instrumentality
11-10-2008, 12:03 PM
Brief background: I've been saving for awhile for an entry level DSLR. Back when I was in school (5 years ago), I took a series of photography courses with my old Canon Rebel G 35mm camera. Never used anything but the kit lens. Once digital point and shoot became affordable I switched to that, but I've never really been satisfied with the depth of field options on point and shoots. I shoot mostly portraits and people in group settings; very casual photography, nowhere near professional or even advanced amateur, but I do know a bit about photography from my film days and am a designer by training. I want a DSLR mainly for casual photos of people/events (but not sports).
I've got about an $800 budget and am trying to decide whether, given my needs and interests, I should go for the Rebel XS kit ($485) and add the Canon EF 50mm 1.4 lens ($325), for a total of about $810 from Amazon, or whether I should go for the Rebel XSi ($645) kit and get the Canon EF 50mm 1.8 lens ($85), for a total of about $730 from Amazon.
In other words, for about the same price I could either get a slightly less advanced camera body and what seems to be a superior (but heavier) lens (I've read and seen comparisons of the 1.8 vs. 1.4 lens), or I could get the more advanced camera body and stick with the cheap starter 1.8 for now. (OR, I suppose I could really save my money and get the XS with the 1.8 for about $570).
In terms of trying to predict my future wants/needs in a camera, the main things I'm wondering about in terms of the XS vs. XSi are:
a) how big a difference will I really notice between spot and partial metering? They seem pretty close. This is probably my biggest concern between the two; could someone educate me on whether this makes a huge difference?
b) I have never shot in RAW (I've used DSLRs at work and borrowed as well), and I never shoot sports, so do I really care about the lag in burst RAW performance of the SX?
c) In "real life," it seems like people don't notice much difference from the slightly downgraded autofocus system on the SX.
I've read some advice that says "buy a better body and invest in better lenses as you can afford them," and I've read other advice that says "buy a basic body and put the money into glass." Knowing myself, what will likely happen is that I'll buy the camera kit and 50mm lens, and other than perhaps wanting to fool around with a lensbaby because they're fun, I probably won't actually get around to upgrading any of it for a long time. So I'm looking for the combination of camera body and one of these portrait lenses that will give me the most bang for my buck right out of the gate. Portraits (including portraits of babies and children, if that matters) and shallow depth of field shots are the main reason I want a DSLR, so I'm a little torn and don't really know enough to know which combo will give me better results for the type of photos I want to take. Advice? Thanks in advance.
please note: I am definitely buying from Amazon, because I have several gift cards to use there and that's how I've been saving for this camera, so Costco deals, etc., aren't on my radar. Also, I've done my research and am definitely choosing one of these two cameras, and am interested in advice on the tradeoffs between these lenses and these bodies, not other camera brands. thanks!
I've got about an $800 budget and am trying to decide whether, given my needs and interests, I should go for the Rebel XS kit ($485) and add the Canon EF 50mm 1.4 lens ($325), for a total of about $810 from Amazon, or whether I should go for the Rebel XSi ($645) kit and get the Canon EF 50mm 1.8 lens ($85), for a total of about $730 from Amazon.
In other words, for about the same price I could either get a slightly less advanced camera body and what seems to be a superior (but heavier) lens (I've read and seen comparisons of the 1.8 vs. 1.4 lens), or I could get the more advanced camera body and stick with the cheap starter 1.8 for now. (OR, I suppose I could really save my money and get the XS with the 1.8 for about $570).
In terms of trying to predict my future wants/needs in a camera, the main things I'm wondering about in terms of the XS vs. XSi are:
a) how big a difference will I really notice between spot and partial metering? They seem pretty close. This is probably my biggest concern between the two; could someone educate me on whether this makes a huge difference?
b) I have never shot in RAW (I've used DSLRs at work and borrowed as well), and I never shoot sports, so do I really care about the lag in burst RAW performance of the SX?
c) In "real life," it seems like people don't notice much difference from the slightly downgraded autofocus system on the SX.
I've read some advice that says "buy a better body and invest in better lenses as you can afford them," and I've read other advice that says "buy a basic body and put the money into glass." Knowing myself, what will likely happen is that I'll buy the camera kit and 50mm lens, and other than perhaps wanting to fool around with a lensbaby because they're fun, I probably won't actually get around to upgrading any of it for a long time. So I'm looking for the combination of camera body and one of these portrait lenses that will give me the most bang for my buck right out of the gate. Portraits (including portraits of babies and children, if that matters) and shallow depth of field shots are the main reason I want a DSLR, so I'm a little torn and don't really know enough to know which combo will give me better results for the type of photos I want to take. Advice? Thanks in advance.
please note: I am definitely buying from Amazon, because I have several gift cards to use there and that's how I've been saving for this camera, so Costco deals, etc., aren't on my radar. Also, I've done my research and am definitely choosing one of these two cameras, and am interested in advice on the tradeoffs between these lenses and these bodies, not other camera brands. thanks!