Help Please?!

loi

Hello everyone!
Does anyone have any experiences with purchasing cameras on ebay?
My cousin found a great deal for the Canon EOS Rebel XTi , and he says that he is very happy with it!
(http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Rebel-XTi-XT-i-Camera-4500-KIT-FLASH-3-LENS-4GB_W0QQitemZ300205030741QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43454QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Please help me out, this is my first camera purchace ever, and I hope for a good experience, especially since money is very tight right now (unemployed due to a bad accident)!

Thank you very much, GodBless.
Loi

ps: I apologize in advance if this is discussed elsewhere, feel free to delete or move thread.

Art Scott

loi wrote:

Hello everyone!
Does anyone have any experiences with purchasing cameras on ebay?
My cousin found a great deal for the Canon EOS Rebel XTi , and he says that he is very happy with it!
(http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-Rebel-XTi-XT-i-Camera-4500-KIT-FLASH-3-LENS-4GB_W0QQitemZ300205030741QQihZ020QQcategoryZ43454QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Please help me out, this is my first camera purchace ever, and I hope for a good experience, especially since money is very tight right now (unemployed due to a bad accident)!

Thank you very much, GodBless.
Loi

ps: I apologize in advance if this is discussed elsewhere, feel free to delete or move thread.

Go to the link in my signature for Reseller Ratings and see how Digitalcorp rates....I bought from them 1 time and got the camera but all the extas that they send you are junk and I never got my aluminum camera case...I am sure it is of the same quality as those you can buyt from Harbor Frieght (which means it is also junk).....the shipment came realitivly quick but as I said befor none of the extras was any good not were they same as what was shown in the ebay ad.....now this was so long ago that you could still change your posting even after an item had been sold.....I ahd a screen capture that I sent to ebay to compalin and they said well the item you bought doesn't show all taht other stuff (like I had the technology to make a scam ad and try to complain...so I never got the alum. had case and a couple of other item)....the camera was in great shape and was not a refurb and had a USA warranty.........this was my experience with them, according to their feedback there are those tht love them......

loi

Art Scott wrote:

Go to the link in my signature for Reseller Ratings and see how Digitalcorp rates....I bought from them 1 time and got the camera but all the extas that they send you are junk and I never got my aluminum camera case...I am sure it is of the same quality as those you can buyt from Harbor Frieght (which means it is also junk).....the shipment came realitivly quick but as I said befor none of the extras was any good not were they same as what was shown in the ebay ad.....now this was so long ago that you could still change your posting even after an item had been sold.....I ahd a screen capture that I sent to ebay to compalin and they said well the item you bought doesn't show all taht other stuff (like I had the technology to make a scam ad and try to complain...so I never got the alum. had case and a couple of other item)....the camera was in great shape and was not a refurb and had a USA warranty.........this was my experience with them, according to their feedback there are those tht love them......

Thank you very much Sir!
Absolutely gorgeous photos in your galleries!

Eric&Susan

Since you can get a used XTi for about half that your looking at $450 for all that stuff. In my opinion it's not really worth it. It will get you started but in 2-3 months when you realize that stuff is starting to break or it isn't producing quality stuff due to poor optics and build you'll be looking for better quality.

I would buy a used XTi get a 18-55 canon IS and start with that. Your looking at $625 for those so your still saving yourself $175 that you can put away for that impending day when you want/need better/more gear.

My .02,

Eric

loi

Eric&Susan wrote:

Since you can get a used XTi for about half that your looking at $450 for all that stuff. In my opinion it's not really worth it. It will get you started but in 2-3 months when you realize that stuff is starting to break or it isn't producing quality stuff due to poor optics and build you'll be looking for better quality.

I would buy a used XTi get a 18-55 canon IS and start with that. Your looking at $625 for those so your still saving yourself $175 that you can put away for that impending day when you want/need better/more gear.

My .02,

Eric

Thank you very much! Very much appreciate it.
Beautiful photos also in your galleries!

Tee Why

Definitely avoid all that stuff. Mostly low grade stuff for a lot of money.
Most folks unless they are enthusiasts start with a kit lens and a telephoto lens.

Consider getting the XTi body alone and a couple of lenses or just one lens.
Canon kit lens is not very good, but the new Canon 18-55mm with IS is a new lens and quite good at $180.

I'd stick to those two for now unless you want a telephtozoom, the new Canon 55-250IS is pretty good and just under $300.

Another great CF card is from Ridata available at newegg.com. They are relatively cheap, fast, and reliable.

loi

Tee Why wrote:

Definitely avoid all that stuff. Mostly low grade stuff for a lot of money.
Most folks unless they are enthusiasts start with a kit lens and a telephoto lens.

Consider getting the XTi body alone and a couple of lenses or just one lens.
Canon kit lens is not very good, but the new Canon 18-55mm with IS is a new lens and quite good at $180.

