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Hello all,

I posted earlier this year about my going to MSU for college. Because I am leaving home, I will no longer be using my dad's camera for photos. I now plan on getting my own bundle to use. Almost everyone here who has a camera knows that it's no cheap investment, so I want to be sure that I get the right one for what I'm going to be doing. My budget is about $550.

I'm partial to Canon, since that's what I've been using for the last few years. This is pretty much what it's come down to:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/canon-eos-r ... Id=5004025

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M124AIU?psc=1

Is there a big difference between the two (with the exception of the additions in the Amazon bundle). I'm more worried about the camera and not all the accessories, but I must admit, the Amazon bundle definitely piqued my interest.

Thanks,

-NS

The bundles are OK but you end up with stuff that you rarely ever use. Concentrate on camera features (I.E. full frame vs non full frame, how fast it will write to the SD card, frames per second, len quality, etc.) Don't be afraid to buy on Ebay or the web from reputible resellers. You can sometimes get a used camera with lens for the same price as these kits but you end up with a higher end camera.

trnwatcher wrote:The bundles are OK but you end up with stuff that you rarely ever use. Concentrate on camera features (I.E. full frame vs non full frame, how fast it will write to the SD card, frames per second, len quality, etc.) Don't be afraid to buy on Ebay or the web from reputible resellers. You can sometimes get a used camera with lens for the same price as these kits but you end up with a higher end camera.

That's true. I'm not sure what I'd use the larger flash or the filters for but a lot of the stuff in the pack seems to be maintenance stuff which could come in handy. Not only that, but it comes with a memory card which I would have to buy separately from Best Buy which brings it up to 560 dollars.

Is the T6 better than the SL1? I can't really find a difference.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've successfully used most of the crap that came in my maintenance kit. A cheap microfiber cloth from the automotive department at my favorite big box store handles most of the maintenance I have to do to my camera (T2i, fwiw). It would be nice to have a bigger flash unit, or a remote trigger (or both!) than most of the accessories that came with the kit.

The only thing the SL1 does better than the T6 is video shooting or Live View autofocus. Phase-detect is a little worse (non-Live View).

Thank everyone for the help. Pre-college life has been so hectic that I forgot to post that I am now a proud owner of a Canon Rebel T6 EOS. I went to take some photos this morning and this was the result:





I'm really happy how these turned out, and hopefully it means good things to come on my trip next week.

Thanks again,

-NS

(Photos above are post-edit, which involved color saturation and vignette additions).

Dial back the cartoon colors, kid.

railohio wrote:Dial back the cartoon colors, kid.

Although the phrase is...unusual, to say the least, I agree. I'm still working with the original photo because the colors didn't come out the way I had hoped and I over compensated with the saturation.

You live and you learn, right?

Enjoy your new camera. Keep your dorm neighbors from swiping it. I too would dial back the saturation and probably the contrast too.

So now that I have my new camera, and have taken a few nice pictures with it, I'm (almost) ready to try something that has interested me for a long time: long-exposure shots. Only issue is, I do not have a tripod. Is there any that you all would recommend that is a durable and long-lasting product?

Thanks,

-NS

NSSD70ACe wrote:So now that I have my new camera, and have taken a few nice pictures with it, I'm (almost) ready to try something that has interested me for a long time: long-exposure shots. Only issue is, I do not have a tripod. Is there any that you all would recommend that is a durable and long-lasting product?

Depends on what you wanna do. If you just wanna stick your DSLR on top of a fairly sturdy tripod from time to time, then a medium-weight tripod from a good manufacturer will do. Go heavier if you want reliability in wind or want to do more video.

I've seen guys do just fine with the "$20 Wal-Mart" item, but those tend to break after perhaps 100-200 uses, if it goes even that far.

I've also had a Velbon 638 which has treated me nicely, despite it not necessarily receiving it back in kind. It's been tossed around at times now that it is the "spare" but still works great. Biggest thing is metal legs and NO screws for leg tightening - they suck because they strip out - AVOID!

The Velbon 638 will allow for good video and has a fluid head, while some of the cheaper Velbon products will work good for photo-only or no-pan video, since they generally don't come with a fluid head, but still have the weight and general quality.

I currently use the Magnus VT-3000 as my primary, but that's probably huge overkill for a DSLR, or any low-to-mid-range video camcorder.

As my friend who shoots with his tiny tripod and phone has said "there are two very different standards of photography going on here". Even between stills vs video, there is a fair amount of spread in what you need in terms of weight.

railohio wrote:Dial back the cartoon colors, kid.

NSSD70ACe wrote:So now that I have my new camera, and have taken a few nice pictures with it, I'm (almost) ready to try something that has interested me for a long time: long-exposure shots. Only issue is, I do not have a tripod. Is there any that you all would recommend that is a durable and long-lasting product?

Thanks,

-NS

I've had enough junk tripods over the years to buy a really nice one. If you can raise your budget a bit I'd recommend a MeFoto Roadtrip. It's a very nice tripod for not a lot of money. If you look around sometimes they will show up used. Take a look on the Fred Miranda buy & sell forum.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... d_kit.html

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/posts/ ... arch,,,0/0

One more thing don't forget to buy a shutter release.