Some good advice needed

[Mean_Monster]

I have been reading the photography forum for a while now since I decide that I need to move on from my normal little Olympus 2 Megapixel Digital Camera to something with removable lenses.

I have recently used my father's Sony Alpha 230 which takes decent quality pictures, I used it at a music festival in Nov and could take decent (not like you guys on here) photos of the artist at night so the bug has now really bitten me and I now want to buy myself a DSLR Camera.

I have noticed there is the Nikon Crowd and the Canon Crowd on here so that is already one choice one has to make. I would preffer Canon however, as it seems a bit less expensive than the Nikon make.

Then there are the choice of body's which for my budget is limited to the EOS 1000, 500, 550. I have been looking around for some prices on these and they can vary a fair bit on this units and also the bundle seem to differ a fair bit.

I have sort of disregarded the EOS 1000 model as I could not find it as a twin lens kit and honeslty just the one 18-55mm lens doesn't give on much more options than a normal no DSLR camera.

So I am looking for something in the twin lens kit bundle packages (Yes, I know you can buy a lens seperate but the kits seem to be good value for money.

So I am currently sitting between the 500D and the 550D. The price on bundles I have seen for these units differ with R2000 and it seems the only difference I can see in them is the 15 Megapixel and the other is a 18 Megapixel. So for me it boils down to 3 Megapixels extra for R2000. or am I missing something between the models

Canon 500D Digital SLR Twin Lens Kit - R7999
* Bundle includes: Canon 500D, 18 - 55mm IS lens, 55 - 250mm IS lens
* Sandisk 8GB ultra card and SLR bag
* Camera specifications: 15 Megapixel CMOS sensor
* 3" LCD with live view
* Full HD (1080p) video recording

Canon 550D Twin Lens Bundle - R9999
* Bundle includes: Canon 550D, 18 - 55mm IS lens, 55 - 250mm IS lens,
* Sandisk 8GB ultra card
* Kata backpack
* Camera specifications:
* 18 Megapixel CMOS sensor
* 3" LCD
* Full HD movie recording

Canon EOS 550D Ultimate Bundle - R11999
* Canon EOS 550D Body
* 18-55mm IS lens
* 55-250mm IS Zoom Lens
* 50mm f/1.8 Lens
* 270EX Speedlite Flash
* Sandisk 16GB 15MB/s SDHC card
* Kata Backpack
* Extra battery
* Lens hood
* Lenspen

Canon EOS 1000 Bundle - R4395
# Canon EOS 1000D Body
# Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS Lens
# Lowepro Altus 160 Bag
# Sandisk 4GB SD Card

Now keep in mind I am just keen to take some pictures and not go totally crazy, but I don't want to be to limited with the equipment. Would the EOS 1000 be the better place to start and just buy an additional lens that I require or should I really be looking at the 500 and 550 ranges to future proof the purchase some more.

Also does the cost of that Ultimate bundle really justify all the stuff you get with it.

Please give me some advice as to what is really required to take it from "mik en druk" to something you can play with a bit more. Just an idea of what I would be doing with this kit would be taking photos of nature, surrounds but also some action shots.

 

[Pulseimg]

If youre starting off I dont know if spending 12k on equipment is the best idea. I would suggest get the 1000 and if you find that you are getting into it and want to go further then you can upgrade.
As for the 550D, that price doesnt sound too bad considering youre getting a 1.8 lens and a speedlight. but again, i wouldnt suggest you spend that kind of money right now

 

[bwana]

My 2¢ - buy the 550D body only (or with the kit lens if you have to) and a 50mm f/1.8 (or f/1.4 if you can swing it). If you want to shoot artists in low light you'll need the wide aperture.

Next step a flash, though probably not the 270EX.

 

[BigAl-sa]

My 2¢ - buy the 550D body only (or with the kit lens if you have to) and a 50mm f/1.8 (or f/1.4 if you can swing it). If you want to shoot artists in low light you'll need the wide aperture.

The 50 will be way too short if the artists are on stage. To me, the 50 is an "in your face" lens.

Next step a flash, though probably not the 270EX.

Agree!

The 550 twin lens kit looks quite good, but if you're starting out, also have a look at Nikon's entry level packages.

 

[bwana]

The 50 will be way too short if the artists are on stage. To me, the 50 is an "in your face" lens.

Not if you're on there too (assuming all you want are closeups). I've also used it off stage from the pit for wider shots.

Thing about the 50mm is it's cheap and a great way of learning about DOF. It's also a great portrait lens.

The twin kit lenses fine for day to day but they are going to be a bit on the slow side for concerts, sometimes you can use a flash but more often than not its been frowned upon when I've asked.

 

[Mean_Monster]

Just some of the pics I took from the Music Festival..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56228949@N08/

I will however not only use this camera for that. It was mainly my interest in taking some photos that had me take the dads camera along for the ride. Just wanted to see if I could get some shot in at night, sitting in the crowd.

 

[Juggy]

Nice pics dude, what did you land up buying?

 

[atomcrusher]

So I am currently sitting between the 500D and the 550D. The price on bundles I have seen for these units differ with R2000 and it seems the only difference I can see in them is the 15 Megapixel and the other is a 18 Megapixel. So for me it boils down to 3 Megapixels extra for R2000. or am I missing something between the models

You are right re: the relatively small difference between the 500 & 550 .... and is it really worth the R2K difference? I faced the same dilemma quite recently when I was looking around, and only chose the 550D because it is a newer model with 18MP. But compare the two models on www.dprview.com and they found several other improvements in the 550D over the 500D, other than MP.

 

[Mean_Monster]

Juggy nothing yet as I am still in 2 minds regarding just going with the 1000D or going the 550D or 500D route.

Those pics was taking with a Sony Alpha 230 which I think is in the league of the EOS 1000D so I don't know....

Like I said before I am not interested in becoming a professional photographer... just have a interest in taking pictures... and would like to take it up as a hobby.

 

[Moklet Kcuf]

Its worth also considering second hand. It doesn't really matter what DLSR you have. Good photos dont really come down to what DLSR you have used. Reliably good photos primarily come from the skill of your eye, a correct exposure and using nice lenses also helps.
I would rather focus on getting 1 or 2 good lenses (such as the 50mm 1.8) and pick up an old second hand body.
Its worth also reading up about photography so you can start to get an understanding of how things work and how to use a camera manually. This way you will be ensuring your new interest is more rewarding and you'll end up taking better pictures.
As a start, a book I and many people recommend is Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. I really wished that I had read this when I was a beginner...

 

[Juggy]

I would invest in a few Scott Kelby books if I were you.

 

[Moklet Kcuf]

I would invest in a few Scott Kelby books if I were you.

He's more of a photoshop guru isn't he?