Author Topic: Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?  (Read 5746 times)

  • Offline Kunal

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #15 on: August 16, 2010, 14:11:18 PM
I have a 40D body for sale if youre interested   -)

Ive had the 7D for a couple of months now and really cant fault it, amazing piece of kit.

  • Offline Kunal

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #16 on: August 16, 2010, 14:12:57 PM
Quote from: Dave
Quote from: zpyder

The 40/50Ds dont have live view do they? May be a silly question but just what do they offer over the consumer level stuff, just better quality?


They do have live view as far as Im aware. Theyre also a bit more robust/better build quality, better autofocus, faster frame rate... theyre just a step up from the rebels/XXXD series - they still have the 1.6 crop sensor but with a more robust body and more pro features...

The 40D essentially has the same sensor as the 400D (it is supposedly different with better low light performance- but essentially the same) - so if you were to take a picture of a fairly static subject on a bright sunny day using the same lens youd likely get the same image from either camera. The differences come where you want to say shoot sports or wildlife or perhaps want to shoot in low light better autofocus, faster frames per second etc.. will help.

This thread has got me weighing up the idea of purchasing a 50d, 7d or 60d(to be released soon) in a few months.


Dave Id avoid the 50D if I were you, it wasnt much of an upgrade over the 40D. The megapixel bump just resulted in a shed load of noise.

60D will be interesting, although for the intro price when it launches youll be better paying a bit more and getting the 7!

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #17 on: August 16, 2010, 15:19:07 PM
Quote from: Kunal
I have a 40D body for sale if youre interested   -)


But at what price? and is it the current version with live-view?

I still cant justify silly money unfortunately.

Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #18 on: August 16, 2010, 15:40:15 PM
Quote from: zpyder
Quote from: Kunal
I have a 40D body for sale if youre interested   -)


But at what price? and is it the current version with live-view?

I still cant justify silly money unfortunately.


40d has live view & there isnt much price difference between used 40ds & 450ds

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #19 on: August 16, 2010, 15:43:21 PM
Have they always had live view? For some reason I thought live view was a recent(ish) thing and 40Ds were around before it came out.

Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #20 on: August 16, 2010, 15:50:48 PM
Quote from: zpyder
Have they always had live view? For some reason I thought live view was a recent(ish) thing and 40Ds were around before it came out.


i believe so....

heres another reason to have live view

http://www.stopmotionpro.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=126&Itemid=80

  • Offline zpyder

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #21 on: August 16, 2010, 15:55:12 PM
Yeah, pretty sold on making the jump from a xxxD to a XXD now ;)

Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #22 on: August 16, 2010, 16:07:15 PM
Quote from: zpyder
Yeah, pretty sold on making the jump from a xxxD to a XXD now ;)


you can shoot them on a greenscreen & make your own godzilla shows  :w00t:

  • Offline Sam

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #23 on: August 16, 2010, 16:28:12 PM
Quote from: Dave
not necessarily - tis the lenses too

Best thing I did was get a prime lens (nifty fifty) and start playing with it - improved things a lot - I was pretty much forced to do so as the kit lens you get with a canon is pretty ropey.

Get this lens and keep it on your camera for a while:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-50mm-F1-8D-Nikkor-Lens/dp/B00005LEN4/ref=sr_1_1/279-8106084-8849737?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1281882051&sr=1-1

It forces you to think about composition, youll get very sharp images from it as all manufacturers have been making 50mm lenses for decades and they can make the very well without the compromises needed to make a zoom. Youll have access to a much wider aperture and so can take pics in low light without flash, take pics with very shallow depth of field... tis good for portraits as you can throw everything behind the subject out of focus and its a good focal length for the face etc.. to not be distorted (50mm on your crop sensor camera is equivalent to 80mm on one of the more expensive full frame cameras).

Ive since invested in an 85mm f1.8 prime lens and a decent replacement for the kit lens that came with the camera - tamron 17-50 f2.8 is a fantastic lens - Im not sure what your standard zoom lens is like - nikon tend to put more expensive zooms with their entry level DSLRs so you might not need to replace it but Ive found that having f2.8 across all focal lengths has been great - the tamron lens was less than <£300 and tbh.. to get any better than that lens Id have to fork out for the very expensive canon equivalent costing more like £700 or get myself a 5D + the 24-70 which would cost £2.5k


Good advice Dave thanks.

I have the stock Nikon 18-55 that comes with the D5000. I think Ill try one of these prime lens which I get my first pay check.

Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #24 on: August 16, 2010, 16:32:11 PM
Quote from: Sam


check.


i bet you got an accent & wear a 10 gallon hat

  • Offline Kunal

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #25 on: August 16, 2010, 16:40:17 PM
Quote from: zpyder
Quote from: Kunal
I have a 40D body for sale if youre interested   -)


But at what price? and is it the current version with live-view?

I still cant justify silly money unfortunately.



As others have mentioned the 40D has live view.

Im looking for 400 pounds delivered (RMSD insured). Includes a spare battery as well and comes in the original box. Its been well looked after and only had 8000 actuations, so I think this is a fair price.


  • Offline Dave

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #26 on: August 16, 2010, 18:36:40 PM
Quote from: Kunal

Dave Id avoid the 50D if I were you, it wasnt much of an upgrade over the 40D. The megapixel bump just resulted in a shed load of noise.

60D will be interesting, although for the intro price when it launches youll be better paying a bit more and getting the 7!


Yeah Im going to wait until the 60D comes out before I make a decision - I might well end up going for the 7D - simplyelectronics are doing them for £1019 at the moment - Ill have to see what price they set the 60D and what theyve omitted compared to the 7D.

  • Offline Kunal

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  • Offline zpyder

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #28 on: August 17, 2010, 10:14:24 AM
If I could afford it, would a 550D be a better buy than a 40D? I get the impression that aside from a slight drop in image quality, the 550D may be better in terms of weight and options? in 2-3 years would they both be worth about the same for when I wanted to sell on? I know the 550D is newer, but I get the impression the consumer level cameras drop in price quicker than the "prosumer" and professional ones?

EDIT:
I guess the £150 Id be saving with the 40D could be used to get a decent (ish) lens, given that I am still using the 18-55mm kit lens and a 70-300mm Sigma telephoto lens. Both of which I know are pretty much at the bottom end of the scale in terms of quality. For ~£150 what lens would be a good general performer? Im guessing a 50mm?

  • Offline Kunal

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Re:Pondering upgrading to a 500d or similar / Gumtree?
Reply #29 on: August 17, 2010, 10:30:26 AM
The main benefit of the 550D will be HD video.

It also depends what youd like in terms of in hand size. the xxxD range is small to hold, whilst the xxD and above all tend to be larger (well normal size).

A Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II will be 75 quid. Best bang for buck lens out there.

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