Advice/Questions on buying Cameras & Accessories. **Please read OP first**

GhostInTheRuins

It's not great, I got mine for €50 or something. The contrast is fairly poor which is what annoys me most about using it. Most people say "It's good for the price" which is true I suppose, but don't expect a lot!

Will you get much use out of it if you mostly shoot landscapes and are actually looking for a 10-20mm? If you're looking for "general walking about shots" then I wouldn't recommend this, expecially on a crop body.

goods

cheers for the replys guys. Might get it alright, seems decent enough from reviews , esp for the price 220€ delivered from amazon,
Iv got the kit lens for everyday, so just experimenting really.

Wylie Luke

Hey Goods, how'd ya find the 550D? I'm picking one up in London at the weekend (hopefully), heard the kit lens is muck though so thinking of going for body only and getting a 50mm 1.8 for general use. Down the line I think I'll be getting a 70 200mm 2.8 for shooting rugby (not professionally!) but thought about the 70 300, I don't think it'd suit fast shots in Irish weather though!

macnab

I have it in a Nikon fit, I paid €130 2nd hand in perfect condition with a UV filter. I use it mostly for macro shots, but its not a bad tele photo lens also. It is a budget lens though.

goods

Wylie Luke wrote: »

Hey Goods, how'd ya find the 550D? I'm picking one up in London at the weekend (hopefully), heard the kit lens is muck though so thinking of going for body only and getting a 50mm 1.8 for general use. Down the line I think I'll be getting a 70 200mm 2.8 for shooting rugby (not professionally!) but thought about the 70 300, I don't think it'd suit fast shots in Irish weather though!

Hey Wylie Luke, Its my first slr , moving on from a sony cybershot, that stood the test of time.Compared to the point and shoot its amazing, but thats not saying much, I find the kit lens fine, maybe thats cause i dont really know anything else ,
But its done me so far almost, 6 months and iv got some impressive shots,
rarely use the flash and find that it takes just as good pictures in low light and at night as it does during the day. Iv taken shots in night clubs and they come out grand, lens seems to react fairly fast in low light, once you have any kind of point of focus - sometimes need to switch to manual focus in extreme low light.

Thecageyone

Your choice, but for your €220 you'd find much better lenses on the used market. I had one of those sigma 70-300 APO lenses before and apart from the terrible CA and purple fringing at the 300mm end, it was only ok at best.

A 55-200 IS lens would be so much better.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-55-250mm-4-0-5-6-Telephoto-Digital/dp/B0011NVMO8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

JayEnnis

Keep it above f/6.3 and over and you should be fine. It's pretty soft at lower apertures, abysmal at f/4.

goods

Thecageyone wrote: »

Your choice, but for your €220 you'd find much better lenses on the used market. I had one of those sigma 70-300 APO lenses before and apart from the terrible CA and purple fringing at the 300mm end, it was only ok at best.

A 55-200 IS lens would be so much better.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-55-250mm-4-0-5-6-Telephoto-Digital/dp/B0011NVMO8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

There is a 55-250 canon IS lens on amazon for about the same price as the sigma - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-55-250mm-Telephoto-Selected-Digital/dp/B000V9D5LG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291809546&sr=8-1
looks to be identical to the 18-55 kit lens i have,

would the IS make that much of a difference that i should sacrifice the additional 250- 300 end of the sigma - without IS would images be blurred at 300mm ?

MelanieC

Quick question I hope someone can help me with coz I know I've left it late.......I am looking everywhere for a digital video camera for my daughter for xmas. She is only 10 so I don't want to get an adults one,a kids one will do but obviously not a fisher p[rice or kiddizoom or anything. Preferably in pink coz she loves all things pink. And preferably one that takes still photos too. Now here's the thing, I have found a few on the internet that seemed perfect but then reading a review of one it said it had no in-built speaker so you could play back your recording on the little screen but with no sound, you have to play it on tv or a computer to get the audio. I think this is crazy coz she is going to want to record herself and her friends singing or whatnot and then view it immediately on the device itself so we need there to be sound. The others don't mention whether or not they have a built-in speaker for audio playback and I can't seem to find out. anyone have one they could recommend or that they know you can watch back properly on? Like I say I don't want to get an expensive adult one, a funky little pink one would suit her just fine, it doesn't even have to be amazing quality but sound is esential. I would pay up to 70ish euro.
Suggestions urgently needed! Thanks!

drunkmonkey

Would something like this do, http://www.memoryman.ie/more/crayola-32072-kids-digital-camcorder-purple.html

Luckycharm

I am looking to get a new easy to carry to camera for my holidays next year. I currently have a Fuji Finepix S7000 which is probally a bit dated - I find it great but a pain to carry around as it is bulky.
I would love a much smaller camera that is much easier to carry around that takes a good photo plus if it could take videos as well that would be great. I have been looking at the Panasonic Lumix DMZTZ7 - anyone have any opinions on that one.
I am looking for a decent point and shoot camera, I don't use it loads but would like a quality one that I will have no have to another one for a while- hope that makes sense.

