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OT: paging the photographers
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I've just come into a little taxation windfall, and was thinking of
blowing a bit of it on something a bit more substantial than my Ixus700.
The ixus is great and very portable, but I'd like better quality shots
plus the ability to take longer distance stuff. The ixus also doesn't do
well in lower lighting situations.
I'm a bit torn, between an almost DSLR like the Canon S3 and a real DSLR
like the 350d.
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dSLRs are great, no question. They'll almost always capable of
producing better results [1] than a compact, even one with more
megapixels, because the bigger sensors generate less noise. They're
that bit more trouble to carry around though which means, mine at
least, sometimes gets left at home - specially when on the bike.
I don't regret buying mine (a 20D) but I do feel I need something
smaller as_well.
[1] Whether you notice the extra quality without careful inspection in
Photoshop is a different matter of course
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I'm not a terrible photographer (but way off anything remotely "good". I
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If you need any advice, just drop me a line.
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can make some nice shots if I put my mind to it. Having said that, I've
only ever used various point and shoots, so know nothing much of focus,
exposure, DOF etc.
I note that the 350d is coming down in price and there's a twin lens
pack available: 350d black body, EF-S 18-55mm + EF 55-200mm, plus the
battery grip. Would this setup be suitable for most normal situations?
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I've the older 300D and am chuffed to bits with it. As TOG quite rightly
says go for the dslr as you quickly end up regretting it.
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I have one of these too and aside from the odd software glitch (very
rare) it takes superb pictures - makes me look good :-)
The lens that comes with the camera is fine for most things - that said
I actually don't use it though preferring the one I got with an older
SLR bundle.
I think the two you're talking about will give you a good range but I
bet you'll end up sticking with just one.
Would I get the same pictures with a "all in one" - probably, but I
still love the D300 and would imagine the 350 will be lovely to use.
Whilst you're consdering splashing out I noticed that the D30 also has
come down in price so you could consider that too - but it probably
won't take better pictures than the D350 "out of the box" (ie without
you learning how to use the extra features).
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Have you held one?
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No, but I am ?blessed? with relatively small hands, so I imagine I
would find it fine.
Anyway it's moot at the moment as I'm happy with the 300 and would
rather spend money on lenses should I ever have cash to burn on such
things.
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There speaks a man of immense sense!
The 300D is a great camera, it was using one that convinced me that film was
best left in the fridge...... Where it's been for the last 18 months .....
I had all the lenses I thought I'd need.
Next Sunday I'm off to Donnington.
My longest lens is 200mm!
Cheers
DP
SV650 for pleasure
80cc Yamahaha shaft drive for work, and another for spares............
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I went to buy a 350D when they first came out but my hands are too big, or
the camera's too small...
That may be a reason to get the grip, but when I bought mine the grip and
battery took the price so close to the 20D that the 20D was (almost) a no
brainer, but I already had a selection of lenses.
Ended up getting a 20D.
Superb.
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Comet were apparently punting this out at £578 but have sold out,
Jessops have it at 699, so everyone else will probably be in the middle.
I'm just wondering if the DSLR would be too big a step up, too much to
learn in one go and end up being wasted on me.
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If you're only going to use it occasionally, the battery grip's OTT
IMO. The batteries on my 300D last >400 shots, just get a spare
battery.
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Fair point. Although as part of the bundle it's effectively free.
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The lenses, I'd probably go for something more like a 75-300mm. The
55-75 "gap" you'd have is more than compensated by the extra zoom on
the 75-300mm. You'll notice this at e.g. race meetings.
DSLRs are not that big a step from the SLR-like cameras, but with
*much* less shutter-lag. The Auto and preset modes will be more than
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Absolutely. One reason why I traded up from a Coolpix. Even a
half-second delay is a right PITA.
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enough to keep you happy until you're ready to experiment with DOF,
exposure etc...
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Now that's encouraging to hear.
