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Author Topic: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...  (Read 82198 times)

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Offline divamum

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Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« on: August 12, 2006, 11:13:30 PM »
Howdy all.  Yesterday I dragged out my 35mm Canon Elan when I needed a long zoom and better lowlight/flash to take some theater pictures and it wasn't until I started using the thing that I realised I hadn't shot FILM in about 5 years!  Good grief - I think I've forgotten everything I ever learned.  I figured I'd wind up with a bunch of blurry nonsense (no tripod - although I improvised by using a handy railing to rest the lens on) but to my amazement  got quite a few good pictures, considering the conditions.

Which made me realise that using digital point'n'shoot has made me not only lazy, but I've been putting up with way poorer image quality.  I've wanted a digi body for ages but this got me to thinking that since prices seem to be falling it's time to look more seriously -hassling with film developing was a major drag since I can't do my own any more (no space or equipment), and I love the convenience of digital.  I have the Canon 28-80 that came with the Elan and a 70-210 (that tele is one of the first generation of USM lenses, I believe - I bought it 2ndhand in about 1996). 


So, questions:

- Those lenses will all work with a newer digital body, right?

- I've been reading up on the Rebel and Rebel XT - any thoughts on which way to go? My budget is EXTREMELY limited ... I think I need to go 2ndhand or ebay route (prefer 2nd hand or refurb from reputable source, but I'm open to suggestions).

- what are decent prices on those two models?  Ebay pricing seems more variable than usual on these.

- anything else I should know to kickstart this process?

Thanks in advance!
« Last Edit: November 02, 2008, 12:20:48 PM by divamum »
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Offline Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2006, 03:54:56 AM »
I'd consider splurging a bit and check out the 20D. Much more durable than the Rebels.

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Offline BayTaynt3d

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2006, 12:03:50 AM »
I just bought a 350d (rebel xt) about a month ago. I love it! It is less $ than the 20d but still has some great features, more than enough for me. Some important differences for a concert photographer between the 20/30d and XT is the XT as 1600 ISO whereas the 30d has 3200 I believe. The 30d also has a spot metering mode in addition to the xt's matrix, center-weighted, and center-area exposure modes. Anyway, despite all the "xt feels like plastic" comments... The xt is still pretty solid if you've been using a point-n-shoot for a while. Personally, if you're on a budget, I wouldn't even flinch to buy the xt body. The most recent posts on my website (see sig) have a bunch of shots from the XT at 1600 ISO with no flash, which are less than ideal conditions, but still came out alright considering the noise you get at those high ISOs. Also, this guy shoots his stuff on the XT, and his shit is pretty damn pro-looking to me... <SMILE>

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Offline jpschust

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2006, 08:49:01 AM »
I just bought a 350d (rebel xt) about a month ago. I love it! It is less $ than the 20d but still has some great features, more than enough for me. Some important differences for a concert photographer between the 20/30d and XT is the XT as 1600 ISO whereas the 30d has 3200 I believe. The 30d also has a spot metering mode in addition to the xt's matrix, center-weighted, and center-area exposure modes. Anyway, despite all the "xt feels like plastic" comments... The xt is still pretty solid if you've been using a point-n-shoot for a while. Personally, if you're on a budget, I wouldn't even flinch to buy the xt body. The most recent posts on my website (see sig) have a bunch of shots from the XT at 1600 ISO with no flash, which are less than ideal conditions, but still came out alright considering the noise you get at those high ISOs. Also, this guy shoots his stuff on the XT, and his shit is pretty damn pro-looking to me... <SMILE>

http://www.boudist.com/


you can get the rebels up to 3200 but i think you have to do the hack for it (just a firmware change)

to answer the previous question- all EOS lenses are compatable with the digital bodies.  The only specialties are lenses you dont have (ef-s lenses).

Don't go to ebay for this go over to www.fredmiranda.com/forum

here are the questions you want to ask when buying a used digital slr:

What kind of condition is it in? (you want to know if there are any major scratches or a lot of nasty rubbing- this will tell you how the camera was used.  obviously the more damage the shorter the life of the body)

how many clicks are on the shutter? (this is going to be an approximation as you can only get the real count using cancount.exe and that only works on 1 series bodies.  anything under 20k snaps you are in good shape.  the rebels are rated to 50k clicks on the shutter as is the 20d i believe.  i know of people getting 75-100k clicks out of them though.  thats a lot of photos)

Was the camera ever dropped or has it ever gotten wet other than typical light rain/splashing, etc.

