digital camera

[scorpious321]

im thinking of bying a new digital camera has anyone had a canon E0S 450+18_55MM LENS 12.2 MEGAPIXELS

[gen2]

Yes

[fo3nix]

It's a very good choice.

But it depends what you want to do.

Quick photos of your friends, out and about? Definitely overkill.

Fast photography of sports or wildlife? Go for it!

[gen2]

fo3nix, I was waiting to see what scorpious321 wanted to know about it, or what it was for.

For sports and nature photography I would have thought the lens a bit on the short side. I added a 90 - 300 zoom to my kit.

[scorpious321]

hiya it was for out and about catching quick shots of wild life etc and at a distance I take it gen2 the 90 to 300 mm lens is best

[gen2]

You've got it in one. If you are going to be "at a distance" from the wildlife you hope to photograph, then you definitely need a longer lens than 55mm. Also, don't expect to hand-hold it at the 300mm end of the range (unless you like blurred images).

The fact that you are asking about such basic things makes me wonder whether you are ready to move into the digital SLR market. What have you been using up to now? What do you find inadequate about its capabilities?

The disadvantage of any digital SLR is its bulk. You have to make a conscious decision to take it out with you. I find that I also need a small compact digital camera with 5 to 8 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom (cost under �100). That goes everywhere with me in my jacket pocket. Not something you can easily do with the EOS 450D. Without it you may miss a great possibility.

What do you intend to do with the images you take?
Sell them? Publish them?
For a Camera Club?
For competitions?
How big do you intend to print them? or will you just view them on a computer screen?

Do you intend to master (or already know) image manipulation software like PaintShop Pro or PhotoShop?

In other words, I am trying to determine if you are a serious photographer or a snapper.

[buildersmate]

The camera body is great but the lens is not up to much. I think you will find that most of the elements are not glass but plastic. There are far better lens' made by Sigma for the Canon EOS fitment.

[fo3nix]

The standard lens will force you to learn other photography techniques, and not just rely on zoom. This can be very beneficial. There are camps that would argue all first-time camera users should be subjected to a camera without a zoom.

If you want further range, I'd go with gen2's advice.

If, as gen2 puts it, you're more of a snapper, but want more than the average compact will provide, then look into some of Panasonic's Lumix cameras. They have good compacts with long zooms (and appropriate anti-shake!), or slightly larger cameras that combine a lot of the best bits of a full SLR, without some of the other issues (typically, the lens is fixed, but has great zoom, with quality optics).

[:pagan:]

http://www.olympus.co.uk/consumer/29_18509.htm

I got one of those and its great.