Questions about purchasing a nice camera..

[ArtistJess]

My parents and I are chipping in together to purchase a digital camera to take photos with at the wedding. I have been considering a Canon Digital Rebel xTi or T1i.. i've also heard that a Nikon d40 is a good starter camera. Anyone out there.. PLEASE. Help me narrow down the search. Do you have a nice digital camera? Our price range is $500 to $600(ish). All advice is appreciated!

 

[ArtistJess]

Oh, I guess that I should mention that this will be my only way of getting pictures at the ceremony. We are hiring a friend of mine in photography school to take the photos with the camera we purchase, and since I work for a wedding photographer doing photo editing and design, I am going to edit and design my photos to my own liking. We are doing this as a way to save money on really expensive wedding photographers.

FTR, there are some amazingly talented students out there with fresh ideas and fresh eyes who will jump at the opportunity to make a few extra bucks and take a few pieces for their portfolios. It's really a win/win situation for everyone if you know how to edit your own photos.

 

[lilylover]

I have the Canon Rebel XT and am going to upgrade to the t1i very soon. I am a wedding photographer, so am taking the leap at the extra megapixels the t1i offers over the XT. Here is my website where you can see the pictures I have taken with this camera to give you a feel of the quality of phoots the camera takes. I can imagine that the t1i is even better! http://www.bethaubreyphotography.com

Canon makes great cameras and I would choose them over Nikon any day. The Canon Rebel t1i is probably out of your price range, however, as I haven''t seen it much below 750 dollars with the lens (around 650 if you just want the camera body). I think the XTi or even the Xsi would be sufficient if you are really watching the budget.

Hope that helps!

 

[ArtistJess]

Yes, it really does! I think I have narrowed it down to either the Rebel XS or the Rebel XSi. Just not sure yet if I''d prefer to spring for the XSi or just use that extra hundred/hundred-fifty for a nice lens or some accessories. I already have a nice tripod and camera bag so I wont need those, but I am considering a nice macro lens.

Lovely photos, by the way, and amazing website. Did you create it through Bludomain (or some other flash-based website host) or did you create it yourself? Either way, amazing photos. Your camera seems to have very nice photo quality. Do you have any special lenses or did you just purchase the kit?

 

[lilylover]

Glad I could help! If I were you I''d just stick with the Rebel XS body only if you can find it sold without the lens, and invest in a nice lens. The kit lens is pretty bad, to be honest, and I wouldn''t think of taking professional pictures with it. I have two lenses that I use. One is a very inexpensive lens at <100 dollars. It''s the Canon 50 mm f 1.8. It''s not a zoom lens so requires a lot of moving around, but the qaulity of pictures you will get is well worth it. I also have an awesome macro lens that was fairly expensive at 600 dollars but I don''t use that at weddings.

For your wedding you''ll probably want a lens with a bit of a zoom on it. Something with the focal range of 20-70mm would be nice, but probably not budget realistic. Take a look at the 55-250mm lens and see what you think. It''s under 200 dollars.

Thanks for the compliments on my website My fiance gave it to me as a Christmas present. It is indeed from bludomain.

Good luck!

 

[laughwithme]

My FI is into photography and I bought him an XSi in May. He loves it and its perfect for a beginner - not TOO many features, but still an awesome SLR. The standard lens (18-55mm,) however, does NOT zoom far - its actually almost pitiful, it basically only zooms across our living room. For ceremony shots from a distance, it won''t be enough. He has purchased a larger zoom lens (55-250mm) that does the trick and could easily take care of the distance shots, but it cost about $300. He also bought a $100 "nifty fifty" fixed lens which does some great creative shots and he often uses in place of the standard lens. I would do plenty of research on how far away some of your shots will be and if the standard lens will be up to par. As for the camera itself, its awesome. Really amazing when you''re used to a point and shoot. FI knows some editing skills but for many pics, we find no need, because they turn out good enough anyway. My best friend also bought an XSi shortly after me and she is also very impressed (bought the zoom lens immediately after realizing how short-distanced the standard is.)