Where was the camera purchased? (check the retailer to make sure they are an authorized canon dealer)

Do you have the original accessories including manual, Canon battery, charger, and warranty card? (warranty card can be key to getting service sometimes)

Do you want fries with that? (just seeing if you are still reading at this point)

Has the camera ever been serviced by Canon?

Have you ever encountered any backfocusing problems (this was a problem more with the 20d's but I've heard of it being in the rebels as well- some of the nicer glass in combination with the bodies were causing the cameras to focus improperly)

And then all the typical questions about references and whatnot.  It is not unusual over at fm for someone to only take money orders or to require you to pay shipping and paypal fees.


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Offline divamum

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2006, 09:15:04 AM »
Thanks for the replies so far guys - keep 'em coming!  Sounds to me like the Rebel XT is my best bet (I dno't shoot enough for the metal body to be a dealbreaker, and to be honest I'd rather not have the extra weight).

That said, an ebay store called Alkit Pro has a bunch of canon ex demo Rebels/refurbs that seem to be going around the $300-400 mark (as I say, my budget is EXTREMELY limited on this).  Any knowledge of this outfit? It's hard to tell if it's associated with the NY mini-chain of hte same name and from what I've been reading over at FM and digigrin (tx for those links - this forum is a great resource for all things!) it's best to be wary of unknown NY-based ebay stores ...  In a perfect world I'd really like to buy a new XT, but if I could pick up a body for those kind of $ to get me kickstarted for the time being it might not be such a bad thing to get the ball rolling....

Anyway, thanks again for steering me in the right directions - the last serious camera shopping I did was when I lived in the UK so I'm way behind the curve at this point.   You guys rock!! :)
« Last Edit: August 14, 2006, 09:17:07 AM by divamum »
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Offline jpschust

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #5 on: August 14, 2006, 09:59:24 AM »
Thanks for the replies so far guys - keep 'em coming!  Sounds to me like the Rebel XT is my best bet (I dno't shoot enough for the metal body to be a dealbreaker, and to be honest I'd rather not have the extra weight).

That said, an ebay store called Alkit Pro has a bunch of canon ex demo Rebels/refurbs that seem to be going around the $300-400 mark (as I say, my budget is EXTREMELY limited on this).  Any knowledge of this outfit? It's hard to tell if it's associated with the NY mini-chain of hte same name and from what I've been reading over at FM and digigrin (tx for those links - this forum is a great resource for all things!) it's best to be wary of unknown NY-based ebay stores ...  In a perfect world I'd really like to buy a new XT, but if I could pick up a body for those kind of $ to get me kickstarted for the time being it might not be such a bad thing to get the ball rolling....

Anyway, thanks again for steering me in the right directions - the last serious camera shopping I did was when I lived in the UK so I'm way behind the curve at this point.   You guys rock!! :)

im telling you, you are going to kick yourself most likely if you buy on fleabay for this stuff, its worth paying a touch more over at fm and getting something you know is going to be good.

Quote from: Todd Snider
They say 3 percent of the people use 5 to 6 percent of their brain
97 percent use 3 percent and the rest goes down the drain
I'll never know which one I am but I'll bet you my last dime
99 percent think with 3 percent 100 percent of the time

Offline Chrisedge

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #6 on: August 14, 2006, 01:05:31 PM »
Make sure you get the Rebel XT (350D) as opposed to the plain Rebel (300D). Enough improvements to warrant the extra $$$

I got mine in June for $644 (w/ Kit Lens) after the $100 rebate that was going on.
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Offline divamum

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #7 on: August 14, 2006, 02:19:09 PM »
Thanks for all this great info.  INteresting what you paid with rebate - in my preliminary research I'm seeing USED ones (XTs) going for 400-600 so seems like you got a great deal!

Another question: are there any reputable dealers here in the US who do trade-ins on 2ndhand equipment? That's pretty much how I got my first Canon rig in England - I traded in my old Practika (!!) pentax ME1 knockoff for a Canon eos 1000FN  - was the only way I could afford it.  Did the same with the lens it came with for the tele and so on and so forth. Then wound up with the Elan "by accident" here in the US when I was burgled - the insurance company said that the Rebel and 1000FN weren't identical so they "upgraded" it to the Elan which was a pleasant bonus!  I've been googling, but as yet haven't found the sort of store I'm familiar with - any recc's would be more than welcomed.

