450d ?

KStaford

Hello picture takers

Thinking of getting a 450D. I am new to DSLR and up to now my camera has been a Powershot S2 IS.
Do you think I am wise? What kit should I get to start with? Best price advice?

Very grateful for any advice

rahtkennades

Well, first off, it's not actually released yet in this country afaik.

But if you're looking at getting one, it looks like the dogs...

I've got a 350D and from what I've read (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0801/08012403canoneos450d.asp) for example, it looks like the extra features will put it in very good staid for a while to come.

I don't know much about the quality of the new kit lens (18-55 IS), but the IS should improve the reasonable performance of the current kit lens.

But they're some of the reasons I'm thinking of buying one For you, I'd say it's a logical upgrade from a powershot to what will be the basic Canon consumer SLR.

In terms of kit to get, I'd say start with the camera and the kit lens, and learn how to use the camera properly before you go buying a load of (expensive) kit. You could spend a fortune on kit and still get poor results by not knowing how to use the camera properly. A good book is probably much more valuable to a new user than a fancy lens.

If you go for it, good luck and post your pics when you get them!

KStaford

many thanks rahtkennades

Was wondering, are the canon IS lense sinterchangable with other DSLR's (Fuji, Nikon etc) ? or does the IS make them Canon compatible only ?

I have heard of a book called "Understanding Exposure (Peterson), would anyone recomend this a good giude for beginners ?

Fionn

heya!
that book is one of the best you can start your journey in photography with!! It's slightly dated now but all the stuff applies just as much now and it will give you a greater understanding about the whole thing.

Essentially when you get a SLR camera you buy into their lens system too so if you've got a Canon you need Canon compatible lenses.

challengemaster

rahtkennades wrote: »

Well, first off, it's not actually released yet in this country afaik.

idd, according to komplett.ie though

€ 799.00
Availability: None available today. 4 pcs expected on stock 2008-04-07

rahtkennades

challengemaster wrote: »

idd, according to komplett.ie though

Hmmm....$799....nice.

Pixels are pre-ordering for a March delivery date for €849 if you prefer to buy off the street.

RE Understanding Exposure, I would certainly recommend it. Great book, and can be followed practically, not just in theory.

KStaford

Can anyone tell me the basic differences between the D40 and the D450? Why is D40 more expensive with a seemingly lesser spec sheet ?

Paulw

Are you talking about the Nikon D40 ?? Or the Canon 40D and 450D?

Not a whole lot of difference between the 40D and the 450D, aside from the fps, larger body, memory card type, more custom functions and better weather sealing on the 40D.

I'd still buy the 40D over the 450D, money allowing.

KStaford

Paul
Thanks for reply, I am referring to the canon 40D.
Why would you purchase this over the new 450D?

Paulw

40D has - 6.5 fps
450D has - 3.5 fps

40D has a larger stronger body and has weather sealing. It uses CF, as do all my other cameras.

KStaford

is FPS frames per second ?
So speed is a major factor for you? do you take a lot of sports/action pictures ?

What is CF?

greglo23

799 from Komplett is a very good price as its 960 on Pixmania http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/735885/art/canon/eos-450d-ef-s-18-55-is-le.html

Paulw

KStaford wrote: »

is FPS frames per second ?
So speed is a major factor for you? do you take a lot of sports/action pictures ?

What is CF?

Yes, fps = frames per second.

The majority of my photography would be sport, so more frames and larger buffer are what I like.

CF = Compact Flash, it's just a type of memory cards. If you're starting new, then the type of cards you use won't matter. I have loads of CF cards, so I don't want to feel they're wasted.

Aside from those, the whole body of the 40D is superior to the 450D. The 40D is a larger physical body, and is more durable. The 450D is smaller and more plastic.

KStaford

thanks Paul

Would you recommend the 450D as a good place to start for a beginner like me? It seems so feature packed that I am really leaning towards it.

btw, just stopped by your web page. great stuff. thoroughly enjoyed looking at your photos.

Paulw

The 450D would certainly be a very good camera for someone starting. Loads of great functions and features. A good camera coming from Canon and you can certainly learn a lot with it.

Cheers for the comment.

Thirdfox

I'm guessing the 40D would be able to handle more shutter activations than the 450D too? I'd expect around at least 100,000 activations rating for the 40D

Maybe around 25,000 activations for the 450D (wild guess).

KStaford

is the shutter activations figure published as part of the spec or otherwise made public ?

Paulw

Those figures are normally published in the White Paper on the camera. You may have to search for that (google or Canon website).

Fajitas!

It might be an idea that you pop into a camera shop and play with these two cameras before buying - They are both very different. See what you're more comfortable with, without just relying on spec sheets. They are both going to take photographs worthy of high quality printing.

