Conon EOS 500D

[paddyc]

Canon Eos 500D / Digital SLR,
any one using one?? thoughts??

[Davy Murdoch]

I had the 400d for a few years and couldn`t fault it.. i`d imagine the 500d is even better.
Canon are hard to beat when it comes to DSLR`s.... i like them so much i bought another one

[Tony Fella]

I bought one last year and never liked it the feel of it and the layout of the software also it eats battery time. then i bought a Nikon and loved it wouldn't go back to canon.
Paddy if your new to Dslrs id recommend a Nikon D3000 easy to use and great photos tho it doesn't have live view or video like the 500D your looking at. iv got a D3000 and a D5000 you can have a loan of anyone if your looking at a Nikon

I buy all my gear of Jessops up the north they deliver on time and great deals http://www.jessops.com/online.store/pro ... /show.html

[MAC]

I like the Nikons a lot myself. Never got to grips with the Cannon Menu layout and button placement, so I've stuck with the Nikons.

Having said that I've no real experience of long term use with them. If they eat battery (that would be the live view) then I would stay away.

You might want to consider the second hand market to dip your toe into the SLR world. There should be a raft of D80's or even better a D90. You get liveview and HD video (720p) with the D90. These should be available at a decent price and many users would have traded up to a D300 or D3. You can use the money saved to get yourself a nice lens or two and if you find you really like the flexibility the DSLR brings, you can upgrade the body and keep all the nice glass.

For Wide Angle I would highly reccomment the Tamron 12-24mm. Cracking lens at half the price of the Nikon 12-24mm
General picture Taking I would push the Nikon 18-135mm. The Nikon 18-200 VR is a cracking all purpose lens, but retails at about €650 ish. You should be able to get the other 2 for about the same price, maybe even less.

Sorry about the lack of Cannon advice....

Let us know what you get.

Kev

Kev

[MAC]

Just a note.. if you do go for a D90 for the video option, you have to manually focus the video.... This should be ok for the Oche and such, but might give you problems in some situations.

Kev

[Jonny]

I've spent a good bit of time over the last few weeks going through the different options from different manufacturers and my shortlist has to be the D5000 or the D90. Only thing I need now is some cash.

I have spent the last couple of years using a wee fuji S9600 bridge camera. Due to the fact it's on its way out I have to think of a DSLR but give it it's dues it wasn't a bad wee camera for under £200. And another thing, the 500d's build quality didn't feel as good as my wee fuji.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27431193@N06/ A few pics taken on the wee Fuji (even that one of you in there Paddy )

[kstaff]

I can supply Nikon at cost ex VAT, if I can save anyone a few quid in future just let me know.

[Jonny]

Nice to know Keith.

[Al]

I can supply Nikon at cost ex VAT, if I can save anyone a few quid in future just let me know.

Interesting

[paddyc]

Cheers for the info guys, i actually bought the 500D already but am only starting to get used to it, but will take a while to sus everything on it out, most of the shots i got so far have been very impressive (to me anyway) and the HD vid is superb even whn played back in super slo-mo...

Mac- the 500D has Live view too and full HD 1080p at 25 frames per second and also 720p at 30 frames per second, both are very impressive but the 720p is better for slo-mo playback with the higher frame rate.

Tony- yeah your banmg on the battery life really sucks!! ill be getting a battery grip soon and at least them it will have 2 batts and the option to use AAA batterys if caught out, but also need to upgrade the lense and get some UV filters too..

Jonny- think ill have a while to go before i get to your standard (nailing the wang in one shot!)one of my fav shots is the artistic one you got of me in Belgium, its up on the wall of fame in Carbon HQ already, cheers for that one

Hope to get a few good uns in UK this weekend, as Lee (scannerman- a professional photographer) will be on hand for me to bend his ear.

[Jonny]

Good luck at the weekend with both the casting and camera.

[MAC]

Very nice pic Jonny....serious DOF there.... Nice one.

Sounds like the 500D is the business Paddy. best of luck with her.

Kev

[petekd]

Nice pic there.....

Slightly off topic but anyhow, FWIW, anyone looking to spend a small few quid on a camera to take much higher quality pics than a run of the mill compact etc can, can invest under €200 on ebay or the likes and pick themselves up a DSLR. I bought a Nikon D50, with 2 af lenses, a wide angle conversion thingy, a couple of batteries, memory card, tripod and proper padded Nikon bag for around that money a while ago. Its what all the pics I use in the IA articles are taken with. I'm the first to admit as far as photography goes itself, I haven't a breeze what I'm at but I never fail to be blown away sometimes by the quality of some of the pics taken of the kids, fishing trips etc. At that money, it doesn't break the bank, its not a massive ordeal if something should happen to it. Its a piece of p... to use with a load of features for playing with at some stage. Batteries, lens filters and second hand lenses etc for the Nikon range are dirt cheap online and there seems to be sod all maintenance other than an odd blast with the blower and a soft toothbrush to get the pesky sand off the outside. Highly recommend this as something to look at for anyone wanting to step up a small bit without investing massive cash. Mine gets dragged everywhere, boats, beaches etc and thrown around the place with no issues. Theres a raft of them on Ebay usually, just do a search under Nikon D50 and have a nosey. Loads of info available online as to specs and reviews etc too. Yes, they are a tad bulky but well worth it in my opinion.

[Davy Murdoch]

sounds like you got a real bargin with that d50 pete
there`s only one problem with buying an old DSLR is that the shutter has a shelf life before it needs to be replaced
entry level DSLR`s like the nikon d50 or canon`s 400d are rated for around 50,000 shots before it packs in...
semi pro size dslr`s such as nikon`s d300 or the canon 40d are good for 100,000 shots..
pro size dslr`s are good for 150,000-200,000 shots...

i`ve no idea how much it costs to replace the shutter but if its a good camera it might be worth doing rather than fork out for a brand new replacement.....



Paddy im sure you`ll not be disapointed with the 500d. Im sure it`ll take a very good photo not sure about the hd video i`ve never tried one that has it.not even sure if it belongs on a DSLR
you`ll always here "canon is better than nikon" or "nikon is better than canon" but all that matters is that you like it and find it easy to use.The fact is that canon and nikon are the leaders in DSLR`s and both make top quality products

[Jonny]

Well Paddy how did you get in with the camera at Steyning ?

[glas y dorlan]

Bought a Nikon D5000 from Jessops a few months ago with a Tamron 300mm second lens in the deal .Got £50 cashback.Well pleased with the camera.