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Is this a good deal for my first dSLR camera?

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N

Naked Snake

Member
If you don't want to read the whole thing, you can skip to the second part after the dotted line.

I have been itching for a while to buy a digital SLR, because I have become more and more interested in photography lately and I am increasingly dissatisfied with the results of my two point-and-shoot digicams.

Not being rich, I figured I would get an entry-level model from either Canon or Nikon (Digital Rebel XT/350D, XTi/400D or the "equivalent" Nikon), I was leaning towards Canon but I thought I should do thorough research before deciding. After all this purchase will prevent me from buying my own PS3 or taking a much-needed travel vacation for a while. So I wanted it to be a very informed decision.

I live in Jordan. The availability and prices of consumer electronics here are abysmal compared to the USA, so I was planning on buying the camera online (probably Amazon.com) and have it shipped to me. I have a way around the no-international shipping policies of some retailers, but this would most likely mean that I have to pay a hefty customs tax on top of USA prices (more than %50 of the invoice value is very common).

But now my friend is offering me to buy his Canon EOS 30D with a Sigma AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom Lens , a 4GB 133x speed CF memory card, Canon Speedlite 580EX Flash, and a carry case. All used but in "mint condition" with original boxes and manuals for a total of US$850

He only had them for 6 months and says that he only took about 120 photos with the camera. I doubt this figure, but I trust him on the condition of the items.

This looks like a really good deal for me. I'd be getting an arguably superior camera than the Digital Rebel XTi and all the other extras for more or less the price of a new "bare bones" Digital Rebel. And I wouldn't have to pay any customs taxes. Sounds like a big saving.

My only concern is the lens. I am a beginner when it comes to photography but I am very eager to learn and practice. It sounds like an expensive and high quality lens, but I'm not sure how suitable it will be for a beginner like me. If I spring for this deal then this zoom lens will be the only one I have for a while, it's unlikely that I will justify to myself buying another lens so soon when I have other expensive items on my wish list.

.............................................................................................................................

How much will I be missing for not having a "prime lens"? Am I shooting myself in the foot by limiting myself to a zoom lens? And even if so, do the $$ savings that I'm presumably making with this deal arguably offset this issue?

If it helps, my priorities are taking wide-angle landscape shots, low-light indoor shots, and maybe night-sky photography.

Frankly I don't care for the external Flash, and the memory card can be bought for cheap. But I like the idea of getting an expensive lens and the carry case as a "freebie".

I wish I had more time to research and decide on this, but I have to make the decision in the next 24 hours or so. Help me GAF!
 
G

giga

Member
That is an awesome deal and I would get it right away. I myself use the 30D and 580EX--both excellent.

The 18-200 OS is decent and should be fine for everyday use. It has a stabilizer if you feel like using it in dim conditions. (but it won't be a substitute for primes, but its better than nothing)

My only concern is I hope that you don't get scammed. The deal seems almost too good to be true. Hopefully you trust your friend.

http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/1os2is

http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Can...-200mm-f35-63-dc-os-canon-test-report--review
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
giga said:
That is an awesome deal and I would get it right away. I myself use the 30D and 580EX--both excellent.

The 18-200 OS is pretty good and should be fine for everyday use. It has a stabilizer if you feel like using it in dim conditions. (but it won't be a substitute for primes, but its better than nothing)

My only concern is I hope that you don't get scammed. The deal seems almost too good to be true. Hopefully you trust your friend.

http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/1os2is
Click to expand...

I have known this friend since college and I really trust him. He's pretty rich, he said he's selling it because he wants to get the Canon 5D. He lives in Dubai and our mutual friend is currently there on a short visit, so the idea is that I'll make my friend pay him and bring the camera with him to me next week and I'll reimburse him.

Thanks for the links and comments!
 
G

giga

Member
Naked Snake said:
I have known this friend since college and I really trust him. He's pretty rich, he said he's selling it because he wants to get the Canon 5D. He lives in Dubai and our mutual friend is currently there on a short visit, so the idea is that I'll make my friend pay him and bring the camera with him to me next week and I'll reimburse him.

Thanks for the links and comments!
Click to expand...
Buy it.
 
