Canon Rebel T2i 550D + 18-55mm + 55-250mm

Hi,
Currently I own a Sony H1 Compact camera. I'm thinking of going for a new Canon Rebel T2i DSLR camera. I'm which combination to be bought as given below.

1) Canon T2i 550D + 18-55mm ($849) + Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens ($211) = $1060

2) Canon T2i 550D Without Body ($714) +Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom ($586) = $1300

3) Canon T2i 550D + 18-55mm ($849) + Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens ($516) = $1365

Please can anyone tell me, which of the above combinations is better to buy. And which zooming lens do u suggest to go for mensioned above?

Thanks and Regards

-Ashan-

What kind of subjects do you plan to shoot? How serious are you about your photography? I own the 18-200 and I think it's a great lens. It won't give you the range of the other kits, but I think you'll be getting a better all-purpose lens. Then if you decide you need a long lens in the future, you can save up your money and invest in a better quality one.

Hi, first of all thank you very much for the quick reply. Actually I was doing my photography with my existing Sony H1 camera. I'm really interested on photography and sometimes I have noticed when I look at my photos that if I had a good camera than this, how better it would be like. Besides that I really want to own a SLR camera and do my photography(Even though my profession as a software engineer). However I'm not that pro in photography but I think I'm capable of taking good shots.

There is no in particular subject I would consider, but I'd like to take mostly nature photos. Again, any subject that my eyes catch, I would capture it with my lens :). Since this gonna be my first SLR camera, I'm really curious to go for the Canon T2i and either 18-200mm IS or 70-300mm IS USM zoom lens.

And also could you please let me know how much would be the zooming capabilities of each lenses mentioned above. My H1 has a 12x zoom. Would these lenses have a bigger zoom than that of H1?

Thanks and regards (sorry for the lengthy reply :-( ).

The H1's zoom gives the equivalent of a 36mm-432mm focal range on 35mm, the kits you mentioned are a

1) 28mm-400mm
2) 28mm-320mm
3) 28mm-480mm

However, do keep in mind the usefulness and purpose of longer, telephoto range shooting. Most common, usual shooting is done in the 28-150mm range, whereas the further range is more unique and specialized. You may have a major purpose for that long shooting, or maybe not. Did you find yourself frequently going beyond the 5x mark on your sony?

The things that will improve with the upgrade from your H1 would be, firstly - image grain, which is the shape, texture and pattern of the pixels, it will be. This will be an automatic improvement, which requires no effort from you, and is more noticeable the higher ISO speed you choose. Some of the other things that will improve also, is depth of field variety and control, as well as exposure range and accuracy, which will require some effort to achieve on your part. It will also be much pickier on focus placement and depth of field, as you will have more variety on both narrow and long ends, and the focus transition is more apparent and noticable on these larger optics (this is due to focal plane size). Don't expect it to be as easy shooting as your H1 was, but with some effort, you can definitely see a benefit of the rebel over the H1.