Looking at a 350D for first SLR, views or suggestions?

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HLA91

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Hi everyone

As the title says I am looking at picking up a nice budget (sounds better than cheap) SLR. My Brother has a 350D and has enjoyed it and looking and searching on the forum it seems a good choice to go for and @ £100 it leaves room for lenses in the budget.
For a first lens I saw this one mentioned Sigma 17-70mm or from the walkabout lens link a Canon EF 50mm F1.8 Mark II Standard AF Lens, now I have read the sticky explaining f points etc... but I struggle to understand things until I actaully play with it. Basically lens wise requirements, I just want to be able to take some really nice photographs and learn about playing with different settings etc... and it will encourage me to get off my arse and go outside and look for some nice views, and being new to the area it will help me learn my way around i.e. get lost and ring my partner "I am near a road, I can see grass, where am I?".
Found it for £109 Link

Views?

Many thanks and great forum.

HLA91
 
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I had a 350D as my first DSLR, it's an amazing camera and brilliant to learn with and will take some stunning images. Go for it is all I can say
 
ditto above. Word for word :thumbs:
 
OK thats that sorted; lens wise i never actually looked at the price of the 2 I mentioned but upon searching the sigma is out of my price range at the moment. The Canon EF 50mm F1.8 Mark II Standard AF Lens is within budget (only just, starting a new job and pay is delayed :-( ) any other budget starter lens suggestions?
 
I started with the 350d, great little camera!

Although its not something I use, it might be worth looking for a 2nd hand kit lens. They can be picked up for £30-40, and although they are by far from the best glass, it'll get you started and give you options photo-wise.

That being said, for the money theres little that can beat the 50mm 1.8, its a truely great lens; i think there's one or two for sale in the classifieds for £60.
 
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The 350D is a great little camera, I still use mine alongside my 7D, this was shot using one of the original el cheapo kit lenses, so it is still a very capable camera. It's only drawback over newer offerings is the high ISO performance, but OK up to say 800. Go for it.

I35_G2266.jpg
 
Well I can't really see myself taking pictures in low light conditions really( that's when you use high ISO isn't it? Museums with no flash allowed, and indoor sports events?) so I don't think the ISO will restrict me, not until I have at least outgrown the camera.
 
A vote for the 350d from me. It was also my first dlsr and have only just upgraded to a 60d because I wanted the extra mp's to allow me to crop tighter. I now use my 350d as a backup
 
I bought the 350D with the thought that I'd learn on the entry level body while I build up some decent glass and then move to a full frame. I fit a 1.4 50mm to the 350D and it's still the first camera of choice when I go out walking.
It's a lovely portrait setup and the camera body almost dissapears in my oversized hamhock hands making it a great deal less intimadating when pointing it at strangers.
50 gazillion actuations later and it's still going strong but I might just have been lucky so far. The 350 is a very long in the tooth at this point and you might be better served with a newer model.
 
HLA91 said:
OK thats that sorted; lens wise i never actually looked at the price of the 2 I mentioned but upon searching the sigma is out of my price range at the moment. The Canon EF 50mm F1.8 Mark II Standard AF Lens is within budget (only just, starting a new job and pay is delayed :-( ) any other budget starter lens suggestions?
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I'd look for a second hand 18-55mm kit lens for now. It's quite versatile and image quality is reasonable. The 50mm f1.8 is a cheap, fast, prime with horrible build quality but decent optics, producing good results.

I occasionally use my Nikkor 50mm f1.4 (old MF lens with metal barrel) on my 30D with an adapter and it takes excellent shots, but I find it too long for a walk around lens and too short for a telephoto on a crop body. The same would apply to the Canon f1.8 50mm.
 
I've been using a 350D since 2005, but upgraded to a 5D3 a few weeks ago. I loved the 350D (gripped for my big hands) and it did the job fantastically, but there's just something about shots from full frame cameras that can't be beaten.

Reminds me that I need to put it on the classifieds later on :D
 
I have seen a 350D second hand excellent condition with 18-55 lens and all cables boxes etc... £199 here any objections to that bundle? Is it worth getting squaretrade warranty with that?
 
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Not too bad but I'v sold 350D's in a similar setup for around 150-170
Also 400D's for around the 170-200 mark, it depends on if you want to bid rather than buy it now, as long as you stick to bid value and dont get caught up in auction fever in the last few mins theres dedls to be had.
 
Reason I didn't look at the 400 was I read somewhere about some features be removed or something by someone and it put a black mark in my head about it, just looked now and 400D with a 18-55mm lens for £215 buy it now so for that little bit more it might be worth it. All the comparison sites say if you can go for the 400 so I think tomorrow or sunday I will just stop thinking and just buy the 400 or ill never decide.
 
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HLA91 said:
Reason I didn't look at the 400 was I read somewhere about some features be removed or something by someone and it put a black mark in my head about it, just looked now and 400D with a 18-55mm lens for £215 buy it now so for that little bit more it might be worth it. All the comparison sites say if you can go for the 400 so I think tomorrow or sunday I will just stop thinking and just buy the 400 or ill never decide.
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Their alway come a point,when you just got to go adhead and buy :)
 
My Dads just picked one up with a joblot from Ebay and he's loving it so far!

The 350D is an awesome starter camera, it can blow up to a 24x20 absolutely no problem!

Take the bait and just go for it!
 
Hi

The 300D / 350D are great cameras to begin your adventure with. As with Ken, I still own my 300D and can great results with it, yes things have moved on significantly since they were new, but they are still more than capable.
 
Ok then that's me sold ill pick up the 400 only because the price difference is negligible. For a learner and general walk about lens which would be more suited the 50mm or the 18-55, I have read about lenses but I struggle to learn/understand something unless I actually hold it/do it. Might pop to Snowdonia next week have a play see what delightful/poor pictures I take :-)

Thanks for your help everyone

HLA91
 
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The 18-55 will give you more latitude if you can live without f/1.8. If you don't find a 400D (which is a brilliant camera), you may be able to pick up a 10D or 20D for about the same money. But it doesn't matter much, as long as the one you get is in reasonable nick.
 
My first digital SLR was a 350D. I bought it to travel with as it's light. I had it for some time too for this reason.

All shot on a 350D


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Unless you want to print really big there no need to spend more money if you don't want to.
 
Like some of the others in this thread I started with 350D and now use it as a backup to my 7D. Great little camera to start out with although the screen is a little small for me. If you are looking for secondhand equipment then checkout www.mpbphotographic.co.uk
 
I came across the 350D on sale at a big box store in Aug 2009 as a display sample for $169.00 without the lens mounted and still in the original wrapping. I had to remove a small fingerprint from the mirror and a few specs of dust on the sensor. The rubber eyepiece was missing but no big deal. Several weeks later I ordered the Tamron 18-200 lens and here is the result - one of the 1st pix -
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My wife is now the primary user and me the secondary. It's a great camera, a little dated, but still a great camera. Pick up a few lens adapters and start having some fun.
 
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I purchased the 400D, well my parents did and they will hold it till Christmas Day for me as a present. For this week my brother has lent me his 350d to play with just so on Christmas Day when I finally get to touch my new camera I know something about taking pictures with an slr, I may have forgotten to take the lens cap of earlier, luckily nobody noticed. I am getting the 18-55mm lens to start with and hopefully I will be posting some nice pictures for your perusal in the new year, but I won't be a stranger until then I intend to observe and soak up knowledge from the threads on here until then.
 
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