Bought my first DSLR (1100d) - Couple questions

[russy01]

Afternoon,

Wanted an SLR for a long time, but with many other things to pay for its been put off. Anyway I have been reading and keeping my eye out, so when the right deal comes up I can jump on it. Anyway I managed to pick up an A1 condition Canon 1100d with the Canon 18-135mm lens and a load of accessories for £190 - I couldnt resist.

Anyway, part of me wants to upgrade the camera before I have even used it (I do like having the best gadgets, and very rarely purchase a "beginner" product). I was considering selling the 1100d body on and getting something a bit higher spec for the lens (which sounds as though its a decent bit of kit).

I can probs sell the body for about £150 and would happily bung £200-300 with it to get a half decent spec body.

Now am I being silly? Considering I am an a complete photography novice, should I:

- Stick with the 1100d for a while and get to grips, before I add in even more settings/features.
- Sell the 1100d whilst its still worth something and get the newer 1200d (Will cost me about £150 to do this)
- Sell the 1100d whilst its still worth something and spunk an extra £300 on something even better?

The camera is going to be used for recreation, planning to go to NZ soon so wanted a decent camera to take some snaps.

Thanks in advance.

[DavidY]

The 1100d is a surprisingly decent camera, the 1200d doesn't really offer a great deal more. I bought an 1100d for my partners daughter to do her A level photography and its produced some excellent images.

If you are desperate to spend money I would spend as follows:-

Sigma 10-20mm or new Canon 10-18mm lens for wide angle landscapes
Canon 50mm f1.8 MkII, great for portraits and works very well in low light

But you don't have to buy either, great gear doesn't make a great photographer, and a great photographer doesn't need great gear!!!

And if you don't go mad using the LCD screen all the time you will get 650 shots from a single charge, but a second battery might be a consideration, along with some additional memory cards (do not put all your once in a lifetime holiday pictures on a single card!!!)

Edited by DavidY on Tuesday 26th August 16:38

[russy01]

DavidY said:

The 1100d is a surprisingly decent camera, the 1200d doesn't really offer a great deal more. I bought an 1100d for my partners daughter to do her A level photography and its produced some excellent images.

If you are desperate to spend money I would spend as follows:-

Sigma 10-20mm or new Canon 10-18mm lens for wide angle landscapes
Canon 50mm f1.8 MkII, great for portraits and works very well in low light

But you don't have to buy either, great gear doesn't make a great photographer, and a great photographer doesn't need great gear!!!

And if you don't go mad using the LCD screen all the time you will get 650 shots from a single charge, but a second battery might be a consideration, along with some additional memory cards (do not put all your once in a lifetime holiday pictures on a single card!!!)

Edited by DavidY on Tuesday 26th August 16:38

Thanks for your advice. As for the Cards, I have already purchased a Wifi Card and a Sandisk Extreme Card. I have also purchased a spare battery, case, polarising filters, flower hood etc (I went a bit crazy on eBay last night).

So ultimately I have all the gear, just no idea.

I think Ill probably try the 1100d for a while and see how I get on, Its far more capable than I am.

[Mr Will]

The 1200D is a fractional improvement from the 1100D, not worth the step up IMHO.

Next level up would be the XXXD series (600D/650D/700D). Consumer level. One of these would be worth it if you can do it cheaply but you still won't see a massive difference.

Above that are the XXD series (50D/60D/70D). Semi-Pro. These would be a noticeable step up, particularly in usability. Better viewfinders, more physical controls, etc. Well worth the jump but won't be cheap to do.

Finally the is the XD series (7D/6D/5D/1D). These are the pro- cameras. Great cameras but all except the 7D will not work with your lens. Don't go there just now.

Personally, I'd stick with your 1100D for the moment and spend the money on lenses. That's where you'll see the biggest differences and they can be carried over if/when you upgrade your body further down the line.

[michael243]

DavidY said:

And if you don't go mad using the LCD screen all the time you will get 650 shots from a single charge, but a second battery might be a consideration, along with some additional memory cards (do not put all your once in a lifetime holiday pictures on a single card!!!)