I'd stick to those two for now unless you want a telephtozoom, the new Canon 55-250IS is pretty good and just under $300.

Another great CF card is from Ridata available at newegg.com. They are relatively cheap, fast, and reliable.

Thank you, sounds like a very good approach too! I would not know what to do with half the stuff anyway.
Beautiful galleries! Getting to see everyone's work, in the meantime:)

claudermilk

Pretty much every "camera kit" auction I would avoid. While the camera itself may be nice (and possibly a decent lens), all the accessories are overpriced junk you will need to replace anyway. If you really want to go the ebay route, look for auctions with only the piece you need.

Another thing to do is carefully shop around before jumping in on one of these auctions. Be aware of what the average & best prices at reputable dealers are--check resellerratings.com. That sets a limit for what the auction price ought to be--you will see them exceed some retailer's prices by silly amounts. The more you educate yourself about the market, the better choice you can make.

ziggy53

claudermilk wrote:

Pretty much every "camera kit" auction I would avoid. While the camera itself may be nice (and possibly a decent lens), all the accessories are overpriced junk you will need to replace anyway. If you really want to go the ebay route, look for auctions with only the piece you need.

... The more you educate yourself about the market, the better choice you can make.

loi

claudermilk wrote:

Pretty much every "camera kit" auction I would avoid. While the camera itself may be nice (and possibly a decent lens), all the accessories are overpriced junk you will need to replace anyway. If you really want to go the ebay route, look for auctions with only the piece you need.

Another thing to do is carefully shop around before jumping in on one of these auctions. Be aware of what the average & best prices at reputable dealers are--check resellerratings.com. That sets a limit for what the auction price ought to be--you will see them exceed some retailer's prices by silly amounts. The more you educate yourself about the market, the better choice you can make.

Thank you very much! It's great advice!
I have been looking for almost a year. The problem now, is which one to get; I will stick with B&H as it is near by, and can go and touch everything.
Thanks a lot!
Great portraits!

loi

ziggy53 wrote:

Thank you:)

loi

ziggy53 wrote:

Thank you:) Any recomendations?

ziggy53

loi wrote:

Thank you:) Any recomendations?

Since you mention this is to be your first camera purchase ever, I am wondering how you decided upon the Canon XTi?

What are your goals and aspirations regarding photography?

You mentioned having a "bad accident". Are there any special considerations as a result? (Weight, for example.)

loi

ziggy53 wrote:

Since you mention this is to be your first camera purchase ever, I am wondering how you decided upon the Canon XTi?

What are your goals and aspirations regarding photography?

You mentioned having a "bad accident". Are there any special considerations as a result? (Weight, for example.)

Weight will be a good exercise actually. Thank you for taking the time to answer. The long conflict has been between Nikon and Canon. I have not decided on anything yet, but leaning towards Canon. They are both great!
Goals! Photography is one of the few things that moves me to do; and with anything else, I wish to take the best approach and become good at it where ever it may lead. Most likely, enjoyment.
Have always wanted to shoot from far away, too.

Price is mostly a concern, maximum to spend about fifteen hundred.

For example, I do not understand how a lesser (Megapixel ) EOS 30D, 8.2 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera (Camera Body) is $679.00, where as EOS Digital Rebel XTi (a.k.a. 400D) 10.1 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera Body (Silver) is $519.95.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/6222/Digital_Cameras_SLR_Digital_Cameras.html

I really appreciate your input and time, thank you.

Art Scott

loi wrote:

Thank you very much Sir!
Absolutely gorgeous photos in your galleries!

My pleasure...and thank you for the compliment......also I buy from Cameta Camera....they have an ebay store as well as a brick and mortar in Amityville NY......and have gotten great service from them as well as B&H.....

You also have some really fantastically kooooool photos on your site!!


Good Luck

loi

Art Scott wrote:

My pleasure...and thank you for the compliment......also I buy from Cameta Camera....they have an ebay store as well as a brick and mortar in Amityville NY......and have gotten great service from them as well as B&H.....

You also have some really fantastically kooooool photos on your site!!


Good Luck

Thank you so much dear Art Scott!
I will look into that. I took those photos with my dad's point and shoot when I visit them in Greece. I hug their camera:)

ziggy53

loi wrote:

Weight will be a good exercise actually. Thank you for taking the time to answer. The long conflict has been between Nikon and Canon. I have not decided on anything yet, but leaning towards Canon. They are both great!
Goals! Photography is one of the few things that moves me to do; and with anything else, I wish to take the best approach and become good at it where ever it may lead. Most likely, enjoyment.
Have always wanted to shoot from far away, too.

Price is mostly a concern, maximum to spend about fifteen hundred.

....

