Opinions on camera

leeanne

Over a year ago, I got a lovely sony a350 for Christmas. Haven't had the chance to buy lenses or take courses as yet.

Just now, I've been offered a good deal on a Canon 450D Eos, with a lens 24-70 mm, a 16-35 mm lens, 18-55 mm lens, and a speedlite 580EXII.

Of course, the canon is a steal of a deal with the goods it comes with as I would have to buy all of that for my sony if I didn't go with this deal.

Is the particular canon a good camera? Reviews would be great. What about the lenses included? Worthwhile?

And just to clarify, what specific photos are the 16-35 mm lens good for? As well as the macro 24-70 mm lens?

Really contemplating giving up my sony for this package.

divamum

The 450d is an xsi, arguably one of the best entry-level cameras Canon has produced. If the price is good on that collection you will likely be very happy with it!

Is the 24-70 the old(er) L lens? ("L" lenses are Canon's top-of-the-line professional lenses with extra-durable build quality, weather-sealing and, in many cases, superior optics) I believe the 18-55 is the kit lens, and know nothing about the 16-35, although that focal length is a wide angle suitable for landscapes, interiors, architecture etc. The 580exII is Canon's top of the line flash (which alone sells for about $400 if memory serves)

Get full details on those lenses to be sure which generation/models they are, and then search fredmiranda.com, keh.com and photography-on-the.net/forum/ for current used prices to give yourself an idea of the kind of deal (or not) that you'd be getting.

Moogle Pepper

Great set of gear! Where are you buying it from?

leeanne

Moogle Pepper wrote:

Great set of gear! Where are you buying it from?

A person I know and is selling it for $1200 Canadian, but I could probably offer a bit less and still get it.

leeanne

divamum wrote:

The 450d is an xsi, arguably one of the best entry-level cameras Canon has produced. If the price is good on that collection you will likely be very happy with it!

Is the 24-70 the old(er) L lens? ("L" lenses are Canon's top-of-the-line professional lenses with extra-durable build quality, weather-sealing and, in many cases, superior optics) I believe the 18-55 is the kit lens, and know nothing about the 16-35, although that focal length is a wide angle suitable for landscapes, interiors, architecture etc. The 580exII is Canon's top of the line flash (which alone sells for about $400 if memory serves)

Get full details on those lenses to be sure which generation/models they are, and then search fredmiranda.com, keh.com and photography-on-the.net/forum/ for current used prices to give yourself an idea of the kind of deal (or not) that you'd be getting.

This is what it says on the side of the lens Zoom Lens EF 24-70 mm 1:2.8 L USM Macro 0.38m/1.3 ft

Other than that, how would I know to see what generation it may be.

Thanks for your help!

LKN Dave

leeanne wrote:

This is what it says on the side of the lens Zoom Lens EF 24-70 mm 1:2.8 L USM Macro 0.38m/1.3 ft

Other than that, how would I know to see what generation it may be.

Thanks for your help!

That is a sweet lens and sounds like a good deal. That lens sells for 1200 US new.

leeanne

So in other words, I shouldn't pass this up huh?

BTW, will be asking more about these lenses too. I am just starting out in photography

ziggy53

Yes, yes, yes, if the other lens is the EF 16-35mm, f2.8L USM, it can sell for over $1000USD in a used condition, so the lenses alone are worth the $1200CAN.

The Canon XSi is indeed a lower level camera but capable of professional results with those lenses and that flash.

Buy, learn and explore.

Art Scott

not really a canon fan......one of the very few major brand cams that I never owned in th film days......but I would jump on that deal and sell that sony kit as fast s I could.....if you ever decide to turn pro a canon set up brings a lot more prestige with it than sony ever will in my opinon and it is true that it is not the camera that really matters....except to potential commercial clients that want to know what gear you will use and canon and nikon are the best known.............

If you decide to stay with sony and not get this kit...then get yourself a Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 (or a 24-70f2.8) and a 70-200f2.8....these lenses are very good and will serve you well for many years to come and are very reasonably priced especially if looking at used on ebay.........

leeanne

ziggy53 wrote:

Yes, yes, yes, if the other lens is the EF 16-35mm, f2.8L USM, it can sell for over $1000USD in a used condition, so the lenses alone are worth the $1200CAN.

