Which Canon camera would you get?
Posted by admin | Under Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR Monday Jul 6, 2009I am looking for an SLR camera because I plan on majoring in photography in college and someday I would love to become a travel photographer. I want really good and compatible camera that will last a while and I heard that Canon’s are the best. I have chosen two camera’s that I like! Tell me which one you think is best or if neither of them are good recommend one please.
the Canon EOS 5D Mark II
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17662
or the Canon EOS 50D Digital
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17662
Thanks!
The 5D MKII is clearly the better camera though I think you would be better off with the 50D while you are learning. Unless of course you have an unlimited budget. Whichever camera you choose be prepared to spend several times more than it costs on lenses and other equipment. Invest in good lenses now and they will last a lifetime. Cameras will need to be upgraded every 2-4 years just to keep up with technology. If you were to buy the 5D MKII now you would probably be upgrading it before you got out of college.
Also keep in mind that the 5D does not have a pop up flash so you will have to buy one.
If you buy the 50D stay away from the EFs lenses as they wont work when you upgrade to a full frame camera like the 5D MKII or 1D series. There is only one EFs lens that is worth having in my opinion anyways. That is the EFs 10-22mm. There is not a EF lens that is wide enough on APS-C cameras so you don’t have a choice.
All in all I think the 50D will be more than enough camera for you to learn on. Many students will probably have Rebels. Buying the 50D will leave you with enough money to buy a nice L series lens and maybe a flash.
5D mark II is definitely a better camera for travel photography because of the resolution and ISO performance. Be prepared to spend some money on good lenses though. Nikons are really great as well, check out the D700 as a competitor to the 5D mark II.
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The 5D MKII is clearly the better camera though I think you would be better off with the 50D while you are learning. Unless of course you have an unlimited budget. Whichever camera you choose be prepared to spend several times more than it costs on lenses and other equipment. Invest in good lenses now and they will last a lifetime. Cameras will need to be upgraded every 2-4 years just to keep up with technology. If you were to buy the 5D MKII now you would probably be upgrading it before you got out of college.
Also keep in mind that the 5D does not have a pop up flash so you will have to buy one.
If you buy the 50D stay away from the EFs lenses as they wont work when you upgrade to a full frame camera like the 5D MKII or 1D series. There is only one EFs lens that is worth having in my opinion anyways. That is the EFs 10-22mm. There is not a EF lens that is wide enough on APS-C cameras so you don’t have a choice.
All in all I think the 50D will be more than enough camera for you to learn on. Many students will probably have Rebels. Buying the 50D will leave you with enough money to buy a nice L series lens and maybe a flash.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark II is better choice.It is full frame camera.Fantastic amazing image quality.high ISO performance
Great menus, sharper, brighter, easier to read
Super low light high ISO photographic tool with 25,600 ISO
Feels great in hands
http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fs%3Fie%3DUTF8%26ref%255F%3Dnb%255Fss%255Fp%26field-keywords%3Dcanon%25205d%2520mark%2520ii%26url%3Dsearch-alias%253Dphoto&tag=computer0bd-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=390957
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Neither one. Get the least expensive dSLR with the kit lens (by Canon or Nikon) that you can learn photography. By the time you have use it skillfully, then you can upgrade to 5DM2.
It’s a lot of money to spend (and you would not want to use a cheap lens with it) to start out. What if you find yourself not liking this major? At least with a $500 (for a cheap one), you can use it on the weekends for snapshots.
You would not buy a $50,000 grand Steinway piano when you begin your lessons.. you’d use an upright Yamaha (which costs much less) for a few years, and when you’re ready, then you can "move up".
No disrespect intended. I just don’t want you to spend at least four thousand dollars. It really is a lot of money.
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Recommendations for YOU at the VERY bottom with 2 asterisks, but general info that will help you out before that.
Before I start let me remind you to buy from reputable online dealers such as beachcamera.com, bhphoto, buydig, adorama, ritz camera, J&R, amazon, etc. NOT ebay. Look around those to get the best price. Just remember to check resellerratings.com and BBB.org to see the reputation of the vendor. There are a lot of scam artists online these days. I would stick to buying from a site that has positive resellerratings and/or a good standing with BBB.
Another thing, REMEMBER, megapixels DON’T MATTER, it’s a marketing tool. Any photographer will tell you megapixels have nothing to do with image quality.
If you are considering compact point and shoots and have a budget of 300-500 then read this paragraph. If you want REALLY good zoom look at some of the prosumer point and shoot cameras, they come with 20x zoom while compact point and shoots usually have 3-4X. When looking at zoom ONLY LOOK AT THE OPTICAL zoom. Digital zoom means NOTHING. If you want to take another picture immediately after, the prosumer point and shoots and dslrs are better than compact camera. So if you shoot a lot of moving things or sports, you may require a prosumer point and shoot or a dslr. However most compact point and shoots these days can do fairly well on that too, but nowhere near as well as a dslr would. Sure you lose the compactness, but a prosumer point and shoot is a slightly more serious camera, and then of course a dslrs are for strictly serious photographers or enthusiasts.
