New year, time for a new hobby... After being unable to come up with a smart gift to ask for, I finally took the plunge and got my gf to get me a proper camera. It's ordered and will reach me in about ten days. I'm getting the Canon EOS 650D (or, as I believe you 'mericans like to call it, the Canon EOS Rebel T4i). I did quite a bit of research but in the end it boiled down to a) my smaller camera was a Canon and I like it, so I'm going to stick with Canon (since this could be a "lifelong" commitment) and b) it's early days so let's go with the entry-level version for now and upgrade to a great one later on when I actually know what I'm doing. It comes with the exact same lens kit as for the Amazon link (Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II) and I'm currently planning to buy a couple of extra lenses (probably two more, for now (as recommended by Gizmodo): first a telephoto zoom lens and then a portrait/normal lens). Doing some more research into the telephoto zoom one, I've come up a bit torn between three options (with a tentative winner for now): Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II ($242), Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM ($499), and Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM ($559). They all have their pro's and con's but in the end I think it'll come down to the same reasoning as above: the EF-S 55-250mm is the frontrunner due to cost and me having to learn my shit before upgrading to the top end. I know the other two would last me longer (and could be used with a full frame camera) but they seem a bit "middle-of-the-road" which is something I generally don't buy (cheap or all-in). Anyway, I know there are a bunch of enthusiasts on here (Dan, Shooter come to mind for sure) so any advice you guys can give would be greatly appreciated (not necessarily on specific items because Google is my friend but of course specific advice is also very welcome). I guess I'm mostly looking for things like "I wish I knew that ... when I first started out" (e.g., that xyz accessory is really useful) as well as things like tutorials. I'll be sure to post some pictures once I get my stuff (they should be pretty cool - I'll be hanging around Asia for another six months with lots of travel plans!).
Sounds like fun! I'm getting very interested in wildlife photography myself. I am knee deep in deer/beavers/coyote etc. and could get very close to these critters, guaranteed. I'm talking "back of my hand" knowledge of my local wild areas. With a zoom lens and a quality camera I could have a ball.
Dan would give better advice on the equipment, though you did well by going with Canon. I always thought I would want to buy Nikon when I bought a DSLR, but Canon glass is just as good and is usually cheaper. I'm not so much about what equipment you buy, but more about what you do with what you have.
My wife has an older version of that camera, and to say that it's badass only scratches the surface of awesomeness.
Check this out too, I use for my Canon and it's pretty badass. It will let you mess around with a lot of the settings on a Canon. For example you can set up the camera to take photos by movement, noise, or light. And some cameras you can change the shutter speed to as long as you want or as fast as 1/20,000 of a second. Best thing about it, is it doesn't overwrite the firmware on the camera. So if you do something wonky just turning the camera off and on will reset it.
I cant disagree, go with the canon 55-250. Dont forget Tamron and Sigma, they also make some very good lenses
Well, I think the lens decision making process is pretty much done for now. Will go with the frontrunner above and throw in a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II to complete the basics. That'll bring the total cost of te package to just about $1,000 - not too bad for what I hope I'm getting! Now, about getting the skills to use it properly...
Time for a bump. Got all my stuff a couple of weeks back and finally got to take it for a proper spin during a quick trip to Sri Lanka for Chinese New Year.
See I thought I found that Nikon was cheaper than Canon. I have a personal Canon DSLR but for our VR photography we use a Nikon.
shootER agrees: Every single professional I know uses Canon. Until I heard this from you, I'd have assumed most professionals used Nikon.
It used to be that pros used Nikon and hobbyists used Canon, but that's no longer the case. For a long time Nikon was pretty much industry standard but in the last 15-20 years, Canon has made huge inroads among people who get paid to take photographs. Even at big national news stories (Presidential visit, for example), I'll look around and the Canon cameras far outnumber the Nikons.
Time for another bump. A few pictures from (mostly) New York City from the end of February/early March.