Edited by DavidY on Tuesday 26th August 16:38

I get 1200 photos from a single charge!

[russy01]

Mr Will said:

The 1200D is a fractional improvement from the 1100D, not worth the step up IMHO.

Next level up would be the XXXD series (600D/650D/700D). Consumer level. One of these would be worth it if you can do it cheaply but you still won't see a massive difference.

Above that are the XXD series (50D/60D/70D). Semi-Pro. These would be a noticeable step up, particularly in usability. Better viewfinders, more physical controls, etc. Well worth the jump but won't be cheap to do.

Finally the is the XD series (7D/6D/5D/1D). These are the pro- cameras. Great cameras but all except the 7D will not work with your lens. Don't go there just now.

Personally, I'd stick with your 1100D for the moment and spend the money on lenses. That's where you'll see the biggest differences and they can be carried over if/when you upgrade your body further down the line.

Thanks, I kinda gathered the above - but that confirms it. Again I agree and will probs hang on to the 1100D for a while and see how I get on

As for lenses, as I have said it comes with the Canon 18-135. I assume this is going to be ideal for general use? I see most come as standard with a 18-55, mine will be similar but will just have the benefit of being able to zoom more?

[DavidY]

russy01 said:

Thanks for your advice. As for the Cards, I have already purchased a Wifi Card and a Sandisk Extreme Card. I have also purchased a spare battery, case, polarising filters, flower hood etc (I went a bit crazy on eBay last night).

So ultimately I have all the gear, just no idea.

I think Ill probably try the 1100d for a while and see how I get on, Its far more capable than I am.

STOP..PUT EBAY AWAY!!!!!

The more toys you have the more time you'll spend just playing and not learning how to take decent photos. Don't worry about the technical stuff, just get out there and take loads of pictures, spend more time on learning to frame what you want to capture than twiddling knobs and buttons!!!

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Sorry to hijack this thread...But I've just bought my son's birthday present.
There's a good deal on at the mo for an 1200D which includes a 70-300 lens and a bag...

Here's the detail of the order:

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens
£173.51

Canon EOS 1200D Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III Lens
£309.99

Canon 100EG Custom Gadget Bag
£29.22

Item Subtotal: £427.27
Delivery & Handling: £0.00
Promotion Applied: -£118.94

Total Before VAT: £308.33
VAT: £61.66

Order Total: £369.99

I thought that was pretty good.
A couple of lenses and a bag to get him into photography. I know the 70-300 lens doesn't have IS, but Amazon reviews are still very good.

I'd be interested in any opinions. He's 16 and this is his first DSLR camera.
(I still have time to cancel if you guys recommend something better).

[Simpo Two]

russy01 said:

The camera is going to be used for recreation, planning to go to NZ soon so wanted a decent camera to take some snaps.

When I went to NZ I had a Nikon D70, 2004 vintage. It worked perfectly well, so yes, your Canon will take decent snaps and no, you don't need a newer one until you have learned about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, composition, depth of field, levels, curves, white balance, RAW, histograms, Photoshop, pixel dimensions, compression, sharpening...

[russy01]

Sounds like a good deal. Was it a bundle or did you have a promo code - as you had a hefty discount.

Cheers Simpo, I plan to learn all these bits and pieces. Although I am a bit resilient to PS! I want to try and learn to use the camera before I start playing about on the PC.
I think I'll just get out there and go snappy happy, any good sites/mags/books to help read up on the odd bit?

[Mr Will]

russy01 said:

As for lenses, as I have said it comes with the Canon 18-135. I assume this is going to be ideal for general use? I see most come as standard with a 18-55, mine will be similar but will just have the benefit of being able to zoom more?

Yep, yours will zoom in more but other than that there is not a great difference. It will be a very good general purpose lens without excelling at any one thing.

As for possible additions, my choice would be a prime (i.e. doesn't zoom) lens for low light shots and blurred backgrounds but that's biased by what I shoot. You may prefer a telephoto (e.g. 55-250) for sports or wildlife, a macro for close-ups or a wide-angle (e.g. 10-22mm) for landscapes and architecture. Work out what you want to do that your current kit won't let you do first though. There is no point going on a gear buying spree before you know what you need.

