gdanmitchell wrote:
In truth, the current Rebels are, in almost all ways, far more capable cameras than the typical starter SLRs from back in the film era. (In terms of their image quality potential, there is actually very little to differentiate them from current high-end cropped-sensor DSLRs either.) Few, if any, of us who started at about the age of the potential "giftee" mentioned in this thread began with gear that even approached the capabilities of current entry-level cameras and entry-level kit lenses.
I think we may forget that sometimes.
Take care,
Dan
But one IMO important way that they are different is that SLRs in general have much nicer viewfinders than any of the Rebels and again in my opinion this is not a small matter. The viewfinder can affect in a big way the experience of using the camera. I do agree with alundeb that live view and a tiltable screen are also quite useful, but if the recipient intends to shoot handheld often, then the IMO poor viewfinder of all the Rebels would make it a less than optimal choice.
If you have gone the surprise route, one thing might be to casually look through a few shots online some with really low DOF some with lots, different focal lengths used and ask her about those pics and if she is like ahh nothing is in focus or I'm so sick of anything low DOF vs. wow I'd love to be get a few shots like that at times....
I suggest a rebel and the kit 18-55mm IS kit lens.
- I reckon that may be the limit of the budget
- If the budget allows for it, I'd recommend getting the 50mm f/1.8 as well; it's a great portrait / low light lens and offers creative options like shallow DOF - the recipient is already experienced in photography and I think she'd appreciate it.
- I accept that she may end up preferring macro/ultra-wide/tele lenses, but the 50mm is only $100, and for the price it's a steal. Macro/ultrawide options are much more expensive and would be out of budget anyway.
RE 18-55mm IS version I Vs version II - as long as you get one with IS, there's no real difference between them. The earlier 18-55 non-IS kit lens was pretty poor optically.
I agree that the larger viewfinders of the 50D/5D/1D are nicer to use, but the viewfinders on the latest rebels are better than the earlier ones.
The big downside is the size/weight of these cameras, especially for females.
- My girlfriend has a rebel, and much prefers the size/weight of her camera to mine. A female friend of hers started with a 30D and swapped it for a rebel because she found it too cumbersome. Obviously there are many ladies shooting with larger camera bodies out there, but others will find the rebel easier to handle
Scottam10
You mentioned a possible interest in a macro lens. A nice thing about the 18-55 IS lense is that, per the specs, it will do .33X at 9" at 55mm. Not a true 1 to 1 macro, but not bad, especially for flowers and such. To me either of the T2I, T3I, or T4I with 18-55 IS would be a nice start for a variety of photography, including HD video.
For sure; the kit 18-55mm is a very useful starter lens - it does a respectable job of most things, including closeups. And if you want to get closer without spending too much you can always add an extension tube.
- the main complaint many beginner photographers have is that it only zooms in to 55mm, which isn't enough for birds/sports. That's where a superzoom comes in (say 18-200 or similar), but that's not in the budget. Or you can add the 55-250 later.
- but as Dan says it's best to let the recipient make that decision later
skibum5 wrote:
(and then taking it farther and saying she she not even get a 50 1.8 in addition, which is where I also severely break part with your advice, I get what you are saying about the 18-55 and why it is sensible, but to advise to absolutely not also get a 50mm 1.8??)
I don't "advise to absolutely not also get a 50mm." I do advise strongly to not get it at first, but to start with the zoom only and then get other lenses later if the shooter finds them necessary. Eventually some folks find it useful, even on cropped sensor bodies, but the vast majority of new DSLR shooters need a 50mm prime about as much as a fish needs a bicycle... ;-)
Someone else made a point about macro. Adding a decent "diopter" close-up "filter" to the 18-55 is also a great way for someone to try this out at a low cost.
If she's a student of photography, then her knowledge base about gear is probably higher than you might suspect. I wouldn't be surprised if she's on this forum. Personally, I would get the best refurb model that your budget allows + 18-55IS + 50 1.8. I disagree with others that argue against the prime. Shooting wide open is fun - the creative possibilities at f/1.8 are part of what make DSLRs interesting, particularly for a new photographer. I think she'd have a lot of fun with it, particularly since she'd also have a zoom for more practical purposes.
Nov 22, 2012 at 09:55 AM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: On
scottam10 wrote:
I suggest a rebel and the kit 18-55mm IS kit lens.
- I reckon that may be the limit of the budget
I agree that the larger viewfinders of the 50D/5D/1D are nicer to use, but the viewfinders on the latest rebels are better than the earlier ones.
The big downside is the size/weight of these cameras, especially for females.
- My girlfriend has a rebel, and much prefers the size/weight of her camera to mine. A female friend of hers started with a 30D and swapped it for a rebel because she found it too cumbersome. Obviously there are many ladies shooting with larger camera bodies out there, but others will find the rebel easier to handle
While it is true that the viewfinder on the newer Rebels (all made since the XTi aka 400D) were improved slightly over the viewfinder in the 300D, 350D (XT), 400D (XTi), and the 1000D (XS), Canon has done very little to improve the IMO quite poor viewfinder in these cameras for a long time. If you look at the specs the XTi has 95% coverage with .87X magnification. The 2Ti and 3Ti were actually a small step backwards with 95% coverage and .85X magnification. The oldest Rebels were 95% coverage and .80X magnification. So since their introduction there has been very little improvement in the viewfinders of the Rebel series. In my opinion they are all pretty terrible and likely to be much worse than the film SLR that the recipient has been using. I hate to harp on this issue, but the viewfinder is what defines a DSLR and to ignore it when making a decision about what camera to buy to me doesn't make a lot of sense. Said another way, if you don't care about the viewfinder, why not think about a Sony NEX? It is the viewfinder that makes a DSLR a D(SLR), and my issue with the Rebel series is that this defining feature is quite poor (again IMO) and Canon has done so little to improve it over the years.
I do appreciate your point about small being good for some users, but if you are going to increase the size of the camera to include an optical viewfinder, then it should at least be one that isn't annoying to use. I think the Rebel one is annoying to use and especially so if you have used a good viewfinder.
Im still using a 30D w/380ex or 540 ez and cord for bounce a lot of the time. The 18-55 and 55-250 are good lenses. 50/1.8 gives cheap speed. T2i great as well. Used Rebel xt for 3 yrs 10d or newer probably ok
rk-d wrote:
If she's a student of photography, then her knowledge base about gear is probably higher than you might suspect. I wouldn't be surprised if she's on this forum...
In which case, the best approach is to ask her what she wants! I doubt that too many of us would be happy with a decision made by someone who was unaware of our specific needs, right? ;-)
