Need help with buying first DSLR

lil_kev

Hi Guys! I have used to own a Gopro 4 Black edition and got really passionate about photography and videography. I have decided to buy new DSLR up to 900 euros and I was thinking to get new Canon 800D https://www.currys.ie/ieen/cameras-and-camcorders/digital-cameras/dslr-and-compact-system-cameras/canon-eos-800d-dslr-camera-with-ef-s-18-55-mm-f-4-5-6-is-stm-lens-10159706-pdt.html .
Basically, I'm looking something for experimenting, any recommendation or pieces of advice.
I would like to experiment with Nature photography, street photography, people and timelapse. Please If you can include as well lenses for relevant things that I mentioned above. Thank you.

Alanstrainor

This camera is a bit cheaper on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=canon+800d&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acanon+800d

It's worth making sure the conversion/credit card charges makes it worth it.

As for the camera, it will do all you have listed and more. The kit lens is also a pretty nice lens all considered, it's very wide at 18mm and the 55mm gives reasonable zoom. So for street/people/timelapse I think it is perfect.

Canon does a very reasonable long zoom lens, the 55-200 EF-S which you might be best to pick up second hand. This would give you a good start on nature photography and it's a fine lens for the money. I have it and have gotten some fantastic shots.

As with everything lens related, there is always better out there; but at a significant cost. Both the kit and the 200mm would be a great start imo.

magicbastarder

very hard to go wrong with the usual suspects (canon/nikon/sony etc.) with your budget. canon and nikon would have a greater range of lenses than most (including variety in the secondhand market) but just be aware that many people end up spending more on lenses than they do on the camera bodies - lest that be a factor in your budget.

you may find that spending less on the body to leave more to spend on lenses may suit.

lil_kev

Alanstrainor wrote: »

This camera is a bit cheaper on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=canon+800d&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acanon+800d

It's worth making sure the conversion/credit card charges makes it worth it.

As for the camera, it will do all you have listed and more. The kit lens is also a pretty nice lens all considered, it's very wide at 18mm and the 55mm gives reasonable zoom. So for street/people/timelapse I think it is perfect.

Canon does a very reasonable long zoom lens, the 55-200 EF-S which you might be best to pick up second hand. This would give you a good start on nature photography and it's a fine lens for the money. I have it and have gotten some fantastic shots.

As with everything lens related, there is always better out there; but at a significant cost. Both the kit and the 200mm would be a great start imo.

I think i founded through one website for 600eur plus lens, but why I chosed Pc Currys is because I can pay monthly there. Is there any limit when it comes to buying a new or used lens on Canon 800D or I can put almost any lens on that camera ( low-end to high-end )

magicbastarder

re the use cases you mentioned - portrait would typically call for a short telephoto - so a 50mm lens on that camera.
for street, many people would gravitate towards something a little wider than a standard lens - maybe 24mm on that camera.

the main issue you might find with the kit lens is the maximum aperture is an issue for control of depth of field, and for low light work. it's not so much an issue for street photography, but for portraits you might enjoy a lens with a decent max aperture to throw distracting backgrounds out of focus; handily you can get a canon 50mm f1.8 for under €150 easily enough.

Alanstrainor

I'd always advise against financing things like this. If you don't quite have the cash yet I would look second hand for all the gear. You should be able to save a significant amount if you were to buy a 700D or similar, and not lose too much in terms of image quality. A new hobby, paid for on finance is just poor planning imo.

As for the camera, any EF or EF-S lens will fit that level canon, so you're talking the lowest end, to lenses that cost thousands. No worries there. I'd also it would probably be worth just starting your photography with the kit lens and add to you equipment as you progress, you'd be surprised just what you can capture on the kit alone.

lil_kev

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I'd always advise against financing things like this. If you don't quite have the cash yet I would look second hand for all the gear. You should be able to save a significant amount if you were to buy a 700D or similar, and not lose too much in terms of image quality. A new hobby, paid for on finance is just poor planning imo.

As for the camera, any EF or EF-S lens will fit that level canon, so you're talking the lowest end, to lenses that cost thousands. No worries there. I'd also it would probably be worth just starting your photography with the kit lens and add to you equipment as you progress, you'd be surprised just what you can capture on the kit alone.

Thnx. I'll try to consider that.

awec

I'd buy a 50mm 1.8 for portraits + low light stuff.

A 55-200 or 75-300 (cheaper) will do as a telephoto to start with, just don't expect to be getting tack sharp images of a bird at the other side of a river or whatever. In fact, with the 75-300 I wouldn't expect tack sharp images of anything at all.

ED E

Currys/PCW/Dixons are pretty useless for consumer rights. Same for HN. If you must buy in store go to Argos or a camera shop.

lil_kev

ED E wrote: »

Currys/PCW/Dixons are pretty useless for consumer rights. Same for HN. If you must buy in store go to Argos or a camera shop.

