Which camera?

couture87

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Hey Guys,
It's my first time posting in this forum and i'm not an expert with camera's and photography like most of you are!
I would like to ask for some advice. My birthday is coming up and my husband is planning to get me a new camera.
Now, i have always used a regular digital camera, nothing fancy but after seeing so many beautiful pictures I want a camera with GREAT quality pictures, like majority of you are taking.
I've heard of the CANON EOS 5D, 30D, 40D, 20D etc.....

Can you advice me of which camera I can start off with? Nothing too overwhelming expensive. Maybe no more than 700 or 800 dollars. Nothing too technically difficult. basically something thats easy to use, has a number of good features when photo taking and most importantly, CLEAR and BEAUTIFUL picture quality!

I hope you guys can help me out! i've been looking alot into canon and reading reviews but it's all so confusing to me reading the specifications and features it has, it pretty much doesn't mean much to me because i don't understand much of the photography/camera lingo!

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!
 
Unfortunately, the camera will only take those beautiful pictures when you know how to use the settings properly. But there is auto modes on most DSLR's too which yield ok results in most cases. The good news is when you buy a camera at this price range, you are eager to use it to it's fullest potential, and it's a lot of fun to progress with your photos. Plus there are resources like this forum that will help you get better.

As far as cameras go, at your price range you could get a Canon XSI which is a pretty popular and high rated camera. While I really wanted that Canon, I ended up getting a Nikon D60 with two lenses for 699.99 and am very pleased with it so far. There are a lot of people here who shoot with the Nikon D40 and love it as well. You could easily find that body with two lenses for under your budget. Look around the forums and see the pictures people have taken and the cameras they're using. That may help you make the decision. Hope this helps!
 
Unfortunately, the camera will only take those beautiful pictures when you know how to use the settings properly. But there is auto modes on most DSLR's too which yield ok results in most cases. The good news is when you buy a camera at this price range, you are eager to use it to it's fullest potential, and it's a lot of fun to progress with your photos. Plus there are resources like this forum that will help you get better.

As far as cameras go, at your price range you could get a Canon XSI which is a pretty popular and high rated camera. While I really wanted that Canon, I ended up getting a Nikon D60 with two lenses for 699.99 and am very pleased with it so far. There are a lot of people here who shoot with the Nikon D40 and love it as well. You could easily find that body with two lenses for under your budget. Look around the forums and see the pictures people have taken and the cameras they're using. That may help you make the decision. Hope this helps!

Thanks for your response, I will definitely look into those. I know this may sound silly to ask, but hey this is the beginners forum!:blushing: Do the lenses change the focus and what not?
 
Also, if i were to purchase a Canon XSI, What type of lens should I start off with?
 
If you have a local camera store go by and "test drive" several different kinds of cameras until you find one that fits. As far as lens it depends on what you plan on taking pictures of. A good all round lens for Canon would be the EF28-135mm IS, not to expensive. Hope this helps.
 
If you have a local camera store go by and "test drive" several different kinds of cameras until you find one that fits. As far as lens it depends on what you plan on taking pictures of. A good all round lens for Canon would be the EF28-135mm IS, not to expensive. Hope this helps.

Thanks Ruaslacker! I plan to take pictures of people. My husband... friends... etc...
 
The Canon XS is also a good choice also. Keep us posted on what you decide on I'm sure someone here will have one and can pass on some tips / hints.
 
if you purchase the canon xsi @ costco, it sometime comes with a twin lens package, 18-55 and the 55-250


Thanks for that, i will look into that. What is the difference between the 18-55 and 55-250?
 
For above, amount of telephoto. How close you get.

Have you considered a D90?
 
Thanks for that, i will look into that. What is the difference between the 18-55 and 55-250?

If you think of 55mm in terms of the closest focal length to represent what you're actually seeing, the 18-55 is a wider view, and the 55-250 is a more narrow view. The 55-250 is a small telephoto which allows you to zoom into things further away, where the 18-55 allows you to stand closer to something but will distort the image at the shortest length. These seem to be typical lenses for camera kits right now and they are very useful.
 
I did not have much of a budget when I bought my first camera. I went with the Nikon D40 with 2 lenses. The 18-55 and the 55-200 VR. It came with a bag, an extra battery, a 1 gig card and a 4 gig card, uv filters for both lenses and a CP filter, rubber bulb air blower, mini tripod, wipes and spray to clean lenses, and all the stuff that comes in the camera box, software, strap etc....
Anyhow, I bought this package off Ebay for $749 and $20 shipping I beleive. I am having a blast learning to use this camera. I think you should also look on Ebay and see if you can find any of these packages. It seems to be enough to get started. I have since bought a new lend, a tripod, and a book which is REALLY GOOD at teaching me about photography." Understanding Exposure ".
I cant stress enough how much this book is teaching me and best of all its very easy to follow along and I am having fun.
 
If you had to choose between a d40, d60 or a canon xsi which would you prefer?

also do all those three cameras allow you to record videos as well?
 
If you think of 55mm in terms of the closest focal length to represent what you're actually seeing, the 18-55 is a wider view, and the 55-250 is a more narrow view. The 55-250 is a small telephoto which allows you to zoom into things further away, where the 18-55 allows you to stand closer to something but will distort the image at the shortest length. These seem to be typical lenses for camera kits right now and they are very useful.


Thanks!
 
I did not have much of a budget when I bought my first camera. I went with the Nikon D40 with 2 lenses. The 18-55 and the 55-200 VR. It came with a bag, an extra battery, a 1 gig card and a 4 gig card, uv filters for both lenses and a CP filter, rubber bulb air blower, mini tripod, wipes and spray to clean lenses, and all the stuff that comes in the camera box, software, strap etc....
Anyhow, I bought this package off Ebay for $749 and $20 shipping I beleive. I am having a blast learning to use this camera. I think you should also look on Ebay and see if you can find any of these packages. It seems to be enough to get started. I have since bought a new lend, a tripod, and a book which is REALLY GOOD at teaching me about photography." Understanding Exposure ".
I cant stress enough how much this book is teaching me and best of all its very easy to follow along and I am having fun.

Would you say a d40 is a great one to start off with then? I merely just want a camera that is going to take great quality shots. I'm not using it for photography purposes, but just for simple photo shooting.
 

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