Your best bet may be to buy the camera body and go from there with lenses you need.

 

[katamari]

Any chance the photography students can borrow cameras and lenses from their school? I went to undergrad at a school with an outstanding art school, and they had cameras and lenses for the students to use for projects to save them the expense as students. Just something to look into if you aren''t interested in actually having a high end camera for yourself.

 

[IrisAccents]

I have a refurbished Nikon D40x and I LOVE it! I finally took the plunge to digital SLR photography after being a film snob for years. I can personally recommend the nikon, but I think whatever brand you choose, you''ll get great pictures, as long as you (or the person using it) really know how to use it correctly.

I have bought and helped many of my friends purchase factory refurbished demo cameras from Cameta Camera and highly recommend them. They are the cameras that you look at and try out in the stores that have been sent back to ensure they are in tip top shape. They may have a couple of cosmetic blemishes, but they work perfectly and cost less.

Here''s a D40 Refub Auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-D40-Digital-SLR-Camera-18-55mm-Lens-4GB-Kit_W0QQitemZ350300139113QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDigital_Cameras?hash=item518f83ee69

Good luck with your search!

 

[FacetFire]

I am a professional wedding photographer, so I'll give you my thoughts. Are you getting married in a church or outdoors? If you are getting married in a church, to be totally honest, there is no way that you can purchase the correct camera and lenses for less than several thousand dollars. To shoot in a dark church, you need a camera that takes good images at very high ISOs and lenses that shoot at very wide apetures, both of which are very expensive. If your friend knows a lot about photography and you truly have confidence that he can operate the equipement in these dark conditions, I would recommend renting equipment. For a few hundred dollars, you can rent a great camera, lenses, and flash for a weekend. Also, if he knows how to shoot, he will already have a preference in terms of Canon versus Nikon. The buttons and operations on the two brands are very different and someone who is familiar with one brand and can make the needed changes quickly on that brand may not be able to do so on the other brand because they won't be familiar with the controls.

If you are getting married outdoors, the lighting conditions won't demand the same super-expensive camera and lenses, but will require knowledge of flash and manual exposure depending on how the sun is hitting your ceremony.

Does your friend own any of his own equipment? Please ask him to see some images that he has taken in similar lighting conditions to what your wedding will be like. There are definitely some students out there that can produce great work in challenging conditions, but there are more that cannot. It's just better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your wedding images. I would recommend talking more with your friend to find out his equipment and experience. I'm not trying to discourage you from using your friend, but it would be great to know more about what you'll be getting.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 1/4/2010 2:03:00 AM
Author: lilylover
Glad I could help! If I were you I''d just stick with the Rebel XS body only if you can find it sold without the lens, and invest in a nice lens. The kit lens is pretty bad, to be honest, and I wouldn''t think of taking professional pictures with it. I have two lenses that I use. One is a very inexpensive lens at <100 dollars. It''s the Canon 50 mm f 1.8. It''s not a zoom lens so requires a lot of moving around, but the qaulity of pictures you will get is well worth it. I also have an awesome macro lens that was fairly expensive at 600 dollars but I don''t use that at weddings.

For your wedding you''ll probably want a lens with a bit of a zoom on it. Something with the focal range of 20-70mm would be nice, but probably not budget realistic. Take a look at the 55-250mm lens and see what you think. It''s under 200 dollars.

Thanks for the compliments on my website My fiance gave it to me as a Christmas present. It is indeed from bludomain.

Good luck!

Ditto on the XSi and the 50 mm f/1.8 - awesome camera, and awesome lens. I''ve been working with this combo since August, and really wish I hadn''t gotten the kit lens with the XSi - honestly not worth it at all, IMO.

My only question is whether, as suggested above, a zoom lens will really be necessary to capture everything you''d want to capture at a wedding, and I suspect the answer is yes.

If you do some browsing around on camera forum websites, you should be able to find some recommendations for decent zoom lenses in various price/quality brackets.