| Archive for The Motor Forum talking cars since 2006 |
| Turbonutter |
Cheaper Canon DSLRsI'm thinking of getting a Canon DSLR from the cheaper end of the scale. Which one out the EOS400, EOS450, EOS1000 would people recommend for general snapping...and why?I've been on that DPreview comparison site but am not much clearer as to which would suit me best? I'd like to take some better car action pics as well as normal family/holiday stuff. |
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| Chris M Wants a V-10 |
The 400 may be discontinued, not too sure, but the 450 is newer and takes SD Cards whereas the 400 takes CF. The 1000 is a newer "entry-level" model but some reviews I have read suggest that its AF system is better (faster and more accurate/reliable) than the 450's. Best to try to handle each one for yourself in a camera shop if you can.... and buy quick, since prices are on the rise. OTOH if you are in no rush, in late February there is the "focus on imaging" show at the NEC, probably Europe's largest annual exhibition where you will get a chance to try out just about every current camera on the market, and there are opportunities to buy at special show prices. I'm hoping to go on the Sunday
http://www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk/ |
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| Turbonutter |
Cheers Chris, I might well go on the train to that - is quite easy from Shrewsbury and I'd like to see what's available. I'm not in a rush as I have a nice Panasonic DMC FZ-18 compact to last me for the moment |
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| Matt |
Get the 1000D and aspend the extra money on the battery grip and an extra battery. If you're going to use Live View, you'll notice the battery go quite quickly, powering the screen each shot, just like on a compact.
My 20D with Battery Grip and two batteries lasts for about two weeks before needing a charge. It's used almost daily for a few snaps around the house as well. For £78 I reckon you should get a Canon 50mm F1.8 II http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product/default.aspx?sku=12814 I've got one and the quality it can get from being a prime lens belies its price and light build. It's truly outstanding. 
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| Star69 |
I've got a 400 which is about 18 months old, but I'm pretty sure it has been discontinued now. It does have a CF (Compact Flash) card, might be a daft question but what's the difference between this and an SD card? |
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| "him" |
I am disappointed Canon have moved away from CF personally... SD Cards are also much thinner than CF cards, so I guess it is for reasons of "packaging" within the body of the Camera? Though I would have thought this would be more of an issue to a compact camera than a DSLR? |
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| DarthBalls |
The SD card on the newer Canon may be handy as the Panasonics use SD.
Mind you my Sony A700 has a slot for a Sony Memory Stick and a CF card slot and you can switch between them using the menu system. Unfortunately you can't record to both at once - RAW to one and JPEG to the other would be great. |
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| Boxer6 |
I think I mentioned a while ago that our Consultant Psychologist got a 1000D, which he took to Australia with him when he visited his son over Christmas-time, and he's very impressed with it (as a complete DSLR novice, with only limited SLR experience). A week or so ago he asked me what "Error 99" was, which a quick online search suggested could be one of several options. He took it back to Jessops, who reckoned it was the lens, but replaced it for him anyway. Apparently they're sending it back to Canon for examination, so it'll be interesting to find out what it really was. It seems "Error 99" is a common, not to say ubiquitous, code for Canon DSLR's. |
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| Matt |
It's linked to certain lenses as far as I can tell. The 50mm and Sigma 10-20mm have never done it, but the Sigma 105mm Macro always does it after a while. | ||||||||
| DarthBalls |
Really? The only times I've had any error codes with my A100 is when I've been using my M42 lens adaptor and that was my own fault. Guess the oft quoted 'lower build quality' of the cheapest Sony Alphas is merely perceived quality then 
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| Matt |
Canon do recommend you don't use other company's glass. Thankfully they have no control over that! | ||||||||
| ALF |
I've never had any error codes on my 20D, which I've had for four years now, but it has locked up a few times in heavy use and needed switching off/on or the battery removed. It has done it at most of the weddings I've done, and of course it's always a bit of a panic until it comes back to life - I always have a backup film camera and plenty of film but for weddings being able to see how things are going is a real bonus.
I generally like the higher-range Canon DSLR's but that is purely because the controls mirror their old film SLR's (and historic SLR's generally) so I feel comfortable with them. The lower end DSLR's are great but the controls and settings are more like those on a compact camera, a plus for many but a hassle for me - I've used SLR's exclusively since primary school age! Generally, turbonutter, invest more in glass than the camera body - the lenses make a much bigger difference to quality and the sort of pictures you can take than anything else, especially the number of MP and nonsense like that! |
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| Turbonutter |
Cheers for the advice, I'm leaning towards a 450D or 1000D. Coming from compacts, I like the idea of Liveview |
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| "him" |
Me too, but I am going to wait until a "low end" DSLR has live view, HD Movie recording (like my wife's Sony T500), and preferably with a "tilt/swivel" screen... Too much to ask? 
