Digital SLR

welshnige

I take a lot of sporting photos on a Saturday that are put on our local Club website. My FujiFinepix S8000fd has been a superb tool for this purpose but I am now ready to take the step into the SLR world. Im thinking of a Canon and have so far found a Canon E450 from Jessops.

FREE Centon SLR bag with this Canon EOS 450D bundle! Just add camera kit to basket.

Canon EOS 450D Twin Lens Bundle - kit Contents:

• Canon EOS 450D with Canon 18-55mm IS lens
• Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 lens
• Sandisk Ultra II 4GB SDHC memory card

The Canon EOS 450D combines all the latest technologies into a compact and lightweight package. The 12.0 megapixel CMOS sensor gives you plenty of detail for up to poster size prints. Other fantastic features include 3.5fps continuous shooting, wide-area 9-point AF system and a large 3.0-inch LCD with Live View mode, plus the EOS Integrated Cleaning System

This is 579 less 50 quid via Canon less 3% quidco and maybe a voucher from somewhere??? All I want to know is can anyone do any better on this price and is this the right camera for me and what other accessories will I need.

Sorry so many questions.

TiTheRev

Im not a big fan of the Jessops/Park Cameras/WarehouseExpress websites, as they all seem to think they can charge what they like as people dont know much about cameras etc, and I have always found what I need cheaper elsewhere. The EOS450D is a good body, not much different at all to the 400D (which may be looking at as a cheaper alternative?), and the kit lens you get is good. The IS function is very handy. Not so sure about the Tamron though, as Ive read more average reviews than good on their lenses. The f4.5-5.6 is ok but if you can get an f4 it would take much better all round pictures. Sigma are a better non-Canon lens IMHO, and do good quality variations at more reasonable prices. The Sandisk card is good, but the Sandisk Extreme is better (4GB is a good size).

Other accesories i'd start with, are a bag (for all the kit!), some filters for your lenses (UV for each definately), a tripod for better stability when shooting and a decent memory card reader (plus maybe another card, two is always handy!) too.

welshnige

Cheers for that info Rev. Someone else has recommended Nikon SLRs, any opinion on those (sorry for asking so many questions only you seem to know what you are talking about), want to make sure I do all my homework before investing in one.

TiTheRev

Nikon and Canon are much of a muchness, you can only use lenses from those makes on those bodies, so whichever you go with you need to stick with! For me Canon has more users out there, and thus more 2nd hand lenses and kit available. I bought a 70-200mm f4 Canon lens from eBay for £70. It was an old SLR version but works fine on the newer bodies and ive had some great pictures with it much cheaper than the £500+ modern equivalent!

Another thing to point out is that most of the pro's use Canon, and im sure they know a bit more than I, so must have made an educated decision on which is better for a decent picture...?

welshnige

Canon it is then, cheers for all you help Rev, it is much appreciated.

TiTheRev

Hope you find something you like, and more importantly enjoy it