JohnnyC wrote:My 10D sprang back to life today so I spent most of the afternoon cruising around taking some photos, as soon as I drove up the road I came across these guys playing some heavy metal out on the footpath! I carried on out to Lake Rotoiti and got a few snaps there too

Only in Vegas (or the Hutt Valley)

A select few from my recent 2 week MTB/Camper honeymoon around the South Island. All taken on a 4 year old Canon Powershot A520 point & shoot.

Christmas came a little early this year, splashed out on a 450D twin lens kit at the weekend. I know I know, not the best lenses out there etc - but I figured I'm only starting out and will hopefully get a lot out of them before I feel the urge for more serious glass.

It's already apparent that I've got a lot to learn, but man it's fun to shoot with a real camera!
No proof of the pudding yet either sorry, I lost the paper scissors rock and wifey has it in Welly still...

Conners wrote:Christmas came a little early this year, splashed out on a 450D twin lens kit at the weekend. I know I know, not the best lenses out there etc - but I figured I'm only starting out and will hopefully get a lot out of them before I feel the urge for more serious glass.

It's already apparent that I've got a lot to learn, but man it's fun to shoot with a real camera!
No proof of the pudding yet either sorry, I lost the paper scissors rock and wifey has it in Welly still...

Awesome, I have the same body, only with the 18-55mm lens though, but I splashed on a Sigma 10-20mm wideangle (love it!).
Youll have a wicked time just messing round with it and figuring everything out.
Once you learn more you can figure out what you want to shoot and then buy better glass accordingly.
Cant wait to see some pics!
Which reminds me, should stick some up here.

ShoreBoy wrote:A select few from my recent 2 week MTB/Camper honeymoon around the South Island. All taken on a 4 year old Canon Powershot A520 point & shoot.

No seagulls

My first attempt at some flowers. Unfortunately the best shot was of a flower with some flaws.

mundi wrote:

Conners wrote:Christmas came a little early this year, splashed out on a 450D twin lens kit at the weekend. I know I know, not the best lenses out there etc - but I figured I'm only starting out and will hopefully get a lot out of them before I feel the urge for more serious glass.

It's already apparent that I've got a lot to learn, but man it's fun to shoot with a real camera!
No proof of the pudding yet either sorry, I lost the paper scissors rock and wifey has it in Welly still...

Awesome, I have the same body, only with the 18-55mm lens though, but I splashed on a Sigma 10-20mm wideangle (love it!).
Youll have a wicked time just messing round with it and figuring everything out.
Once you learn more you can figure out what you want to shoot and then buy better glass accordingly.
Cant wait to see some pics!
Which reminds me, should stick some up here.

Ummed and aaahhhhed for ages about the single/twin kit. Actually just went for the 18-55 originally, but I knew after playing around with it for a day that I would want something longer as well. Back to Wellington Photographic this morning and they were happy to do the second lens for the difference between the two kits which was cool.
And yes - post some pics

Im looking at buying a Canon D500 (or 7D if its THAT much better) and am a bit of a SLR newbie so the lenses on offer are somewhat confusing.

I dont really want to carry 2 lenses around but want something equivalent to a compact camera 15x zoom, but have some sort of wide angle (ish) when not zoomed.

It seems like its worth getting an IS lens.

Comments?

Hey mate

Firstly - if in doubt, spend less on the body and more on the lenses. ALL the canon range will produce great pictures, and the cheaper ones will probably actually flatter the newbie more as there is less to worry about
My choice in the canon range would be the 7D, but thats mainly because i have had a 20D since they were released and i know what i want in my next camera. It doesnt mean i can afford it though!
There is one in between the 500 and the 7 as well which is the 50 - what they call a "prosumer". Before you buy anything, hold the 500 and play with it. I actually find that range physically too small to be comfortable to shoot for a long time, hence for me its the 50/7/ or if i win the lottery, the 1D

In terms of lenses, 15x is a bit of a tricky one because it doesn't necessarily relate to anything, but in essence you are looking for a good walkaround lens?
I have a 24-105 L series which is awesome and you are welcome to try (if you are who i think you are! I think we met at Wild welly?) It gives a wideish range, and the L series bit is canons pro range - well worth it if you have the cash. Cauld will back me up on that one. Actually i have a sigma in the cupboard as well which is an 18-55 i think and you could have for a few dollars if you wanted to try a few things, and we also have a kit 18-55.
IS is good - but it depends what you are shooting. If you are taking sports and want tiny depth of field then you need a fast lens - now if you can get fast AND IS, then great - but prices go up... and up... and up.

