A little help and info for christmas present for wife

[jwa95ta]

First time poster here looking for info for a new camera for my wife this Christmas.

Right now she has been taking pictures with here Minolta stsi for about 5-6 years. She has gotten pretty good with it, but she has realized she wants to step into the digital world finally.

Right now I have been looking at Canon eos 20d, rebel xt and a 10d that someone she works with is selling with a lot of nice extras (like the battery grip thing. Sorry for my terminology but my wife is the photographer and I just carry the bag  haha)

I am not sure about the price of the 10d as of right now. But I have been on the net looking at prices for the rebel xt and the 20d.

My first question is, am I right about the fact that with the lenses she has for her Minolta stsi they will not work on a digital Minolta? She has the lens it came with and a wide angle and zoom lens. The last two lenses are not Minolta but aftermarket like Tamron.
That is the reason she has been looking at canon since she believes she cant transfer her existing lenses to the digital world.

My second question is about the extras I should look for if I get her a new camera. I have been looking on ebay and I am not too impressed by the kits they have on there. I read a post on here expressing the same idea. I can tell the filters they have are cheap. The 3GB micro drive I am not sure about at all. I assume that is the memory card for the camera???

So if I don’t go with one of the kits, which I more then likely wont, then what things are a must have besides a lens to get her going Christmas morning? What would be a good memory card, etc.. :

Another question is computer related. Right now the pc we have would do a better job serving as a boat anchor  Our plans are to have a new pc around feb or march. Is it possible to enjoy the digital slr without a pc at first? I mean we can always use my brothers computer to burn pics to a cd or something.

Last question sort of pertains to the pc, and that is a printer. I know we can take pics on a memory card or disc to a place like walgreens or a photo place and have them printed from that, but not sure how expensive that is. Do most of you guys use a printer to print your pics? If so what price range am I looking at to print good quality prints from. My wife loves to have her pics in albums so everyone can look at them so we would be printing a lot I would imagine. The home printers I have seen in the past just didn’t cut it for me to print pics out on. And this was on photography paper as well.

To help out some, my wife takes pictures of everything. Sporting events, nature, landscapes, animals, kids, still life, etc.. You name it she has taken it, well maybe not war photography. Of the 3 cameras I have listed above, which would be the best all around for this. I know some cameras might be better suited for sports, and another better for landscapes, but I am sure she would want something that can handle all of it well.


Thanks guys for any help you may be able to give me.

Thanks,

Jason

PS, please ignore any spelling or grammar mistakes. This has taken me over 40 mins to type between phone calls, and interruptions here at work  And I was on my lunch break I promise!!!!

[another view]

Well, I'll give it a shot:

1. As you've probably found out, the 10D was discontinued and replaced by the 20D. You might find a bargain on a used 10D, and quite a few people here use it. Used DSLR's go for a fraction of the original price - "completed items" at ebay are a pretty good indication of value. If it were me, I'd only buy a used DSLR from someone I knew. Way too much stuff to go wrong, and expensive repair bills to deal with.

2. Not sure about Minolta, personally. In the case of Nikon, you can mount older lenses, but you lose a lot of important features. This is something else to find out about.

3. I'd stay away from kits offered on ebay, and especially micro drives. Micro drives are tiny hard drives and tend to be very fragile. In ancient digital history (like five years or so ago...) they were larger in capacity and quicker than the very durable compact flash memory cards, but that's not the case anymore. I use nothing but CF cards and have 256mb, 512mb and 1 gig cards. A pair of 512's or a gig would be a good start. Probably best to get a spare battery as well.

4. You won't get too far with a DSLR and no computer. If she really gets into it, she will work with something like Adobe Photoshop to get the most out of her images. Just like black & white master printers used to do, but now behind a computer instead of in a darkroom. It is possible, and 1-hour photo places usually let you order prints right from your memory card, and can burn them to CD for you as well (for a slight fee...).

