Looking to get a beginning camera set up?

Question

I've been looking at digital cameras because I'm likely getting a job soon and want to save up toward one and start a hobby. I want a DSLR --the one I've been thinking of is a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTI. I'm wondering though about how I should go about purchasing lenses and accessories. The kit with a lens is ~US$100 more than the body only. Is it of good enough quality to buy it, and then save up for another lens later? (I was thinking of a 50mm prime lens later...)

I don't know a huge amount about photography or the science of how the lenses work/what all the terms mean, but I've been reading up. Links on that subject would be appreciated as well.

Also, what accessories should I get with the camera? I was thinking a camera, an extra battery, a big enough CF card(what size is reasonable?), a remote, bag, and a tripod.

Thanks for anyone who can help.

Answer 1

Nice choice, the Rebel XTi is a wonderful camera. There's probably going to be a few people along the way that will nag you to upgrade to the newest camera, the XSi, but in my persnal opinion, the XTi is the best price-to-performance option that Canon currently offers at this level (The Rebel XT was my previous choice, but it was recently discontinued).

The issue of the kit lens for the XTi is a hard one. Honestly, I've used it an I wasn't too impressed with it, but at the same time, I see no reason why you can't take amazing pictures with it. I mean, yeah, it may not be the sharpest on earth and there'll be some purple fringing at its extremes, but if you spend less time pixel-peeping and more time shooting, you'll see better results. I've recommended in the past to buy the XT/XTi body and then a seperate lens, but if you can only afford the kit lens right now, then go for it. Likewise, if it's a matter of saving up for a few months longer to be able to afford a better lens, I'm not too fond of that idea either. If you spend all your time trying to get better gear, you'll not be taking pictures, and that seems rather counter-productive to me. If you have the money now, the 18-55mm IS version of the lens from Canon can be bought quite cheap (I think $170 is the street price right now), and it fixes many of the issues that of the XTi kit lens. It's widely considered much sharper, has less purple fringing near contrasty areas, and it also has image stablization, which is a great plus for a walk-around lens. From what I experienced, it's an all-around better lens. If you want to go better still, I'm quite fond of the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for a walk-around lens as it offers amazing resolution, beautiful color, and nice contrast that help photos "Pop." What I especially like about the lens is the wide, consistent aperture. A wide aperture makes it ideal for portrait photography or other situations when you want to isolate your subject from the background because a wider aperture will blur the background more. A larger aperture is also good for low-light situations such as photography indoors because it allows more light to reach the sensor. Having a consistent aperture throughout the entire focal length also alleviates some headaches when metering in manual mode.That's getting up in the $350-$450 price range though, which may be outside of your budget. One final option is to get the 50mm or 35mm (effectively 55mm XTi) prime from Canon now, and then decide on a second lens later. This will allow you to have decent optics at an extremely low price ($70 or so for 50mm) and you can also learn what your style of shooting is. If you find yourself constantly needing to backup to fill the frame, your second lens should be a wide-angle prime or zoom lens. If you feel like you can never fill the frame with your subject, a telephoto prime or zoom may be your best bet. Finally, if you like taking pictures of very small things and you feel like your lens just never focuses close enough, a dedicated macro lens (prime, not zoom) that focuses to a 1:1 magnification would be your lens of choice.

As for your accessories, an extra battery and big CF card (1gb is really pushing it, 2gb gives you more room, and a 4gb would be nice) are a great idea. I don't know if this is a route that you'd want to go, but I've found that Overstock.com carries some great replacement batteries for Canon DSLR's for a very reasonable price ($9 or so). The batteries are not from Canon, but they seem to work just fine for me. A remote is a good idea, you can pick that up off Ebay for $5 or so if you're low on cash, and a new or used bag can be quite cheap as well. Now, a tripod is something that you won't want to go cheap on if you can avoid doing so. Just about any tripod from Bogen/Manfrotto or Giottos are good options, though this may be something you'll want to go to a camera store for advice on. If you can't afford these options (starting around $75), Sunpak makes some affordable tripods  that are fairly price for what they are. A hotshoe-mounted flash is also a consideration, though this can be added whenever you like (I'd recommend the 430EX II for a hobbyist). Some books are also a consideration -- I've found "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson to be fundamental information for any photographer.

Sorry for such an essay of an answer, just of lot of information to cover. Good luck and enjoy your new hobby!