I have been saving for a new camera. I feel like I have been saving for forever. But, the truth is, I have not been very diligent about saving for said camera. But, every time I sit down to edit photos, or go somewhere that I wish I was taking better quality photos, I am reminded of my lust for a DSLR.
I know I want Canon. For no reason other than I have become brand loyal. I love my "point and shoot". I am familiar with the functions. I know nothing about photography.
I know I want DSLR. I know nothing about photography.
In case you have not gathered yet, I know nothing about photography.
So, if you were me, and you wanted a nice DSLR, and you were ordering from Amazon (I have been saving in the form of gift cards and personal funds), and you were willing to buy used, but you were not wanting to save for it until your kids turn 18, and you knew nothing about photography, what camera would you buy?
I only want it for my personal use. But I need recommendations. And I need a visible goal so that I am diligent in saving.
I have a Canon Rebel Xsi. And I LOVE it! I just took photos of the tulips today, and it did a WONDERFUL job. I will probably post some on my blog tomorrow. And most of them are with the lens that came with it. My friend bought the Xti (it has video capabilities), and its really nice too. The Rebel is light weight, and I think it goes up to 12MP. If you have any questions call me or email me! If I lived closer I would come over so you could play with it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cherie. Is that the camera that Canon has since discontinued? Does
ReplyDeleteit matter if they did? For example, if I ever need it fixed or want to
interchange lenses would I still be able to? What photo editing software do
you use? I have just been sticking to iPhoto and I'm thinking I would want
something a little "fancier".
Okay, here's my two cents:
ReplyDeleteYou will be very happy with whatever Canon DSLR you can purchase with said funds. :) I would buy "refurbished" and not used if you want to go that route. Something refurbished means it has been checked out and meets factory standards and generally comes with the same warranty as a brand new product. We have purchased several of our electronics refurbished (not a camera though) and have been very happy every time, probably more so than some of the items we purchased new!
Anyway, getting back to the camera. I would look at Amazon and see what falls into your price range for a DSLR. Obviously the more money you spend you'll get more megapixels and maybe some other upgrades, but I would guess someone that "knows nothing about photography" won't even notice most things like that. Megapixels really come into play when you are printing large photos (bigger than 8x10) or heavily cropping an image - so for the average person most cameras offer more MP than is really necessary.
Canon Models do price drop right before they release a new version, so keep that in mind as well.
Sometimes Canon also offers rebates when you buy new, so that is another thing to keep in mind. (you can check their website for rebates)
As far as lenses go, all Canon DSLR rebels can swap lenses - when you start upgrading significantly to more expensive gear, that is not true - (technical reasons i will spare you) but for the average consumer, no worries there. I have found most people are plenty happy with the "kit" lens that comes with the camera,( although once you try other ones they can be quite addicting and expensive! )
I haven't been in the market for a new camera recently so I'm not up to date on the latest prices/offers/rebates/models, etc- so I can't offer you any specifics, but I can say you really can't go wrong and will be happy with whatever you get.
I'm a Canon lover for the same reason as you. My first film SLR was a Canon and I have never looked back!
OH, and for software - I recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements. It goes on sale for less than $100 and can do absolutely anything you can ever want (and probably a whole lot more) and is user friendly. I am a HUGE fan of Adobe Lightroom and use the full photoshop verison, but if I was on a limited budget, I'd get elements in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteThis is super helpful Rebecca, thank you!!! I crop all of my pictures, so I have my "point and shoot" set to the higher MP setting, this is good information to know! I doubt that I will print anything larger than an 8 x 10, but who knows, maybe if I get some good shots I'll go crazy with the 16 x 20 ;-)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I have Elements on my Mac, but for the life of me cannot figure it out. iPhoto is just so straight forward. I will have to put more effort into learning the controls of Elements.
I don't have elements, but if you have questions I can probably help you... and there are a lot of on line tutorials on youtube for adobe products (and photography in general)- that is the way I really learned how to use photoshop (which is not intuitive or user friendly in anyway!). If you need help, in a few weeks my calendar opens up quite a bit and I'd be happy to find some good tutorials for you!
ReplyDeleteI would recommend the Canon Rebel XS. We love our T1i, and it is so easy to use. It might be discontinued, so hopefully you can find a good (perhaps used) one!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I will definitely look in to this one!
ReplyDelete