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| Turbonutter |
I've been "handling" a 450D today.  It has live view and I really liked it. I need to save some cash methinks so I can get a decent zoom to go with it, something like the Canon 18-200 IS.
I'll keep my Panasonic FZ18 fro any movie recording |
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| TimR |
We're thinking of getting a DSLR as well.
Will lenses for a Canon SLR (an EOS 3000) fit the 450 or 1000D? All our SLR lenses are Canon except a Sigma macro lens. |
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| Matt |
Yes, as the EOS system has the EF lens mount, continued on the EOS DSLR range. If you get an EOS kit with a lens, it'll likely be the 18-55 or 17-85 EF-S, which are optimised for the position of an APS-C size sensor of the 450 or 1000D and therefore don't work with the film EOS (they crop the shots with serious vignetting). The APS-C sensor used in the EOS models you mentioned have a 1.6x crop factor, so a 18-55mm lens is actually 28.8-88mm on the digital SLR. | ||||||||
| TimR |
Cheers Matt.
Apart from the 'yes' at the beginning of that I didn't really understand much else - I'm a point 'n' click kinda guy
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| the old man |
Put simply, what Matt is saying is that Canon film camera lenses will fit Canon DSLR but you need to multiply their focal lenght by 1.6. The reason being is that a digital sensor is smaller than a 35mm film frame.
If the Sigma macro was for the EOS3000, then that lens will also fit the 450 or 1000D. |
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| Rodge |
SD(/micro/SDHC) seems to be overtaking most other flash cards as the industry standard and not just in photography. What is the difference between RAW and JPEG? I have a bridge camera which does a reasonable job (good enough for Miss October ) and has the facility to take RAW or JPEG photo's.
I've always uesd JPEG because I don't edit my photo's other than the occasional red eye removal and have often wondered if RAW exists more for editing than showing if you know what I mean. |
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| DarthBalls |
Basically you are right in what you say, but I've put a lengthy (boring?) explanation below: RAW files are uncompressed and unprocessed data from the camera sensor and store a lot more information that a JPEG. RAWs also require a lot more processing power by the camera. JPEGs are compressed and apply the setting of the camera to the image in a non-reversible way. Various image artefacts are associated with JPEGs too. RAW files allow for far more leeway and flexibility when post-processing in Photoshop or whatever, especially regarding improvements to the dynamic range of an image file. RAW allows more adjustments to capture both the shadow and highlight detail in a digital image. This allows the level of detail in the shadows and highlights to become closer to a film image. Digital sensors do not have the ability to match film in this aspect but using RAW and software can compensate. I used to switch between RAW and JPEG depending on what I was shooting. I use RAW nearly all the time now as it also reduces the number of shots per memory card so I plan the shot more and press the shutter less. |
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| "him" |
RAW is simply the (slighty processed) DATA from the image sensor in the camera... Think of the JPEG as a "developed" image, it has been "developed" using the white balance settings (and others such as such as lightness, hue, saturation, etc...) you have chosen. So you could have set the white balance for a fluorescent tube and took the photo on a sunny day. If you shot in JPEG mode you wouldn't be able to do as much to rectify the situation, whereas RAW allows you to set the white balance using the computer and "remedy" the situation. You can also do much more creative things with the RAW file (as Matt ably demonstrates...) RAW files are much larger though, and as yet there is no "standard" RAW file format! More info here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_image_format |
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| Rodge |
Thanks chaps.
All I need now is some good editing software and I can go pro
I'll give it a go over the next few days and see how it works out. |
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| Turbonutter |
Well, I bit the bullet and treated myself for my birthday ( well no-one was going to!  ). Got a Canon EOS 450D with the 18-55 IS lens....
.........now just learn how to get the most out of it!
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| Boxer6 |
Good man! May all your photographs be post-able!! |
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| Turbonutter |
- once I've figured out the phenomenal combination of settings!
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| "him" |
I missed that news, well done 'turbonutter'...
Just stick it on 'full auto' and have done with it!
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| Turbonutter |
I have taken a few on full-auto...........however, i bought a little book just on the EOS450D and it said in there that I was only using about 10% of the camera's capability using it like a compact so i've tried to make myself have a play with all the settings buttons as well!
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| Star69 |
I picked up a magazine in WHSmith today - 'Photography Focus Guide - Master your Canon DSLR' - it goes into a fair amount of detail about all the settings (among many other things) and how to use them, but in language easy enough for idiots like me to understand! I don't know how much experience you have with DSLRs, but it's well worth a look. |