MelanieC

Thanks for the reply. I did come across that one (I've come across so many now my eyes are permanently glazed over!) online but the thing with all of them is they all say built-in mic but not speaker so it records sound but doesn't play back sound. And it says you can watch back your recording but again cleverly doesn't say with audio. This is my grievance and I'm afraid to chance any of them.

akaspike

http://www.theflip.com/en-us/
I think you can get one of these for around 100. Really simple to use and has a speaker, it's not that loud but it does the job.

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/4164120/art/flip/mino-hd-mini-camcorder-bl.html

MelanieC

Cheers. Just one more question, I don't know if this is silly or not but say I get one from amazon or something shipped from the UK or US or wherever, there wouldn't be any problem with it working over here would there??

I think it's more the conventional look camcorder she's interested in. Thanks anyway.

Thecageyone

I would instantly opt for the IS lens. that 50mm extra will be no use if there's fringing/blurring/chromatic aberration [which a lot of cheaper lenses suffer at the longer end]

250mm is a nice focal length, do you really think you'll need 300mm a lot? Once your images are nice and sharp at 250mm with the IS lens, you can always crop down a little as the quality will be there to allow it. Always go with IS/VR/OS if the option is available around the same price.

dinneenp

Luckycharm wrote: »

I am looking to get a new easy to carry to camera for my holidays next year. I currently have a Fuji Finepix S7000 which is probally a bit dated - I find it great but a pain to carry around as it is bulky.
I would love a much smaller camera that is much easier to carry around that takes a good photo plus if it could take videos as well that would be great. I have been looking at the Panasonic Lumix DMZTZ7 - anyone have any opinions on that one.
I am looking for a decent point and shoot camera, I don't use it loads but would like a quality one that I will have no have to another one for a while- hope that makes sense.

I have the Panasonic ZS3, nice camera, good zoom.
If manual settings is important and you don't need a long zoom the best compacts are (meant to be)-
Canon S90/95 (newer model) very small
Panasonic LX3/5
Samsung EX1/TL500
Look here for DPreview comparision.

Or here for travel zoom group test, where they comment on video quality for each camera.

Thecageyone

Can you stretch a little on that €70?

Great deals in Argos. here's one in pink, with video + sound

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5594164/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CPhotography%7C14419436.htm

Down to €107. Perfect for a 10 year old I would say.

If you're not too fussy about the movie quality there's the likes of this one for only €60:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5592788.htm


I bought my 14yr old one of these for her birthday and she loves it:

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/5593244/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CPhotography%7C14419436/c_2/2%7Ccat_14419436%7CDigital+cameras+and+packages%7C14419441.htm

It's €119 but it's pretty decent quality for both still and video for the price.

kerrz

http://www.smyths.ie/Hello-Kitty-Digital-Video-Camera-!G03012-prod.aspx?qwSessionID=217363f7-d69b-41c4-b909-ebc548365c56

Not sure whether it has what your looking for ...69.99 in smyths

stunt_penguin

I have to say, a Flip is much better option than that any of those other cameras- they're easy to use and even if it's a teeny bit beyond your daughter and she needs a bit of help at the start, in 2 years time when your daughter is 12 she'll be waaaaaay more savvy (acutally more like 2 weeks time when she works things out), you're bound to be able to get a pink one like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Flip-Video-Camcorder-Generation-Memory/dp/B0029U299E/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1291843220&sr=8-7

Forget that hello kitty one... seriously, and those other digital cameras' microphones or speakers won't be as good as a Flip camera- they're super-neat and it'll be an amazing thing to have good high quality video shot by your daughter in 10 years time!!

Thecageyone

You serious? They look terrible. The Hello kitty thing is a gimmick too, the quality would be atrocious. Our kids had similar last year, the video is unwatchable and the stills are about as good as you used to get from the very first camera phones. Horrific.

You can't go wrong with a cheap compact camera

stunt_penguin

The Flip is a MASSIVELY popular product, here's some sample footage from a Flip HD:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsv06xKSWrc

Flips are most certainly not toy cameras.

zonny

Hi guys, looking for a little help finding a Canon 5D MKII, body only, for the other half(very experienced photographer, currently uses 50D). Its a bit of a stretch budget wise so I'm looking to get one as cheaply as I can, I know they're expensive no matter what but you know what I mean. Is it worth looking at used ones? Anyone know of any nice used ones up for sale? Or should I buy new and run up the credit card? Any help would be much appreciated!

