Toronto Photography Meetup Group

is this a good camera to start photography with?
Whats a great lens for all around stuff like, night, landscape and objects?
I don't want to have like 3-4 lens
I'm not rich either so I have a budget of like $800-900 to buy a nice lens, a cannon xsi a carrying case and uv thingy:)
Thanks

http://www.photoprice.ca/product/02582
http://www.photoprice.ca/product/00007

Thats the ideal lens for what I want bud?

If your budget is under $900 then the 50mm is a good all-around lens. A little long for a small room but it would get you started. You should be able to find a used 24-135mm IS lens for under $275 on ebay or Craigslist.

is that lens a better idea?

My bad, it's 28-135mm. It's a pretty decent lens for the price and pretty versatile. Not great for low-light shooting 'cause it's f3.5 at the widest but has IS to help somewhat.

That's why I suggested the kit and the nifty fifty. canon's cheapest and most useful beginner package. you can find them all on craiglist. that will save you some money. it's the best start that i can suggest to anybody.

For some strange reason no one is selling a used canon xsi tried kijiji, craigslist and redflagdeals and they all want insane amounts of money or they don't even show... can't really afford to buy it new.. :S

Considered the XS? I think it's the cheapest at Staples right now. Just the body though. But you can find both lenses on CL.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS - around $150 used
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens - around $100 used
Canon EOS Rebel XS - $548.82 @ Staples

Fits under your budget and you'll have enough to play around for a quite awhile. Use the extra money and buy yourself an second battery. A UV filter isn't necessary.

I second the XS... I'm using it now, and it does the job.

Using it, you'll find your limitations and of course, over time, you'll want something else, but nevertheless, its a great start.

I got mine on CL, and it was basically a steal. I've seen a few more pop up here and there so be patient.

If you google the differences between the XS and XSi, they are fairly marginal, especially when starting up. As a beginner note, SD memory is substantially cheaper than CF cards.

haha

If you can live without Live View, a used XTi is a more capable camera than the XS and can be had quite cheaply.

The XTi lacks the buffer crippling and RAW shooting speed crippling of the XS.

Don't get the XS.

Lubin will attest to this. He grew out of it in less than 3 months.

XTi > XS if you have to choose.

I know it is too late but I would go used 30D. you can find them in the $500 range. And are awesome for the money. Pass on the rebels entirely.

I would disagree. The XSi is a superb body and the perfect combination of light weight and performance that I am enjoying very much. Live View is great for critical focusing, viewfinder is bright and most importantly it has a great sensor, probably the best in the current Canon crop lineup. Looking at the dpreview tests, it's ISO 1600 RAW performance is cleaner and better than either the latest 50D or T1i.

lol, as much as I complain, it's a good place to start.

I suggest reading:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos1000d/page2.asp
see what features you rather have and live with it.

I personally will stick with my XS until they come out with a 60D and see if I want to upgrade at that time.

The size of the rebels drive me nuts personally. I prefer the performance and speed and flexibility of the Compact flash interface. The camera is more sturdy as it is a Pro's camera. There are more ports on the 30D. The second LCD display is good to have. Pro's and Cons for sure.