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IANAP but I've got the 350D and am chuffed to bits with it. I came from
knowing nothing about photography [1] to using [1.5] this DSLR within 6
months. It is a good piece of kit.
The EF 18-55 lens isn't bad, but if you are more that 15 feet from the
subject, you suddenly realise that you need a bigger lens. Taking some
shots at a friends kids christening and I realised how close I was
getting to fill the frame when taking the photographs.
Just [2] got a Sigma 70-300 DG Macro (1:2) lens from
warehouseexpress.com for under 100UKP [3]. The couple of test shots
that I did while the kids were eating their breakfast seem ok, though a
little blurred from the camera shake.
The other thing that you will need to get is a large format CF card.
I've got 2 1GB cards and these let me take about 115 shots each in RAW mode.
[1] apart from the rule of thirds
[1.5] being comfortable with it and starting to work out settings,
exposures, etc.
[2] read that as it arrived this morning
[3] 103UKP including delivery which is next working day if you order
before 2pm
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Buy a DSLR.
Because if you buy one of those "in-between" cameras, it'll be a short
time before you wish you had.
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That's what it thought would be the concensus. What was your thoughts
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I've got a Fuji Finepix "in between" S9500. It's superb, and was
equalling the quality Daz was getting out of his DSLR at Pahnd Island.
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Noooo, don't say that, I was almost complete in my mental
justification!
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*If* you're going to get into it all very seriously, immediately, then
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This is the unknown quantity innit.
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yes a DSLR is bestest, but the "bridge" cameras also have their place.
If money was no object though, as in your case, I'd get a DSLR though.
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Well I wouldn't say no object, but I am conscious of buying something
now that I'll regret in just a few months time. Especially with cameras
having poor resale value. I know someone with the Canon S2IS and they
love it.
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Well you can *afford* a DSLR, so I'd say get one anyway, and you can
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Fair point. nice of the taxman to make me save some money.
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always give it to me if it turns out you're pants.
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If money was no object I'd have had the the Eos 1d misprice on amazon
last week - =A31499 for the body only. However that I'm sure would have
been an utter waste.
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The nice thing about DSLRs is that make the learning process much
shorter.
You can experiment with aperture, shutter speed, focal length and the
rest, using the manual settings, or even over-riding the auto settings,
and see the results instantly.
If you've half a brain and a sense of image, you'll find yourself
"growing into" the camera.
Which is a way of saying "Buy something better than you think you'll
need, because if you don't need it now, the chances are you wil need it
in the future."
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on the two lenses mentioned above?
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As you say, they'll cover most of the bases, assuming they've got a
decent aperture range. You might consider a 2x convertor as well, if you
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Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6
Canon EF 55-200 f/4.5-5.6
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plan on doing some very long distance stuff.
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Depends on the term very. I'm not looking to shoot the moon.
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No, but you may be thinking: "Blimey, I don't need a 400mm lens", which
you probably don't, but there will be plenty of occasions when you may
want (say) a 250-300mm length....
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And a decent flashgun is a must. Dunno if that Canon has a built-in
flash, but if it has, it'll only be good for very close work.
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See Buzby's comments above.
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Also, a DSLR is "upgradeable" in that you can always buy more lenses for
it.
My D100 is "only" 6.2MP, but it's not like it's instantly out of date.
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Any thoughts?
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With the price of the 350D and the size of it I can't see any reason
why people would consider any of the "prosumer" cameras.
As for the twin lens deal, Jessops will price match any high street or
online retailer (apart from 7dayshop and pixmania). The competitor is
supposed to have the item in stock but whenever I've got them to price
match they've never contacted anyone to check.
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Are Jessops still price matching on DSLRs?
They were in April
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Sounds good to me. Depending on what you are going to shoot, you
may want to consider the 50/1.8 prime. Costs next to nothing, and
is AFAIK quite good. It gets you a relatively large opening for low-
light work, and would be a nice portrait lens with the 350D.
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