Here are my general suggestions in each range of cameras, organized by 3 groups, compact point and shoots, prosumer point and shoots (basically higher end and bulkier point and shoots), and dSLRS. These are the 3 different classes of cameras out in the market these days. In general also remember, it’s the photographer who makes a picture good, not the camera. That being said, here are my suggestions for each of the 3 different kinds of cameras in the market.
1) Compact Point and shoots: These are your small credit card sized cameras that most people think of these days, available at any electronic store pretty much. Very portable and stylish. I would say these are the way to go if you are a casual photographer and just take pictures when you are out with friends, or go for trips, etc. I would suggest Canon SD 880 IS (comes in gold and sliver), this is one of the best point and shoot cameras out so far and costs around $250 I believe. The other good one, which is like an upgrade of the SD 880 is the SD 970 IS. That one costs slightly more. The reason I suggest these two is because canon compact point and shoots are the best there are in that class, and these two stand out from there other models because of their 3 inch lcds and fairly good optical zoom. Since most people who use point and shoot cameras don’t use the view finder, these models got rid of that and put a huge LCD instead, a smart move. Also they have tons of features that are more than any casual photographer needs. Check them out on the canon website, then buy from reputable dealers.
2) Prosumer point and shoot: These cameras offer a lot more manual control than point and shoots and have higher zooms. They are a bit more advanced than the typical compact point and shoot cameras. They’ll also be bulker and more expensive, around 400-600. I would suggest these for someone who is more serious about their photography and wants more manual control of their camera. They also allow you to have higher optical zooms like I mentioned earlier, and usually are better in most aspects compared to point and shoots. I would suggest Sony HX1 or Canon G10 or Canon SX1 IS. All three of these are excellent, you can compare them yourselves to see which one you like.
3) dslr: These are your really serious cameras, with interchangeable lenses. These will cost a lot! They have interchangeable lenses and offer a lot of flexibility and creative control. When you buy these you buy a system and will build on it with life by purchasing more lenses as you go, flashes, tripods, etc etc. Just one of the lenses alone will cost more than your point and shoot will, so they aren’t cheap. Here are my recommendations for dslrs.
-Entry level: If you’re a beginner, I suggest these and then after you learn everything you can upgrade if you feel it is necessary. I also suggest taking a photography class at a local community college. My suggestions for this range are Nikon D40, Canon Rebel XS (around $500 total or less with kit lens)
-Mid level dslr: Canon XSi or the New T1i ($700 for xsi, $900 for T1i with kit lens). I prefer these to the Nikon ones, however Nikon also has their D60 and their D5000 that you may want to look at.
-More professional models: Nikon D90 or nikon D300 or Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 50D ($1000 +). I would suggest these if you have experience in photography or with a film slr or previous dslr. Between canon and Nikon, it’s a personal preference. One is not better than the other.
-Full frame: these are the most expensive cameras in the world and will run around as much as your first car would for the whole system, so I won’t recommend these because if you were in the market for these I’m sure you wouldn’t have asked any questions here on yahoo answers, you’d be a professional taking photos for a living.
*NOTE: canon and nikon are the two biggest and best companies when it comes to cameras. Canon by far leads the way when it comes to point and shoots. In SLR, it’s debatable but I prefer Nikon SLRs and I know many who prefer canon SLRs. Just remember when you buy dslr you get a system that you stick with. Lenses are a lot more important than the body, because body can be upgraded always but lenses stay with you forever. I do highly suggest sticking with Canon or Nikon.
**Both those cameras you mentioned are SUPERB, with the 5D mark II being a full frame camera. Obviously the Mark II will be better of the two. But for you I would suggest neither, you are forgetting a very important thing and any photographer will tell you this not just me, the camera bodies mean nothing. It’s all the lenses, and the person behind the camera. Photography is not cheap, and lenses are the most expensive part. In general you should spend 3x as much on your lenses as you do on the body. For example a 70-200 f/2.8 lens costs 2000 alone, and that’s just covering the zoom end. Good glass is EXPENSIVE. Dont forget there is other things, flash, tripods, filters, and the list goes on and on. You can always upgrade the body later as you learn more, but lenses are with you forever. Unless you have a lot of money available to you, I would suggest you look at lower end bodies and look at higher end glasses. Of course if you’re filthy rich get the mark II and spend around 3k for glass and more on other accessories, and you got enough to get you started
Or if your total budget is around 2500 (price of mark II body), I would say get either a nikon D90, or a canon 40 D or maybe even a 50D, that’s around a 1000 there. Get a speedlight 580EX II flash, around 500 there, get a good camera bag, around a 100 there, good memory cards, cleaning equipment…another 100 there. Tripod if you do landscapes or night photography, that is 300+ there. So already you’re at 2000 without any lenses. And each professional lens is 1000-8000 dollars. You get the idea.
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