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Post by mumbles on Dec 10, 2012 13:53:02 GMT 12
Hi all,
I’m pondering taking advantage of these multi year interest free deals I see all over the place, and replacing my DSLR at a drip feed rate that I can afford. I’ve been looking around at a few options, and I’m wondering what the collective opinion might be on them. For budget reasons I’m looking at the entry-level/enthusiast end of the spectrum, which means twin-lens kits:
I’m keen to move away from Sony to something like Canon or Nikon based on reputation and available extras.
The ones that have caught my eye so far:
Canon EOS 1100D twin lens kit:
The cheapest, and with a 75-300 zoom also the longest kit lens, but also the most basic, and lowest MP at 12. Not sure what advantage it might deliver over my 6 year old 10MP Sony A100 with a 10+ year old Minolta 300mm zoom, it may even be a step down.
Canon EOS 600/650D
Twice as much as the above, more MP at 18, but the kit zoom is only 250mm. The extra MP might compensate for that, and a 1.4x teleconverter wouldn’t be too much of an extra expense. The main difference between the two is that the 650 seems slightly higher spec, and has a touchscreen, but other than that is there much between them in terms of output?
Nikon D3200
Good price, huge MP at 24, but only a 200mm lens in the kit, so not sure what a gain it might be.
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Post by beagle on Dec 10, 2012 15:12:43 GMT 12
maybe just get a bigger lens for your current Sony.
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Post by Bruce on Dec 10, 2012 16:58:08 GMT 12
At work (a university) I look after a fleet of 26 EOS1100Ds, and before we got those we had some EOS400s. I'd have to say as far as "bang for buck" you cant go past an EOS. We have them with the stanard 28 -55mm lenses and we also have 55-250 zooms which have been pretty good - they are adequate for airshow work as long as the aircraft isnt too small or too far away. I have just brought some new lenses including some 70-300mm as you get in twin lens pack. I took one to Ardmore on Sunday for "Familiarisation" and found it to be excellent. The extra bit of zoom makes quite a difference in getting a good shot, especially with the current display line rules. Its a good general purpose lens.
I wouldnt worry too much over megapixel resolution unless you are planning on selling your images to make posters. The larger images take a lot of storage space and extra processing power to do anything with, so there isnt much advantage. Go with the 1100...
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Post by corsairarm on Dec 10, 2012 16:58:48 GMT 12
I purchased a Canon EOS 600 back in July and am very pleased with it.
Either Noel Leemings (The Warehouse)or Harvey Normans have a good deal at the moment. See todays Herald as I saw the add in there.
Although I am very much a beginner I alreday realise I need a bigger lens especially at airshows.
I will post some Ardmore photos later tonight so you can have a look.
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 11, 2012 14:22:34 GMT 12
If you want a Canon 650D and are prepared to go for paralell import, there is a place on the North Shore in Auckland that sells them for a very cheap price. I have purchased a lot of stuff (electronics & computer stuff as well as photographic stuff) from them and their service has always been brilliant and the only time I ever had a problem with something (it was a parallel-imported Canon lens) they replaced it, no questions asked when I returned the faulty item to them.
The company is called Expert Infotech (click on the link to open their webpage) and they are currently selling the Canon 650D body for only $835.99 or you can pick up a three-lens kit for $1213.00 which includes two zoom lenses and a 50mm lens.
CLICK HERE to view their range of Canon SLR bodies and kits.
They also stock Nikkon and Olympus cameras and lenses.
I occasionally order items from them and ask them to hold the products for me to pick up in person when I am visiting Auckland; otherwise I get them to deliver items to me by overnight courier (they use NZ Couriers Ltd).
