Advice on a beginners DSLR and Zoom lense.

Ry@n

Ry@n

Ry@n

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Hi all, im after a little advice really whilst i am still saving for a new camera.

My current camera has broken, it was a Fujufilm Finepix S7000. Dust got in!

For a new camera i am looking into a DSLR, as i believe this would be best. I dont have a budget, but was hoping to spend between £500 and £600. I can stretch if i think its worth it.

I have beeing reading up on the Canon 400D, which looks really good from reviews etc. I am guessing the kit lense (18-55mm Lens) will suit everyday photograps such as quick point and shoot ? I.e. a midrange zoom.

Also, i am thinking that the 55-200mm Lens would suit what i want to photograph, which is Moto-X racing. I need to be able to zoom further but also need to shoot from close range sometimes.

So as a beginner, would the kit lense be 'ok' for some Moto-X action, or is it quite necessary for me to jump in straight away and buy a zoom setup like this:
Canon EOS 400D (Black) + Grip + 18-55mm Lens + 55-200mm Lens

Any help will be greatly appreciated, i seem to trust you lot :p
 
It mostly depends on how close your going to be able to get to the action. Imo, your probably best getting the kit with the stock lens for now, having a play around and learning how to use the camera for a few weeks, then if you feel your really lacking, getting a lens with more reach. :)
 
Thanks. Yer this is what i originally wanted to do but the 200mm lense is half price if you buy it at the same time as buying the camera. £200 down to £100 !

Hard decision but i think ill have to get the kit lense for now.

Also, where can i learn about lense types and also what the zoom length means (55-200mm etc) ? I know a few basics but i want to learn more :)

Cheers.
 
http://www.fredmiranda.com/
and
www.dpreview.com/

are two very good websites for reviews and articles, so it might be worth starting there. The length of the lens (55-200mm for example) is (as far as I know) the length from the front element of the lens to the sensor when the lens is set to infinity focus. This length determines how wide angle, or telephoto the lens is. 50mm is considered as roughly equivalent to what the human eye sees. Anything shorter than this is considered wide angle, and anything longer than it is considered telephoto. Hope that helps. :)
 
I just like to add;

Im no photgrapher - Im very new to this. However, i have just purchased the EOS 400D and the picture quality is quite amazing. I found it very easy to figure out and like i said the pic quality is mind blowing - Ill attempt some pictures tomrrow.

Thanks,

-Vinny-
 
Thanks guys,

Did you use the kit lense ? the EFS 18-55mm Lens

Ive read both good and bad things about this lense, and its making me unsure on wether id be best getting just the body or not.

I would like to see some of your pics Vinny. Im also no pro....been using bridge cameras for a few years.

Ryan
 
Some nice photos there sunlitsix :)

The only thing stopping me right now is the kit lense, its not that i dont like it, its just i would like to be able to zoom a little.

How far/well does it zoom?

Obviously for moto-x/motorbike action i would need some zoom zoom zoom :p

Also, has the underexposed problems been solved ?

Ryan
 
I bought a 400D when they first came out at the end of last year. I'd personally recommend buying the body on its own, then buying a lens. The stock lens has done me well, but I've found I've met the limitations of it. I'm currently looking at buying a Sigma 17 - 70mm Lens. If you can afford it, buy the body and a seperate lens.

Photos by me using the 400D-> www.gregr.co.uk

thanks

Greg
 
Some nice pics there Greg.

I have one more question to all 400D owners...

Would i be able to use the kit lense for fast action sport for a while before i bought any proper zoomlenses?

I might be able to get this camera tomorrow if i know i could use it for sport.
 
Ry@n said:
Would i be able to use the kit lense for fast action sport for a while before i bought any proper zoomlenses?

I might be able to get this camera tomorrow if i know i could use it for sport.
Click to expand...

Depends how close you can get :)

Sounds to me like you haven't had much first hand experience of zoom lenses when comparing to mm. I'd suggest getting the kit lens as you'll defo want to have that to start off with and use that to get a feel for the camera and what zoom limitations there are.

Then you can always pick up a sigma 70-300 apo (a popular starter telephoto, like me in fact) for around £100 anyway. Which is prob better than the 50-200 you're referencing anyway. :)
 
boycee said:
Depends how close you can get :)

Sounds to me like you haven't had much first hand experience of zoom lenses when comparing to mm. I'd suggest getting the kit lens as you'll defo want to have that to start off with and use that to get a feel for the camera and what zoom limitations there are.

Then you can always pick up a sigma 70-300 apo (a popular starter telephoto, like me in fact) for around £100 anyway. Which is prob better than the 50-200 you're referencing anyway. :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. Your right i dont have any DSLR experience. I use to have a bridge camera until it broke.

When you say "Depends how close you can get", i understand the lense wont zoom a great deal, but i was asking more along the lines of will the lense be able to focus correctly on fast moving objects ? Or is this always delt within the camera ? (i.e. fast shutter speed and large aperture)

I ask as i have seen some lenses with fixed aperture. I guess the kit lense has a variable aperture size depending on whatever the camera is set to ? Or do i have it all wrong ?

I hope i am right, makes sense to me anyway :D
 
Well i went into a famous high street store today and held the 400d. I like it, even though the grip is little, i dont think this would bother me.

The price is £479.99 with kit lense.

BUT. I can get this lense for half price (£199.99 reduced to £99.99) when purchasing the 400d. Tamron 55-200mm f/4-5.6 Di II LD Macro (Canon AF).

-I would like to know if this lense is any good for sports photography ?
-Is it a lense which is actually worth the £200 price tag ?
-Does anyone have this lense, if so do you have any images to show me ?
-Will the apreture rating be sufficient in outdoor day conditions?

Sorry for all the questions, its allot of money to spend especially being my first professional camera.
 
Greg said:
I bought a 400D when they first came out at the end of last year. I'd personally recommend buying the body on its own, then buying a lens. The stock lens has done me well, but I've found I've met the limitations of it. I'm currently looking at buying a Sigma 17 - 70mm Lens. If you can afford it, buy the body and a seperate lens.

Photos by me using the 400D-> www.gregr.co.uk

thanks

Greg
Click to expand...

Wow dude, this looks like a pic from Oblivion lol!

http://www.gregr.co.uk/index.php?showimage=13

How do you find shots like this? It justs looks so beautiful; if I were to see a scene like this in real life I would just die - it looks so heavenly!

Edit: I saw the location, but surely it is hard to get the shot to look so good.
 
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