. It looks really good on paper. It is compatible with Nikon's CLS as well as color LCD, and orientation detection. It can command and trigger all Nikon wireless flash with iTTL. Very much like a SB900. And it costs $400, a very good deal.

 

[heshanj]

oh ok.. i always thought (coz most DSLRs use CMOS?) that CMOS is the better technology..
and about flashes, i'll definitely try checking out some third party stuff.. its an exciting prospect, buying this camera n additional stuff, but im still on quite a strict budget thanks for the advice on keeping the total cost down, guys!

daredevil.. i guess ur setup may be average compared to some pros with lot of stuff, but it sounds pretty damn cool to me

 

[daredevil123]

oh ok.. i always thought (coz most DSLRs use CMOS?) that CMOS is the better technology..
and about flashes, i'll definitely try checking out some third party stuff.. its an exciting prospect, buying this camera n additional stuff, but im still on quite a strict budget thanks for the advice on keeping the total cost down, guys!

daredevil.. i guess ur setup may be average compared to some pros with lot of stuff, but it sounds pretty damn cool to me

Traditionally CCD is a better performer, CMOS is cheaper to produce. But advances in CMOS has made them good and comparable to CCD. So newer cameras made the switch to CMOS not because it is better, but because it is cheaper to produce. The idea that CMOS is better, is probably a result of some people's misinformed marketing BS.