Please help - what camera

[pinkynbaby]

Hi,

I'm after a little bit of advice on which camera to purchase and I'm hoping I've come to the right place...

I have a decent budget and I'm after a larger, high quality camera that can provide detailed photography. I.e. better than your average everyday family camera. I would also like to able to shoot videos.

The Canon EOS 550D has caught my eye. What are peoples thoughts on this camera? Maybe something similar/better in that sort of price range. Or the possibility of buying second hand.

Please go easy on me, I'm a female and by no means a photographer :shrug:. I am simply looking for a decent camera to take photographs for my Blog. My partner would also like to use the camera to take photographs of his reef tank, containing colourful corals and marine fish. We would also like to use the camera for good quality family videos.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thank you

 

[Duncan.F]

Well Pinky the world is your oyster!! The 550 is a good camera and I am sure will do all you need, however have you budgeted for a len ....? Big selection to choose from depending on what you are going to take pictures of. Have a look on camera pricebuster for camera and lens prices, its a pretty good guide for new stuff.
In terms of second hand there is a very wide selection, photographers are always moving on to newer models. Have a look in the classifieds here for an idea. I would steer clear of fleabay as you are inexperienced but you should be ok buying of someone from TP. Alternatively you could go to one of the camera shops for s/h gear, ask on here for recommendations.
Finally take a breath before you buy new from one of the chains like Jessops, you can always get better deals. Check out 'Kerso' on here for canon stuff, highly recommended.
All you need to decide is which one!

Good luck and enjoy,

Dunc

 

[Alastair]

For the reef tank shots, a dedicated macro seems to be what most people need as most reefers like crisp close-ups. 60mm and 90/100/105mm macro lenses are popular on sites like UR. Minimum kit for your partner would be camera, macro lens and tripod.

I'd also suggest looking at smaller bodied cameras like the Panasonic G series, Olympus Pen and the new Nikon 1. These are all looking good for general purpose use. If your primary aim is to produce quality shots for sharing on the web at normal resolutions, it doesn't have to be a large camera. And even these smaller cameras will turn out a good quality print, large enough to frame.

Best bet.. find some locals with a range of different models between them. Get a chance to try out some different cameras taking the sort of shots you want to take.

 

[vanilla]

If you are just after a camera which will produce really nice clean images, then it may be worth considering a high quality compact. You could do a lot worst than considering an Lumix LX5 or similar. Superb pictures straight out of the camera, but also capability of RAW (unprocessed) images if you decide to take your photography a step further. The LX5, which I have, also takes remarkably good Macros when needed - its a top notch camera, but it wont give you the flexibility of interchangeable lenses...slips in your pocket though!

I really would have to say, if you are just taking pics for your blog (low res images for a web page) a DSLR may be overkill!. If you are taking pictures of a fish tank, then dont forget you wont be able to use flash at all.......

 

[andyred]

Hi & welcome

As Duncan has said, the world is your oyster...

The Canon 550D is a good camera and will more than fulfill your needs at this early stage, but don't forget there are other makes out there - Nikon, Sony & Pentax.

There are advantages and disadvantages to any of them - a good example is the Sony & Pentax have Image Stabilisation in the body, so any lens used will have stabalisation available, Canon & Nikon do not have it in the body, it is in specific lenses. There is a wider choice (and possibly price) of lenses for Canon & Nikon...

When you are starting out, you are not just buying a camera, you are buying into a system, into a manufactorer, as generally, most people don't swap from one make to another regularly. If you have a look at some of the posts on here, from people swapping from Nikon to Canon or visa versa, it's not an easy decision made.

Best advice initially, is to visit a good camera shop and have a play about with various different makes, see which you prefer the feel off, which is more user friendly to you, the ergonomics are better for you, etc etc...

Are you going to be needing any other lenses (other than the kit lens) to start with ? This needs to be considered as well.

Hope this has been of some help...

 

[CanonEOS]

Hi,

I'm after a little bit of advice on which camera to purchase and I'm hoping I've come to the right place...

I have a decent budget and I'm after a larger, high quality camera that can provide detailed photography. I.e. better than your average everyday family camera. I would also like to able to shoot videos.

The Canon EOS 550D has caught my eye. What are peoples thoughts on this camera? Maybe something similar/better in that sort of price range. Or the possibility of buying second hand.

Please go easy on me, I'm a female and by no means a photographer :shrug:. I am simply looking for a decent camera to take photographs for my Blog. My partner would also like to use the camera to take photographs of his reef tank, containing colourful corals and marine fish. We would also like to use the camera for good quality family videos.

Any help would be much appreciated

Thank you

First welcome to the forums

To your question we members can give you many suggestions on what camera to go for but it all depends on what you like and within your budget line, the 550D is a good camera to start out with but you want ot do video on the camera as well go for the 600D or even better the 60D hope that helps you. good luck

 

[modchild]

The 550D is a great camera to be starting off with. If your budget allows you should look out for a twin lens kit with an 18-55 IS mkII lens and the ever popular 55-250 IS. Both are good quality kit lenses and you should be able to get the lot for between £600-700. That will give you a great range until you decide if you want to concentrate on a certain kind of photography.
I started off with a 550D and have recently given it to my wife cause I didn't want to sell it off cheaply but I had no room left in my bag for another body. If I ever had to get rid of my 7D or 5DMkII I'd add the 550D back into my bag like a shot.