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Post by Kereru on Dec 11, 2012 14:23:36 GMT 12
My .02c worth. Personally I would go for the higher resolution sensor model which still has the crop factor like 1.5 or 1.6. Sure you don't need the huge megapixel cameras if your only going to display on the web or make small 6 x 4 prints. However megapixels(resolution) do count if you want to crop a bit closer in to the subject if you have a 300mm or 400mm lens limitation. I was lucky enough to get a Nikon D800 for the week end and I must say I am impressed with the resolution. D800 is a 36 megapixel full frame FX camera. Very large file size of 75 meg for RAW and 38 meg compressed. Around 400 images on a 32 Gig card or 800 compressed. It also has the option to shoot in 1.2 crop and 1.5 DX crop on FX lenses and will automatically switch to DX when that type of lens is attached if the option is set in the menu. My example shot at 400mm in FX full frame format.  I cropped it to get closer to the subject and still got an acceptable image that could be printed if I had wanted too.  This is probable not a camera in your budget or mine for that matter but I think it does give an example of how megapixel count does matter when you don't have a long tele lens to use. As you say you have a 10 mega camera and now perhaps a move to 18 or 24 would be great as long as it fits into your budget. I am at a similar stage as yourself in that many years ago I got my first digital a point and shoot with a whooping 4 megapixel sensor then moved up to a 6 megapixel DSLR which I used on our big OE around UK and Europe and have some very nice canvas prints on the wall. Then moved up to 10 megapixels and finally to a pro grade 12 megapixel camera I use now. I am looking for something that takes video as well so as to save weight etc when travelling. So while I am at it might as well get one with improved resolution as well. Hope my experience helps in some way and look forward to hearing your decision and most of all the pics you take from your new gear. Cheers, Colin |
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Post by kiwithrottlejockey on Dec 11, 2012 14:24:58 GMT 12
Forgot to mention....I use a Canon 550D and a Canon 650D at airshows these days. I fit a 18-200mm zoom lens to one and a 100-400mm zoom lens (both Canon lenses) to the other body. Both cameras are 18.1 mega-pixels resolution.
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Post by Luther Moore on Dec 11, 2012 21:32:43 GMT 12
Any of the above are great camera's, I'm still using a Canon EOS 500n  |
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Post by mumbles on Dec 13, 2012 19:34:18 GMT 12
Thanks for the excellent answers guys, lots to ponder ;D Colin your point about cropping is well made; anything more than 300mm isn't realistic at the moment, and I do a lot of cropping anyway. At the moment both the EOS600 and the D3200 are looking good, and both have good basic 300mm lenses available (at good prices, unlike anything from Sony) from the parallel importer kiwithrottle jockey mentioned. I'd go for the whole setup from them but budget constraints won't allow it. I need the interest free deals! ;D Perfect would probably be a D3200 with one of these attached, but that's might be just out of reach: einfo.co.nz/shop/nikon-afs-dx-nikkor-18300mm-f3556g-ed-vr-p-26400.htmlRight now I'm going to sit tight and see what the boxing day deals throw up. Hopefully I'll be re-equipped in time for Masterton though. |
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Post by mumbles on Dec 26, 2012 20:29:06 GMT 12
After a lot of reading around and weighing up this and that I decided on the EOS600D. And thanks to the boxing day sales, I picked up the twin lens kit today from Dick Smith at an excellent price (cheaper than parallel import). Now I just have to do the type conversion and learn to drive it  |
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Post by Ykato on Dec 26, 2012 23:32:13 GMT 12
After a lot of reading around and weighing up this and that I decided on the EOS600D. And thanks to the boxing day sales, I picked up the twin lens kit today from Dick Smith at an excellent price (cheaper than parallel import). Now I just have to do the type conversion and learn to drive it  Good stuff |
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mgmike
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 78
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Post by mgmike on Dec 28, 2012 9:12:51 GMT 12
Hope you have fun with the camera, I think you have made a good purchase. I used a Canon EOS400D with the standard twin lens kit for several years and got some excellent shots. For static photos you should find your kit perfect. Airshow shots of aircraft moving are the most challenging but I got excellent shots at many airshows. The standard lenses can "hunt" a bit when trying to focus on a moving aircraft but other than that are very good. I would not recommend using the "sport" mode on the Canon for propeller aircraft or you will freeze the prop, but using manual modes works well. You could try hunting round for a secondhand lens of better quality - I bought a used Canon L Series 35-350 - which makes a massive difference to the quality of your photos without upgrading the camera itself. Enjoy!
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Good stuff 