$1500 budget need advice please

Janthony · Nov 15, 2012

Hi everyone. I tried perusing and searching the threads and although there are plenty of "which camera" threads, the only ones that have my budget constraints are from 2010 and 2009 - I'm guessing things become outdated in this industry pretty fast. I hope it's ok with everyone that I started a thread for this, but I figured some open discussion might be good.

Anyway, I have a friend who wants to delve into photography. She's got a $1500 budget, wants DSLR, and will be shooting mostly landscapes and portraits. This is going to out start out as a hobby for her, but who knows where it will lead. She will be taking classes in the near future, and hopes to get some equipment in the interim. She'd rather not wait for the classes because she isn't entirely sure when she can start classes. She's got no existing equipment. I know people are really high on BH Photo and we aren't far from NYC and if that's the place to go, it would be a doable trip. Thanks in advance!

sactown024 · Nov 15, 2012

I would go with something along the lines of a Canon 60D with the 18-135 kit and spend the remaining money on a 50mm, good memory card and a 430ex speedlite.

I bought a T2i and I sold it 3 months later, I wouldnt waste your time with a rebel if you plan to do this for awhile.

manicmike · Nov 15, 2012

A Nikon D90 with 35mm 1.8 lens and lots of books.

MLeeK · Nov 15, 2012

Canon 7D or Nikon D7000. DEFINITELY go to B&H!

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

Thank you all!

I will look into these options!

MLeeK said:
Canon 7D or Nikon D7000. DEFINITELY go to B&H!

Thanks for the suggestion, the Canon looks great but do you think it wise to spend everything on a body-only camera? Also, do you think it's definitely worth a 200 mile trip to BH as opposed to using the website? If so, I'm certainly willing!

PhotoWhoa · Nov 16, 2012

You could probably find a 7d with a couple of not-so-great Canon lenses for $1500. Otherwise, it might be cool to buy a used 7d and get a nicer lens.

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

PhotoWhoa said:
You could probably find a 7d with a couple of not-so-great Canon lenses for $1500. Otherwise, it might be cool to buy a used 7d and get a nicer lens.

OK, seems to be a definitely preference for the 7D over the 60D. I looked at a comparison and it looks TO ME, a complete outsider, that perhaps the 60D is better suited for her for these reasons:

She won't be shooting sports or high action
She is a beginner - many folks say the 7D is overwhelming for beginners, or at least that the features are lost on them.
The extra $400 will enable her to buy better lenses.

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

Given she'll be shooting mostly portrait and landscape... what about this?

Canon 60D body only and accessories - $975
With a Canon 70-200mm F4L - $600
This will get her into a nice "L" lense right off the bat with a good range and great quality - she can add multipliers and whatnot if needed later on.
We may find a little extra room in the budget for things like memory if needed and a nice flash could come a little later. What do you think?

MLeeK · Nov 16, 2012

Janthony said:
Given she'll be shooting mostly portrait and landscape... what about this?

Canon 60D body only and accessories - $975
With a Canon 70-200mm F4L - $600
This will get her into a nice "L" lense right off the bat with a good range and great quality - she can add multipliers and whatnot if needed later on.
We may find a little extra room in the budget for things like memory if needed and a nice flash could come a little later. What do you think?

The 70-200 is very narrow on a crop body. She'll have a hard time getting many full body shots indoors and unless you have a very vast room to shoot in it's just going to be too close for MUCH. She'll immediately need something in the wide angle or she's going to be stuck for much indoor use. My living room is 21 feet wide and from one end to the other I am only able to get in most of one upper body shot on a crop sensor in it. It's just too close.

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

Excellent info thanks! I wonder if that still wouldn't be better since I really think 90% of what she'll be doing from the start will be outdoor landscape stuff. Do you think it woudl be wise to start with the 70-200 and when she gets a little more money pickup something wide as well.

Also, what if I could convince her to up the budget and splurge an extra $200-300 for an EF 24 or 28? What do you think of that?

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

I found that 70-200 locally, hardly used for $450! That would open up money for a prime wide angle like I mentioned. What do you guys think of that?

eltebe · Nov 16, 2012

Let her hold body(battery incl) with 24-105 and ask her to take some pictures with it. If it is too heavy imo forget 7d. For my wife i would buy 650d with 15-85 now. 30d with 24-105 is heavy and with my brothers 580ex ii she was like hell no. Also bear in mind where she will shoot the most interior or open air. 70-200 will make it difficult inside. I do use 24-105 inside my flat mostly and 30% of 15k pictures I did were @24mm and 20% @25-30 range.

Janthony · Nov 16, 2012

I see what you are saying now.. the more I look into it, the more I realize that much of what she'll do, even with lanscape will be in the 24-80 FL range.

[h=2]EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras - This might be a better choice for under $600, good FL range and IS.

Thoughts?[/h]

ghache · Nov 16, 2012

I would get a d90 or d7000 (if she can stretch budjet a little bit) with a 50 1.8g and a tamron 17-50 f2.8. this should leave her with a bit of money for a sb-600 used or a off brand ttl flash, a stand and a small umbrella or ebay speedlight softbox (40 bucks).

that would give her the option of shooting lanscape wide with a lens that is probably the best f2.8 lens on the wide angle side for the money
she can also use this lens inside as a portrait lens or when space is tighter, plus a nice fast prime for portraiture, a TTL flash she can use inside on camera with bounce card and off camera for her own experimentation.