Hi! I'm pretty aware that they are very pointless but I choose them because they offer monthly payments.  Thnx

Kenny Logins

lil_kev wrote: »

Hi! I'm pretty aware that they are very pointless but I choose them because they offer monthly payments.  Thnx

Argos does too.

I bought my first DLSR there (Pentax) and was the best price I could find anywhere, came with free Eneloops which was a bonus. No sales bull and they're really good with warranty/returns etc. too - no drama.

lil_kev

So I think that I have finally decided which lenses will take first.

First I was thinking to get Canon 50mm 1.8 or Canon 50mm 1.4. By searching on Google and Youtube I found that most people are recommending Canon 50mm 1.8. My question is what is the difference between them. 

Which one of these two mentioned above would you choose as a beginner and my third question is if you know if there are the same models that are more advanced and better, an example I'm scouting one Canon 50mm 1.8 for 80 euro on Amazon and does that same Canon 50mm 1.8 comes in better and advanced if exist?

The second lens I've already choose and it's going to be Canon ef-s 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is stm. If you have any bad or good experience please tell. Thnx

lil_kev

Kenny Logins wrote: »

lil_kev wrote: »

Hi! I'm pretty aware that they are very pointless but I choose them because they offer monthly payments.  Thnx

Argos does too.

I bought my first DLSR there (Pentax) and was the best price I could find anywhere, came with free Eneloops which was a bonus. No sales bull and they're really good with warranty/returns etc. too - no drama.

Hi Kenny. I'll double check Argos as well. Thnx

Kenny Logins

lil_kev wrote: »

So I think that I have finally decided which lenses will take first.

First I was thinking to get Canon 50mm 1.8 or Canon 50mm 1.4. By searching on Google and Youtube I found that most people are recommending Canon 50mm 1.8. My question is what is the difference between them. 

Which one of these two mentioned above would you choose as a beginner and my third question is if you know if there are the same models that are more advanced and better, an example I'm scouting one Canon 50mm 1.8 for 80 euro on Amazon and does that same Canon 50mm 1.8 comes in better and advanced if exist?

The second lens I've already choose and it's going to be Canon ef-s 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is stm. If you have any bad or good experience please tell. Thnx

1.8 - It's a lot cheaper for a start. :pac:

Have a look at the Yongnuo 50 1.8, it's said to be slightly better than Canon's own.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YONGNUO-YN50mm-Standard-Aperture-Closest/dp/B07DLSYWNC/

Alanstrainor

lil_kev wrote: »

So I think that I have finally decided which lenses will take first.

First I was thinking to get Canon 50mm 1.8 or Canon 50mm 1.4. By searching on Google and Youtube I found that most people are recommending Canon 50mm 1.8. My question is what is the difference between them. 

Which one of these two mentioned above would you choose as a beginner and my third question is if you know if there are the same models that are more advanced and better, an example I'm scouting one Canon 50mm 1.8 for 80 euro on Amazon and does that same Canon 50mm 1.8 comes in better and advanced if exist?

The second lens I've already choose and it's going to be Canon ef-s 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 is stm. If you have any bad or good experience please tell. Thnx

I presume this is the F1.4 50mm you mention:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-mm-f-1-4-Lens-Black/dp/B00009XVCZ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540910796&sr=8-2&keywords=canon+50mm+1.4

The main difference is the aperture. The F1.4 is significantly wider than F1.8 and thus will allow more light into the sensor and also provide a shallower depth of field. The 1.4 will be a better built lens and has USM focusing which is quieter and faster.

The 50mm F1.8 is a cheap feeling lens, but it is amazing for the money, so if I were you I would get the 50mm F1.8 for starts.

If you have decided on buying the 18mm-135mm lens then it makes no sense to buy the camera with a kit lens at all. You should buy the body only version, which comes with no lens as you would then use your nice 18-135mm as your day to day lens.

Having an 18-135 and 18-55 makes the 55 redundant.

And just to throw my oar in again, I think you're mad to invest so heavily in this from the get go. Like I said the 800D plus kit lens would do what you need quite well and it would be easy to later add to it.

lil_kev

I presume this is the F1.4 50mm you mention:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-mm-f-1-4-Lens-Black/dp/B00009XVCZ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540910796&sr=8-2&keywords=canon+50mm+1.4

Yes, that is the one. I wasn't specific about a timeline when I'm going to get those two lenses probably soon. That is why I would like to get a body with lens. How much would be cheaper if I buy just body maybe? Do you think it would be better to get immediately 50mm and just body? Thnx for that

One more question, I was thinking to travel more and if you could recommend me which one of those two lenses would you bring on your short trip. Please note that I'm going to travel most of the times with people who don't like photography, so I'm looking some kind of alternative that I don't have to change every 5 mins lens and annoy people around me.