Mark

BrendanRyan

zonny wrote: »

Hi guys, looking for a little help finding a Canon 5D MKII, body only, for the other half(very experienced photographer, currently uses 50D). Its a bit of a stretch budget wise so I'm looking to get one as cheaply as I can, I know they're expensive no matter what but you know what I mean. Is it worth looking at used ones? Anyone know of any nice used ones up for sale? Or should I buy new and run up the credit card? Any help would be much appreciated!

Mark

Hi Mark,

I reakon it would be tricky to find one second hand, especially a reliable one. I'd probably reccomend you run up the credit card in a reliably camera shop, where you have guarantee and that, and good after sales service. Unless you find one second hand that you can be sure is good.

The reason I'm saying it's gonna be tricky is because I can't imagine the photographer that's upgrading from a 5d mkii to a 1d. The 5d seems to be the canon camera that everyone wants.

Finally I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I am almost 100% that lenses used with the 50d won't fit the 5d. They have a different mount due to the larger sensor in the 5d. Might be something worth knowing.

MelanieC

Am just about to order a digital video camera from amazon but just so I'm sure, it will work fine here even if it's shipped from overseas won't it?

DoMyBooks

MelanieC wrote: »

Am just about to order a digital video camera from amazon but just so I'm sure, it will work fine here even if it's shipped from overseas won't it?

It definitely will if your ordering from Amazon UK.

zonny

BrendanRyan wrote: »

Hi Mark,

I reakon it would be tricky to find one second hand, especially a reliable one. I'd probably reccomend you run up the credit card in a reliably camera shop, where you have guarantee and that, and good after sales service. Unless you find one second hand that you can be sure is good.

The reason I'm saying it's gonna be tricky is because I can't imagine the photographer that's upgrading from a 5d mkii to a 1d. The 5d seems to be the canon camera that everyone wants.

Finally I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I am almost 100% that lenses used with the 50d won't fit the 5d. They have a different mount due to the larger sensor in the 5d. Might be something worth knowing.

Thanks for the reply

I didn't know that about the lenses, though I wouldn't know which ones to buy anyway(my knowledge of photography isn't the best to say the least), so I suppose if I just bought the body as a gift now then I could get the lenses later. Is there even any kind of adapter I could get to allow 50D lenses to work for now? I can't really afford to include new lenses as part of the gift right now, maybe a few weeks after xmas.

Could you recommend me a few good places to buy the 5D where I could get it for a good price? Would I be better off buying online?

stunt_penguin

BrendanRyan wrote: »

Hi Mark,

The reason I'm saying it's gonna be tricky is because I can't imagine the photographer that's upgrading from a 5d mkii to a 1d. The 5d seems to be the canon camera that everyone wants.

Finally I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but I am almost 100% that lenses used with the 50d won't fit the 5d. They have a different mount due to the larger sensor in the 5d. Might be something worth knowing.

Wait.... what? The 1D MKIII is twice as expensive as and outperforms the 5DMKII when it comes to pure stills photography..... the 1D is Canon's flagship camera and if you're a serious stills photographer then it's worth the upgrade. The 5D is the full frame Canon camera that everyone can afford.

And another thing- ALL Canon EF-mount lenses fit all current Canon SLR cameras right from the lowly and ancient 350D up to the spiffy new 1D Mark IV - very few people buy the EF-S mount lenses that are designed for the crop sensor.

Disinformation..... :mad:

zonny

stunt_penguin wrote: »

Wait.... what? The 1D MKIII is twice as expensive as and outperforms the 5DMKII when it comes to pure stills photography..... the 1D is Canon's flagship camera and if you're a serious stills photographer then it's worth the upgrade. The 5D is the full frame Canon camera that everyone can afford.

And another thing- ALL Canon EF-mount lenses fit all current Canon SLR cameras right from the lowly and ancient 350D up to the spiffy new 1D Mark IV - very few people buy the EF-S mount lenses that are designed for the crop sensor.

Disinformation..... :mad:

So does this mean that she can use the lenses she already has? If so this would be great as I know she has some pretty expensive ones already, would be handy to not need to buy new ones.

I apologize again for my lack of knowledge

stunt_penguin

@Zonny - yup, all the EF canon lenses they already have are compatible with all other Canon SLRs, - EF-S lenses aren't compatible with the bigger cameras, however they're much less common and the recipient is very unlikely to have bought or even encountered one...

BrendanRyan

@stunt_penguin @zonny - sorry I've just realized im wrong about the lenses, sincere apologies. I happened to have ef-s when I upgraded so thats where that came from.