Looking at buying my first DSLR

[cholubaz]

Hi Guy's,

I'm looking at buying my first DSLR. I will not be spending as much time with it in my hands as many of you so when you reply please keep in mind I have no plans on one day having several thousands of dollars wrapped up in camera gear.
I like to take pics of planes as you do and get good action shots and have a crisp look to them and I think I can achieve that without breaking the bank. Honestly I would rather spend the extra money on really flying because that's my real passion. Anyway on to what I'm looking at and you tell me what you think.
At first I was hoping to be under $400 on a nice used Canon Kit but it seems that's a little unrealistic but I have found Canon EOS Rebel T2i Kit for under $500
One of the features I was hoping to get out of the DSLR was a movie mode like I have with my Sony DSC-HX5V point and shoot and this has that.
So for in that price range do you like this camera or would you suggest something else?

Cheers,
Chris

[Joe Copalman]

I can highly recommend the Canon Rebel line from personal experience.  I still use my XTi quite a bit and am still happy with the results.  The newer models are even better.  Amazon has new T1is for less than $500 (body only), so I'd imagine you can find some gently-used ones with at least one lens for less than that, and the T1i still has video.  As far as lenses go, Canon makes a cheapo 75-300 that I shot with for a long time and still use on occasion and get non-suck results from.  It's a VERY useful focal length for aviation shooting.  You can get them for around $100 new these days.  The drawbacks are that they're not stabilized, are a tad soft, and prone to chromatic aberration and distinctive purple fringing around blown-out highlights, especially canopy glare.  Canon makes a stabilized version (70-300 IS) with slightly better glass and an extra 5mm on the wide end, but it runs about $500-$600 these days.  Not a bad lens either.  Rob Silliman and Bill Oz both shoot with it and get good results.  I borrowed Bill's during a National Guard exercise last fall and was impressed with it.

If you're looking for something for casual/semi-serious use, you really can't go wrong with a Rebel and either the 75-300 lens or 55-250.  If you shop around enough, you might be able to manage that for under $600. 

Shot with a Rebel XTi and a 75-300:


Shot with a Rebel XTi and a 70-300 IS:


Lastly, I'm only recommending Canon because that's what I shoot with and can speak about from experience.  Nikon has some solid entry-level DSLRs that still yield great results and won't break the bank. 

[FelipeG]

I agree on the Rebel, I still have my XT from 2005 and it still works pretty good. I believe the T1i was the first one to have video, so anything older (say the XSi, which should go for ~400) won't have that. The local target had the T2i on sale the other day for a pretty low price, and I suspect the prices will go down slightly once the T4i becomes available for sale.

However, I don't agree on the 75-300, based on personal experience. I had the 75-300 III USM and it wasn't a great lens, lots of fringes and aberration and it was pretty soft, I don't know if I had a slightly bad copy or if all of them were like that. I think the worst was that the aperture controls stopped working so I was limited to the max aperture of the lens, otherwise I'd get an error (so I had to shoot f4 at 75mm and f5.6 at 300, f5.6 at 75 would lock everything up). I eventually sold it on eBay as is and the buyer contacted me a week or so later and told me that he had disassembled it and found that the problem was with the diaphragm ribbon cable that was caught in a sharp edge and then eventually got cut. From what I read online it wasn't an isolated problem, but I don't know whether it was a bad batch, a design problem common to a specific revision of the lens.

I haven't heard any bad things about the 55-250 IS, and I've heard the 70-300 IS is superb, however I haven't tested either.

[cholubaz]

Joe thanks for the info and shots to compare too. They look really good. I don't quite have the eye yet for the detail you all talk about so some of those things I wont even notice probably but on the other hand I don't want to waste any money and spend it on a inferior camera if I can do better you know what I mean.
So if a T1i is good the T2i Kit I found on Amazon for $499 is better http://www.amazon.com/gp/aag/main?ie=UTF8&asin=B0035FZJHQ&isAmazonFulfilled=0&isCBA=&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&seller=A1MHD1VD9WEGT9
in fact I found it somewhere else for even less. I'm just making sure its a reputable company first.

Cheers,
Chris

[cholubaz]

Filepe thanks for the reply too.
I guess for camera guru's your always saving up for the next lens you want.
The nice thing is I guess is that you can use them on any of your camera's for the most part.

Cheers,
Chris

[BillOz]

Chris,

Since you mentioned that video was a typical use, you might want to consider the following related to the T1i and T2i.

T2i
• 1080p @ 30, 25 or 24 fps
• 720p @ 50/60 fps
• VGA @ 50/60 fps
• Movie crop function
• External stereo mike (optional)

while the T1i only has
• 1080p @ 20fps
• 720p @ 30fps
• VGA @ 30fps

Standard video is 30 fps, so with the T1i you will end up with more stuttering effect with the full res HD.  The 60 fps in 720P mode will allow you a little bit of a slow motion effect if desired.

Note with both these cameras, the auto-focus in video mode is not continuous.  To auto-focus, you must occassionally press a button.

I've had two Rebel series cameras, the XT and the XSi.  My XSi died after about 80-100,000 shots, but my 7 yr. old XT is still going strong.
BTW, Canon just announced the T4i, but it's going for closer to $1200, but with a 18-135 mm IS lens.  The T4i does have continuous auto-focus in video mode.

[FelipeG]

Hey Chris,

I just saw a T2i kit for $450 at my local Target on clearance, so you might be able to get one for a similar price down in the Valley.


FG