Canon 400D (Rebel Xti, Kiss X)

[Master Mason]

I was at the World last July for the very first time. I had with me my kit lens and my 75-300. What I didn't have was a decent case to carry the spare lens, so it got the zoom mostly was left in my room.

I got a lot of good pictures, but I aslo often wished I had a bit more range on the zoom. As a result as soon as I returned I bought the Sigma 18-125 lens. At around $300 to me it was the best comprimise on price vs what I really wanted. It gave me good zoom, while keeping the low end as wide as the kit. The other option I concidered was the canon 28-135, but I didn't like the 28 on the bottom end.

This has been a great walk around lens for me. The fstop varries from 3.5 to 5.6, so if you have it wide open, you can get a pretty decent opening on the fstop as well.

When I eventually upgrade my camera body, I will most likely forgo any kit lesns and get the Canon 17-70 (thats off the top of my head but I think it is right) but that lens is quite a bit more then the sigma. I would then leave the sigma with the XT for whoever takes over using it.

So anyways, you can use the kit, you'll find several times you wish you had more zoom along the way though.

 

[mabas9395]

The lens you need for school programs and the lens you need for soccer and the lens you need for walking around at Disney may all be three very different lenses. Unfortunately, your $300 budget won't get you very far towards any of the three.

Every newbie Canon owner should get the 50mm f/1.8 as mentioned by JR60004. Its called the "nifty fifty" becuase you aren't going to find another lens as useful for only $75. The f/1.8 means that you can open the aperture wide open and let in a lot of light, which means you can use it in places where you can't use a flash or it won't reach (like your kids shool programs). But depending on how far back you are sitting, the 50mm may not reach your kids on stage. However, the nifty-fifty is also a great starter portrait lens.

The sigma 18-125 and the canon 28-135 IS are pretty common walk-around lenses that are close to your budget. I used my 28-135 at DL last spring.

For your sports shots you are going to want something in the range of at least 200mm-300mm depending on the age of your kids. My 7 year old plays soccer on a smaller field and my 135 works fine. Buy my 9yo plays on larger fields and I know that next season I am going to need a new lens. The 70-300 IS is one of the cheapest long zooms and it is really quite good, but there is also a 70-200 f/4 L which is shorter but is from Canon's professional "L" series, very high quality. Both are just under $600.

Bottom line is that one lens can't do everything well, decide which shooting scenario is most important to you and get the best that you can afford.

 

[RadioNate]

Hauling equipment seems to be included in a dslr package. You can get one lens and stick with it. Butif yo uwanted to "settle" for whatever shot the current lens gives you you probably would have stuck with a P&S.
I consider my travel pack kind of small.
Rebel XT
canon 50mm f1.8
canon 28-135 IS
canon 70-300 IS
three batts
5 gigs memory
lowepro 170(?) waterproof shoulder/belt case


Mikeeee

Oh, and Welcome to the PhotoBoard!

Not that you haven't already gotten some great opinions...

I carry the same 'kit' mostly
Rebel XTi
canon 50mm f1.8
canon 28-135 IS
canon 70-300 IS
2 batteries
3 gigs memory

and my case is a Tamrac

I also occasionally carry a Speedlight 430ex

 

[nicolemarie]

Thanks again folks...

I had been considering the Sigma 18-125 - which is where I came up with the $300 budget. I really just want what you all are calling a "walk-around" lens for Disney. So that is probably what I will do.

My son is only 4 - so we aren't needing the serious zoom yet. I just need to get a little better than what I was getting with the kit lens. Sounds like the Sigma will be fine for a couple of years. I'm pretty amateur, but the point and shoot just didn't get it.

Thanks again for all the help! And I'm gonna check out that website, Metallicat. I can use the info!

Nicolemarie

 

[PoohJen]

I love my Sigma 18-125; I got it used (looks perfectly new!) on eBay for around $180.

Here's a few recent Disney shots, to give you an idea of range:

"macro" flower on Castaway Cay

MGM Stunt Show from far left side...

This isn't a great shot (blurry - I'm still learning how to use the dSLR!!!), but gives you a good idea of the range of the 128 - this is from the very last row at Fantasmic...

I have recently gotten a Sigma APO DG 70-300. I carried it for a few hours at Animal Kingdom. Not good if it's the only lens you are carrying, b/c it's very difficult to get wide/close shots (like of your family!) with it at the parks. Here's one with the 70-300:

At the parks, I only carried one lens, a 2gig card, one battery for my Rebel XT. I keep a spare card and battery back at the room. I found the Sigma 18-125 to be a perfect walk around lens at the parks. Didn't miss the longer zoom except maybe for Fantasmic.

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[allyn]

i use a sigma 18-50 f/2.8 as my walk-around lens. i have a canon 70-210 f/3.5-4.5 but i rarely carry it unless i know i'm going to be taking longer zoom photos. i do wish the 18-50 had a little longer zoom, but i wanted it for the constant f/2.8 aperture and i am very glad to have that. so it is a tradeoff i am willing to make. the canon kit lens was driving me crazy since the maximum aperture at full zoom is something like f/5.6. photos were way too blurred.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Everything is a trade-off. On one extreme you can get a cheap, wide range zoom like the Sigma 18-125 and live with the fact that it has poor optics. On the other extreme you can carry a bag full of extremely sharp primes. You've got to decide what trade-offs you want to make.

Some people like the cost savings and convenience of the 18-125 type solutions. Some people prefer to carry a couple of more moderate range zooms. Some people prefer to carry high speed zooms (heavy and expensive). Some people insist on primes. They can all be the right choices based on the desires of the photographer.

