Thoughts on E-Bay Canon Kit?

[iogen70]

I am considering purchasing a kit similar to this one found on E-Bay. It comes with a Canon Rebel XSi.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Rebel-XSi...al_Cameras&hash=item20b71213e9#ht_1266wt_1141

Any thoughts from anyone?

Thanks in advance.

 

[TwoTwoLeft]

If thats how much money you're looking to spend you can find better deals on a T2i with the same two kit lenses. I picked up mine at Costco for $950. It came with a bag and 8gig card & HDMI cable. The other stuff in that kit is junk. The 50mm Canon prime lens is actually pretty good but you can pick those up for around $100. The only other route you could take is buy the DSLR body you want and get a really nice lens. Check out B&H Photo Video Digital Cameras, Photography, Camcorders

The kit lenses are on the slow side, but still very descent quality. They're just a PITA to use with a hood or polarizing filter because the barrel rotates when focusing.

I went with the kit because I wanted something that would kinda do everything from "wide" to telephoto. This will do until I figure out what kind of lens I want to dump my money into.

 

[Overread]

A lot of the content of that kit isn't worth getting at all - its a nice looking package, but the actual content is lacking in quality:
These are all the bits I noticed that are not worth getting:
40x Super Wide Angle Fisheye Lens and 2x Telephoto Lens - both of these (from the product pictures) are the kind that screw onto the end of the lens in order to work. They are pretty much all very poor performers and often can have vignetting (dark corners or worse a visible dark ring around the photo) problems because they are not made for any specific setup - just a thread size. You might use them once or twice to see what they do and then never ever touch them again.

Digital Pro Slave Flash a slave flash is already a weaker choice and I suspect that is lacks basic manual controls and that its slave triggers off preflashes. There are better options out there for flashes

UV Filter and Circular Polarizer Filter and FLD Filter - all three in the same product shot tells me that they are the ultra cheap kit kind. Again like the lens adaptors above these "work" but poorly. Again you'll suffer image quality problems, flaring, reflection errors etc...

Professional 57" Tripod - the product shot is showing a cheap, probably plastic and aluminium £15 tripod. Again this "works" and I used one myself, but it is very very far from professional standard and grade with many limitations in its use.

3 Year Celltime Warranty Repair Package - these where shops sell them, are mostly just a salesman method of getting more money for almost no product. The gear already has its 1 year manufacturers warranty (2 years in the EU countries now) and most problems will show up in that first year - thereafter most problems will be from damage through dropping and other such events and thus won't be covered by warranty repair services.



In the end I'd not go with this package - just too much of it is ultra cheap low grade produce which will only serve to give you a poor performance and defeat the whole point of getting a DSLR.

 

[iogen70]

Thanks. I am considering a kit for the same reasons. What makes the other stuff "junk"? Like the filters, etc. I have some Tiffen filters from my old Canon 35mm. But I am not sure they would screw into the newer lenses that are used on the EOS line. How slow are these kit lenses? I was thinking of gong a different route; buy the body with 18-55mm and purchase 2 Tamron lenses aftermarket.

 

[iogen70]

Thank you Overread. That was more detail than I expected. Have you ever seen any Canon kits through e-Bay worth the purchase?

 

[Overread]

I've honestly never looked around ebay for startup kits.
Myself I would say stick to the basics and know exactly what it is you are buying - don't get caught up in the "bundle deal" mindest.

Start by working out what you want the camera gear to do for you (ie what you want to take photos of). Build up a list of criteria and then you can match that to what your budget will allow you (factoring in as best you can the idea of not buying it all at once - might be worth getting only one lens to start, but getting a really good one and then saving for others later down the line).

Also one tip is to try talking to shops - either sales staff or managers (depending on the shops setup) and see if you can get a deal. Maybe if you're getting 2 or 3 lenses and a body at the same time have them throw in a cleaning kit or cheap tripod etc... for free or get some money off etc...

Out of interest which Tamron lenses are you looking at specifically.

 

[iogen70]

Overread: I am thinking about purchasing the Tamron 70-300 telephoto lens. I do not remember the model number off hand.
Now I am beginning to question myself regarding a camera body. I am a Canon fan, so that is decided. But which one? I am looking at the XTi and the new EOS 3 (not the 3Ti).
I know nothing about the new 3 other than what I can read. It has a ridiculously high ISO selection up to 6400. The XTi still seems to have a few advantages though; higher FPS bracketing being one.
I want to balance my new purchase by purchasing the best I can afford in the sub-$1000 range (e.g. body, zoom and wide angle, filters, extra battery, etc.). Maybe I should bite the bullet and look at Nikon?

 

[LarissaPhotography]

If you like Canon, stick with Canon. Nikon isn't really more expensive or better quality. I think the question as far as lenses and camera body goes is what you're planning to do with your camera. If you're planning to take close-up pictures of flowers, you're choosing the wrong equipment with that kit. Can you give us a little more info on what you're planning to do with your camera?

 

[bazooka]

Have you considered buying a used but more capable older model? I'll tell ya, I love my 40D. $550 off craigslist.

 

[iogen70]

I'll be doing various types of photography. Some portraits, landscapes, isolated items on white/black backgrounds, some macro. Basically, a general mashup of styles. Indoor and outdoor all the seasons. I'm not a pro, so I want to work on all my techniques to really hone them. I've been doing those types of work with my 'Tween point and shoot CanonS3. I have home made lighting, backgrounds, an ehhh-OK tripod already. Thanks for the assistance. You have all been very helpful to me. I've not yet decided if I am a hearty fool or fool hearty for photography.

 

[iogen70]

I've been stung through Craigslist. Never again. Especially on used. But I see where you are coming form.

 

[KrissyAndrews]

Always make sure you meet the people from Craigslist in person. Garage Sales are another way (my personal favorite) to find cameras. You'd be amazed what people are selling....


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