While most any manufacturer has decent offerings these days, I do recommend Canon and Nikon if you might consider purchasing used, especially lenses. Buying used can mean tremendous value, but there is more risk in that you may not have any warranty if something goes wrong.

Since camera bodies are typically pretty complicated, they tend to also have more problems as they age and/or suffer hard usage. If you know of a private party with a body for sale and you know the history of the camera, that can be an excellent value. My first 4 dSLRs were all used and they are still operational.

The Flea Market here tends to have very good values especially from the older members.

Photographing subjects at a distance can require a more significant investment than the more "standard" or "normal" focal lengths.

I suggest that the Canon XTi is a pretty good value. I would skip the "kit" lens and get the Canon EF-S 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS instead. This will cover more shooting situations than the kit lens because it has better sharpness at larger apertures and the Image Stabilization as well.

A major step up would be the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF). It is considerably more expensive and heavier, but it has much better image quality and a constant f2.8 aperture.

Then I recommend the purchase of the Canon EF 50mm, f/1.8 II for low light and portrait use.

For longer focal lengths, the Tamron 70-300mm, f/4-5.6 Di LD 1:2 is pretty good in the 70-200mm range (especially stopped down a bit) and has the 1:2 close focus capability. The 300mm gets pretty soft, but for simple subjects you can finesse images in post for smaller print sizes and web work that look pretty good.

I highly recommend a quality flash unit, which is much more important than most people assume. A properly used flash can make even mediocre lenses look good, and good lenses look splendid. Recommended units are the Sigma EF-500 DG Super E-TTL and the Canon 430EX. If those are too pricey, the Sunpak 383 is a great "auto" flash unit and has a nice manual capability too.

Additionally, build a simple couple of flash modifiers:

A scoop type reflector:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/908195739C4C0D3

... and the "Better Bounce Card"
http://abetterbouncecard.com/

All of these were shot with the Sigma 500 Super and DIY modifiers:

loi wrote:

... For example, I do not understand how a lesser (Megapixel ) EOS 30D, 8.2 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera (Camera Body) is $679.00, where as EOS Digital Rebel XTi (a.k.a. 400D) 10.1 Megapixel, SLR, Digital Camera Body (Silver) is $519.95.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/6222/Digital_Cameras_SLR_Digital_Cameras.html

I really appreciate your input and time, thank you.

There is much more to a camera than pixel count. I have several 8 MPix cameras of different type and each type has specific capabilities that roughly increase with an increase in cost.

The Canon XTi is still a very nice entry level camera but lacks an ISO 3200 and the responsiveness of the XTi is also that of an entry level camera. I still own a Canon XT that I use when appropriate, but I also have the 40D and 1D MKII when they are appropriate.

I do suggest that the XTi is a very nice camera and you will probably take some time to feel its boundaries. The lenses and light are perhaps more important at this stage than the Canon xxD camera bodies.

loi

ziggy53 wrote:

While most any manufacturer has decent offerings these days, I do recommend Canon and Nikon if you might consider purchasing used, especially lenses. Buying used can mean tremendous value, but there is more risk in that you may not have any warranty if something goes wrong.

Since camera bodies are typically pretty complicated, they tend to also have more problems as they age and/or suffer hard usage. If you know of a private party with a body for sale and you know the history of the camera, that can be an excellent value. My first 4 dSLRs were all used and they are still operational.

The Flea Market here tends to have very good values especially from the older members.

Photographing subjects at a distance can require a more significant investment than the more "standard" or "normal" focal lengths.

I suggest that the Canon XTi is a pretty good value. I would skip the "kit" lens and get the Canon EF-S 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 IS instead. This will cover more shooting situations than the kit lens because it has better sharpness at larger apertures and the Image Stabilization as well.

A major step up would be the Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF). It is considerably more expensive and heavier, but it has much better image quality and a constant f2.8 aperture.

Then I recommend the purchase of the Canon EF 50mm, f/1.8 II for low light and portrait use.

For longer focal lengths, the Tamron 70-300mm, f/4-5.6 Di LD 1:2 is pretty good in the 70-200mm range (especially stopped down a bit) and has the 1:2 close focus capability. The 300mm gets pretty soft, but for simple subjects you can finesse images in post for smaller print sizes and web work that look pretty good.

I highly recommend a quality flash unit, which is much more important than most people assume. A properly used flash can make even mediocre lenses look good, and good lenses look splendid. Recommended units are the Sigma EF-500 DG Super E-TTL and the Canon 430EX. If those are too pricey, the Sunpak 383 is a great "auto" flash unit and has a nice manual capability too.

Additionally, build a simple couple of flash modifiers:

A scoop type reflector:
http://www.fototime.com/inv/908195739C4C0D3

... and the "Better Bounce Card"
http://abetterbouncecard.com/

All of these were shot with the Sigma 500 Super and DIY modifiers:












There is much more to a camera than pixel count. I have several 8 MPix cameras of different type and each type has specific capabilities that roughly increase with an increase in cost.