Alanstrainor

lil_kev wrote: »

I presume this is the F1.4 50mm you mention:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-mm-f-1-4-Lens-Black/dp/B00009XVCZ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540910796&sr=8-2&keywords=canon+50mm+1.4

Yes, that is the one. I wasn't specific about a timeline when I'm going to get those two lenses probably soon. That is why I would like to get a body with lens. How much would be cheaper if I buy just body maybe? Do you think it would be better to get immediately 50mm and just body? Thnx for that

One more question, I was thinking to travel more and if you could recommend me which one of those two lenses would you bring on your short trip. Please note that I'm going to travel most of the times with people who don't like photography, so I'm looking some kind of alternative that I don't have to change every 5 mins lens and annoy people around me.

The amazon price is 110 pounds sterling cheaper without the kit lens on the 800d. Prices will vary in other shops in Ireland.

The problem with 50mm on this type of DSLR (crop sensor) is that is quite a long(zoomed) lens. For me at least, in an urban setting if you're looking to capture city streets/crowds/buildings etc then it is completely useless. It's just too long. It is a perfect beginner portrait lens however. So in answer to your question, an 18-135mm would be best suited for travel. It offers a very broad focal range which means you can do almost anything with it. The same for the kit lens, 18-55mm is another good range for travel.

awec

The f1.8 50mm lens is tiny and light, so it's not annoying to carry around at all if that's something that would annoy you. It's about half the size of the kit lens.

I have one and it's my most used lens. I've used it for landscapes, portraits etc. It's not perfect for landscapes but it can work.

Raymond Murray

The canon 50 mm 1.8 is a fantastic cheap lens, good for low light work, on a cropped sensor (1.6 x 50) it near the ideal portrait length of 80 to 100mm and is nearly £270 cheaper than the 1.4 meaning you can afford a decent tripod for your time lapse photography. Its amazing the amount of people who will pay over a 1000 euro for a camera and then expect good results from a flimsy 20 quid tripod.
Another thing to consider is that you are effectively buying into a system. If you buy a Canon and you later decide that a certain Nikon lens would be great, you face having to sell all your canon gear to buy into the Nikon system or vica versa.
Also remember that if you later decide to buy a full frame camera from Canon that EF-S lenses wont work on full frame cameras.

lil_kev

What about image quality? Do fixed lenses have better image quality than zoom ones? Thnx

ED E

How long is a piece of string?

YN50 better than a 18-200 L? No way. R Mount 85 1.2 better than the same 200? Probably.


If you're at the point of asking these questions your own skill level will be the limiting factor not the glass. Spend a little, learn a lot, then buy more. Remember a 50mm on a "Pro" camera is an 80mm on a crop sensor that all budget models feature. So when 18mm gives them an expansive wide perspective you're 60% tighter. Get an OK, flexible zoom, and work from there.

awec

lil_kev wrote: »

What about image quality? Do fixed lenses have better image quality than zoom ones? Thnx

Some people will say they have better image quality compared to a zoom lens but others will say there is no difference. I think you'd be hard pushed to find a difference unless you are comparing two lenses at vastly different price points or you really know what to look for.

The main benefits of prime lenses that are generally undisputed are they are faster and lighter than zoom lenses.

Many people will say they also force you to think more about composition, and while this may be true I am not sure I believe that it's a huge benefit. The main difference is you have to physically move around a lot more when composing a shot.

pixbyjohn

https://berminghamcameras.ie/canon-eos-800d-and-18-55mm-ef-s-is-stm.html

€724.00

lil_kev

pixbyjohn wrote: »

https://berminghamcameras.ie/canon-eos-800d-and-18-55mm-ef-s-is-stm.html

€724.00

Thnx . Do you know if they offer monthly pay becuse I've founded more cheaper here https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/canon-eos-800d-kit-with-18-55mm-f-4-5.6-is-stm-lens-digital-slr-cameras.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwmdDeBRA8EiwAXlarFm6n17olOZQX8YvRcG5LMGgSCDnX6A2ktmN7UFIp_7BD7bU-7OTTkRoC3e8QAvD_BwE

Kenny Logins

lil_kev wrote: »

Thnx . Do you know if they offer monthly pay becuse I've founded more cheaper here https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/canon-eos-800d-kit-with-18-55mm-f-4-5.6-is-stm-lens-digital-slr-cameras.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwmdDeBRA8EiwAXlarFm6n17olOZQX8YvRcG5LMGgSCDnX6A2ktmN7UFIp_7BD7bU-7OTTkRoC3e8QAvD_BwE

Don't buy there.

lil_kev

Kenny Logins wrote: »

lil_kev wrote: »

Thnx . Do you know if they offer monthly pay becuse I've founded more cheaper here https://www.eglobalcentral.eu/canon-eos-800d-kit-with-18-55mm-f-4-5.6-is-stm-lens-digital-slr-cameras.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwmdDeBRA8EiwAXlarFm6n17olOZQX8YvRcG5LMGgSCDnX6A2ktmN7UFIp_7BD7bU-7OTTkRoC3e8QAvD_BwE

Don't buy there.

