Canon kit upto £700

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GemmaCanon

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I'm putting some money towards a camera (Canon) and think the max will be around £700 - I am mainly interested in gig/club lowlight stuff, so what body and lens should I get (thinking kit lens wont be good enough) ... should I be thinking of getting a light too?
 
I'm a Nikon shooter so may be well off the mark here but my thoughts go towards the 600D and a 50mm f1.8 lens. A f1.4 would be even better if you could get it but it won't come cheap.

The 60D would be a good option but will go above your budget.

Finally, are you set on Canon (despite username!)? :)
 
GemmaCanon said:
I'm putting some money towards a camera (Canon) and think the max will be around £700 - I am mainly interested in gig/club lowlight stuff, so what body and lens should I get (thinking kit lens wont be good enough) ... should I be thinking of getting a light too?
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Hi

Here's a good place to look for prices http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/cat1.html

You should be able to pick up a 600D with kit lens and a 50mm F1.8 within your budget - I would certainly buy the body and 18-55IS kit lens together, you are correct that this will probably struggle in lowlight, but for other use, then it's a good lens. You can then upgrade it when funds allow and you know what it's limitations are / what you want the replacement to do...

Don't forget to factor in memory cards, bag ? flash etc - if you are buying all from 1 shop, then you should be able to get some (slight) discount on these.

Finally, Canon are offering £50 cashback at the moment on the 600D - so you can treat yourself to something else aswell...

Good luck
 
Cash limited and with specific needs, always my advice would be to buy 2nd hand.

A 40d, sigma 30mm and a flashgun are available within your budget.

I have an inherent dislike of the lower end bodies, I'd rather have an older sensor in a better camera. Ergonomics, controls, and better focussing are more important to me than millions of pixels.
 
This is an easy one

Second hand 5D mark i
50mm 1.8


Sorted - I shoot gigs with that setup and it can handle 90% of all situations without flash
 
Yep, 2nd hand 5d mk1 as above...
 
Thanks for the advice. I think a little patience and 2nd hand might be the way to go :)
 
Oooh, I think I should factor in the purchase of Lightroom too and shot in RAW?
 
could always consider elements 10 £45.00 costco and it download adobe raw with it
 
Hi Gemma - welcome!

For £700 you can get some very nice camera equipment. Personally, unless you know what you are looking at, I would shy away from buying a Canon 5D. The earliest ones are now 7 years old and could be a dangerous buy for a first time buyer.

For gig and club photography you will need a set up that works well in low light. Personally I would look at getting either a used Canon 50D or a 60D and a flashgun such as the Canon 430 EX or the Nissin di622. Couple that with either the Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 or the Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 and you will have a very good set up!

The 50mm lens mentioned here a couple times, whilst good at low light, might be a little 'long' as your only lens - especially for club work. The F2.8 zooms I mention here are very good as they offer you flexibility

This guide by BassJunkie is very good as well http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=268784
 
Gigs and clubs are always tricky, low light to intense backlight and godamm awfull red fills.
Clubs are usually fine with flash ie. Dance nights, DJ sets etc but gigs can be awkward most venues some venues and artists dont allow flash as all, if you can 2nd curtain flash gives some grat effects. So for these you need to rely on good iso on the camera and faster lenses. The 50mm F1.8 is pretty much a must for a started and indeed most gig togs will still use one. There cheap (about 70quid) and small and compact and with an aps sensor (all of the canons in your range will be aps) you will get a bit of reach.
As for the camera, I use a 7D for gigs and have a spare 50d which covers all I need. I can push the iso upto about 1250 at darker gigs and still get decent results.
I find a 10-22mm wide angle gets some very interesting shots for gigs especially from the side line or right in under the singer.
Also be prepared to do b&w conversions as a colour washed out shot can look great in b&w with the contrast and shaddows messed with, like the 70's indie and punk shots.
If you look at my profile you can see the gear I use for gigs, its not cheap but worth working towards.
Oh and enjoy it, its great fun.
Simon
 
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