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Digital Camera/Photography Guys.. what do you think of this canon?

NetViper

NetViper

Illustrious Member
Joined
23 October 2000
Messages
13,885
Location
Saint Augustine, FL
IMO - This camera is great for the average user. It is way better than a point and shoot, but slow if you are planning to take pictures of fast moving action., i.e.: race cars, sports events, etc. The glass (lens) is of average quality for Canon, but you can always upgrade. HTH
 
+1

It's definitely a step above your basic DSLR. However, I would definitely suggest a better lens than that kit lens. I have that lens and it's fine in "normal" circumstances but it's still relatively cheap and slow.
 
Canon DSLR's are all great but dont spend alot of money on bodies since they depreciate with every new model that comes out. The glass that goes onto the body is the most important piece of equipment and I always tell people to buy the best they can afford. The ones with the red rings are the best.
 
Go for it!

It's a great camera for stills. But if you have the funds the Canon EOS 7D is a significantly better camera. This will run you $1800 w/ lens.

Getting back to the Rebel TXi series, be aware that the DSLR video mode is not as easy as having a dedicated HD camcorder due to the SLRs lack of continuous autofocus when shooting video. You can force the camera to focus but it reverts to contrast based focus which is slow and can be noisy depending on the lens.

Most people with the Rebel TXi series use manual focus in "movie" mode. What makes this difficult is that the optical viewfinder is blocked out because the mirror is locked in the "up" position. As a result, you must focus using the main LCD screen. The Rebel TXi's LCD screen resolution is pretty good but getting a precise focus can be difficult especially when outdoors as the screen can get "washed out" by ambient light. Of course, there is a solution for this as many 3rd parties offer viewing "loupes" for the LCD screen which effectively puts a magnifying eyepiece over the screen to allow for more precise visualization when focusing.

Some of these "loupes" can get quite costly... I made my own:
IMG_9942.JPG


I'm currently involved with a group putting together a pilot for a network series. So far we're shooting in HD primarily with DSLRs. Canon T1i's and 7D's.
 
JonBoy said:
+1

It's definitely a step above your basic DSLR. However, I would definitely suggest a better lens than that kit lens. I have that lens and it's fine in "normal" circumstances but it's still relatively cheap and slow.
Click to expand...

What would you recommend to replace that one?
 
It's a great camera for a fraction of the psice of a pro DSLR. A good starter lens is the 28-135mmIS lens.
 
Motegi said:
It's a great camera for stills. But if you have the funds the Canon EOS 7D is a significantly better camera. This will run you $1800 w/ lens.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with Motegi. I just bought the Canon 7D about 4 months ago and I am taking pictures that look Pro - I can't believe it! I chose the 7D because it is the first pro-sumer camera that has the speed and 1080p video capabilities that I wanted and image stabilization. The Video capability is very handy, and I can do great depth-of-field tricks with my lens that could previously only be done with $50-$100K professional video cameras.

I bought this lens and didn't waste my $ on a kit lens with poor speed and image quality. this lens is AWESOME for speed and clarity. I bought the body without a lens and a really good UV filter for this baby. It isn't very heavy, has really crisp optics, and the f 2.8 gives me GREAT depth of field and flexibility for indoor/outdoor.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/425812-USA/Canon_1242B002AA_EF_S_17_55mm_f_2_8_IS.html

My next lens will be a nice 35mm prime with a 1.4 aperture. Canon is coming out with some different EF-S primes later this year and I am waiting. I think every photographer should have a 50mm prime with wide aperture. the 35mm size translates to just about a 50mm with the 7Ds cropped image sensor (1.6x factor).

I think if I win the lottery, I will be getting the 70-200mm f2.8 "L" series. I do night shots with some action photographing our high-school band. Wife won't let that purchase go unnoticed, so it is on my santa clause list.

oh yea - storage cards. I got the 60mb/sec 16GB cards to keep up with the video saving. I would probably switch to 32GB if I had a chance if you do Video.

one more pointer... START shooting RAW from the beginning and use Canon's tools to do the editing/workflow. I started shooting JPG for about 2-3 days until I figured our I could adjust all my photos in RAW lossless and create JPGs later - that way I have ultimate control over white balance, color, etc... without sacrificing image quality doing adjustments in Photoshop.