Hi Kenny. Do you have any bad experience with them? I've ordered a phone 4 months ago, no problems with the phone.

Kenny Logins

lil_kev wrote: »

Hi Kenny. Do you have any bad experience with them? I've ordered a phone 4 months ago, no problems with the phone.

Yeah, first order arrived on time (phone). Second one went missing for about a month (also a phone) and customer service just ignore you. Others have had worse experiences with photo gear.
I wouldn't risk anything more than about €150 with them.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108458407&postcount=1270

lil_kev

Kenny Logins wrote: »

lil_kev wrote: »

Hi Kenny. Do you have any bad experience with them? I've ordered a phone 4 months ago, no problems with the phone.

Yeah, first order arrived on time (phone). Second one went missing for about a month (also a phone) and customer service just ignore you. Others have had worse experiences with photo gear.
I wouldn't risk anything more than about €150 with them.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=108458407&postcount=1270

That's really bad :(

Thnx for advice.

lil_kev

Did anybody tried to buy something from https://www.e-infin.com/eu/ and if so, how was your experience?

endacl

lil_kev wrote: »

Did anybody tried to buy something from https://www.e-infin.com/eu/ and if so, how was your experience?

There’s a whole thread dedicated to that site. Do a search.

dory

lil_kev wrote: »

Did anybody tried to buy something from https://www.e-infin.com/eu/ and if so, how was your experience?

GOt mine off them about a year ago. No complaints!

lil_kev

So guys. I have finally purchased a DSLR from e-infinity website Canon 800D +EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM for 630 euro. Thnx guys for all your help!

lil_kev

So guys. I have finally purchased a DSLR from e-infinity website Canon 800D +EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM for 630 euro. Thnx guys for all your help!

Alanstrainor

lil_kev wrote: »

So guys. I have finally purchased a DSLR from e-infinity website Canon 800D +EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM for 630 euro. Thnx guys for all your help!

Perfect camera/lens for what you want. And a good price too. Best of luck!

endacl

You’re gonna need a tripod. And a ball head. Some filters. A bag. No, wait. A backpack. A lighter tripod. And one more lens.

There’s always one more lens.

lil_kev

endacl wrote: »

You’re gonna need a tripod. And a ball head. Some filters. A bag. No, wait. A backpack. A lighter tripod. And one more lens.

There’s always one more lens.

Hi. I've alreday have all of the above except extra lens. Cheers!

Shifty Shellshock

Was thinking of buying a few lenses off that site. maybe even a Nikon D7200. Let me know how everything goes with delivery etc.

lil_kev

Shifty Shellshock wrote: »

Was thinking of buying a few lenses off that site. maybe even a Nikon D7200. Let me know how everything goes with delivery etc.

Hi. I'm a bit delayed on this thread. I have ordered around 4 weeks ago on Saturday and got everything next Friday in perfect condition. I'm glad that I listen lads from forum because I've saved around 400 euros on camera and lens.

Hope this helps!

PS:Next lens will be 50mm 1.4 from e-infinity

ED E

lil_kev wrote: »

PS:Next lens will be 50mm 1.4 from e-infinity

(600D shooter)

The 50 is an 80 on a crop, if you want it for portraits its great but don't expect to use it as a walkabout lens like you could on a FF.

awec

Also I would probably recommend the 50 1.8 instead of the 1.4.

Much cheaper and I’m not sure you’ll really need the 1.4, 1.8 is plenty in most conditions.

lil_kev

ED E wrote: »

(600D shooter)

The 50 is an 80 on a crop, if you want it for portraits its great but don't expect to use it as a walkabout lens like you could on a FF.

Unfortunately that is the case that Ill have to accept with crop sensor camera . Was thinking to get either 35mm or 24mm in few months because of the 1.6 crop.

Cheers

dory

lil_kev wrote: »

Unfortunately that is the case that Ill have to accept with crop sensor camera . Was thinking to get either 35mm or 24mm in few months because of the 1.6 crop.

Cheers

I have a crop sensor and have a 30mm prime lens. Get a good bit of use out of it. I agree with the above poster, 50mm on crop sensor will be tight enough.

Best thing I did when I got my first proper camera was join my local library, download their magazine app, then read a load of their magazines for free. They've about 5 or 6 photography magazines, some cost €8 to buy!