First DSLR purchase advice on lenses required

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t1000

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richard
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Hi all

As per title im a complete dslr virgin and pretty much a photography virgin apart from a point and click jobbie. Anyway having read loads of reviews Ive set my heart on the canon 600d. I was planning on buying it from big normans and with the twin lens kit, however I just wondered if the 55-250mm lens is any good or would I be better to purchase the 18-55mm lens kit and buy a seperate zoom lens.

Thanks for any advice.
 
What lens(es) you want/need depend on what you want to photograph
 
Nearly everyone starts with the 18-55 IS and (if you need more zoom) 55-250. To better the 55-250, you need to be looking at something like a 70-200 F4 L which is ~ £400 new.
 
Nothing wrong with the 55-250 especially for the price. Most of us started out with Tele zooms that we're a lot worse.

If you aren't already certain that you're going to use the longer focal lengths a lot I'd suggest you start out with the 55-250.
 
good choice with the 600D i have one which is also my first camera! i did start a 600D owners or interest threat but no takers since.. maybe not a popular choice of camera on here?
 
t1000 said:
Anyway having read loads of reviews Ive set my heart on the canon 600d.
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may I suggest that you don't just read reviews but visit a shop to try the 600D & a few of it's competitors?
It may confirm your original decision or you may find that something else feels more natural for you.
 
Thanks for the advice people. I should have said that mainly photos will be of my daughter but also wildlife as we do visit zoos/safari parks alot (missus and me are animal mad). I have played with a few of the dslr's mainly the 660d and the nikon D5100. I must admit the lenses on the nikon felt much better quality to touch but I just felt the canon was more comfortable plus my best mate has a canon 1000D so I can nick his fish eye lens! Im having second thoughts about Big Norman now. Have read a few internet reviews which to be fair are generally good however a few have received there cameras with serial numbers removed so I think I will go for a UK supplier, blows the budget out the water but I aint told the missus how much it is. After the £50 cashback the price difference is about £80 so worth the piece of mind I think.
 
May be worth contacting kerso on here for a price if you want to try to keep costs down, I believe he deals with grey imports, but Ive never brought from him personally. Maybe someone else could clarify?

I know alot of people on this forum recommend him highly.
 
starting with a 55-xxx is pretty restricting imo. you'll want to drop down to 18 with the other lens alot to start with to get that width.
 
Hi Richard & Welcome :wave:

Purchase the body and kit lens and definately look at the 55-250IS lens. For the money it's a very good buy.

Have a look here http://www.camerapricebuster.com/ it's a good site for an idea of price.

Be careful about kits with 2 lenses in (the 18-55IS and 55-250IS) as sometimes it can be cheaper to source the 55250IS lens seperately

Good luck with your new purchase :thumbs:
 
Definitly worth having a look for a second hand 55-250 IS. I bought one off the forum for £110 and it was absolutely mint. It really is a cracking lens for the price and if you can save a few quid by getting the 600D and 18-55 IS and a seperate 55-250 IS it saves you even more peace of mind. I've just had a quick look for the price of the 600D at hdew cameras and it's £469 for the body and at mpb photographic the 2 lenses can be got for around £140 for the 2 making just over £600 altogether. Just a thought, but you can save a few quid by knowing where to look.
 
t1000 said:
I should have said that mainly photos will be of my daughter
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If that is the case and you do purchase a Canon I would highly recommend the 'nifty fifty' 50mm 1.8 for around £70-80 if the budget allows at any point.

t1000 said:
After the £50 cashback the price difference is about £80 so worth the piece of mind I think.
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I purchased my 600D just before Christmas from Jessops. With the £50 cashback from Canon and an additional 6% from Quidco it was well worth it rather than run the risk of grey imports.

modchild said:
Definitly worth having a look for a second hand 55-250 IS. I bought one off the forum for £110 and it was absolutely mint.
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I was looking for a decent second hand 55-250 IS but I didn't have access to the classifieds on here. The second hand ones on ebay were selling for around the £120 mark plus another tenner P&P and you can buy them new from Amazon for £140-£145 so I ended up getting one from Amazon.

It's a cracking lens for the money IMO as long as you turn off IS when using a tripod. ;)

downs523 said:
good choice with the 600D i have one which is also my first camera! i did start a 600D owners or interest threat but no takers since.. maybe not a popular choice of camera on here?
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I went looking for a 600D owners thread, I must have missed it but I will poke my head in now! :)
 
Wow, thanks for all the advise. In the end I plumped for the 600d twin lens kit from Park cameras, should be here tomorrow and I cant wait to start!
 
Congratulations on your new camera and welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll have a great time playing with them all. Just don't forget to read the manual though, it's a mine of information. Hope to see more posts and pictures from you.
 
modchild said:
Congratulations on your new camera and welcome to the forum. I'm sure you'll have a great time playing with them all. Just don't forget to read the manual though, it's a mine of information. Hope to see more posts and pictures from you.
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Thanks, got the camera it truly is a mindfield, but I will slowly work my way through it all.
 
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