

Ask HN: What DSLR should I buy?  New/Used? - aik

I'm an amateur photographer and am going to purchase my first SLR very soon.  I'm looking into the Canon XSi with the kit 18-55mm lens and getting the 55-250mm lens to go with it.  However I'm haunted by the fact that the camera goes on sale for +-$300 once in a while - it makes me want to wait.<p>Would I be better off getting a (better) used camera (off ebay or craigslist), waiting for a ridiculous sale, or getting the XSi at a decent price ($550 with the kit lens)?<p>Any photographers on here?
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brk
I've been shooting for 20+ years.

IMO, I'd only look at a camera with a full-frame image sensor, but your budget
may limit you to less expensive bodies.

Half of the equation is the glass (lens). The XSi is an overall unremarkable
camera body, but it gets the job done. You'll notice a big difference though
between a low-end lens and a quality lens on almost any camera body.

Don't invest in the EF-s lenses, they'll only mate with APS-C sensor bodies.
Go with the standard EF series lenses so that when you eventually upgrade to a
higher-end body all your lenses will still work.

I tend to recommend the craigslist route to many friends looking to get into
photography. There seem to be a lot of people who upgrade for no good reason,
and end up selling their old bodies for a good price with only a few hundred
to low-thousand shutter activations (practically new).

Canon and Nikon gear both hold their values well. The Canon gear is
_generally_ considered to be a little better than Nikon, but that is kind of
an "emacs vs. vi" argument... Everyone has their own religious preferences.

If you must compromise on the price, get a good lens and a decent body.
Upgrade the body when you have some extra cash.

~~~
aik
Thanks for the reply.

So what would you say is a bad deal in terms of shutter activations? A guy on
craigslist now is selling a Canon 40D with 60k clicks for $1000. Excessive?

I don't know if a full-frame would be worth it at this point. Seems like it'd
be quite a bit more expensive.

Getting EF lenses is good advice though - thanks.

~~~
brk
Yeah, 60K clicks seems like a lot. It varies by body, but you can usually look
up the specs and find what the unit is rated for from Canon and/or when they
recommend it to be sent in for service (the 40D BTW is rated for 100K). You'd
probably want something with no more than 25% of the rated shutter
activations.

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hopeless
Honestly, it doesn't matter what camera you buy. Lens are much more important
but even they pale into insignificance compared to subject, light and skill.

Just buy a camera then... Practice, practice, practice. Shoot everything. Try
everything. Keep a photoblog. Publish photos daily. Join a club. Do a SoFoBoMo
(look it up). Be critical. Aim for better shots. Plan ahead. Shot subjects
that take you out of your comfort zone. All these things will do more for you
than any camera body or lens, and are basically free.

Do NOT fall into the trap of thinking that photography is about the equipment.

I like to think I can hold my own, even with a basic Sony DSLR and a few mid-
range lenses: <http://photoaday.ideasasylum.com/p/407>
<http://photoaday.ideasasylum.com/p/419> and so on:
<http://photoaday.ideasasylum.com/browse/1>

~~~
aik
Thanks - great advice. It's always easy to get caught up in the feature
trails...

Wow the first photo of the baby is wonderful.

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arthurdent
like hopeless said, the lens is a big deal. I'd ABSOLUTELY SKIP THE KIT LENS.
If you're going nikon or canon, buy yourself the 50mm f/1.8 lens. it'll run
you 100 bucks and teach you way more about photography because you'll get to
play with the aperture a lot more (open that lens all the way up and you'll
get a really narrow depth of field compared to the widest open on the kit
lens).

Camera: to start with and learn on, xsi is a great camera. if you're thinking
nikon, i'd get a d40 if you want to stay in the same price range (skip the
d60, its not better than the d40).

i generally recommend the d90 for nikon as a starter if you're a little more
flexible with budget (same sensor as the d300, cropped sensor, but i think
thats a nonissue for most beginners, especially if you're shooting for posting
online).

between nikon/canon -- just pick one. this is basically the same sort of
question as "ruby or python".

i've bought happily off craigslist, but if you're even slightly concerned that
the seller is sketchy, skip it, unless you know what to look for. better to
pay 50 bucks more as insurance that you're getting quality early on. B&H photo
is a great place to buy online and they'll match any reputable vendor (usually
they're the bst though).

read kenrockwell.com. he reviews a ton of cameras and generally has a higher
concentration of quality information in one place than you can find elsewhere.

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pasbesoin
Canon T2i just came out as what looks to be the successor to the Si (Sx? I
forget). I believe it's around US$800-900 with an 18 - 50-something starter
lens. I saw a mention of low noise up to 3200 ISO equivalent, and it does
1080p x 30 frame/sec video. If you're going for a starter Canon, I'd include
it in your evaluation.

~~~
aik
Yeah though it appears to not have any special features beyond HD video (which
I don't care about), and the 3200 ISO option - which I'm skeptical about.

~~~
pasbesoin
I think this is what I saw the other day:

[http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a%253D249554,00.a...](http://www.pcmag.com/print_article2/0,1217,a%253D249554,00.asp)

And DP Review has a preview:

<http://www.dpreview.com/previews/CanonEOS550D/>

Whatever you get, have fun!

