Camera Buying Guide - Canon

This section is dedicated to helping you choose a Canon camera outfit and it is divided into four sections: Amateur, Enthusiast, Semi Pro and Professional. Canon seem to have more models than you can shake a stick at so the variations are numerous but here goes. See the Nikon Camera Buying Guide

Standard Lenses
Each session will list a suggested camera for that level and offer advice on suitable lenses and flashguns. Most amateur models tend to come with a 18-55mm zoom as standard but as you get higher up the price scale it is more common to buy a body only and a separate lens.

Flash photography with the built in flash
The flash built into amateur cameras is of very low power so I have also suggested suitable flashguns which can be purchased when funds allow. These units all have swivel heads which will allow you to bounce the light off a ceiling or wall for a softer light. This subject is covered in great depth on the Portrait Photography Course

Which Amateur Canon DSLR Camera should I buy?

Buying an amateur digital SLR is still an expensive commitment and it can be daunting as to which one to choose. The main players are Canon and Nikon with Pentax, Sony and Olympus all offering credible, good value alternatives. If extra lenses are important then Canon and Nikon offer a greater choice of branded and compatible options.

Canon 500D - About £470 with the 18-55mm lens

I have chosen the popular Canon 500D because it's large 15.1 mega pixel sensor size which allows for larger prints or the option to crop a smaller section of the image. It also goes up to 128,000 ISO for shooting in low light conditions. If you can afford the extra £100 go for the 18mp 550D or if funds are tight look at the 1000D at about £349.

Lenses
The 500D camera comes with the 18-55mm f3.5-4.5 zoom as standard at about £470. This is a good starter lens but the user soon tends to feel the need to buy a telephoto to get closer to objects. Canon also do the EOS-550D with an 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 for about £800 which would be better if you plan to take portraits

Kit is the Nikon 55-200mm and this is often bundled as a Twin Lens Kit for about £700. The camera is also available with a more flexible 18-105mm starter zoom lens for about £600

If you can afford it I'm a great fan of the wide range super zoom the Canon 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 This should keep most amateurs happy for the majority of photography assignments and will save you having to swap lenses or buy another zoom in the future. Sigma and Tamron also offer less expensive versions of this superzoom.

The Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/sigma_18-200_3p5-6p3_os_n15/

The Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO review
www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/tamron_18-270_3p5-6p3_vc_n15/

Which Enthusiast Canon DSLR Camera should I buy?

CANON EOS-50D EF-S 18-200 IS KIT is a good enthusiast starter kit for about £1000. This super zoom outfit cover most photographic situations and will save you the bother of changing lenses constantly. It will save you money on a camera rucksack. The Canon 50D has a 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor and shoots at over 6 frames per second which is pretty impressive at this price.

OR

The CANON EOS-7D EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6IS ( £1500) was voted the Amateur Photographer magazine "Enthusiasts Camera of the Year 2010". It is the first The Canon EOS 7D is equipped with an Integrated Speedlite Transmitter rather like that found on the Nikon D300 & D700. This means the camera can control several external Speedlites with no additional accessories. This is perfect for those looking to experiment with creative lighting for portraits or product photography etc.

Which Semi Pro Canon DSLR Camera should I buy?

The CANON EOS-7D EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6IS was voted the Amateur Photographer magazines "enthusiasts camera of the year"

If you are planning to take pictures semi professionally then you will probably require wider aperture lens so you can take pictures in low light indoors without using flash. You could look at the Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 AFS DX G IFED at about £1000 or less expensive alternatives are the TAMRON 17-50 f2.8 VC Nikon (about £400) or the SIGMA 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC OS HSM NAF at about £650.

If you need a wide aperture telephoto then your choices are the:

Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM at about £2,000
Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX DG OS HSM £1300
Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 HSM II MAC DG £670
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 DI SP Canon fit £620

Which Pro Nikon DSLR Camera should I buy?

You have several options here depending on your budget and any previous lenses you may have. If you already have a Canon DX format camera and lenses then these DX lenses may not be suitable for a full frame Canon 5D camera. If you are committed to the smaller DX format then yo may be better off with the Canon 7D above.

