Which Canon?

[john182rs]

Right ive got my base price to around £650 for just a body or 1k for body and a good lens.

I've been looking at the Canon 50D and 550D, the price difference for just the body is only by £50 and lens ef-s 18-200mm is lens kit is roughly the same difference in price.

BUT which camera would be better for fast moving objects in a fair/even amount of light?

 

[RyanD]

if you have the dosh a 50D will take ALOT more abuse than a 550D.

And unless canon have drasticly changed the plastic body line up the 50D will have better AF all round (inc low light)

 

[john182rs]

I have around 1100 for one of the canons but im looking at buying a lens that will reach a long distance, i would say 200 is pure minimum for what i want plus AF is a must.

 

[Andy.]

550D has some nice features, it's probably better at high ISO and does HD filming too.

If none of that matters, and you want more FPS, better build and easier ergonomics, then the 50D is the one for you.

I have not ever read great things about the 18-200, it seems to be a jack of all trades and master of none. It does not have USM which means that the AF will not be very fast, but it depends on what you are going to be shooting. There is a review here.

It may be worth having a look at the second hand market as there seems to be an abundance of 40/ 50Ds for fairly decent prices.

 

[john182rs]

Not fussed about HD video as i have a video cam for that.
I dont know about lenses but from what i have seen people use i think a 200mm would be the minimum one that i need.
Im looking at getting some good outdoor day and evening shots of wildlife but also want to take photos in the ice arenas which is very bright lighting but also players moving very fast some times, would want to zoom in on some of the kit people use as some people have custom made lids but the only time they are seen is when its on the ice. Cheer leaders aswell which move all over the place so after good quality shots of them.

Im looking at following my home team when they are playing away to get some shots for the board as its not done at the moment and i see it so many times where i would want a picture of some thing but can buy it and dont have a good enough camera for it either.

 

[dunganick]

I would look at getting a 50d and a 70-200 F4.

I wouldn't try to get a longer lens on a budget, its a false economy.

The first decent lens over 200mm is probably the Sigma 100-300 F4, which come up as a poverty spec model for about £600.

You can get lenses like the 70-300 which are sharp enough, but not very fast. I would only consider buying them used, as the market is saturated with people upgrading from them.

 

[john182rs]

Are they about £600 new or 2nd hand?
So lens wise what do i need to look at for prices as i would like some thing thats fast and good at auto focus.

 

[RyanD]

As nick said 50D + 70-200 F4 (non IS) then just use it properly and upgrade later on.

Thats the best you will get on a budget, use the high iso (you will need it often indoors in badly lit arenas).Else its 2.8 IS and your busget gone without even having a body

 

[dunganick]

The Sigma 100-300F4 is about £600 used. But prices are up and down like yo yo's at the moment. For some reason the backside has fallen out of the used market in the last month, so you might find them cheaper.

I would defiantly recommend the 70-200 F4 and 50d.

The 50d is a fine body.

The 70-200 F4 is one of the staple Canon lenses in their range. Everyone must own a 70-200 in some form. You can put a 1.4 TC on the 70-200 F4, however don't expect it to work well in low light.

 

[john182rs]

Does IS stand for image stabilizer and AF mean auto focus.

Is there any other kind of codes i need to look out for?

 

[Marky_]

^Correct.

EF & EF-S are the lens mounts for Canon.

EF lens will fit all the modern SLRs in the Canon range, whilst EF-S will only fit crop sensor cameras
(i.e they won't fit 1Ds' and 5D's, which have full frame sensors). See table at the bottom of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canon_EOS_Digital_Cameras)

 

[dunganick]

EF-S lenses dont fit the 1.3 crop sensors either unfortunately.

 

[john182rs]

Right ive been looking around at different sites for kits.
Do any of these seem reasonable for price and kit wise? Or is there some thing i should avoid.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RAZKII/?tag=cliospnet01-21

and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000P4OZVG/?tag=cliospnet01-21

 

[dunganick]

That last kit which appears to be a 30d @ £950 is a utter rip off. A new 30d might be worth £350 tops!

I wouldn't buy a kit, i would buy a Body (use camerapricebuster to find a good price if you want to buy new). Then i would buy used Glass. Used Glass will sell for what you buy it for.

 

[Andy.]

The 30D link is only for the body and is extortionate! The 50D option will get you started but won't be great for what you want it for & os also overpriced.

Canon 50D Body = £619
Canon 70-200 f4 = £419
Canon 18-135mm = £249
or
Canon 17-85mm = £279
or
Canon 18-55mm IS = £94.99

Total = £1132.99 - £1317

All options are cheaper than the package you selected.

Prices taken from http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk

What is your maximum budget?

Nicks suggestion of second hand lenses is spot on. They hold their value very well, so you can always sell it on if it does not do what you need it to and try something else.

 

[saltyhair81]

50D for sure.

1D Mk3 for the win for just over a grand imo, but i'm bias

 

[john182rs]

I would say about £1400 all in, i think i have a bag for a DSLR camera and numerous cam stands or mono stands.

Ideally i want some thing that is going to last me a long time before i out grow it or before i will be needing an up to date one, id hate to spend £1k on a camera to have to sell it and buy some thing more in a year or two's time.

 

[dunganick]

Bodies you will always loose money on, part of the game unfortunatly. However if you buy glass used they will hold their value (they have actually gone up the last 2 yrs, so my lens is worth more used than i bought it new 2.5 yrs ago)

The 50d is a prosumer body, it has all the features pro bodies have (within reason), it is just a little slower on the AF in low light, slightly worse ISO performance and a few other pretty insignificant things for most of us. However to get a better Canon body you would need a 7d £1000 used (still prosumer) or 1dmk3 (pro), which currently are about £1300-£1400 used.

I get on with my 50d fine, an example of a shot from this yr with the 50d

 

[john182rs]

So Dunganick, what lenses do you have and roughly how much did some of your kit cost?

 

[dunganick]

I dont have much kit compared to some, lenses are 10-22mm (£450), 50mm 1.8 (£80), Sigma 100-300 F4 EX DG HSM (£700), Canon 70-200 2.8 (900), A few flashes, teleconverter, and a 50d + 1d3.

Its a very motorsport oriented setup so has some big gaps in the setup that dont effect me. To be honest i happily just have the 1dmk3, 70-200, 1.4 TC - Its what i use the most.