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Thread: Taking the DSLR plunge - done!

  1. #1
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    Taking the DSLR plunge - done!

    Ok, I admit it. The Panasonic FZ50 was a mistake. Remember those noisy night pics I posted in the HDR thread a few weeks ago? Those were taken at ISO200. :oops: I've gotten a lot more into photography over the last few months than I ever expected to when I started taking pics of planes. Especially night photography. And I'm the sort of person who takes a lot of pride in my work. So if this is going to be a serious hobby, I really should do it right.

    Fortunately, the FZ50 doesn't look like it's going to be a very expensive mistake. It looks like I can resell it for not a lot more than I paid, and I can use the proceeds towards a DSLR. The prospect of plane-spotting with a DSLR seemed expensive to me, because good telephoto lenses are expensive to buy. But not to rent! Adorama Rentals has the Canon 100-400 L or the Nikon 80-400 for $35 per weekend. That, I can afford. So really, all I'd need to buy is a body and an everyday lens; I could rent a long lens for our nycaviation adventures, until I can afford to buy one I'll be happy with.

    So, I need advice in starting small. I'm leaning towards Canon, primarily because I like their options better on the low end, and I like how they handle the big lens-small sensor issue better than Nikon. My mind can be changed if someone has compelling arguments, but don't start a flame war please :)

    Say I bought a used Digital Rebel XT for $374. The XTi is $550ish new, and there don't seem to be a lot of them used...is the XTi that much better that I shouldn't consider an XT? For the same price, the XT is better than a 10D, right?

    Lens options I've considered (all prices are B&H):
    1) Tamron two-lens kit (EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6) for $209
    2) Canon EF 28-105mm f/4-5.6 USM Autofocus for $149
    3) Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Autofocus for $219

    I know the best lens is (3). And I know that the Tamron kit is going to be fairly low-quality lenses. But at that level, how much difference am I going to see? Less sharp images? Chromatic aberration? The Tamron 70-300 doesn't have IS, but usually if I need a long lens I'm either using a tripod or a fast shutter speed, so is that a big deal? Keep in mind that I'd probably rent a 100-400 L for weekends I knew I'd be spotting.

    Any of these options would be a big step up from what I have now, right? Am I making another mistake by trying to go cheap to start out? Anything else I should be looking at? Anyone looking at upgrading and want to sell me their used stuff? :)

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Don't go with anything but the 28-105 II out of those choices.

    The other two choices will get you noisy, unfocused, and just plain bad quality pictures.
    nwa FOREVER!

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Quote Originally Posted by nwafan20
    Don't go with anything but the 28-105 II out of those choices.

    The other two choices will get you noisy, unfocused, and just plain bad quality pictures.
    That's kinda what I expected to hear. Is the 28-105 II a passable lens though? If so, that has plenty of range for everyday usage...

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    I am a 28-105 II owner myself. For the price, it really is an awesome lens! I usually get very good results with it, and for only like $200, you can't beat it!
    nwa FOREVER!

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Adam,

    All of my photos you have seen me take, and if you haven't, then oops! I own a 28-105 USM II also and love it.
    "lol retart"

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Ok, that's two votes in favor of the lens. Thanks for the input.

    What about the body? Is a Digital Rebel XT a good deal at $374, or would I be much better off spending $550 on a Digital Rebel XTi? The XT is better than a 10D at the same price, right?

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Yes, the XT is better than the 10D.

    As for XT vs. XTi, you really have to look at what YOU want out of it.

    The XT is a cheaper investment, but it will be considered "old" much sooner than the XTi, the XTi also has better technology, such as the self cleaning sensor, a 2.5 inch screen, a 10.1 MP sensor (vs. 8 MP in the XT), and some of the kinks of the XT have been worked out in the XTi.

    If you are looking to upgrade your body soon, I would go with the XT, if you are looking to hold on to it for a while, I would go with the XTi.


    Just my $0.02
    nwa FOREVER!

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    We'll see what I can get for the current camera; I'm willing to spend $300 on top of that. I listed it on Amazon at $420 (including the extra batteries and an SD card). If it sells for that, I'd probably be able to swing the XTi. I'm not tremendously worried about having an "old" camera as long as it takes good pictures, but the XTi would last me longer than the XT would.

    (If anyone knows anyone who wants it and will pay cash, I'll cut $30 or so off the price, because that's what Amazon would charge me if I sell through them...for what it is, it's a good camera...)

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    Adam vs going with the entry level XT look to spend the few extra bucks on a new XTi or even a new 20D. New 20D's are still around and it's one hell of a camera. Even if it means you have to wait a bit I think that might be your best bet. If you can score a good price on a new 20D I'd jump on that in a second.

