jadely wrote:After looking at the Canons and determining a price range for myself, I've narrowed it done to a T1i or a T3. Do you have either or experience with either? Both of them come with lenses if I buy new or a refurbished one, but some places were recommended I just get the body and buy lenses separately. For a complete newbie, would the lens that comes with it be enough to learn on? Or should I really buy another lens to just get started?
Thank you for answering my questions... I was too self conscious to ask in any photography forum
I totally understand not wanting to ask questions in photography forums! They are filled with higher-than-thou people that are not very friendly
As for your camera choices, I'd personally go with the T1i if you can get a good deal on it.
Some distinguishing points for both:
T11 shoots 1080p movies, T3 does 720P
T3 is better at low-light shoots
T1i has a bigger and better res display screen
T3 has a better battery life
T1i is 15MP, T3 is 12MP
T3 weighs less but T1i is smaller in size
Some questions to ask yourself:
Do you care about shooting movies?
Do you think you'd want to shoot in low-light?
Will you be getting an extra battery regardless of the life expectancy of one?
Do you have particularly small hands? (Some people do, it's definitely not something to overlook!)
They are both in the same EOS family tho, so your lens choices are near limitless regardless of which you choose! I would go into a store and ask to see both, hold them, take a few shots, see what feels better to you.
The standard lens is great to learn with as it gives you pretty good range of things that are close-up (portraits, pets, nature) and things that are relatively near to you (sports arenas, concerts, land/cityscapes). Working with objects you can plainly see with your own eyes gives you a good starting point on playing with depth of field (ie making the background blurry behind your subject in a portrait vs having everything in focus like most standard point-and-shoots).
Once you figure out what you prefer shooting, then you can personalize your lenses to suit your preference, but still have that standard lens handy when you want to bring out your camera for the next family get-together
If you do decide against the standard lens, I strongly suggest you make sure whatever lens you do choose to learn with is an IS lens. IS stands for Image Stabilizer in the Canon lenses, and it helps to limit the effect the shake from your hands has on your final image. That's not to say you should never buy a lens without IS - just make sure 1 of 2 things are handy: either have a tripod with you, or only shoot in bright light (artificial or sun) so you can use a fast shutter speed! I have a 70-300mm lens I rarely use because these 2 things rarely work in my favour haha
Canon and Nikon both have really good, user-friendly models that produce high quality photos, at a reasonable price point. I am completely Canon biased, so I won't go into specific cameras lol but I will advise you to make sure that the camera you go with is not limited in lenses (ie most Canon lenses are completely interchangeable throughout the entire EOS camera series). Ask about the range of lenses available to the specific model you are interested in, and then ask if those lenses will fit on the upgraded models in the series, or another brand of cameras. Sometimes there are adapters you can get, but they alter the performance of the lenses (slightly). Once you get a feel for the camera and photography in general, the most fun you'll have is playing with all the lenses and the different effects each gives!!
:: Mia