Got £400 (Could be pushed to £600) for a camera, thinking Cannon 550/600D???

snedie

snedie

snedie

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So, got a bit of spare cash hanging around and was thinking to grab myself a decent camera, more precisely either a Cannon 550D or a 600D, both of which seem to retail around the same price today. Any camera suggested should also have the ability to shoot video at 1080p in 24fps, or 30fps if available (preferred).

Am I wasting my money on these? Do you think £400/600 could get better?

Info, suggestions, comments welcomed with thanks.
 
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You can pick up a 550D for around £100 less than the 600D.

You'll get the 600D body-only from a reputable dealer for around £500-550, are you including the lens in your budget?

For the lower end of your budget, I'd recommend second-hand. A tidy 40D for around £350 and a 18-55mm IS lens for £60 or so. Second hand 550D's come up cheap if your patient too. I've seem them for £300 body-only.
 
I was hoping for more than 10MP in my budget range, £40 more and I could get the 550D over the 40D (body only). If I said the budget was say £600-700 what would the recommendation be (including lens(es))?

I should have also mentioned I'm looking for a camera which shoots 1080p video too (OP edited).
 
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If you want video, then the 550D would be my choice. However, as a camera, the 40D is so much better to use. Megapixels only mean so much...I started with a 30D (8mp) and have printed images to A3 and larger, with no loss of quality. I'm currently using a 7D (18mp) and constantly find myself down-sampling the image in PP, as its just unnecessarily large.

The 40D will have a magnesium alloy body vs the 550D's plastic, as well as a better AF system, more physical button controls and (IMO) a much better control layout.

The 5D classic has all the above, plus the full frame goodness (which doesn't appeal to me personally, but hey!), but is pushing your budget for the body alone, disregarding any lenses.

That said, if you absolutely want 1080p video, the 550D is the one to go for.


A 550D body can be had for £430 new from Amazon, and I'd pair that with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for around £200 second hand. If you wanted more range, add in the EF-S 55-250mm for £130 new
 
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Invertigo said:
If you want video, then the 550D would be my choice. However, as a camera, the 40D is so much better to use. Megapixels only mean so much...I started with a 30D (8mp) and have printed images to A3 and larger, with no loss of quality. I'm currently using a 7D (18mp) and constantly find myself down-sampling the image in PP, as its just unnecessarily large.

The 40D will have a magnesium alloy body vs the 550D's plastic, as well as a better AF system, more physical button controls and (IMO) a much better control layout.

The 5D classic has all the above, plus the full frame goodness (which doesn't appeal to me personally, but hey!), but is pushing your budget for the body alone, disregarding any lenses.

That said, if you absolutely want 1080p video, the 550D is the one to go for.


A 550D body can be had for £430 new from Amazon, and I'd pair that with a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for around £200 second hand. If you wanted more range, add in the EF-S 55-250mm for £130 new
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Would you recommend any particular lenses to match with the 550D for low light / high contrast photography, and video shooting under 50 meters, and video shooting in under 1 meter?

Many thanks for you help bud :)
 
snedie said:
Am I wasting my money on these? Do you think £400/600 could get better?

Info, suggestions, comments welcomed with thanks.
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Sony A55, A33 or A35. These are all better than the EOS 550D/600D.

I upgraded from the EOS 500D to Sony A33 and have not looked back. Just compare the features and technology. Eos 550D/600D are good cameras and take pictures every bit as good as the Sony cameras but Canon SLR technology is stuck in the 20th century. They need to make the move to the 21st century and SLT technology and not keep relying on the loyalty of their customers to sell cameras.
 
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snedie said:
Would you recommend any particular lenses to match with the 550D for low light / high contrast photography, and video shooting under 50 meters, and video shooting in under 1 meter?

Many thanks for you help bud :)
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A decent large aperture lens wouldn't go amiss. If you go canon, the 50mm f1.8 is a big favourite for people starting out due to the low price and relative quality. Makes a good portrait lens on a crop body. You might want something a bit more flexible as well though. The IS kit lens isn't half bad for how cheaply it can be had with the body though. I use both, but I'd kill for a good sharp wide lens, and the chromatic aberrations it produces are pretty manky even stopped down a bit.
 
dz1 said:
Sony A55, A33 or A35. These are all better than the EOS 550D/600D.

I upgraded from the EOS 500D to Sony A33 and have not looked back. Just compare the features and technology. Eos 550D/600D are good cameras and take pictures every bit as good as the Sony cameras but Canon SLR technology is stuck in the 20th century. They need to make the move to the 21st century and SLT technology and not keep relying on the loyalty of their customers to sell cameras.
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The number of people who hate EVFs, particularly those in the cheap sony cameras, and tiny form factor of those cameras (with a lack of a body grip as well) disagrees with you.

The SLT cameras are gadgets more than cameras imho. They're very nice depending on your purposes e.g. sports photography on a budget due to their burst rate, but generally investing in a Canon system is a safer bet than investing in Sony, for the moment.