G

Great King Bowser

Property of Kaz Harai
Good deal. Supplement it with a 50mm F/1.8 prime lens which can be had very cheaply. Useful for low-light photography and when you don't want to use the 580ex. No need to fear the use of flash though. Controlling your own light is a useful skill which you should learn later down the line.
 
Squirrel Killer

Squirrel Killer

Member
Naked Snake said:
How much will I be missing for not having a "prime lens"? Am I shooting myself in the foot by limiting myself a zoom lens? And even if so, do the $$ savings that I'm presumably making with this deal arguably offset this issue?

If it helps, my priorities are taking wide-angle landscape shots, low-light indoor shots, and maybe night-sky photography.
Click to expand...
Prime lenses are considered more "limiting" to a beginner than zooms. Whatever you want out of the prime (except aperture) you can get out of the zoom by just not zooming. The image quality is a little better on the primes, but if you're just getting started, that won't get on your nerves for a while. Especially considering the range of your priorities, a prime is just going to frustrate the hell out you. You'd need at least two, if not three, to cover what you want.

I'm with giga, the deal seems almost too good to be true, a $700 body, $500 lens, $300 flash, and card and bag, that's almost $1,600 worth of gear for $850.
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
i don't want to hijack this thread or anything, but as long as it's here...what lens should i get out of these three? probably going to use it for nature/scenery and architecture...maybe some portraits until i get a canon 50mm prime lens.

sigma af 18-200 with os

canon ef 70-200mm f/4L

canon ef 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS

i hear the canon L series lenses blow pretty much everything out of the water as far as image quality goes, but i worry about low lighting conditions and the lack of image stabilization on the 70-200f/4L. all 3 of these lenses are pretty close in price too, and all at the middle to higher end of my price range. i hear the 70-300 canon lens is pretty slow on focusing, and the sigma one is noisy when focusing (i don't really care about noise, but focusing speed's pretty important)
 
G

giga

Member
Primes have their uses. I'm a dof junkie and can't live without em. The 50 1.8 won't cost you much and it will be fun to play around with. ;)

That said, I also use bounced flash almost everywhere as well. E-TTL is wonderful and makes flash a lot easier than it used to be.

bggrthnjsus: the last two are telephoto. I would probably choose the 70-200L for the speed and build, but I wouldn't recommend any of those for architecture or landscapes.

18-200: large focal range. bad barrel distortion for architecture/landscape.

the 70-200, 70-300: too small a field of view for landscape/architecture.

Look into: Sigma 10-20, Tokina 12-24.
 
B

bggrthnjsus

Member
giga said:
Primes have their uses. I'm a dof junkie and can't live without em. The 50 1.8 won't cost you much and it will be fun to play around with. ;)

That said, I also use bounced flash almost everywhere as well. E-TTL is wonderful and makes flash a lot easier than it used to be.

bggrthnjsus: the last two are telephoto. I would probably choose the 70-200L for the speed and build, but I wouldn't recommend any of those for architecture or landscapes.

18-200: large focal range. bad barrel distortion for architecture/landscape.

the 70-200, 70-300: too small a field of view for landscape/architecture.

Look into: Sigma 10-20, Tokina 12-24.
Click to expand...
i meant to say wildlife also, which is why i was looking at telephotos

edit: i guess i just want a lens that does everything, which is a pretty lofty goal
 
M

mrklaw

MrArseFace
bggrthnjsus said:
i don't want to hijack this thread or anything, but as long as it's here...what lens should i get out of these three? probably going to use it for nature/scenery and architecture...maybe some portraits until i get a canon 50mm prime lens.

sigma af 18-200 with os

canon ef 70-200mm f/4L

canon ef 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS

i hear the canon L series lenses blow pretty much everything out of the water as far as image quality goes, but i worry about low lighting conditions and the lack of image stabilization on the 70-200f/4L. all 3 of these lenses are pretty close in price too, and all at the middle to higher end of my price range. i hear the 70-300 canon lens is pretty slow on focusing, and the sigma one is noisy when focusing (i don't really care about noise, but focusing speed's pretty important)
Click to expand...


