yet another "which camera for a newbie" thread

[bobgosling]

OK, I have a budget of around $1K. I had a lot of experience using a Canon A1 years ago but relegated that to the attic after getting a digital point & shoot for Christmas one year ( currently Canon IXUS 70 ).

After doing a lot of research I'm considering a Canon 500D ( aka T1i Rebel ). Have also looked at Nikon 5000D but most comparative reviews give the Canon the edge. Have a handycam so video not that important but "nice to have".

I'm fairly sure I've made the right choice of camera but what should I do about the lens ? Should I go for the kit and get the 19-55 ( which I think is roughly equivalent to an old 35mm format 35-85 lens ? ). Would I be better off getting the body only and buying a 3rd party lens , if so which ones are recommended ?

Main photographs would be landscape, children & animals ( + macro ? ). Getting grey-haired now and hands shake a bit so Image Stabilization important I think.

Also, where is the best place to buy ? Most of the small shops seem to put up their price by 50% as soon as they see an Ang Mo walk in Thinking of paying a visit to Cathay Photo as that crops up consistently in the price lists. Worried about getting ripped off in Sim Lim and ending up with no warranty etc. How come it's so hard to buy anything online in Singapore ! :angry:

 

[Octarine]

Welcome
For lens: Check Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (now also with VC) or the newer kit lens 18-55 with IS. Tamron is the better choice, faster and sharper.
Regarding shops: MS Color (AMK) and Orient Photo (SLS, 6th floor) are free from any Ang Moh chopping attitude. But homework is essential. For the details (prices, shop addresses and contacts) check the Marketplace and Consumer Corner.

 

[CS TAN]

Bob, welcome back. I am also from way back with my first camera being an AE1P. I perfectly understand the need of IS with our shaky hands.

If you are looking for an all-in-one lens just to carry everywhere. You can consider Canon 18-200mm.

As for worry about getting chop, perhaps you can send out eQuote requests to the stores first and bring along a copy to buy your camera and lenses. A list of stores with their contact info (including email address) can be found in Price Guide sub-section. Look up the Canon price guide (2009-2010) and you should get some idea how much the camera/lenses cost as well as the store info.

 

[hoho85]

i think most probably have to.go down shops for 1st hand cam and lenses right?

speaking of lenses, 17-85 should be able to take gd landscape and gd zooming as well right?

 

[pinholecam]

Welcome.

Why not consider a brand that has built in shake reduction?
Pentax Kx at $950 with the 18-55mm kit lens.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/
The camera is very well featured with little more to ask for at a good price. (Since you have about 1K budget)


Most of the recommended shops in CS should be ok.
Eg. MsColor (Ang Mo Kio); Orient Photo (Sim Lim Square); Cathay Photo; DSLR Revolution (Funan)

 

[akszaksz]

Welcome
For lens: Check Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (now also with VC) or the newer kit lens 18-55 with IS. Tamron is the better choice, faster and sharper.
Regarding shops: MS Color (AMK) and Orient Photo (SLS, 6th floor) are free from any Ang Moh chopping attitude. But homework is essential. For the details (prices, shop addresses and contacts) check the Marketplace and Consumer Corner.

Tamron 17-50 F2.8 is a great lens.
However a brand new one costs ard 800~900+
I guess for TS's budget, he will get that a skip.;p

 

[heshanj]

i have the 500D kit I (18-55mm), which is fine for me.. the tamron 17-50 is definitely better, and will be my first upgrade, i bet.. but thats above TS budget at the moment.. i recommend 18-55 IS.. quite a good lens to start off with

 

[Rashkae]

If your budget can go a bit abote 1k... Why not consider the Sony A500? The live view with fast AF will make taking candid pictures of children very easy, and it has built-in image stabilization.

 

[woefulwabbit]

OK, I have a budget of around $1K. I had a lot of experience using a Canon A1 years ago but relegated that to the attic after getting a digital point & shoot for Christmas one year ( currently Canon IXUS 70 ).

After doing a lot of research I'm considering a Canon 500D ( aka T1i Rebel ). Have also looked at Nikon 5000D but most comparative reviews give the Canon the edge. Have a handycam so video not that important but "nice to have".

The 500D is slightly under $1200... that's a bit over your budget of $1k.
You should look at the Pentax K-x, which has about the same featureset as the 500D, and has better high ISO performance than all the other APS-C DSLRs out there... and it's only about $950, well within your budget.

 

[ShaneKua]

Agreed on the pentax. Thou it's a lil harder to learn to use, I think the image quality is slightly better than the 500D. And I own the 500D. Of course in future good lens will bring both cameras to full potential. Canon's advantage is the largest selection of OEM lens. Pentax has less lens so u'll prob end up getting 3rd party pentax mounts.

 

[hoppie]

Frankly at $1k, stretch abit get the Sony A550, it delivers much superior high ISO performance than the 500D, of cause you can consider Pentax too.

A550 comes with Auto-HDR which alot of camera do not have, no need to fiddle with software, everything is done for you in cam

Don't get the D5000, if you wanna go Nikon, settle nothing less than the D90.