However, for the op, they might be worth a look as they're the only system that offers phase-detect Autofocus during video, and though that's still not as good as decent manual focusing, it's a lot better than bad manual focusing.

Also, just to let you know, Canon already tried SLT technology in the 60s with the Canon Pelix.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. "Devrij" is this the lens you mean "Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens Prime Autofocus f1.8"? (ps, can I link to ebay in discussion forums considering we are talking products which OcUK don't (currently) sell? I seriously don't want another ban).

Are there any particular wide angle lenses that would fit alongside a 550D in the £6-700 budget? If possible, along with prime lens like the one mentioned above, which for note can be had on an auction site for £63 new.
 
GAC said:
can be had for less with the kit as well if you dont mind having a import model.
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The 550D can be had for £100+ less with the kit lens, which means I can spend more money on lenses :D

[edit] Just looking at a 550D on amazon now, "Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR Camera (inc 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Kit)", retails at £669. I realise this doesn't leave a lot of room in the budget, and I would obviously buy each part from who ever had them cheapest to save pennies, but would this be a good choice?
 
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How bothered are you about the video? Because if you're serious then the 600D is a better video camera. Are you going to wish you had an articulated screen and manual audio level controls at some point in the future?

Also the AF on the 50 1.8 is pretty noisy and the internal mic will pick it up. Unless you're just going to drop the soundtrack I would budget for some kind of external mic too.
 
theheyes said:
How bothered are you about the video? Because if you're serious then the 600D is a better video camera. Are you going to wish you had an articulated screen and manual audio level controls at some point in the future?

Also the AF on the 50 1.8 is pretty noisy and the internal mic will pick it up. Unless you're just going to drop the soundtrack I would budget for some kind of external mic too.
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Very.

External mic added to the list too then, I did notice someone with a 600D + external mic on a video review, gave the camera a little more of a professional look.

As for the articulated screen, it would be nice....but worth an extra £100+? Not sure. Didn't know it had manual audio level controls either, any chance of clarifying what they are please?
 
only had my 5100 since tuesday so im just working out what it all does. happy enough with it and it only cost me with the kit 18-55mm £535 deliverd from hdew cameras. thing to note though is its a import so you get a 3 year warrenty cover from the store and the charger comes with a mains adaptor so you can use it. also the manual is a print off and mine was stappled together in the middle !? but easy enough to dive on nikons site and look stuff up on the manual there.

as for the screen only got it set on the back for now but i imagine it comes in handy for doing low level work as well as if you fancy doing vlogs so you can make sure you stay in frame.
 
snedie said:
The 550D can be had for £100+ less with the kit lens, which means I can spend more money on lenses :D

[edit] Just looking at a 550D on amazon now, "Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR Camera (inc 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens Kit)", retails at £669. I realise this doesn't leave a lot of room in the budget, and I would obviously buy each part from who ever had them cheapest to save pennies, but would this be a good choice?
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true but the D5100 is the better cam

GAC said:
only had my 5100 since tuesday so im just working out what it all does. happy enough with it and it only cost me with the kit 18-55mm £535 deliverd from hdew cameras. thing to note though is its a import so you get a 3 year warrenty cover from the store and the charger comes with a mains adaptor so you can use it. also the manual is a print off and mine was stappled together in the middle !? but easy enough to dive on nikons site and look stuff up on the manual there.

as for the screen only got it set on the back for now but i imagine it comes in handy for doing low level work as well as if you fancy doing vlogs so you can make sure you stay in frame.
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good price, but when spending that sort of money i`ll stick to UK
 
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well acording to there site there based in surrey and im happy enough with the service i got, orderd on friday daliverd the following tuesday.
 
As mentioned, you'll be using exclusively manual focus with either camera. Partially because the autofocus noise would be picked up really badly by the internal Mic (that external is a must), but also because the continuous focus is pretty pants with video mode. I'm still looking for a decent wide lens myself, but to keep on budget I'd stick with the kit lens and just buy a 50mm 1.8 (the one you posted is the one) when you want a faster lens.

I got my 550d import off eBay, wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise! Fingers crossed she'll last as long as the warranty wouldve!
 
Ksanti said:
The number of people who hate EVFs, particularly those in the cheap sony cameras, and tiny form factor of those cameras (with a lack of a body grip as well) disagrees with you.

The SLT cameras are gadgets more than cameras imho. They're very nice depending on your purposes e.g. sports photography on a budget due to their burst rate, but generally investing in a Canon system is a safer bet than investing in Sony, for the moment.
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Have you tried the Sony SLT for yourself? Because from your comments it doesn't look like you have. I have tried both the Sony SLT and the lower Canon EOS models and the EVF on the Sony is better IMO. It has several advantages.

You don't get 100% viewfinder coverage on the 600D like you do on the Sony SLT cameras. This is a feature you normally have to pay a lot to get on a Canon SLR. Also the viewfinder is much bigger on the Sony. It's also nice to see exactly what the exposure will be like before you press the shutter button. I wouldn't call the Sony a "gadget" when it has features a pro would love to have.
 
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