Good Luck !
 
NetViper said:
What would you recommend to replace that one?
Click to expand...

What are your plans for the camera, specifically? Will you be using it PRIMARILY for taking pictures of people, cars, nature, or something else?

Personally, I do mostly cars and people so I went with prime (fixed focal length) lenses, namely, a 50mm f/1.4 and an 85mm f/1.8. Those allow for excellent low-light shooting while giving excellent portrait-style shots and thin DOF (depth of field, ie, the background is well-blurred if I want it to be). I have to use my feet to zoom in and out, though, which is also a pain in the neck.

For starters, I would use the lens that came with the camera. Get used to it, learn it, figure out how to compose a picture, then upgrade if you need to. A cheap alternative (buy it used on Craigslist for $270 or less - TONs of them on the market) is the Canon EF 28-135mm lens that often comes as the kit lens on the 5D Mk II. It doesn't go quite as wide as the 18-55 but it's a lot longer, which works for most people, and it has much nicer build quality. If you want to stick to a focal length similar to the kit lens, Canon offers the EF-S 17-55mm but it's about $800 (minimum) used.
 
JonBoy said:
What are your plans for the camera, specifically? Will you be using it PRIMARILY for taking pictures of people, cars, nature, or something else?.
Click to expand...

No, people, cars and business stuff for websites. (office pix or things like that) That's really it.
 
Guys, look at his first post. Obviously the 7d is a better camera... but I think a bit too much camera for what he intends to do. Instead, T2i with some decent glass and he'll be set. I know a guy that uses a T2i and takes way better pictures then myself and I bet most of the ppl on this site. Like I said, it's plenty capable.
 
NetViper said:
What about UV filters?
Click to expand...

I use high quality UV filters mostly just to protect my glass. The B+W filters don't seem to negatively impact my images with before/after testing. Just watch out for crappy quality brands. Additionally, I also have CP and ND filters. But don't worry about these for now.
 
You don't need filters to protect glass. Most poeple get scammed into buying a $15 dollar filter to protect a lens where all that they are doing is ruin the quality of the picture being taken. I do most of my photography outdoors and I only use a cicrular polarizing filter. Otherwise for the past 30 years that I've been involved in photography I've never scratched a lens.
 
DocL said:
You don't need filters to protect glass. Most poeple get scammed into buying a $15 dollar filter to protect a lens where all that they are doing is ruin the quality of the picture being taken. I do most of my photography outdoors and I only use a cicrular polarizing filter. Otherwise for the past 30 years that I've been involved in photography I've never scratched a lens.
Click to expand...

I got bumped once at a shoot and dropped my 24-70. Having the filter on SAVED my glass. I won't shoot anymore without one. You are right, some of the cheap filters can degrade the quality of an image, but high quality filters (such as B+W) have no negative impact on picture quality IMHO.
 
I've seen it suggested a couple posts above but I want to add my .02

If you purchase a cannon crop body camera (any cannon DSLR other than 5d, 1Ds) buy the 17-55mm F2.8 IS lens. This will make a much larger difference than any body upgrade and you can use it for years as you upgrade your camera. I love this lens and keep it on my XSI probably 99% of the time.

I just got a 5D and I'm having some reservations as I will loose my favorite lens :redface:

One more tip, if you buy a UV filter to protect your lens buy a good one. Lots of people buy nice L glass and buy a cheapo filter to stick on the end. The key word to look for is "multi coated" probably in the $70+ range.

Also, if you want to read reviews and check out user comments look check out the Cannon EOS forum on photo.net.
 
MrTwo said:
If you purchase a cannon crop body camera (any cannon DSLR other than 5d, 1Ds) buy the 17-55mm F2.8 IS lens. This will make a much larger difference than any body upgrade and you can use it for years as you upgrade your camera. I love this lens and keep it on my XSI probably 99% of the time.
.net.
Click to expand...

That lens is a grand!:eek:
 

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