Canon Rebel Advice

[lucigo]

I have a daughter in college taking beginning photography classes. She is using our old Rebel XT. We are debating between giving it to her officially for Christmas along with some new lenses/accessories versus buying her a new T5. I was hoping for some advice from camera people. Thanks!!

 

[nordkin]

You might want to post this on the photography board, but the Rebel XT is a very old camera at this point. Technology has changed a lot on the DSLR cameras so I would go for a new camera. In my opinion there is no comparison between the XT and the T5. The XT will have limitations the T5 will not.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I'm sure others will disagree with me, but here's my opinion.

I'm sure technology has changed a ton, but do some research and see if the new technology in the camera body will actually impact the photos.

I personally would rather have an older camera body with a high quality lens over a newer camera body and the lens that comes with it.

IMHO having good glass has a much higher impact on the quality of photos than the body (assuming a decent base, which the rebel XT is).

YMMV

 

[wenrob]

While I agree the lens is the most important factor the XT is ten years old, the technology and sensor has grown by leaps and bounds since it came out. The difference in high ISO capabilities will be night and day. I would go with the new camera, skip the kit lens and get her a nice 50 1.8 or 1.4 to go with it.

 

[lucigo]

After I posted I found this: http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/c...?cm_sp=BlackFriday-_-Landing_DSLR-M-_-Desktop

I really just couldn't say no to $199.

 

[lucigo]

While I agree the lens is the most important factor the XT is ten years old, the technology and sensor has grown by leaps and bounds since it came out. The difference in high ISO capabilities will be night and day. I would go with the new camera, skip the kit lens and get her a nice 50 1.8 or 1.4 to go with it.

This is exactly what I have planned now. We had a really nice 50, and when my oldest moved out we let her take it.

 

[supersnoop]

Does she need higher iso capabilities? The body should be the cheapest part of the camera. While they keep adding features, there's typically nothing of real value.

The 50 1.8 or 1.4 is a good idea, and the 85 1.8 is a great lens, too.

And keep poking around on that T5 deal. There are a few package deals for slightly more with different lenses, a 70-300 and the 50 1.8, as well as some deals on the SL1 body.

 

[ejcraft]

After I posted I found this: http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/c...?cm_sp=BlackFriday-_-Landing_DSLR-M-_-Desktop

I really just couldn't say no to $199.

And what a wonderful deal you got. I would have told you that you would have been better off getting T5 although I would have gone with the T5i, but the Xt is considered ancient at this point and buy new lenses for it would have been a waste of money. I started off with the Xt and have moved up . with the deal you got I would now consider getting her a nice zoom lens from like 75-300mm,

 

[lucigo]

Thank you all, I really appreciate the advice! I need to get into the camera bag and see which lenses we have with the XT, so that I can complement that with something new.

 

[Judique]

And what a wonderful deal you got. I would have told you that you would have been better off getting T5 although I would have gone with the T5i, but the Xt is considered ancient at this point and buy new lenses for it would have been a waste of money. I started off with the Xt and have moved up . with the deal you got I would now consider getting her a nice zoom lens from like 75-300mm,

Best Buy and Costco have a $399 package which includes both lenses and the T5. Costco includes also a case and a card. Their T5i bundle is on for $750.

 

[manning]

That is a refurbished camera ($199). What you want to do is make sure you get the same warranty as you would for a new one.

For the price that would be as far as I would go for now. She is taking a beginning class and may decide she doesn't like it. I have the T-1 and it does everything I want it to. It is easy to get into the 'if it is new and expensive it is always better' routine.

I started in photography long before all the now advanced stuff came out. Because of it I learned everything from the ground up. The best advise I can give is put the camera in manual mode. She will learn a lot more that way and will be forced to learn it. That will pay off big time.

Many times the most important part of the equation is the person behind the camera.

You don't want to put a lot of money into it at this stage. As she gets more into it she will start to know what she needs.

 

[PerfessorZ]

To expound on the advice given so far... new and better camera bodies come out every 6 months or so. By the time your daughter graduates college, whatever camera body you buy for her will be worth a mere 1/4 what you paid for it. Conversely, if you buy a quality lens and take care of it, you'd likely be able to recoup 85% of its value if you resell it. In fact, I have lenses in my bag now that I could sell for more than I originally paid for them, thanks to high resell value and a bit of inflation.

While the XT was never "cutting-edge" in terms of its image quality and specifications, it's still got all the bells & whistles you need for an introductory and even intermediate photography course. I've photographed weddings with them and they did everything I needed them to do. Newer cameras do have more resolution, create much better images in low-light, the autofocus is faster, they shoot movies, and who knows - probably even keep your Facebook status current while you're in the bathroom. But none of those things are required to learn the art of photography.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I have the t2i and I love it. I saw the one and it was really light weight. But the t5 does look good for the price and what you get.

 

[manning]

To expound on the advice given so far... new and better camera bodies come out every 6 months or so. By the time your daughter graduates college, whatever camera body you buy for her will be worth a mere 1/4 what you paid for it. Conversely, if you buy a quality lens and take care of it, you'd likely be able to recoup 85% of its value if you resell it. In fact, I have lenses in my bag now that I could sell for more than I originally paid for them, thanks to high resell value and a bit of inflation.

While the XT was never "cutting-edge" in terms of its image quality and specifications, it's still got all the bells & whistles you need for an introductory and even intermediate photography course. I've photographed weddings with them and they did everything I needed them to do. Newer cameras do have more resolution, create much better images in low-light, the autofocus is faster, they shoot movies, and who knows - probably even keep your Facebook status current while you're in the bathroom. But none of those things are required to learn the art of photography.

Thumbs up. When I did weddings in film days my camera of choice was the Leica. At that time you couldn't beat the lens quality. You could get cameras with more features but that Leica lens...sweet. In short go with the best lens your money can buy.

 

[Judique]

For the experts - which would you choose:

The Canon EOS Rebel T5.
or
The Nikon D3300.

I know little to nothing except how to point and shoot and I'm buying this as a gift and a starter camera for early 20ties daughter for Xmas.

 

[NC State]

Would a Canon Rebel EOS T3i with NeoPrem case, Canon Tele-converter TC-DC 58 1.5 lens, memory card, charger and 2 batteries $450 be a good deal?

 

[supersnoop]

Would a Canon Rebel EOS T3i with NeoPrem case, Canon Tele-converter TC-DC 58 1.5 lens, memory card, charger and 2 batteries $450 be a good deal?

No.

 

[Judique]

Ok, I've spent many hours reading up on entry level DSLR's and the overwhelming consensus is Nikon D3300 is a great choice.

So, off to the store before I get some conflicting advice to add to my confusion.

 

[nordkin]

Ok, I've spent many hours reading up on entry level DSLR's and the overwhelming consensus is Nikon D3300 is a great choice.

So, off to the store before I get some conflicting advice to add to my confusion.

.
I disagree with this statement. There are Canon lovers and Nikon lovers in the photography world. It depends who you are talking to or reading. Both have good and about equal entry level cameras. Once you select a brand and start the expensive part of buying lenses then it is very expensive to change brands as the lenses do not work on the other brands.

 

[NC State]

What would you offer on this deal?