Canon 600d triple lens value kit

Ecco

Ecco

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Hi All,

Please can you you share your thoughts on the Canon 600d triple lens value kit as offered by Makro below:
http://www.makro.co.za/p/36368/canon-600d-triple-lens-value-kit/

I plan to buy the camera as a gift. I have very little experience with SLR camera's. It will be for a beginner who is keen on getting into photography.

Some questions that may help in giving feedback:
Is this a value for money deal?
Are the lenses all Canon original lenses?
Are the lenses any good - what kind of zoom/quality do they offer?
Would i be better off buying this when in the USA from BestBuy or Amazon?

Thanks
 
The lenses all perform well for what they are and their price, they're just very plasticy. They'll be great to learn with, if nothing else.

The 55-250mm offers a performance level that's difficult to beat for the price considering it also has IS. It's also very compact and very lightweight, which can be quite important for telephoto focal lengths when shooting handheld.

If you're headed to the US anyway, getting it there could, but is not guaranteed to cost you less. Make sure to get the appropriate documentation for tax clearance at the airport to smooth the customs clearance process and to factor in 14% on the total value of the stuff you're bringing in. Your warranties will not be honoured locally if you did not properly clear your items with customs.

* Yes, decent value proposition
* Yes, all original Canon lenses
* The 'zoom' range totals from 18-250mm, so ~13.9x optical zoom - though I absolutely loathe referring to interchangeable lens camera's focal lengths using 'optical zoom'.
* Yes, buying in the USA if you're going soon could be a better option. See above.
 
The closest B&H has is the 600D, 18-55mm lens and 75-300mm lens for R7k. Add on R1150 for the 50mm and you're paying more there and still need to buy the SD card, bag and pay for shipping plus VAT (no duties) so it's not a bad deal. I don't have any experience with the 75-300 but the 18-55 and 50mm are rudimentary but sharp. I can't tell from the Makro ad if the 18-55 is the image stabilised version though.

For a beginner it's a good starter kit.

I started with a lot less and paid a lot more. :o
 
Last edited:
Oh wait, that kit has the 75-300mm... that lens is terrible. It'll teach you about working with the focal length range, but the image quality is horrific. I would very much recommend getting a kit that has a 55-250mm IS in its place.
Also, I forget the current exchange has the dollar at more than R9/$1 - my head's constantly stuck in R7.25 territory :(
 
Rather get the body and one good quality lens for the same price
 
nanonyous said:
Oh wait, that kit has the 75-300mm... that lens is terrible. It'll teach you about working with the focal length range, but the image quality is horrific. I would very much recommend getting a kit that has a 55-250mm IS in its place.
Also, I forget the current exchange has the dollar at more than R9/$1 - my head's constantly stuck in R7.25 territory :(
Click to expand...

I'm stuck in R7.68/$

Its gone up lots :O
 
nanonyous said:
Oh wait, that kit has the 75-300mm... that lens is terrible. It'll teach you about working with the focal length range, but the image quality is horrific. I would very much recommend getting a kit that has a 55-250mm IS in its place.
Also, I forget the current exchange has the dollar at more than R9/$1 - my head's constantly stuck in R7.25 territory :(
Click to expand...

koeksGHT said:
I'm stuck in R7.68/$

Its gone up lots :O
Click to expand...

So given the exchange rates, I am reading that the Makro deal is not bad at all.

I havent seen to many other kits on special, even on BestBuy or Amazon, they all normally just come with the 18-55mm lens.
 
This bundle should be fine.
It should be more about what you can do and not about what you equipment can do.

But alas photography is a sickness, we tend to get Compulsive Upgrade Disorder.
If you have a 40/60mm macro you want a 90/105mm, if you have a 90/105mm you dream about the 200mm($1600 btw)
If you have a 50mm F2.5/F1.8, you want a 50mm F1.4 or 1.2(also $1500)

But the body with an 18-200mm(R5500) would be super. Sigh
 
kolaval said:
This bundle should be fine.
It should be more about what you can do and not about what you equipment can do.

But alas photography is a sickness, we tend to get Compulsive Upgrade Disorder.
If you have a 40/60mm macro you want a 90/105mm, if you have a 90/105mm you dream about the 200mm($1600 btw)
If you have a 50mm F2.5/F1.8, you want a 50mm F1.4 or 1.2(also $1500)

But the body with an 18-200mm(R5500) would be super. Sigh
Click to expand...

Yeah as with most hobbies the urge to upgrade etc is high. Thankfully that wont be my problem, and this is intended as a gift.

Anybody with more info as to why the warranties etc wont be supported if i bought the camera from the US?
 
Ecco said:
Yeah as with most hobbies the urge to upgrade etc is high. Thankfully that wont be my problem, and this is intended as a gift.

Anybody with more info as to why the warranties etc wont be supported if i bought the camera from the US?
Click to expand...

As far as I know, Canon does not (by default) have an international warranty. Nikon only has an international warranty on lenses, not the camera body itself.

The local agent adds a hefty mark-up to the price of the equipment. This goes towards paying for their local infrastructure, technicians, etc. If you buy the body in the states, then the US agents will get their share, but the SA agent will not, so the local agent's time in dealing with a warranty repair is not paid for.

You can always send the camera back to the US to have the warranty honoured, but that is rarely worth it because of the shipping costs. In short, I usually end up buying locally, even if they rip us off.
 
My uncle has had to take his T2i (550D) to CameraTek before, within his 1year warranty, to have the mirror box looked at. They honoured a warranty claim and replaced it for him free of charge.

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/model...ileURL=/MiscPage/Warranty_EOSCam_MiscPage.htm

As far as I can tell, assuming an item is provisioned with an international warranty, any official, registered Canon agents are obligated to honour the warranty claim.
I believe CameraTek are?

kolaval, the suggestion of getting a kit with the 55-250mm vs the 75-300mm is fortunately based on the lenses having a similar cost anyway.
75-300mm f/4-5.6 III
55-250mm f/4-5-6 IS

The 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM and the 55-250 which cost pretty much the same.

If anything, it's more of a sidetrade.
 
The 55-250mm in that kit is also image stabilized. Image stabilization primarily becomes of use for longer focal lengths given that they help to eliminate blur caused by camera shake (read: If you're Michael J. Fox, you want IS).
The 50mm f/1.8 is the only one of the three that doesn't have IS.

Not having IS doesn't impact one's ability to learn about perspective from focal length choices and creative control from aperture and shutter speed combinations; it's just a 'nice thing to have' and potentially damaging to the user's learning when it comes to understanding subject motion blur caused by longer shutter speeds (that IS facilitates while it ignores that the subject might come out blurred at 1/50th or slower a shutter speed).
 
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