Best camera for the price?

[Amateur Photographer]

I've been looking into the Canon EOS Rebel T5

Should I buy this bundle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q7N302E/ref=twister_B00QHQODJ0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 with also buying an 50mm 1.8 lens: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1436737015&sr=1-1&keywords=50mm+f+1.8

I wanted to spend a maximum of $550 for a starter camera and I've been stuck on the T5 for some reason

 

[iolair]

It depends. What do you plan to shoot?

 

[Amateur Photographer]

It depends. What do you plan to shoot?

just small family parties, family portraits, and maybe just occasional nature photos. I don't plan on doing like a business out of this, just simple nice photos for own keeping

 

[iolair]

With your budget there are plenty of options that could do what you want well and have room to develop with your skill.

It's definitely worth visiting a good camera shop, handling and trying the different options. There's a lot to be said for a camera that just feels right in your hands.

For portraits, adding a 50mm f/1.8 does make sense on these cameras.

Any of these fit your budget and needs:

Canon T5 or M2
Nikon D3200
Pentax KS-1
Sony NEX-5 or A5000

Handle and try as many as you can.
Any particular reason for leaning to Canon?

 

[Amateur Photographer]

It depends. What do you plan to shoot?

With your budget there are plenty of options that could do what you want well and have room to develop with your skill.

It's definitely worth visiting a good camera shop, handling and trying the different options. There's a lot to be said for a camera that just feels right in your hands.

For portraits, adding a 50mm f/1.8 does make sense on these cameras.

Any of these fit your budget and needs:

Canon T5 or M2
Nikon D3200
Pentax KS-1
Sony NEX-5 or A5000

Handle and try as many as you can.
Any particular reason for leaning to Canon?

I honestly don't know why I'm so stuck on Cannon, I guess it's because pretty much all my cameras I've bought in my life were Sony's & Canon's. And also I have a few members in my family that have a canon DSLR's. When I was doing research is when I found the 50mm f/1.8 lens and saw sample photos and absolutely loved the way it looked. I was just wondering if these were some good deals

 

[TCampbell]

Canon doesn't sell the M2 in the North American market and since I notice the Amazon link goes to the US store, I'm guessing the OP is in the US and that camera wouldn't be an option (but the other models you mentioned are available).

Of those I'd probably favor the Canon T5 or Nikon D3200 or even D3300.

I would avoid one of those "bundles". The accessories are typically junk-grade and not worth it.

When you buy the camera from either Canon or Nikon, it will include the camera body, neck-strap, battery, battery charger, software and documentation, but will NOT INCLUDE a memory card (so you'll need one of those, but those are cheap.)

When ordered as a "kit", Canon or Nikon will include a single 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. That's moderate wide-angle through moderate telephoto zoom range -- but not strong telephoto.

You don't need any UV filters to protect the lens (this is a religious war, but your camera will already have an internal UV filter and people only buy them as "protection". They can cause ghosting reflections and flare -- so while possibly offering some protection they also degrade image quality.

The camera will not include any type of camera bag. If you want a camera bag, I suggest buying something that doesn't scream "EXPENSIVE GEAR INSIDE... STEAL ME!" (don't get a bag with a Canon or Nikon logo on it.) Simple bags are not very expensive and as you don't need a huge bag to store a lot of lenses... probably $15 to $25 is more than adequate.

You can get a T5 for $400 with 18-55mm kit lens. Add in a 16GB Sandisk class 10 SD card (probably $15) and a bag (maybe $15-25) and you're ready to shoot photos for under $440. This leaves you with enough money to get the 50mm prime lens.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens is $125 list. You want the "STM" version. Do not get the EF 50mm f/1.8 II (that's the prior model which was just replaced this year. It won't say "STM" in the name).

The EF 50mm f/1.8 II actually had very nice optics. There was nothing wrong with the glass. The problem was the build quality, the very noisy and very slow focus motor speed and it only had 5 aperture blades which meant that when you want the background to be blurred, points of light blur into pentagons and didn't look circular at all. This creates a blur quality that was very nervous & jittery. But the in-focus areas looked great!

The EF 50mm f/1.8 II has been retired after a 25 year run... with the new STM version. The optics are identical... not just close... identical. But they fixed everything else. The old noisy and slow focus motor has been replaced with a much quieter (virtually silent) stepper motor which is also much faster. The old lens could only be manually focused if you disengaged the motor by switching from AF to MF (it didn't support full-time manual focus override). The STM motors DO support full-time manual focus over-ride (the focusing ring is not mechanically attached to the optics... it is a "focus by wire". A computer senses you turning the ring and the motor moves the focusing element for you... this will only happen when you half-press the shutter. (or otherwise activate the focus system). The 5-blade aperture has been replaced with a 7-blade aperture which provides a significantly better look... no more jittery/nervous blur quality. The price tag for this new lens... is EXACTLY the same as the old non-STM lens. So there's nothing to be saved by buying the non-STM version. You may find a few non-STM lenses on the market (Canon doesn't make them anymore)... but even if they knock a few bucks off the old model, I wouldn't get it... get the STM version.

On the Nikon side, the D3200 and D3300 will be very good cameras (and I would not hesitate to recommend them). But Nikon's 50mm f/1.8 lens is $217. They make a 50mm f/1.8 lens for around $130... but it doesn't autofocus on a D3200 or D3300 body (and you WANT autofocus.) Nikon originally used in-body focus motors. They eventually switched to in-lens focus motors (and this reduces the body prices) but they still make lenses for cameras with in-body motors as well as lenses with built-in (self-contained in the lens) motors. The D3200 and D3300 don't have in-body motors so they can only auto-focus if the lens has it's own motor. (Canon never made an in-body motor... all autofocusing lenses have their own in-lens motor.) Apart from the price difference, you'd be very happy with the cameras.

 

[480sparky]

If there truly was a 'best camera for the price', it would be the only one sold.

 

[PaulWog]

It depends. What do you plan to shoot?

just small family parties, family portraits, and maybe just occasional nature photos. I don't plan on doing like a business out of this, just simple nice photos for own keeping

The only reason I would choose Canon over Nikon is if you want their 10-18mm ultrawide lens. It's priced really really really well at $269. Otherwise, at that entry-level budget, I would look at a Nikon D3200 or D3300, maybe a D5200 or D5300, just depending on the sales that you might be able to find. Do note that the 10-18mm lens is good enough reason to seriously consider going Canon at your price-point (granted, you wouldn't be able to fit it in with a $500 budget, but you could pick it up later cheaply).

Lots of good information already stated above.