Before I buy my first DSLR

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judderman

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justin
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Hi all at TP, just about to purchase my 1st DSLR, but before I do i'd like your views please.
The photography i'm looking to do is some portrait stuff with my 3 youngsters.
Wildlife as I live on the river bank & some rugby match photography at my local rugby team, i'm not looking to sell any of my stuff just looking to take some nice photographs.
The camera i've took an interest in is the Canon EOS 550D with 18-55mm IS Lens
+ Tamron 70-300mm f4/5.6 DI LD Macro (Canon AF)
will this be suitable for what i want to achieve? or should i be looking into spending a bit more of the hard earned stuff.
Also i have noticed on some of the high end cameras you have a full frame sensor but not on the 550d, what does this mean to a beginner like my self?
any feedback on this would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Justin
 
with that kit you should be able to achieve what you want :) i have the 70-300mm tamron lens i find it a bit soft at 300mm
 
Full frame cameras offer better image quality as a rule, and far better low light performance, but they are a lot more expensive and you need to match them with good lenses to take advantage of their benefits.

The 550D gets excellent reviews and should be a very good choice, although there are others which are well worth considering. The 18-55mm is not too bad for the money, but it's not great either. The Tamron 17 - 50mm f2.8 - not the image stabilised version - would be a much better investment if you don't mind spending the extra cash, and will give you the shallow depth of field most people prefer for portrait work. It also gives you more flexibility in low light conditions.

I don't know anything about the Tamron 70-300mm you mentioned, and others may want to comment, but the Canon 55 - 250mm f4.0 - 5.6 seems to get a lot of accolades for very good performance and value for money. Wildlife is a bit of a money pit if you really want to get into it, and long/fast lenses are the rule rather than the exception, but you can get worthwhile results with a medium telephoto.
 
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Thanks for that Scott, the other option for the 2nd lens is Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS Zoom Lens or Canon EF 75-300mm f4/5.6 USM MK3.

Justin
 
Thanks for that Martyn, my wildlife stuff would probably end up been a walk down the river bank and be more of close up stuff on flowers and the odd ladybird & buzzy bee.
 
Thanks Martyn, my wildlife stuff would probably be more of close up stuff on flowers and the odd ladybird and buzzy bee on the river bank.
Justin
 
Just a quick one. The 75-300mm f4.0 - 5.6 doesn't have much of a reputation, and the 55- 250mm f4.0 - 5.6 seems to be a lot better. You can get it for around £150 on Amazon, if you choose the older Mk 1 version. The new Mk 11 is the same lens with some cosmetic changes and costs quite a bit more. I wouldn't worry too much about the extra 50mm at the long end, at the expense of image quality.

Don't confuse the 75-300mm with the 70 - 300mm f4.0 - 5.6. This has image stabilisation, and is reportedly very good indeed, but it costs about £350. There's an L version too, if you want to spend around £1,000!
 
I have the 550d and I also have the 55-250 IS lens and find the combination very good. Considering it's price, the 55-250 is a cracker. Sure there are better lenses, but better value for money?, I'm not so sure. :)
 
+1 for the 55-250mm IS
 
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