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge...?

    I should have made this decision a month ago so I could have bought Eric's used 20D :)

    B&H has a used 20D for $600...that's a little more than I wanted to spend, but not out of the question. New ones look like they run about $800, which is too much. How much better is the 20D than the XTi? Am I likely to get a much better price on a new one if I wait a couple of months?

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge - almost ready to buy!

    So I've gotten some nibbles on the FZ50, and if any of those pan out, the XTi is a go.

    I can get that 28-105 USM II for $219 new or $179 used...is there any downside to buying used lenses? Can I going to do any better, lens-wise, in the $250 range? I want something with a range of at least 28-100...I'll rent a 100-400L for spotting weekends, so I don't need a tremendous amount of zoom.

    Do I need to buy fast memory cards? There's a big price difference between the basic Kingston/SanDisk cards and the SanDisk Extreme III/Lexar 133x cards that the camera stores seem to love to sell, and I'm not paying a premium on memory if I don't have to.

    Do I need more than one extra battery? At this time of year, I doubt I could spot for more than six hours no matter how much I wanted to :)

    Thanks all...

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge - almost ready to buy!

    Quote Originally Posted by adam613
    I can get that 28-105 USM II for $219 new or $179 used...is there any downside to buying used lenses?
    I've bought a couple of used lenses and never had any problems. All but one were bought from B&H, which offers you some measure of assurance that it's been checked out and (I think) has a return policy for them.

    Quote Originally Posted by adam613
    Do I need more than one extra battery? At this time of year, I doubt I could spot for more than six hours no matter how much I wanted to :)
    I have five batteries (what can I say, I get a little paranoid sometimes) but I don't think I've ever gone through more than three in a day, and even then I was changing as soon as the battery indicator changed from the "full" icon to the "not as full" one (I suspect there's another icon for "change me now!" but I haven't gotten to that point yet). There've been plenty of times I've expected to need to use a second battery and been able to shoot a whole day on a single battery, but it's definitely a good idea to have two. If you do it right, you'll always have one battery charged and ready while the other charges, in case you need to grab the camera for something unexpected.

    Also, of my batteries, two are Canon (one from my old Rebel and one from my 30D) and the other three are RadioShack. The RS ones last longer than the Rebel battery and at least as long as the 30D one, so that's something to look into, as the RS ones are cheaper than Canon ones.
    Phil Gengler - NYCA's "other Phil"

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge - almost ready to buy!

    Quote Originally Posted by adam613

    Do I need to buy fast memory cards? There's a big price difference between the basic Kingston/SanDisk cards and the SanDisk Extreme III/Lexar 133x cards that the camera stores seem to love to sell, and I'm not paying a premium on memory if I don't have to.
    My experience with my DReb was that the fast memory card did not make a difference to the camera (ie the camera did not need or make use of the faster card). Fast cards do make a difference to a card reader - faster download to the computer.

    I just upgraded to the Xti but I only have 200 clicks on it so I don't know yet if a faster card helps clear the buffer or not.

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge - almost ready to buy!

    Quote Originally Posted by SmAlbany
    My experience with my DReb was that the fast memory card did not make a difference to the camera (ie the camera did not need or make use of the faster card). Fast cards do make a difference to a card reader - faster download to the computer.
    I had (and still have, but don't really use) an original DReb, and with that camera, it couldn't write at anything near a card's top speed, so the camera was definitely the limiting factor. With anything more recent, the camera is much faster. I don't know how much, though, but I don't think that the camera is writing at anywhere near the card's top speed. Unless you're doing a lot of burst shooting you're not likely to ever notice the card's speed, since the camera's buffer would keep everything going.
    Phil Gengler - NYCA's "other Phil"

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    Re: Taking the DSLR plunge - almost ready to buy!

    Quote Originally Posted by pgengler
    I've bought a couple of used lenses and never had any problems. All but one were bought from B&H, which offers you some measure of assurance that it's been checked out and (I think) has a return policy for them.
    Yeah, the plan was to buy from B&H. It's six blocks from my office, and it's a great store, and their prices are competitive with the internets.

    Quote Originally Posted by pgengler
    Also, of my batteries, two are Canon (one from my old Rebel and one from my 30D) and the other three are RadioShack. The RS ones last longer than the Rebel battery and at least as long as the 30D one, so that's something to look into, as the RS ones are cheaper than Canon ones.
    Interesting...I'll definitely check that out.

    Regarding the memory card stuff, the XTi can store 27 JPEG frames in its buffer at 3fps, and I can't imagine why I'd ever need to shoot more than that...So I guess I'll buy a few cheap memory cards instead of one expensive one :)

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