Hi all. I am new to the forum and it is good to see the wide range of advice available to all skill levels. I am getting ready to buy my first DSLR and have more or less settled on a Canon 50D body but am unsure of a choice of lens or lenses. I have decided to buy the body new because of the guarantee but am willing to buy s/h glass. I have read that the 17-85mm that I can get bundled with the body is quite good but I would appreciate some advise about a second lens, maybe 70-200 or 75-300. I would also appreciate some advice about a suitable flash, maybe one I can use off-camera as well, wirelessly maybe?

If anyone has any advice I would be very grateful.

The two zooms will do nicely. However, with a crop sensor camera, you will probably have to budget for a third lens starting at 10mm to give a 16mm equivalent focal length in full frame. On the second hand front there are some lens that work perfectly fine with film but can fail miserably with digital and also older 3rd party lenses such as sigma etc may need a rechip. These two links may be of interest.
http://http://www.photodo.com/category_2.html
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

As this is your first DSLR have you had a look at the Canon EOS 450D. Looking at the prices on www.warehouseexpress.com it can be picked up for £497 with the 18-55 IS lens, £500 cheaper than the 50D & 17-85 IS lens. I personally find the 17-85 IS lens included with the 50D kit to be a rather poor quality lens, IQ is very poor. Thats £500 extra to spend on some good quality glass, or the 450D body at £400 giving you £600 to put towards something like the Canon 24-105 f4 L.

As already said with a cropped sensor you may or may not want to buy a 3rd lens, a wide angled lens 10mm+

I always say invest in the best quality lenses you can afford, poor quality lenses will give you poor quality results no matter what body there attached too. Even if you do purchase the 50D chances are in say 2 years time you will want to upgrade your DSLR body anyway.

I guess it all depends what your budget is.

Personally, I would go for the 50D body only otpion.
2 lenses I can recommend from personal experience are the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.5 like this
http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/sigma-17-70mm-f2-8-4-5-dc-macro-lens-canon-fit_d4086.html

and the Sigma 70-300 like this one

http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/sigma-70-300mm-f4-5-6-apo-macro-super-dg-lens_d4153.html

Neither lens will break the bank and give good results.

If you can get to Rother Valley Optics at Kiveton, Ian will let you try the lenses on your camera, He also offers to price match.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have tried my nephew's 450D and found build, weight and size not to my liking. I was originally going to plump for the 40D but now that has been phased out the next logical step seems to be the 50D. Both of the lenses mentioned by astraman sound like just the right thing for me. If anyone reading this has any thoughts about filters I would appreciate some advice. I still have some filters from my film days and wondered if they are still any use to me now, in particular my linear polarising filter. Can I still use it or should I get myself a circular polarising filter and what is the difference?

Grateful for any info..

dpreview is the website for full-on camera geekage online, do a search in the forums and you'll come up with more info than you'll ever need.

Also, I don't really know what your budget is, but have a look into the Panasonic GH1 camera with 14-140mm lens, or its little brother the G1 - those cameras are getting incredible results in their categories. The GH1 is a fully equipped HD camcorder as well.

dpreview is the website for full-on camera geekage online, do a search in the forums and you'll come up with more info than you'll ever need.

Also, I don't really know what your budget is, but have a look into the Panasonic GH1 camera with 14-140mm lens, or its little brother the G1 - those cameras are getting incredible results in their categories. The GH1 is a fully equipped HD camcorder as well.

I'm hoping to get a canon 50D body (poss), 17-70, 70-300 zooms (poss), compatible flashgun and a few other bits and bobs, bag etc. and my limit is about £1500.

Hi Terrorfirma.

With a budget of £1500 for all you have detailed above, personally i would go for the 40d (if you dont like the 450d), they are being phased out, but you can still find them on ebay, Amazon etc http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EOS-40D-Digital-Camera/dp/B000V9KCEY but check the guarentee's before purchasing. This will save you a bit of money to spend more on lenses.

This website is good for checking prices on all accessories etc http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

Lenses - maybe the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro (£300-£350) or Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 as Astraman reccomended before. Personally i wouldn't go above a 200mm for telephoto lenses, but its all about personal preferences and it depends what you will be using the lenses for.

I think you could get a decent kit for £1500, but its always a catch 22 when buying lenses as once you have had a specific one for a while, you will be temped to upgrade it for say a Canon, like the Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L, which is excellent but costs a lot more than say Sigma or Tamron Lenses.

Daryl

I chose the 50D over the 40D mainly because the 40D is being phased out and because when you can find it in stock, it isn't that much cheaper than the 50D. The 50D body at camerbox is £700, the 40D at amazon (new) is £655.

As for use, I want to shoot landscapes to portraits to wildlife and sport. I think that covers just about everything. I do appreciate I could get a s/h 40D off ebay, but I want to buy a new body to make sure I get a guarantee. Camerabox offer a free two year guarantee. I just want to make sure I make the right decision first time as it is a considered purchase for me at the moment.

50d is a great camera, so you wont go far wrong, if it is only £45 more than 40d then sounds like the right choice. So £700 down, £800 to go. If you are ordering from camerabox i would see if you can get any deals when you purchase the 50d, like twin lenses deals, tripod, bags, flash gun, memory cards, filters (accessories) etc, you may get some money off.

I have the 50D and its bloody awesome!!!

The stock lens (in the kit) is good for every day and is a IS lens so is high quality, worth the extra money IMO.

A 300mm lens and a nifty 50mm prime lens would make a nice setup. Allowing you excellent portraits and lanscapes.

The 300mm is gonna cost you quite a lot for a IS so a tripod and a none IS is a option.

Feel free to PM me if you have any qestions.

I have a 450d and borrowed a 40D for a wedding shoot and loved it. I was considering upgrading myself so had been looking at the 40D and the 50D. The one thing that seems quite apparent in varois reviews of the 50D is that because of it's high pixel count it really does need a good quality lens, ideally better than the one they supply with it. I have a 24-105L on my 450d which when I bought it in Hong Kong cost me £500. These are now nearly double that. I know good lenses are an investment but bare in mind how much they cost. I have been keeping an eye on the 40D on Ebay and they come up quite often, might be worth considering a S/H one and getting some better glass with it.

Can't go too far wrong with the Sony Alpha range of DSLR's - very good entry level camera with plenty of lenses available (directly compatible with the Minolta lenses)

I have the 50D and its bloody awesome!!!

The stock lens (in the kit) is good for every day and is a IS lens so is high quality, worth the extra money IMO.

A 300mm lens and a nifty 50mm prime lens would make a nice setup. Allowing you excellent portraits and lanscapes.

The 300mm is gonna cost you quite a lot for a IS so a tripod and a none IS is a option.

Feel free to PM me if you have any qestions.

My budget won't stretch to a 300mm IS lens, but I have a solid tripod so that seems to be the way i'll go. I may try to pick up a 50mm prime off Ebay, if I have any cash left. Out of interest is your kit lens the 17-85mm IS?