Do 35mm have any financial value at all any more? I almost hesitate to get rid of the Elan since it is a fabulous piece of gear, but if the upgrade bug is gonna hit me in visual as well as audio gear I'm gonna have to start making room for it somehow and maybe getting a discount via trade-in somewhere is the way to go....



« Last Edit: August 14, 2006, 02:20:59 PM by divamum »
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Offline jpschust

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #8 on: August 14, 2006, 02:25:17 PM »
Thanks for all this great info.  INteresting what you paid with rebate - in my preliminary research I'm seeing USED ones (XTs) going for 400-600 so seems like you got a great deal!

Another question: are there any reputable dealers here in the US who do trade-ins on 2ndhand equipment? That's pretty much how I got my first Canon rig in England - I traded in my old Practika (!!) pentax ME1 knockoff for a Canon eos 1000FN  - was the only way I could afford it.  Did the same with the lens it came with for the tele and so on and so forth. Then wound up with the Elan "by accident" here in the US when I was burgled - the insurance company said that the Rebel and 1000FN weren't identical so they "upgraded" it to the Elan which was a pleasant bonus!  I've been googling, but as yet haven't found the sort of store I'm familiar with - any recc's would be more than welcomed.

Do 35mm have any financial value at all any more? I almost hesitate to get rid of the Elan since it is a fabulous piece of gear, but if the upgrade bug is gonna hit me in visual as well as audio gear I'm gonna have to start making room for it somehow and maybe getting a discount via trade-in somewhere is the way to go....





b&h and adorama both will do trade ins.  they are both highly reputable. 

35mm has a lot of financial value to some, but probably not to these stores.  i still shoot film at times.
Quote from: Todd Snider
They say 3 percent of the people use 5 to 6 percent of their brain
97 percent use 3 percent and the rest goes down the drain
I'll never know which one I am but I'll bet you my last dime
99 percent think with 3 percent 100 percent of the time

Offline BayTaynt3d

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #9 on: August 14, 2006, 04:11:14 PM »
you can get the rebels up to 3200 but i think you have to do the hack for it (just a firmware change)

I don't think that hack works for the xt (350D), it only works for the 300D (aka "digital rebel"). That said, you can just shoot one stop lower in RAW and handle in post to get almost the same thing (ISO 3200).
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Offline Ed.

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #10 on: August 14, 2006, 04:12:02 PM »
right now dell is having sales on 30D's and XT's...

http://www.slickdeals.net/#p7938


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Offline phanophish

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #11 on: September 12, 2006, 01:58:54 AM »
Canon just released the 400d which is a pretty substantial upgrade to the 350d.  Which of course means the price on used 350's should start to drop and it is still a great little camera. 
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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #12 on: January 07, 2007, 07:33:53 PM »
Quote
Canon just released the 400d which is a pretty substantial upgrade to the 350d.  Which of course means the price on used 350's should start to drop and it is still a great little camera.


yep, i just picked up a 350d for under $300, but sadly it doesn't come with any of the software (zoombrowser, etc).

Anyone willing to upload or B&P me the software discs?

thanks.

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #13 on: January 08, 2007, 07:15:21 PM »
Minimum service charge by Canon is $150 and they take 2-3 weeks minimum.
The Elans and A2 series Film SLRs had well-know Command Dial failure issues that Canon enjoyed much profit from.
They gave no breaks or credits to the many victims of their cheesey design.
Hence, I jumped ship from Canon earlier in the year

One word on D-SLRs from me:
Nikon


RE: the canon lenses, there is a 1.6X relationship between EF and EF-S lenses:
http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html

An Elan body is worth around $50 these days.
An Elan II about $70 Elan IIe $90 at our local Photo Flea market.
Of course, condition can add or subtract value considerably
« Last Edit: January 08, 2007, 07:26:23 PM by _bob_ »

Offline BayTaynt3d

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Re: Let's talk Canon digital SLRs...
« Reply #14 on: January 08, 2007, 11:15:09 PM »
RE: the canon lenses, there is a 1.6X relationship between EF and EF-S lenses:
http://photonotes.org/articles/beginner-faq/lenses.html


That's not stated quite right, close, but it's more accurate to say that the EF-S lenses are for use with 1.6x crop digital bodies only (XT, XTi, 30d, 20d), and the EF lens can be used on any crop or full frame digital or film bodies (any canon body that is). And whoever said the XTi is a huge upgrade over the XT, I'm not sure I totally agree -- the main difference is a bigger LCD and 2 more megapixels (and more megapixels isn't necessarily a good thing always for low light no flash concert photography cause slightly bigger pixels soak up more light).
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