CANON EOS-5D Mark II is a 24MP Full Frame DSLR. If you are starting afresh or you need the extra quality, especially in low light, offered by the full frame format then look at the Canon 5D with the 24-105 IS lens. This combination will cover you for everything from landscape to portraits and it's image stabilized which should allow you to hand hold the camera without shake down to quite slow shutter speeds. It also has HD video capture if that sort of thing impresses you.

Or

CANON EOS-1D Mark IV - Mark 4. At £3.5K this Canon is a true professional, weather-proof monsters which is built like a tank.If you need the best quality with the fastest motor drive then this is the Canon for you. It has a 16MP sensor and can machine gun along at 10 frames per second. If you are into sports photography and you want to look like a snapper at Wimbledon then pop a 300mm F2.8 on and this is the kit for you.

Or

You need a degree to work out all the CANON EOS-1D variants but If you need and 21 Megapixels of full frame SLR that costs £5400 the the CANON EOS-1DS Mk III (Mark 3) should fit the bill. Remember this is a full frame camera and if your spending this much on a camera then you need to be looking at the Canon EF 24-70 F2.8 L USM or the Canon EF 24-105mm F4.0 L IS USM - both about £1000. For the longer longer shots you'll need the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM at about £2,000

If you need a wide aperture telephoto then your choices are the

Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX DG OS HSM £1300
Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 HSM II MAC DG £670
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 DI SP Canon fit £620

Which is the best flash gun to buy?

I'm only going to comment on the dedicated Canon flashguns as I have never used the other brands.

CANON Speedlite 580EX II about £375.00
This professional level speedlite is powerful and versatile with a bounce head and the ability to be a master or slave flash in a multiple lighting set-up. It's the ideal companion to any of the enthusiast through to pro cameras.

The Canon Speedlite 430EX II £199.99 is the baby brother to the 580 EX and as such is slightly less powerful. It can be used as a slave unit when used in conjunction with a 580 EXll or a transmitter. This flash would be a good choice for one of the amateur systems.

Can I use these flashguns remotely?

The speedlite can be used with a remote wireless transmitter which will fire several flash guns. This is useful for multiple flash lighting set-ups for portraits and product protography.

Please Contact Us If You Have Any Questions

email - glen@digitalcameracourses.co.uk or call 0116 279 6906

Course Location & Timings

 

Dates: February to November 2010

Timings: 09.45am - 5.00pm

Address: 25 Westerby Lane, Smeeton Westerby, Leics, LE8 0RA

Telephone. 0116 2796906

Price: £135

Lunch: Included

 

Nature = Nature & Bird Photography Course at Rutland Water. Oakham

 

Photography Course Timings

 

9.30 -10am Arrival, coffee & biscuits 10.00am camera settings & theory

12.30 -1.00pm light lunch (included)

1pm-3pm Practical photography

3pm-4pm Review photographs

4pm-5pm Photo-editing Demonstration

5pm Questions & course feedback

 

DSLR Course Requirements

 

Digital SLR Camera

Extra lenses - optional

External flashgun - optional

Fully charged battery and / or a spare

Empty memory card

Any other kit you need explaining

change of shoes if wet.

 

Please ensure you have a fully charged battery as we will be using your camera a lot and batteries do to tend to run out.For batteries and cards at huge discounts visit

www.mymemory.co.uk

 

Is it worth buying Sigma or Tamron Lenses

It's always nice to have the dedicated Nikon lenses on your camera and in the ideal world it would be good to stick with the branded lenses. In reality though you can often get a similar Sigma or Tamrom lens for about 2/3rds of the price.

I personally don't have a problem with buying non Nikon lenses as I've owned and used Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX and a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 EX for the past two years without any problems.

What about other Flashguns

I must admit though I do have some non Nikon lenses all my flash guns are Nikon branded. I haven't tried other makes so I can't comment but I suppose It's because the price difference isn't so large as it is with lenses. I use my flashes a lot with the Nikon Creative lighting system which I think works really well. I don't think I would feel confident using other brands.

If anyone has tried them in a multiple flash setting I would like to hear your comments.