5. I don't own a printer. I use mpix.com and they're excellent. Sure, I pay shipping every time I use them, so for one or two small prints I go to a local place. We have a grocery store here that charges .18 per 4x6, and the prints are excellent (as long as I've done my job ;)). Unless you plan on using it at least a few times a week, it's not worth the headaches IMO.

Good luck with the purchase - and point her to this site if she has questions.

[jwa95ta]

Thanks for the reply another view. Its good to hear not everyone uses a printer. I have never heard about mypix.com but will go check that out.

Yeah , if I do get her a camera this year, the pc will not be far behind. 2 months tops. We have just been putting off a pc purchase until we could get dsl. Right now its just dial up. You would think a person who works for the phone company could pull some strings and get some dsl hahah

I will stay away from the kits as well. I did see some kits on adorama, and b&h? I wonder if those kits are better. I will look at them again and see if they come with better items like the cf card you mentioned.

Again, thanks a lot!!

jason

[SmartWombat]

>> Right now I have been looking at Canon eos 20d, rebel xt and a 10d that someone she works with is selling with a lot of nice extras (like the battery grip thing. Sorry for my terminology but my wife is the photographer and I just carry the bag  haha) <<

Yes, the first Canon dSLR I used was the 10d, quite nice. The 350 has similar features, but is smaller and lighter. The 20d is a step up again in features, and is bigger and heavier, for me it was the right stating point for motorsport.


>> My first question is, am I right about the fact that with the lenses she has for her Minolta stsi they will not work on a digital Minolta? She has the lens it came with and a wide angle and zoom lens. The last two lenses are not Minolta but aftermarket like Tamron.
That is the reason she has been looking at canon since she believes she cant transfer her existing lenses to the digital world. <<

Pass, I use Canon.


>> I have been looking on ebay and I am not too impressed by the kits they have on there. I read a post on here expressing the same idea. I can tell the filters they have are cheap. <<
I'd avoid the kits too, spend the extra on lenses, or the remote release.


>> The 3GB micro drive I am not sure about at all. I assume that is the memory card for the camera??? <<

Right, they're like memory cards but have small disks in them. Mivrodrive is large capacity, fairly cheap, but slow and fragile. I've owned two and wouldn't recommend them.
4G memory cards are now cheaper tha buying 2x 2G cards, and that's my decision point for buying the next size up. Check that the camera will work with large memory cards, I'm not sure if the 10D and 350XT will work with 4GB and larger (that's about 500-600 RAW images).
A 4G card will fit on one DVD, a handy size for making backups


>> then what things are a must have besides a lens to get her going Christmas morning? <<
Memory card of course. How about a flash? The Canon flashes are good when used with the 10D or 20D, the internal flash on the 10D is quite powerful, but not as good as a 580EX obviously.
Does she have a tripod? How about a remote release for the Canon to use for macro and landscape?
Is she likely to take thousands of photos in a day? I do ! I use an omage store, I tried the Phototainer and it broke inside a year. Currently I'm using the XS DriveII and it's just not as good, but it does the job of copying memory cards to disk and was much cheaper.


>> Another question is computer related. Right now the pc we have would do a better job serving as a boat anchor  Our plans are to have a new pc around feb or march. Is it possible to enjoy the digital slr without a pc at first? I mean we can always use my brothers computer to burn pics to a cd or something. <<

Or have it done at a photo store. Our local CostCo (yes we have them in the UK!) will do memory card to CD copies, and printing, at very good prices.

>> Last question sort of pertains to the pc, and that is a printer. I know we can take pics on a memory card or disc to a place like walgreens or a photo place and have them printed from that, but not sure how expensive that is. Do most of you guys use a printer to print your pics? <<

Printer? NO. I go to CostCo with a CD of pictures to print. Or use Pixaco online in Germany, 12"x18" for only £2


>> If so what price range am I looking at to print good quality prints from. My wife loves to have her pics in albums so everyone can look at them so we would be printing a lot I would imagine. The home printers I have seen in the past just didn’t cut it for me to print pics out on. And this was on photography paper as well. <<

Newest Canon and HP printers look good. I've had nothing but trouble with Epson but I know many people swear by them and not at them.