Calina

Thirdfox wrote: »

Maybe around 25,000 activations for the 450D (wild guess).

Very wild guess. My 350D topped 30,000 last week and is still going.

Not sure that I agree with everything that's stated here.

OP, the 450D on paper looks to be a very nice camera like I said in the other thread.

Regarding the difference between the 450D and the 40D, a lot depends on what you want to use the camera for. I don't see too much information of that nature in your posts.

Ultimately, the 40D has a very good reputation in the field - there are quite a few people here using it and I think they can back me up on that. But if you're not interested in say the fps and the weather sealing (although that being said, the weathersealing on my 350D which apparently doesn't exist has seen it take any amount of water related abuse so far)...then it might be worth spending the difference on lenses rather than camera.

Regarding the kitlens, I've two comments to make: 1) the kit that comes with the 350D and 400D is not bad. It is not the world's greatest lens, but it is certainly not bad. And IS alone is not going to make it much better on the 450D.

With respect to your question about interchangeability - no Canon lens is interchangeable with Nikon or Olympus, IS or no IS. If you buy into Canon now, you'll be buying Canon fit lenses and probably tied to Canon for the rest of your life. Although rymus and I both toyed briefly with selling the Canon gear and going to Nikon (for my purposes Nikon has better weather sealing than Canon at the entry level and that matters a lot to me).

KStaford

thanks Calina

iamnothim

Calina wrote: »

Very wild guess. My 350D topped 30,000 last week and is still going.

Just checked my 400d and it's just gone over 75,000 - although I believe this is way over average. it's probably gonna die any day now

Thirdfox

Touch wood!

I'm hoping my D40 will last at least to 50,000 too (just ticked over 20,000 a few days ago).

Freddie59

rahtkennades wrote: »

Hmmm....$799....nice.

Pixels are pre-ordering for a March delivery date for €849 if you prefer to buy off the street.

Pixels are also offering a free 2GB CF card with it - even though the camera only uses sd/sdhc cards. Ooops!:)

duffman85

Haven't used them before but 7dayshop.com has the 450D with the kit lens for £529 (about €695) plus delivery.
Details Here

Has anybody here bought from them before?cameras,lenses etc.
What are they like to deal with?

dubal

duffman85 wrote: »

Haven't used them before but 7dayshop.com has the 450D with the kit lens for £529 (about €695) plus delivery.
Details Here

Has anybody here bought from them before?cameras,lenses etc.
What are they like to deal with?

I havent bought cameras from them, but I buy lots of their cheaper stuff, never had any issues.

Its available in Ireland at http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1515578#spec still 60 euro dearer than 7dayshop though

Dubali

JDxtra

Just picked up a 450D today. It's my first DSLR - but no complaints so far after day 1!

PixelTrawler

KStaford wrote: »

Paul
Thanks for reply, I am referring to the canon 40D.
Why would you purchase this over the new 450D?

I changed my (well I still have it) 400D to a 40D last month.

Reasons (and these apply equally to the 450D):

• Improved Weather sealing (for those winter hikes)
• More rugged, solid construction - it feels like it'll take a bit more abuse
• More custom functions and options
• Improved physical control layout - its is much better
• Lower light abilities/high iso use - much better then the 400D - and it has proven itself to me already its much better as I hoped - this was the primary reason - you can run into limits on the 400D esp on dark winter days
• Larger screen and separate settings screen is very nice
• The larger viewfinder is a joy
• Having used both now for a few weeks - I'd find it very hard to go back to the 400D only - the 40D makes it feel like a bit of a toy. The 40D is just so much more enjoyable to use. Hard to describe - it just feels better overall.

Having said all that the 400D is a good camera, it was a great introduction to dslr's but if you do get a 400D or 450D get the battery grip, otherwise it'll feel way too small and its not heavy enough on its own to balance heavier lenses

PixelTrawler

duffman85 wrote: »

Haven't used them before but 7dayshop.com has the 450D with the kit lens for £529 (about €695) plus delivery.
Details Here

Has anybody here bought from them before?cameras,lenses etc.
What are they like to deal with?

Bought a few bits recently - 4 days to deliver - got a camera, grip, and a few other bits - all arrived as separate packages on the same day.

Small items are normal mail and larger are signed for.

Ninja_scrotum

Joebloggs4817 wrote: »

I changed my 400D to a 40D last month.

Reasons (and these apply equally to the 450D):

• Improved Weather sealing (for those winter hikes)
• More rugged, solid construction - it feels like it'll take a bit more abuse

How do you know the 450d has improved weather sealing?

Freddie59

JDxtra wrote: »

Just picked up a 450D today. It's my first DSLR - but no complaints so far after day 1!

Where did you get it? Still waiting for mine to arrive from www.komplett.ie