A handful of times per month we get emails, facebook messages and texts on what camera to buy. But this time of year it is more of a daily thing! Especially on Cyber Monday 😉 So I thought I would write a post on consumer-level cameras and lenses.
We have a fantastic following of photography-loving friends on Facebook – so I hope you or someone you share this with enjoys it 🙂 Please feel free to comment with questions as we would love to help you in your camera buying process!
Camera bodies:
This is the highest end Canon Rebels:
Canon T4i – you can buy the body only as an option for $599 which is what I would recommend if you have the funds and desire for the T4i plus being able to buy what lenses you want/not being stuck with the kit lens.
The next step down is the:
There is only a $50 difference between the two {when buying camera bodies only} – the T4i has the DIGIC 5 processor so it is faster and has a higher ISO range {worth the $50 in my opinion}
You can currently also buy a T5i or for $50 more than that the 60D. {and of course then the next level up/”prosumer” type cameras} If you have more questions on those please let me know – for this post will be geared more towards the entry level Rebels 🙂
Lenses:
The Canon 50mm 1.8 is the BEST lens under $400 – and it’s only $100 {ish} It is great for using in home when you want to photograph family events {or portraits in or outdoors} without using your flash. It goes all the way down to 1.8 {awesome!} and is just a great great lens 🙂 BUT it is cheap because it is a plastic body/frame. So just don’t drop it…..
The Tamron 17-50mm doesn’t have IS but is a lens we had starting out and is of really good quality PLUS the huge factor is that it is 2.8 {much better for low light setting} and it can hold that aperture all the way through 50mm
This is the Canon version of the Tamron lens:
It is more expensive because A- it is “name brand” B- it has Image Stabilization
LAST thought – if you really want one lens for around the house, and one lens for nature {and don’t mind swapping if need be/mixing it up} then I {personally} would choose the 50mm 1.8 {I have a mild obsession with my 50mm length, which is actually close 80mm on a crop sensor – as I mentioned, every camera below a Canon 7D has a cropped sensor – so a 50mm on the cameras we use {5D Mkiii} vs a 50mm on a Rebel is different – it’s “zoomed-in” more. {this winter we will be for a “for photographers” and “for consumer photographers” series – we can tell you more about that later} then I would buy this lens to complement owning the 50mm:
because 11mm on your camera is 17.6mm on your camera. Dan takes most of his landscape pictures with his 16-35mm – so the Tokina 11-16 would be like Dan using a 17-25 essentially.
That is a lot to take in – but again – ask questions!! We’re here to help 🙂
Tis the season – What camera should I get? was last modified: December 2nd, 2013 by
On the Nikon side of the house, a D5300 is an great bang per buck and a D7100 is really an affordable near-pro-level camera. Lenses are basically the same as DnK recommend, except they say ‘nikon’ on the side. 😉