 

[Crokette]

Hi,

I have a Canon EOS 5, that I haven't used for a long time now, since we bought a digital camera. But of course, the quality is not the same. I love taking photos but I know nothing about the technical characteristics.
I saw an ad for the Canon 400D that looks very attractive. Do you know if I'll get nearly the same pic quality than with my EOS 5? (don't tell me about the new EOS 5D I really can't afford)
Do you know if my Canon Ultrasonic 28-80mm lens and 75-300mm USM lens will work on the 400D?

Thank you!

 

[ndelaware]

Yes, your Canon lenses will work on the 400D. You will have to figure in the "crop" factor. Essentially your 28-80 lens will be a 45-128 lens because the sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame. Of course this turns your 75-300 into a 120-480 lens.

The picture quality on the 400D is excellent. You can see some sample here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page30.asp

 

[Crokette]

Thank you so much Steve ! I think I'll get one for Xmas!

 

[ndelaware]

Glad I could help and Merry Christmas.

 

[princessjv]

I have been lurking and lurking for some time! I am finally ready and able to move to a digital SLR, from film . I am interested in photography as a hobby, I have hopes of becoming more educated and good at it, in the future! Which camera is best? They both seem good on a lot of points.

Also- If I do get the Canon, what lens would you suggest I add?

 

[ktulu]

I have no experience with Nikon, all my photographer friends use them though (the D-200), but I have the Rebel XTi, with the kit lens and the 75-300mm lense. The kit lense is not too bad, but I wish I had something with IS and lower f/stop. You need to decide if you want more wide angle, a combination, or if you would be okay with carrying multiple lenses. There are decent combos of both, where you get okay wide angle and okay zoom. Others will chime in with more knowledge

darren

 

[Master Mason]

The XTi is a better camera, but that is because your comparing a low end camera to a higher end one. If you were to compare the Nikon D80 vs the XTi then you would have a competition.

That is not to say the D40 isn't a nice camera, it just isn't a fair comparison.

I'm a canon guy, so keep that in mind. But from what I have read, the D40 is a low end entry level dSLR that they have striped down. It won't work with all the Nikon lenses, etc...

Also, don't forget to look at the pentax cameras, they are doing some good things. And as long as your not locked into a brand right now you should look at all 3.

 

[handicap18]

You are not looking at two equal cameras from 2 different companies. You should look at the Canon XTi vs The Nikon D80. Those are more similar. The XTi vs D40 is like comparing the Toyota Camry to a Yugo. Ok thats kind of on the extreme side, but the D40 is not in the same class as the XTi. The D40 is a very very entry level slr while the XTi is more advanced. The D40 will serve its place well, but it has no way near the features of a D50, D80 or Canon XT or XTi. Price wise they are about $400-500 difference to start, the D40 wont support all of Nikon's auto focus lenses, does not have a top LCD status screen, amoung other things. Take a look at the D50, which is a bit more expensive than the D40 will be but still a lot less than the XTi. Its only 6MP, but because of this the high ISO performance is better as your not trying to fit more megapixels in the same amount of space. The XTi and D80 are 10MP. Both very very good camera's, but priced a lot higher.

Also Pentax makes a line of very good dSLR's that are nicely priced and packed with very nice features.

 

[Groucho]

Like Handicap18 said.

You need to figure out how much you want to spend. If you're in the $500-650 range, your best bets are the Pentax K100D, Nikon D50, or Canon Rebel XT. If you're in the $650-$1,000 range, you're looking at the Pentax K10D, Nikon D80, Sony Alpha, or Canon Rebel XTi. If you want to go really inexpensive, the Pentax K110D is very good but doesn't have image stabilization in the body (but neither do any of the Nikons or Canons.)

I don't think even the Nikon folks will seriously recommend the D40 unless you want something very simple. I think it's more designed as a slightly higher-end competition for the SLR-like PnS cameras than as a serious DSLR.

Olympus also makes a DSLR that is supposed to be pretty good (as all DSLRs are) but they are not mentioned very often. I'm not sure how the lens selection is for them.

Once you decide on a range, you can get more specific recommendations. Each one has some positives and negatives - they're all excellent but of course the differences mean that some are better than others if you have specific requirements.

 

[Master Mason]

Olympus also makes a DSLR that is supposed to be pretty good (as all DSLRs are) but they are not mentioned very often. I'm not sure how the lens selection is for them.

Hey, Hasilblad makes a pretty good digtal as well, and never get mentioned either.

It's pretty good, a canon guy, a nikon guy, and a pentax guy are all saying the exact same thing... how often does that happen

 

[jann1033]

oh sniky double post

 

[jann1033]

http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3382/camera-test-canon-eos-digital-rebel-xti.html
http://www.popphoto.com/cameras/3390/nikon-d40-shipping-in-december.html
i also posted a link to an article about buying a dslr this morning that had a lot of good points( imo)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1289825

 

[Groucho]

Hey, Hasilblad makes a pretty good digtal as well, and never get mentioned either.

The Hasselblad is always there in the back on my mind, for when an unknown rich relative dies and leaves me a huge inheritance. I'd be very happy to take one of them around WDW for a few days. But probably wouldn't be able to go on any rides, I'd be too worried about the camera!

It's pretty good, a canon guy, a nikon guy, and a pentax guy are all saying the exact same thing... how often does that happen

What's next - cats and dogs living together in harmony? FedEx, UPS, and DHL drivers breaking bread together? WDW/Disneyland and Universal Studios offering admission tickets good for both parks?

Don't worry, I'm sure that once the OP gets more specific, we'll all be making different suggestions again. Almost all the suggestions are good; after all, they are all excellent cameras... except that junky D40, of course! (Kidding, kidding!)

The article that Jann1033 linked to is a good one worth reading for a new buyer.