70-300IS is the sweetspot IMO (and read some reviews). the 70-200 f4L is a great lens, but the 70-300 is close in image quality, has longer reach and is cheaper. Its a winner in my book. I've had it for quite a while and often consider the 70-200f4L (IS probably) but just can't justify it, the 70-300 is just so good.
 
T

Tf53

Member
Since we're talking lenses, I'll ask the same question here that I asked in the Q1 thread: do you see any issues with the following lens combo (as in, is there an extra, not-needed, lens)?

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
EF 50 mm f/1.4
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6
 
G

giga

Member
Tf53 said:
Since we're talking lenses, I'll ask the same question here that I asked in the Q1 thread: do you see any issues with the following lens combo (as in, is there an extra, not-needed, lens)?

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
EF 50 mm f/1.4
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6
Click to expand...
Looks good to me.

bggrthnjsus: covering the wide and long range is very hard. all the 18-200s you'll see will exhibit levels of barrel distortion and not the best levels of sharpness. (true for all so far. sigma 18-200, nikon 18-200, etc). they're not "bad" by any means though so if your budget is limited then get it.
 
G

Great King Bowser

Property of Kaz Harai
Tf53 said:
Since we're talking lenses, I'll ask the same question here that I asked in the Q1 thread: do you see any issues with the following lens combo (as in, is there an extra, not-needed, lens)?

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8
EF 50 mm f/1.4
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6
Click to expand...

Seems to cover a vast amount of focal lengths with the 50mm F/1.4 as a supplementary low-light go-to lens. Depends what you'll be shooting really, but it covers most bases pretty well. I've never really used that telephoto lens so hopefully someone else can chime in. Most people really rate the Sigma 24-70 though and I assume it'll be your main general use lens?
 
T

Tf53

Member
Great King Bowser said:
Seems to cover a vast amount of focal lengths with the 50mm F/1.4 as a supplementary low-light go-to lens. Depends what you'll be shooting really, but it covers most bases pretty well. I've never really used that telephoto lens so hopefully someone else can chime in. Most people really rate the Sigma 24-70 though and I assume it'll be your main general use lens?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I can see myself walking around with it a lot. If I feel like "going shooting", I'll take the 70-300 with me as well to cover all bases. The thing that sold the 10-22 to me was Lucky Forward's (if I remember correctly) car shot. :) I guess that set's worth the money. If it isn't, I can always get my own back in Finland.
 
L

Lucky Forward

Member
RSZ_7291ps.jpg


edit: Canon EF-S 10-22.
 
W

White Man

Member
How are the Sigma lenses in relation to Canon lenses? I'm looking to pick up a wide angle lens, and, well, that pic is really nice.
 
K

Kung Fu Jedi

Member
so_awes said:
did you look at the Sony A300 or A350??

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08013004sonyalpha300350.asp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/t...e8&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

built-in image stabilization
live-view (best implementation, yet)
only entry level dSLR with 14.2 MP sensor (the A350, the A300 is 10.2 MP)
Click to expand...

While Sony is making strides in the DSLR realm, they still don't hold a candle to the two kings. It's Canon and Nikon at the top, and everyone else trying to play catch-up. Besides, considering what kind of deal he's getting on the Canon, why would he even bother to look at the Sony?

Also, that's an amazing pic from the backseat of the car. Very well done.
 
G

giga

Member
so_awes said:
did you look at the Sony A300 or A350??

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08013004sonyalpha300350.asp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/t...e8&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

built-in image stabilization
live-view (best implementation, yet)
only entry level dSLR with 14.2 MP sensor (the A350, the A300 is 10.2 MP)
Click to expand...
I'd pass. The Live view they implemented is neat, but it comes at the cost of a smaller viewfinder. (smaller than the A100/A200 even)

MP arguments really are worn out as well these days with crop body sensors--they usually lead to more noise. (though DIGIC III actually improved it on the 450D/40D/1D). A350 can also only shoot 2fps.

The deal he's getting now is a bargain and shouldn't be passed up.

White Man: Generally good, though Sigma has some QC issues so you might need to send it in if you get a dud. The Sigma 10-20 is very good.
 
N

Naked Snake

Member
Crap, he's starting to realize what at what an incredibly low price he's giving it away and he's having second thoughts. Oh well, we'll see how it pans out.

/Pulling out the sexual favors card...
 
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