The Canon XTi is still a very nice entry level camera but lacks an ISO 3200 and the responsiveness of the XTi is also that of an entry level camera. I still own a Canon XT that I use when appropriate, but I also have the 40D and 1D MKII when they are appropriate.

I do suggest that the XTi is a very nice camera and you will probably take some time to feel its boundaries. The lenses and light are perhaps more important at this stage than the Canon xxD camera bodies.

Beautiful photos! Very alive!
Thank you for all the information, will need to review it closely.
Your input has been invaluable.
Blessings,
Loi

BIueWater

Loi,

I think you have a great eye for photography and if you can get those with a point & shoot I can’t wait to see what you get when you have a decent camera.

Simplest and easiest advice to a photographer having to cope with the huge accumulative prices of a decent camera system is the following:

Buy a used, but well loved, Nikon/Canon camera
Then spend your money on a good piece of glass.
The glass will long outlive the camera if you take care of it.

There is no shame in buying a used camera and then upgrading later when you find out what you really want. Not to mention you will then truly appreciate the latest bells and whistles of the newest cameras.

In the end I’m just doing my best to refrain from booing and hissing at your Canon aspirations.

loi

BIueWater wrote:

Loi,

I think you have a great eye for photography and if you can get those with a point & shoot I can’t wait to see what you get when you have a decent camera.

Simplest and easiest advice to a photographer having to cope with the huge accumulative prices of a decent camera system is the following:

Buy a used, but well loved, Nikon/Canon camera
Then spend your money on a good piece of glass.
The glass will long outlive the camera if you take care of it.

There is no shame in buying a used camera and then upgrading later when you find out what you really want. Not to mention you will then truly appreciate the latest bells and whistles of the newest cameras.

In the end I’m just doing my best to refrain from booing and hissing at your Canon aspirations.

Ah:) thank you very much! You are right about getting a used one, my only fear is that something is wrong with it and I would not know it until it's too late. I understand about Nikon too, it feels like a bit of a betrayal as those shots were Nikons'; it has been good to me. Will see what happens.
I will get the Photography for Dummies book tomorrow, as I don't understand much of the language either.
Please don't hesitate to share your experiences with Canon; I read the long discussion thread too.
My two cousins went into the city and took the same shots, one with the Canon the other with a Nikon. The Nikon I was told needed color correction on most shots! Both cameras are SLR's and are of the same price range.
You understand that it is very confusing at some point; I spoke with a local photographer who uses Nikon body with Canon lenses for years and seems content with it.
I do like Nikon's colors; Canon's colors are very vivid but it's not the real color that my eye sees of the place that has been photographed. So, I really don't know. So, do share please.
Thank you:)

claudermilk

Like ziggy said, there's more to a camera than megapixels. You mentioned being near B&H, so go in and pick up a Rebel, then pick up a 30D or 40D, then if you're brave, pick up a 1D. It should be immediately apparent why the price goes up asthe number of digits in the model name goes down (xxxD -> xxD -> xD). Top that off with all the added capabilites and quality that is not immediately apparent.

You've looked at my site I take it, keep in mind all but the oldest stuff on there was taken with a "mere" 8MP 20D (the really old auto & landscapes were a "piddly" 3MP P&S ).

If you want to look for used gear, I would suggest taking a good long look at KEH. They are known for being very conservative in their ratings (i.e., BGN stuff would be about the same as your typical eBay excellent/mint/like new item).

Looking at your gallery, first of all, you have a really good eye. Excellent stuff. For what you show there something in the entry level DSLR lines should work fine (Rebels, D40, etc.). ziggy's lens recommendations should all work well with your style & subject matter.

loi

claudermilk wrote:

Like ziggy said, there's more to a camera than megapixels. You mentioned being near B&H, so go in and pick up a Rebel, then pick up a 30D or 40D, then if you're brave, pick up a 1D. It should be immediately apparent why the price goes up asthe number of digits in the model name goes down (xxxD -> xxD -> xD). Top that off with all the added capabilites and quality that is not immediately apparent.

You've looked at my site I take it, keep in mind all but the oldest stuff on there was taken with a "mere" 8MP 20D (the really old auto & landscapes were a "piddly" 3MP P&S ).

If you want to look for used gear, I would suggest taking a good long look at KEH. They are known for being very conservative in their ratings (i.e., BGN stuff would be about the same as your typical eBay excellent/mint/like new item).

Looking at your gallery, first of all, you have a really good eye. Excellent stuff. For what you show there something in the entry level DSLR lines should work fine (Rebels, D40, etc.). ziggy's lens recommendations should all work well with your style & subject matter.

I see. Thank you very much for your advice, I appreciate it!