If you are in welly and want to come round and have a play with the different options gimme a shout.

Canon 500D versus a 7D? quite a big difference in those two!!

You can get some super zooms , biggest 'zoom' is 'Tamron AF 18-270mm f3.5-6.3 Di II VC', which goes from wide to quite long - is equivelant of 15 times zoom ( long end / short end).

Canon do an 18-200 IS.

But the more * zoom the more opticaly compromised the lens will be, usualy with more distortion, softer pics, more CA, more vignetting, slower focus/poorer max aperture.

Its OK for a do it all pack in out lens but you wont realy get images with it that justify a flash dSLR body - IMO the lens quality is more important than the body most times.

Not saying its a bad thing but you can change lenses for a realy good reason, no single lens does it all well.

Clive - having just bought a 450D with an 18-55 IS at the weekend, I would say you'd definitely want something longer if you are looking for something comparable to a 15x. I would say 55mm is somewhere around 2.5 to 3x (completely guessing here - this is just using my eyeometer looking through the camera).

thelivo wrote:Hey mate

Firstly - if in doubt, spend less on the body and more on the lenses. ALL the canon range will produce great pictures, and the cheaper ones will probably actually flatter the newbie more as there is less to worry about
My choice in the canon range would be the 7D, but thats mainly because i have had a 20D since they were released and i know what i want in my next camera. It doesnt mean i can afford it though!
There is one in between the 500 and the 7 as well which is the 50 - what they call a "prosumer". Before you buy anything, hold the 500 and play with it. I actually find that range physically too small to be comfortable to shoot for a long time, hence for me its the 50/7/ or if i win the lottery, the 1D

In terms of lenses, 15x is a bit of a tricky one because it doesn't necessarily relate to anything, but in essence you are looking for a good walkaround lens?
I have a 24-105 L series which is awesome and you are welcome to try (if you are who i think you are! I think we met at Wild welly?) It gives a wideish range, and the L series bit is canons pro range - well worth it if you have the cash. Cauld will back me up on that one. Actually i have a sigma in the cupboard as well which is an 18-55 i think and you could have for a few dollars if you wanted to try a few things, and we also have a kit 18-55.
IS is good - but it depends what you are shooting. If you are taking sports and want tiny depth of field then you need a fast lens - now if you can get fast AND IS, then great - but prices go up... and up... and up.

If you are in welly and want to come round and have a play with the different options gimme a shout.

Yep, I think I met you at Martinbourgh the next day on the start line as well.
Hmm, lots of choice is always a problem for me, I generally like to go higher end with most things I buy, from experience when I buy cheap I always regret it, then sell at a loss and buy the more expensive later on.
I have looked at a few lenses at Wellington Photographic, but apart from the prices I didnt understand much about them. I will get a list of the common ones in my price range and go over them.
The stock or bundled lenses look pretty cheap to me so probably not worth getting.

Whats the single best thing about the 7D over the D500 ?, as its not that much more than the 500
I was also hoping to use it as a video camera as well, just for small stuff.


Cheers for the offer to have a look at the lenses!, sounds great, will maybe PM you next week or something.

Conners wrote:Clive - having just bought a 450D with an 18-55 IS at the weekend, I would say you'd definitely want something longer if you are looking for something comparable to a 15x. I would say 55mm is somewhere around 2.5 to 3x (completely guessing here - this is just using my eyeometer looking through the camera).

Yeah the 55 looks pretty short, I was thinking something about a 200, but dont know whether its asking too much for a lense to be good at everything.

One thing I am sure of though is that I hate my current compact camera.

To get the zoom you want as well as maintain a reasonable wide angle I reckon you'd have two choices the EF-S 18-200 or the optically superior and more expensive EF 28-300L. The 18-200 is a lot more portable but the 28-300L is a much better lens.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0401/04012 ... 8300is.asp

So something like this package would be a good bet?

http://www.wps.net.nz/store/canon/digit ... m-kit.html