Four years ago, with help from this forum, I choose a Canon A710 compact camera and am happy with it .
However I think I am ready for "another step forward" and my girlfriend wants to have a DSLR so I will buy her one and when I need a high quality camera (as opposed to a small and light medium quality one), then I can use it as well.
She is pretty much a newbie. She wants to photograph landscapes and people and I off course also want to photograph airshows. I am thinking of spending up to 1000 Euros, preferably less.

* Does it make sense for me to specifically buy another Canon?
I downloaded the manual of an EOS and it seems I already know a lot of menus, modes, icons etc from my A710, so it seems to me the learning curve would not be as steep. Also I am always in a hurry and if I can concentrate my search on canon, that would obviously save time. But of course I am then locked into Canon as I can not reuse the lenses on other manufacturer's bodies.
* For the money, does it make sense to buy a good body plus a lens, a body plus a good lens or a body plus two lenses?
* Re lenses, I think for the airshows and also sometimes in the landscape I want a high telephoto range. I expect I will want a large zoom a) for things moving away or moving closer b) so I don't have to change the lens all the time (comments?). Even if I only buy one lens now, I should IMHO plan ahead to what I want in the medium term. It seems to me one lens with a moderate wideangle to normal angle and one with a normal angle to medium/high telephoto would make sense for my uses?
For example "ProMarkt" in Germany sells a Canon EOS 600D kit with:
18-55 mm & 55-250 mm IS
Sounds like a useful pair to me.

From my experience with the A710 I want:
- A large sensor for low light situations.
- A fast system. Both the time "from zero to picture" and "from one picture to the next" sometimes is too slow on the A710 for me.
- A better (higher res) video mode.
- HDR. Sometimes high contrast in a scene is an issue.

BTW, the main cameras I look at are, in no particular order:
Canon EOS 550D (aka EOS Rebel T2i aka EOS Kiss X4)
Canon EOS 500D (aka EOS Rebel T1i aka EOS Kiss X3)
Canon EOS 600D (aka EOS Rebel T3i aka EOS Kiss X5)
Canon EOS 60D (no aka?)
The first 3 seem very similar to me, all use the same sensor size, processor (Digic 4), similar speed (at least in Continuous drive ), features, video resolution, HDMI, size etc.

About accessories, I expect I want:
- A tripod.
- A carrying bag, if not included.
- One memory card, if not included.

I am not sure about:
- A second battery (or an adapter for standard batteries?).

I doubt I want:
- An external flash. I use the flash fairly seldomly and most often for stuff that is fairly near.
- Remote control



Any comment appreciated.

Hi Osram,

Picking out a DSLR is never easy, partly because there will almost always be some feature a different camera has that you'll wish you had, and partly because they're all pretty good these days, so it's tough to find a clear reason to get one over another in the same category (starter, midrange, pro, etc.).

Most major companies make good DSLRs, but I'd say Canon and Nikon are the top two. Your familiarity with Canon is probably as good a reason as any to go with them, but Nikon's cameras are certainly comparable.

All of them (both Canon and Nikon) will have roughly the same sized sensor, physically, so that means that higher MP will squeeze more pixels into the same space, adding more detail but potentially more noise (color graininess) in lower light, and higher ISO (more sensitive) situations.

Lenses have a big impact on image quality, so you may want to buy a cheaper lens for general use early on, but save up for a nicer lens later. My first lens was a 28-300mm lens that was relatively cheap, and while it wasn't a bad lens, it didn't work that well for air show photography. It didn't have enough reach, was slower to focus, and wasn't very sharp when fully zoomed. My go-to air show lens now is a 100-400mm lens, and it runs for over 1000 Euros by itself. You also might want to just get a relatively inexpensive lens first, see what you think would work best for what you're doing once you get more familiar with the camera, and then buying a lens that fills the need. It can be a never-ending money draw.

There are lots of other photographers here, who I'm sure can offer some great advice, so I'm sure you'll get lots of good info.

Hey Osram,
They're all great bodies, I've used Canon for quite a while now and love them. Coming from a point and shoot, I don't really see a need for you to jump into a 60D. I think it would be a bit more camera than you both need right now. Also, a lot of people are turned off by the weight (especially the significant others). There really isn't much difference features wise for a first time DSLR user between the 60D and T3i. Both have the swivel screen, both are 18 megapixel. The 60D is a tad faster burst rate and will probably handle low light a tad better, but again for a first time DSLR user I don't know if you will take advantage of the difference.
As for lenses, I think the stock lens (18-55) and the 55-250 are a GREAT starting combo (that's the combo that I started out with). You get your wide angle and your zoom and they won't break the bank. Sure there are better and faster lenses out there, but they cost a lot more $$$. As you get more experienced with it, you'll probably want to upgrade them to faster lenses, but to start out I think these two are fine.

You'll definitely want a bag to go with the body and lens(es), along with one or two SD cards. I would go with 8GB cards, but don't do super cheap because the cheaper they are, the slower and less reliable they can be. As for extra battery, it never hurts to have one. Nothing worse than whipping the camera out to get some shots only to find out you got no juice

I hope this helps give you some ideas, you're about to embark on an exciting transition!

Thanks guys! Ideas to think about .

Arthonon, I agree on the difficulties and on what you say about Canon versus Nikon.

Re lenses, you (IMHO) basically say I should not brood/speculate too much about the lenses we want in the end, but should look for ones that are good to learn and use for now and gain experience until we see more clearly what we want.
Makes sense!

For modern dSLRs (as in this and the last generation), sensor sizes, shutter lag and video functions are pretty well grounded, so when you first play with one it'll feel like night and day. If you REALLY want good video, stick to the most modern generation - it has taken a lot longer for video to get a good grounding in dSLR territory but it is getting there, and Canon have a better implementation (i.e. have done it better) than Nikon.