The Canon XSi is indeed a lower level camera but capable of professional results with those lenses and that flash.

Buy, learn and explore.

The other lens is in fact EF 16-35 mm, 1:2.8 L II USM.

I think with this package I'd be more eager to learn about photography with the different lenses included than with my sony that I only have the kit lens for.

I truly appreciate your opinions and looks like a purchase will be made today

leeanne

Oh I do have another question. How compatible are the lenses if upgrading to new versions of the canons?

Moogle Pepper

How the heck did you get such a killer deal??

24-70 mm, a 16-35 mm lens, 18-55 mm lens, and a speedlite 580EXII.

Those three together are in the thousands! Very sweet deal!

As for compatibility, if you are sticking with cropped bodies, they are perfectly fine. If you are going to upgrade to FF, the 24-70, 16-35 and the 580 EXII will be compatible. Not sure what the 18-55 is, ef-s?

ziggy53

leeanne wrote:

Oh I do have another question. How compatible are the lenses if upgrading to new versions of the canons?

If you purchase a FF (full-frame) camera body (5D, 5D MKII, or any of the 1Ds bodies) or crop 1.3x cody (any of the 1D bodies), the EF-S lenses will not fit so only the "kit" lens, 18-55mm, will not fit. The other lenses are Canon's best lenses and designed for full-frame but they will fit "any" Canon EOS camera body (so all current and foreseeable future dSLR bodies.)

In other words, EF-S lenses, like the kit lens, will only fit Canon xxD, xxxD and xxxxD bodies.

leeanne

Moogle Pepper wrote:

How the heck did you get such a killer deal??



Those three together are in the thousands! Very sweet deal!

As for compatibility, if you are sticking with cropped bodies, they are perfectly fine. If you are going to upgrade to FF, the 24-70, 16-35 and the 580 EXII will be compatible. Not sure what the 18-55 is, ef-s?

Some other's misfortunes, are someone else's fortunes. Sad to say, but true.

Yes, the 18-55 is EFS.

leeanne

ziggy53 wrote:

If you purchase a FF (full-frame) camera body (5D, 5D MKII, or any of the 1Ds bodies) or crop 1.3x cody (any of the 1D bodies), the EF-S lenses will not fit so only the "kit" lens, 18-55mm, will not fit. The other lenses are Canon's best lenses and designed for full-frame but they will fit "any" Canon EOS camera body (so all current and foreseeable future dSLR bodies.)

In other words, EF-S lenses, like the kit lens, will only fit Canon xxD, xxxD and xxxxD bodies.

Gotcha and good to know

puzzledpaul

I was going to ask if you knew why they were selling for this amount and whether you had any idea about 'pedigree' or background to the gear ... but I suppose this 'sorta' answers it.

<< Some other's misfortunes, are someone else's fortunes. Sad to say, but true.>>

Only minor issue with the 450D handling is that it doesn't have 2 (dedicated) control wheel access routes for the 2 main functions, as with other Canon kit - but this'd mainly surface in M mode.

(I'm used to xxD gear and wouldn't want to change)

pp

divamum

Honestly, even if you HATE it once you get it, you could turn around and sell that stuff on the reputable used market for easily double what you'll be paying for it.

Btw, I have an xsi and love it. It is indeed lacking some of the pro handling features, but that likely won't bother you initially and it's a great camera to grow with.

Run, do not walk to that killer deal!!

ETA: On the mount of the L lenses you will see stamped some numbers, usually starting with a "U". This is the date code which tells you what year it was made (google for the specific dates - it's online in various places). There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with an older lens (although it may affect its resale value) as long as it still works.

leeanne

The deal has gone through and the package is all mine! All for $1050 Canadian

ziggy53

Wow, congratulations.

LKN Dave

leeanne wrote:

The deal has gone through and the package is all mine! All for $1050 Canadian

Very Nice deal.

Brett1000

leeanne wrote:

The deal has gone through and the package is all mine! All for $1050 Canadian

wow - nice camera and lens