[russy01]

Mr Will said:

russy01 said:

As for lenses, as I have said it comes with the Canon 18-135. I assume this is going to be ideal for general use? I see most come as standard with a 18-55, mine will be similar but will just have the benefit of being able to zoom more?

Yep, yours will zoom in more but other than that there is not a great difference. It will be a very good general purpose lens without excelling at any one thing.

As for possible additions, my choice would be a prime (i.e. doesn't zoom) lens for low light shots and blurred backgrounds but that's biased by what I shoot. You may prefer a telephoto (e.g. 55-250) for sports or wildlife, a macro for close-ups or a wide-angle (e.g. 10-22mm) for landscapes and architecture. Work out what you want to do that your current kit won't let you do first though. There is no point going on a gear buying spree before you know what you need.

Ok thanks a lot for your suggestions.

Any advice on where to buy/look? I like to do business away from the big boys if possible.

[Simpo Two]

russy01 said:

I plan to learn all these bits and pieces. Although I am a bit resilient to PS! I want to try and learn to use the camera before I start playing about on the PC.

That's a very fair comment - try to get things as right as you can in camera first. Photoshop is there to make them even better - but note that DSLRs are not famous for getting perfect results 'out of the box', they do need a little driving.

Mr Will said:

Work out what you want to do that your current kit won't let you do first though.

Or perhaps 'Work out what your current kit WILL do'... find the limits...

[DavidY]

Simpo Two said:

russy01 said:

I plan to learn all these bits and pieces. Although I am a bit resilient to PS! I want to try and learn to use the camera before I start playing about on the PC.

That's a very fair comment - try to get things as right as you can in camera first. Photoshop is there to make them even better - but note that DSLRs are not famous for getting perfect results 'out of the box', they do need a little driving.

Mr Will said:

Work out what you want to do that your current kit won't let you do first though.

Or perhaps 'Work out what your current kit WILL do'... find the limits...

Lightroom is less intimidating and does most of what a beginner requires

[Simpo Two]

I think of Lightroom as a library and RAW processor, not an image manipulator. But whatever, the OP needs to work out what software he likes best - for example I use C1Pro and PS, but find Lightroom absolutely infuriating

[RobDickinson]

Trust me, the gear you have is very good and far far more depends on how you use it.

Extra money is better spent on books and tutorials or workshops.

The 1100d is fine, the 18-135 I assume isn't the stm but still a decent lens

Learn how it all works, the bigger cameras are no easier, the principles are all identical

[RobDickinson]

Have a read of this.

http://petapixel.com/2014/08/23/cheap-shot-challen...

[Turn7]

russy01 said:

I think I'll just get out there and go snappy happy, any good sites/mags/books to help read up on the odd bit?

For sure, take plenty of shots - just play around with various settings and try to undertsand the effect they have on the final image. Dwonload a decent EXIF reader, this will allow you to right click pretty much any image and see what settingsd were used.

I learnt loads doing this.

Edited by Turn7 on Tuesday 26th August 21:35

[V8Wagon]

DrDoofenshmirtz said:

Sorry to hijack this thread...But I've just bought my son's birthday present.
There's a good deal on at the mo for an 1200D which includes a 70-300 lens and a bag...

Here's the detail of the order:

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III Lens
£173.51

Canon EOS 1200D Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III Lens
£309.99

Canon 100EG Custom Gadget Bag
£29.22

Item Subtotal: £427.27
Delivery & Handling: £0.00
Promotion Applied: -£118.94

Total Before VAT: £308.33
VAT: £61.66

Order Total: £369.99

I thought that was pretty good.
A couple of lenses and a bag to get him into photography. I know the 70-300 lens doesn't have IS, but Amazon reviews are still very good.

I'd be interested in any opinions. He's 16 and this is his first DSLR camera.
(I still have time to cancel if you guys recommend something better).

Where did you get this deal/discount?

[DrDoofenshmirtz]

Here is the 1200D deal. Just add everything to the cart, and the discount is applied at checkout.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_li...