2nd 550D

[BOZZO]

Hi,

I very new to all this actally only started looking for a camera this week after a mate showed me his 550. So just a few quick questions.

What would be resonable to pay for just the body?

Also I'm thinking of the Tokina 16-50 f2.8 as my first lens? I'm interested mainly in shooting urban night/day shoots, cars and wide pano shots of landscape/city.

Am I going the right way about getting my 1st camera and lens?

[I @ M]

Buying a body and lens separately is a good way to go rather than just grabbing the first "kit" combo that comes along.
For your intended shooting I would have a look at the Tamron 17-50 F/2.8 as it has a very good reputation and will work well on a Canon 550.
Price wise for a body, research closely and find all the best deals that you can from REPUTABLE sellers, both on line and with shop fronts.

[mercho]

Welcome to AP...

I agree with Andrew, your going at this the right way rather than the twin kits! I have also heard great things about the tamron 17-50, so that may be another to look at.

Another thing to think about, is rather than getting the 550D, why not look at the 500D? Save yourself a couple of hundred to go towards glass, as fair as I know they aren't that much different?

Aus stock:
500D roughly $1k new
17-50 Tamron roughly $750 new

[BOZZO]

yeah i thought about that but want the hd video option of the 550d.

Well the Tamron and Tokina were the 2 that were on my list its just the Tokina is on ebay so thats why i was asking about it. They seem very similar, does the Tamron have a slight edge? what exactly?

[mercho]

A quick google:

http://photo.net/digital-camera-forum/00OwBP

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nschaden/1332341897/

http://www.dpchallenge.com/forum.php?action=read&FORUM_THREAD_ID=712940&page=1#4303959


I have never owned either of these lenses, I can only go by what I hear... The 17-40L is also a good choice, I can recommend that one from experience ;)

[BOZZO]

Yeah kinda running off and on the computer when i can haha didn't have time to search, so thanks for that.

I read a few reviews of the tokina and seemed quite nice but in those comparisons its looks shocking.

[EdZz]

I too was in your shows about 2 weeks ago, whether to go for the twin lens kit or get the body and lens separately. In the end i ended up deciding on the twin lens kit, as the range on both lens are fairly average, build quality wise its entry level nothing spectacular. But what sold me to get the twin lens was that i don't know what type of shots i will be taking as i'm also new to the DSLR world. So when i mess around with two lenses i will gauge and see what type of shots i'm really after from using the twin kit and then go out and buy the lens i really want.

This is opposed to me going out and buying the body and getting a lens that i 'think' that will take shots that i would want to take and end up not liking the lens or its not the right lens for me.. and spending more money on another expensive lens.

I'm currently borrowing my friends canon 50mm f/1.8 and its ok, but turns out that i 'think' i may been a 85mm prime instead.. so instead of me buying the 50mm thinking that it will do what i want it to do, i borrowed one off a friend, didn't like it and now trying to source a 85mm..

But in the end, each to their own.. good luck in your hunt!!