Camera Gurus...

[Eracer]

damn - I've been perusing strobist.blogspot.com, so I'll be taking 2 unmbrella stands and some speedlites with me to the golfcourse PA

LOL

I've got a Cleveland staff bag you might want.

 

[MIKE1218]

Hey folks, I got paid today and also got a check from some relatives for my birthday. I'm done Christmas shopping, so now I can ho at will. I'm going to get a rebel, but I have a question first. I can get just the body and get a lense separately; or I can get a body with 2 lenses, a 28-105 and a 70-300 for $100 more. I am a DSLR novice and I don't know if these will suit me. But I do like the idea of the 70-300. Can anybody offer advice?

 

[slickpitt]

Hey folks, I got paid today and also got a check from some relatives for my birthday. I'm done Christmas shopping, so now I can ho at will. I'm going to get a rebel, but I have a question first. I can get just the body and get a lense separately; or I can get a body with 2 lenses, a 28-105 and a 70-300 for $100 more. I am a DSLR novice and I don't know if these will suit me. But I do like the idea of the 70-300. Can anybody offer advice?

I would say save your money and spend a little more on a quality lens. You'll at least want one with IS(image stabalizer). Like the 18-55 IS kit lens or the 55-250 IS lens.

 

[Eracer]

I would say save your money and spend a little more on a quality lens. You'll at least want one with IS(image stabalizer). Like the 18-55 IS kit lens or the 55-250 IS lens.

The lens is the key to quality. Spend some time reading lens reviews on the web. then spend more time reading lens reviews on the web. It's not easy to find quality glass for little money. But quality glass is what you MUST have in order to shoot decent pictures.

Forget all the talk about megapixel this and frames per second that. The lens is where you need to focus your attention.

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

or I can get a body with 2 lenses, a 28-105 and a 70-300 for $100 more.

What type of lenses? Sometime they stack inferior lenses on these for that price. Although they many times have this package with the Canon or Sigma lenses, in which case I would spend the extra $100 even if they aren't the best quality Canon or Sigma, because they are well worth that price and will give you good optics until or even if you decide to upgrade. If they are something like Quantary lenses I would likely save my money and buy a better lens.

If you are buying a nice SLR, make sure to buy at least reasonably good optics or you will only be defeating the purpose.

 

[stellargellar]

This thing has a 20x optical zoom. That seems impossibly good; Hubble telescope good. I think she'd REALLY like to be able to zoom in like that on little bugs and such. She's cute like that.

if she wants to be able to take macro shots of bugs, it really depends on the lens, not so much at the camera.

 

[dave.]

The lens is the key to quality. Spend some time reading lens reviews on the web. then spend more time reading lens reviews on the web. It's not easy to find quality glass for little money. But quality glass is what you MUST have in order to shoot decent pictures.

Forget all the talk about megapixel this and frames per second that. The lens is where you need to focus your attention.

I agree, thats why I bought a Ricoh

 

[Eracer]

I agree, thats why I bought a Ricoh

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.........blah!

 

[dave.]

I expected at the very least some hyperbole

 

[Eracer]

I expected at the very least some hyperbole

From me? Surely you jest?

 

[eclark53520]

I apologize for threadjacking but its pointless to make another camera thread....

Getting a DSLR for the family for xmas...

Is the Canon Rebel XS kit lense worth it for amatuer pics? I will upgrade later if i find i am really into the whole photography thing.....not that i really need another expensive hobby but o well....


Also, anyone bought anything from US1photo.com ? They seem to have the best price with free shipping for that package. It seems like a very legit business but i just want to make sure.

/nother photo newb...


ETA: I just ordered it to hopefully get it here in time for xmas....yay me for procrastination....hopefully this wasn't a complete waste of money...but from what i gathered from these threads the canon rebel is a solid platform....

 

[Pa Jayhawk]

Never heard of them, but this may help
US1Camera / us1camera.com / us1digital.com / Photomania - us1photo.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings

I can highly recommend this place. I would consider one of the top in the industry.
B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/B_H_Photo_Video_Pro_Audio

What kit where you looking at? It looked like the kits on the place you linked only come with 1 lens. Which is not really a kit. Maybe I was missing something

 

[Eracer]

Never heard of them, but this may help
US1Camera / us1camera.com / us1digital.com / Photomania - us1photo.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings

I can highly recommend this place. I would consider one of the top in the industry.
B&H Photo Video | Digital Cameras, Camcorders
B&H Photo-Video-Pro Audio - bhphotovideo.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings

What kit where you looking at? It looked like the kits on the place you linked only come with 1 lens. Which is not really a kit. Maybe I was missing something

B&H Photo is a direct competitor of mine in the broadcast video world. Having said that, I bought my Rebel XTi from them. They are a very reputable company. Just don't expect much service after the sale.

 

[eclark53520]

Damn...looks like i should have waited for a response...

o well, lets home i am one of the chosen few to have a good experience with the company.

 

[eclark53520]

Ended up getting the following:

Digital Rebel XS kit
4gig high speed card
UV lens filter
Decent soft case
extended 3 year factory warr.
2day air shipping


For 550.

After ordering online and giving all my information as per the usual online transaction i got an email from Bruce and a call explaining that due to the cost of the order he needs me to give him a call to confirm the order. So i call him up that night about 7:30C which was 8:30 his time and he was there.

Talked to him, confirmed my information and then recieved an order confirmation by email, the next day i recieved a shipping confirmation by email with tracking number.


Showed up right on time yesterday. All stuff was brand new in the factory boxes with all warr. paperwork accounted for.

Put it together and started playing around with it. Took some pictures of random ornaments on the xmas tree and some longer exposure shots of the tree itself that came out really nice. I am very impressed and have already looked into some different lenses for it....i can already tell this is going to be an expensive endeavor. Even with the limited time i spent messing with different exposure times, iso's, etc. i had a lot of fun figure out what all the gadgets on the camera did and how they affected the outcome. I understood what all the numbers meant as i have been doing my research but seeing them actually work in person really drove some of the more fuzzy ideas home.

Overall, the experience with us1photo was as expected, nothing out of the ordinary besides having to call to confirm the order but i can understand that.