 

[banana0ne]

Agreed on the pentax. Thou it's a lil harder to learn to use, I think the image quality is slightly better than the 500D. And I own the 500D. Of course in future good lens will bring both cameras to full potential. Canon's advantage is the largest selection of OEM lens. Pentax has less lens so u'll prob end up getting 3rd party pentax mounts.

Duh! what do you mean about less lens? less stock er less selection? :dunno:

 

[gimumancer]

Don't get the D5000, if you wanna go Nikon, settle nothing less than the D90.

yet another sweeping generalization :thumbsd: care to be objective? did you even see his budget? one thing I learned here in clubsnap is that everything is relative, it really depends on the user, each model have specs that are targeted for certain audiences, what type of audience are you will only be determined by you..i've known people who bought d90 because they read comments like yours and yet they end up using auto all the time or end up frustrated coz they find the cam complicated to use

 

[Reportage]

OK, I have a budget of around $1K. I had a lot of experience using a Canon A1 years ago but relegated that to the attic after getting a digital point & shoot for Christmas one year ( currently Canon IXUS 70 ).

After doing a lot of research I'm considering a Canon 500D ( aka T1i Rebel ). Have also looked at Nikon 5000D but most comparative reviews give the Canon the edge. Have a handycam so video not that important but "nice to have".

I'm fairly sure I've made the right choice of camera but what should I do about the lens ? Should I go for the kit and get the 19-55 ( which I think is roughly equivalent to an old 35mm format 35-85 lens ? ). Would I be better off getting the body only and buying a 3rd party lens , if so which ones are recommended ?

Main photographs would be landscape, children & animals ( + macro ? ). Getting grey-haired now and hands shake a bit so Image Stabilization important I think.

Also, where is the best place to buy ? Most of the small shops seem to put up their price by 50% as soon as they see an Ang Mo walk in Thinking of paying a visit to Cathay Photo as that crops up consistently in the price lists. Worried about getting ripped off in Sim Lim and ending up with no warranty etc. How come it's so hard to buy anything online in Singapore ! :angry:

it really depends what kind of system you want to build....like example, what lenses do you intend to get?

 

[torak]

yet another sweeping generalization :thumbsd: care to be objective? did you even see his budget? one thing I learned here in clubsnap is that everything is relative, it really depends on the user, each model have specs that are targeted for certain audiences, what type of audience are you will only be determined by you..i've known people who bought d90 because they read comments like yours and yet they end up using auto all the time or end up frustrated coz they find the cam complicated to use

What's so hard to use about d90? I'm Sony user, and my office just bought a d90, I immediately take it for a test shot. That's the first time I handled a Nikon dslr and I find it easy to use.

 

[gimumancer]

What's so hard to use about d90? I'm Sony user, and my office just bought a d90, I immediately take it for a test shot. That's the first time I handled a Nikon dslr and I find it easy to use.

well could it be that not all person are like you? what's easy for you can be hard for others, you don't agree?

 

[pinholecam]

Agreed on the pentax. Thou it's a lil harder to learn to use, I think the image quality is slightly better than the 500D. And I own the 500D. Of course in future good lens will bring both cameras to full potential. Canon's advantage is the largest selection of OEM lens. Pentax has less lens so u'll prob end up getting 3rd party pentax mounts.

I'd just like to point out that Pentax has TONS of lenses to choose from as it can use all its legacy lenses (easily available online, BnS here, thru Clubsnap Pentaxians). Many are cheap and good too.
For the latest DFA/DA range of lenses that can be bought from stores, the range is comprehensive enough as well.
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=534146
TS is on a 1k budget as well

 

[banana0ne]

toink... but nowadays most cameras have nice and good interface. It might be hard to learn at the beginning but at least posibilities of useability is quite obvious. Otherwise Auto is always there.

BTW, how to change ISO on d60 without going into the main menu???

 

[gimumancer]

toink... but nowadays most cameras have nice and good interface. It might be hard to learn at the beginning but at least posibilities of useability is quite obvious. Otherwise Auto is always there.

BTW, how to change ISO on d60 without going into the main menu???

then again it's all relative, there are people who readily give up when they don't get it at the beginning or they don't have simply the time to study or bother knowing..

as for the d60 question, you can't, that's the thing with beginner cams (d40/d60/d3k/d5k), they assume beginners will always use auto-iso coz it's one less variable to worry, you can however customize one of the buttons to be ISO control so it'll serve as the shortcut

 

[hoppie]

yet another sweeping generalization :thumbsd: care to be objective? did you even see his budget? one thing I learned here in clubsnap is that everything is relative, it really depends on the user, each model have specs that are targeted for certain audiences, what type of audience are you will only be determined by you..i've known people who bought d90 because they read comments like yours and yet they end up using auto all the time or end up frustrated coz they find the cam complicated to use

okok..BUY D5000 AND D3000 and pay more for AF-S lens!

want ease of use? Sony also easy leh, i dun see why D90 is so difficult because it has more buttons?

I gave my advice based on running future cost of ownership, futureproof. It really depends on what TS really wants, if you wanna shoot Auto with a DSLR, get a Panasonic LX3 or wait for Sony HX5 or even Canon S90, it produces nice sharp image too, why buy DSLR? so heavy to carry around.

Wanna use DSLR be prepare to learn and learn what are all the settings for.