In terms of brand loyalty, knowing Canon menu systems is a bonus, but if I were you I would get a camera that fits your and her hands better - ergonomics, basically. Both Nikon and Canon are, technically, roughly comparable (even with video for the Nikon D3100 and especially D5100), with roughly similar lens choices (especially if you count third party lenses), but one thing you cannot change are the ergonomics within camera systems. Try to get to a camera store and play with each camera.

With what little I know about the Canon system, I would target something like a 600D or a 550D - 60D is most likely overkill at this time and price point. Don't discount the used or refurbished market as well, as long as it is from a reputable source.

A cheap kit and two lenses (wide zoom and telezoom) is the best way to start out. An 18-55mm is the usual "kit" wide zoom, which should be fine for landscapes (though look at reviews just to make sure). When it comes to telephoto lenses though, it gets complicated. I'd go down the route that TheBigDog mentioned (or something similar), but the airshow lens you'll want to save up for in the long term is the 100-400mm L that Arthonon and many other airshow photographers have - it is one of the best lenses for airshow photography. Even if it is a little old and a large amount of cash. There are other lenses, but that's the benchmark and as a Nikon shooter, I'm a little envious Oh, and make sure that any telezoom you get is stabilised (IS).

Finally, for accessories, I would recommend two memory cards (a pair of 8gb cards, for example, or 16gb if you shoot RAW) and an extra battery. You won't run out of juice shooting landscapes, but if you shoot airshows you'll probably run the battery dry and the card full if you get swept up in the action, and it's never nice to have to delete on the fly, or be forced to "sit and watch like everybody else" because you're out of juice. That said, this is secondary to getting a good camera+lenses combo.

Anyhoo, I'm done harping on now, so... good luck!

On the one hand probably the first is correct. OTOH low light situation and what I would call "overall speed" are things that are important to me.

For example, two weeks ago, I photographed an oldtimer rally. The cars drove by my position, with quite a gap (sometimes many minutes) between them.
In a worst case situation, when a car appeared round the corner, I would have to switch on the camera that had auto-shutdown, aim and zoom the correct amount, shoot a picture, wait till the display is usable again, zoom out as the car is very near now, maybe wait for a car on my side of the road to pass, and shoot again. I don't think that with any car I was able to make more than 2 pictures. I am sure I could improve by better training and also I could for example reduce resolution to speed up the camera. But I also think a faster camera that "boots up" faster and is ready for the next picture in a smaller time than my A710 would have helped. And the A710 is rated as fast (for a point and shoot, of course) in some reviews.

I don't think that the burst rate itself is actually that important for me, but the "overall speed of taking pictures" is. Can I use the burst rate as a measure for that? Or what would be a good measure?




Good. Did you do take pictures of aircraft in flight?



Why would I want two?


Yes, it happened to me a short while ago

On the camera startup speed, I haven't used the newer Canon XXXD/Rebel series in a while, but my understanding is that they all start up and wake up fairly quickly, so I would be surprised if that was an issue.

The 60D will provide faster multi-shot capabilities, and probably better focus tracking, as well as a few other features, but I'm not sure you'll really see much benefit from those.

On the memory card subject, you'll probably want several. First, you'll probably take more photos than you think. Second, you don't want all your eggs in one basket - if a card goes bad you're shut down for the day and you'll lose all your photos. Also, all of those cameras can shoot photos in RAW mode, which can give you more editing options later. RAW files are much, much larger than .jpeg, so you'll need more storage if you decide to shoot in RAW.

For most people who really get into photography, the investment goes into their lenses, and with the pace of technology changes, the camera body is more likely to be outdated and replaced. The quality of the glass, it's ability to focus quickly, etc., are not improved upon very often compared to the body, and the lenses will almost always work on future cameras, so you can keep them if you upgrade to newer technologies.

Canon has two lens systems - EF and EF-S. EF lenses were designed for their film cameras, and work on all their DSLRs. EF-S are designed for crop sensor cameras, like the XXXDs, the XXDs, and the 7D. They don't work on the higher-end and full-frame cameras. If you buy any EF-S lenses, you'll only be able to use them on the crop sensor cameras. I think right now, Canon only makes three non-crop sensor cameras - the 5D, the 1D and the 1Ds, so unless you plan on upgrading to those, it shouldn't be a problem. Of course, it's always possible that they will release a less expensive full-frame camera, and they probably wouldn't work for that.

Once you invest in a few expensive lenses, it's not as easy to switch camera types, so it's probably a good idea to factor that into your decision-making now.

As Ken mentioned, they're both going to be "Turn on" and ready to shoot within a second. As for sample shots with the 250mm, here are a couple:

These were shot with my old Rebel XT body:






This one was with my T1i before I went to the 7D, not flight related but still using the 55-250:


And last example, this was using the 250 to shoot through the screen on my 7D:

Interesting.
Somehow most of the time I shoot stills but often, for example with the oldtimer "rally", looking at the video afterwards is more fun as somehow it reminds you more of what it was like - the surroundings, the sounds etc. Even when of course the quality is worse than that of the stills.



Yes, we plan to go to a shop on wednesday or thursday and might even buy one straight away. Afterwards we do a small trip to Berlin (both buisines and pleasure) so it would be nice to play with the camera then.



Yes. For the wide angle it is not important? I saw that the Promarkt kit has a stabilized 55-250 mm and that the 18-55 is not stabilised.

Arthonon - ok - understood.



Sounds good, my A710 is at least double that.

Nice pictures, especially the eagle, it really shows a lot of detail.
With the planes in flight, I would hope for a bit more detail, for example in the markings, is that what an expensive lens would do better?