About to go out right now and buy a camera.Help!

canonterror · Apr 12, 2007

This will be my first DSLR camera.I'm thinking about getting the Canon Rebel XT. I will be buying it locally.Should I buy it with the lens kit or the body only and buy another lens seperately? Any advise before I head out? :wink:

If so which lens do you recommend to get?

Big Mike · Apr 12, 2007

Welcome to the forum.

The XT is a great camera, hopefully it's still avaliable because it has been discontinued in favor of the newer XTi. If you find a deal on the XT, go for it...otherwise, I'd suggest getting the newer model instead.

The kit lens is a good lens to start with (and at only $100 more, it's a good deal)...but if you are (or get) serious, you will probably want to upgrade some day...so if you have the money to spend on a better lens, it might be a good idea. Some ideas for an upgrade are; Canon EF-S 17-85 F4-5.6 IS, Tamron 17-50 F2.8, Tamron 17-70 F2.8-4.5, Sigma 18-50 F2.8, Canon 17-40 F4 L. Or the Canon EF-S 17-55 F2.8 IS...but it will cost more than the camera.

Also, the 50mm F1.8 is rather cheap and a great little lens.

canonterror · Apr 12, 2007

Thanks

MPowerM3 · Apr 12, 2007

Grab a battery grip too, they make the camera feel a lot better in your hands, I love mine. I also got the hand strap and that just makes life wonderful!

Get the kit lens and learn the camera, then wait for a good deal to pop up on a better lens!! Thats my 2 pennies.

xfloggingkylex · Apr 12, 2007

Like I say, if you can afford better, get it. The kit lens works fine as long as you have bright daylight or other form of light. If you try taking pictures at 55mm at night in a tungsten bulb (normal incandescent) lit room of average light, you will be surprised at how slow of a shutter speed you will need to use, which results in blurred pictures. So, if you can get a better lens than do so because not only will it give you better low light hand hold ability, the constant 2.8 aperture means that much light gets to the sensor no matter what focal length you are at. This is useful because if you zoom on the kit lens, you could very easily throw your settings into the area that gives you blur. Also, the wide 2.8 aperture allows for a shallower depth of field (DOF) which gives a nice blur to things not in focus. Also, the lenses that mike mentioned are all going to be sharper at a given aperture than the kit lens; whether you care about that slight difference is up to you.

The XT is a cool camera, and like I say to everyone, if you have large hands, consider the 150 dollar battery grip. It adds a lot of mass and makes the camera feel like less of a toy, and it looks awesome.

Oh and I always recommend the 50mm 1.8. at 1.8 indoor shooting at night wont be a problem, and the super wide aperture allows for some very creative DOF usage. To add to that, the simplicity of the prime (doesn't zoom, you use your feet for that) allows an incredibly sharp picture. the canon 50mm 1.8 mkII (and all other 50's for that matter) are arguable the best bang for the buck.