>> To help out some, my wife takes pictures of everything. Sporting events, nature, landscapes, animals, kids, still life, etc.. <<
>> Of the 3 cameras I have listed above, which would be the best all around for this. <<

I'd say probably the 20D if it's fast sporting events.

You may get better value out of a second hand 10D though, when I shoot all day at a race meeting I can usually manage about 1000 images on a pair of batteries in the battery grip.
If you get extra batteries as well as the griip, they're worth about $50 each, you could be onto a a real winner buying second hand - at the right price.

[jwa95ta]

Thanks Paul for your reply.

Are you refering to a type of storage device below? One that you use with a pc?

" I do ! I use an omage store, I tried the Phototainer and it broke inside a year. Currently I'm using the XS DriveII and it's just not as good, but it does the job of copying memory cards to disk and was much cheaper."


Right now she has a tri pod. She has a manual release but for her minolta


Taking the images to a store to print seems to be a good idea. I have heard from two of you guys that do this.


As far as sports go, I would say the only sports I see her taking pics at are kids football and baseball games, and pro football(when they dont freak out with the zoom lens at security). So not fast sports. Would that mean she may be better suited for the rebel xt (350d)? I have been reading up on the two and the rebel xt sounds pretty nice as well.

I havent heard from her friend at work yet on the price he has for the canon 10d. I know she would love to have the newest technology to work with though. But it is hard to beat a camera with all the extras and two pro lenses. I think that is what he had. I just need to hear back from him on a price.

Thanks again,

jason

[another view]

I have never heard about mypix.com but will go check that out.

It's actually "mpix" which is a division of Miller's Lab. They're pretty well known among professional portrait photographers, and have a great reputation.

There are two kinds of kits, IMO. The type you were referring to show up on ebay from grey-market dealers (the guys who import stuff directly and can't really give you much of a warranty or support), and they include a lot of useless stuff like a tripod that doesn't even make a good paperweight. The other type is the ones that Canon would sell - consisting of a camera, lens and basically everything you need other than a memory card and a computer. Some places like B&H have the Canon kits and also include a memory card, and it may be at quite a discount over buying a card separately.

As far as the 10D goes, it might be a great deal - but that depends on price and what's included of course. Having the latest/greatest is nice, but next week (sometimes literally) something better will come out. The 10D is still perfectly capable of nice work, but the 20D has improvements. At some point, something will come along that will replace the 20D and it too will have improvements. Newer/faster/more expensive cameras will be better for sports, but still I've seen some nice work with sports from 10D's so it's certainly possible. The 350 is a step below the 20D I think (but I'm a Nikon guy...).

[Chunk]

My general advice for someone wanting to buy something for a photographer is "DON'T", especially when it comes to cameras. Fit and feel is important and I wouldn't want someone else (even my friends here who know somewhat about how I shoot) choosing my equipment. A better way to go is a gift certificate or money with a note that you'd like to buy her some photo equipment but don't know what she'd like most.

[Franglais]

My general advice for someone wanting to buy something for a photographer is "DON'T", especially when it comes to cameras. Fit and feel is important and I wouldn't want someone else (even my friends here who know somewhat about how I shoot) choosing my equipment. A better way to go is a gift certificate or money with a note that you'd like to buy her some photo equipment but don't know what she'd like most.

Canon's answer for the casual shooter is the Rebel XT (or 350D as it's called outside the States). The 10D & 20D are nice cameras but they have features you probably don't need, they're heavier and they're much more expensive (new) than the Rebel.

BTW it's expected that the 20D will be replaced by the 30D soon.

Charles