Hellobee Boards Topic: Help! Is this a good deal?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Help! Is this a good deal? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:50:21 +0000 Mae on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422918 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 22:24:51 +0000 Mae 1422918@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @scg00387: lol seriously no problem! I honestly was just looking for examples so I just pulled up the first link I saw, price shopping might not be a horrible idea (although I think thats as good as you'll do on the 50 and the cf card). Amazon, adorama, and bhphoto are all good places to buy equipment. I'm a little wary of ebay although I know some people have had good experiences there. Also if you live in a city you may have local camera shops. I stocked my mom with some used lenses from a local shop and they had a good selection, so I always check out the local places before buying :) Have fun learning! immabeetoo on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422901 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 22:21:03 +0000 immabeetoo 1422901@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mae: I so appreciate you taking the time to write that all out! I do intend to learn at least the basics. Right now I'm using a canon g11 and have played with it in manual mode, but it has had a focusing issue the past 2 years and even after I sent it in to canon, isn't 100%. I think everything you said made complete sense! Can't I use the telephoto lens to take pictures of myself far away?? Haha, I HATE being photographed but unfortunately it is the requirement of pattern testing. So I at least want them to look better... Should I price around other than Amazon - were you just using those as examples or are they decently priced? I love their customer service, anyways. CF card, good, have never heard of that. You're ahhhmazing. I will have to think of a way to repay you! Mae on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422848 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 22:06:23 +0000 Mae 1422848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @scg00387: No problem! So, here is more info than you probably ever realistically wanted. If you plan to stay a "photography idiot" and you don't want to learn how to use a dslr camera--- don't get one. You will generally take WORSE photos with a dslr than with a point and shoot if you don't know what you're doing, not to mention the fact that it is way heavier and bigger and harder to transport-- which means you're less likely to throw it in your purse and have it with you. If you are going to stay a very casual user I'd recommend heavily you get a nice point and shoot (they do make them!). But, there are great reasons to get a dslr if you're willing to learn how to use it. First, if you do learn how to use it the pics are way better. Second, it is much better for action shots of your LO! You may think he needs to be drugged, but you're used to using a point and shoot where you press the button and 2 seconds later the shutter clicks. With a dslr, the shutter clicks when you press the button, and you can hold the button down and take 9+ pics in a row rapid-fire. So you can actually get pics of your kid! Third, it will give you a lot more options in terms of what you can shoot because you can buy various lenses for various stuff you want to do. And a note about learning to use it. It is not that hard. Honestly. Google some beginners tutorials and you can be up and running in under 2 hrs. Obviously the more you practice the better, but just learning how to the camera works and how to shoot in aperture priority would be a good enough start. So, assuming you'll go the dslr route, I think the xsi is a good bet. It is an older model but its a good camera and super cheap to buy used. I used my xti heavily for almost 5 years and it was still going strong (I ended up giving it to my mom and she's still using it now 2 years later). As for lenses, it depends really on what you'll use it for. The 75-300 lens posted above is a telephoto lens. That is like, if you want to take pictures of things really far away. Which casual photographers don't really do much. It isn't good for sporting events generally because that is a cheap model that will be really slow (i.e. take a long time to focus and require a lot of light so it would have to be REALLY REALLY bright to get a decent pic). So like.. birds in bright sunlight? Meh. I think it's kind of useless for most people. The 24-85 I posted about is an awesome midrange lens IMO. It is my "walkabout" lens. You can take a picture of a decent sized group or zoom in a good bit. I'd say it is comparable to what you'll see on a standard point and shoot mostly. The 50mm lens is a good lens because it has a pretty low aperture (the 1.8) number. That means it lets in a lot more light than the 24-85 and therefore you can take pictures in lower light and have them come out better. It also allows you to blur out the background of photos (blur is called bokeh, its what makes pretty portraits!). This would also be a really good lens for taking photos of details of what you sew. I think you'd probably leave this lens on your camera a lot for taking pictures of sewing projects and smaller stuff, and also for taking pics of your LO (again, big aperture = better pics in low light and faster lens = you can rapid fire shots of your LO running around the living room and they will actually look good). So anyways, that's a super long winded way of saying-- yes you would be better served (IMO) to buy what I suggested. But hopefully it gives you a better understanding of why, or maybe why not if I made some false assumptions about how you'd use it. Also you will need a CF card because the camera does not come with one. I like this brand personally: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-CompactFlash-Memory-LCF16GCTBNA800/dp/B0093HGDVG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1392347154&sr=8-7&keywords=cf+card" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-CompactFlash-Memory-LCF16GCTBNA800/dp/B0093HGDVG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1392347154&sr=8-7&keywords=cf+card</a> Let me know if you have any other questions :) immabeetoo on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422695 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 21:30:33 +0000 immabeetoo 1422695@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mae: wow, thank you SO much I really appreciate it! Do you think I'd be well served to just buy the 3 you linked in your second post? I am your 100% typical photography idiot who just "wants better photos". Mostly so the pictures are better of things I sew, actually, my LO moves sooo much that I wouldn't be able to get many good pictures of him unless I drugged him :silly: chopsuey on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422470 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:50:35 +0000 chopsuey 1422470@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mae: omg you're awesome. I wanted to respond, but don't know much about cameras/lenses! Mae on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422461 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:49:55 +0000 Mae 1422461@https://boards.hellobee.com/ For example you could get a canon rebel xsi (one generation newer) for less than $200 used on amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Rebel-Camera-Body/dp/B0012Y88QQ" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Rebel-Camera-Body/dp/B0012Y88QQ</a> + a 24-85 lens (which is a great mid range lens, very good quality) for $125 on amazon used: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-24-85mm-3-5-4-5-Standard-Cameras/dp/B000053HHD/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1392342489&sr=1-1&keywords=canon+24-85" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Canon-24-85mm-3-5-4-5-Standard-Cameras/dp/B000053HHD/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1392342489&sr=1-1&keywords=canon+24-85</a> + 50mm 1.8 (aka nifty fifty) NEW for $100: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1392342536&sr=1-1&keywords=50mm+1.8" rel="nofollow">http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1392342536&sr=1-1&keywords=50mm+1.8</a> = $425 for a better camera, a better mid-range lens, and a great prime lens that will be super fast and let you get amazing portraits (I assume you'll want to use this on your LO!) Mae on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422442 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:46:58 +0000 Mae 1422442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My vote would be no. An xti is a pretty old digital camera. I used to have that camera and I think I bought it in 2008? It worked okay but there have been at least 3-4 iterations of the rebel series since then and I think you could find a used one of those for not much more money. You can buy a used xti from a reputable source for less than $200 (<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801034958-USE/Canon_1236B002_EOS_Digital_Rebel_XTi.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801034958-USE/Canon_1236B002_EOS_Digital_Rebel_XTi.html</a>) the 18-55 lens I would never recommend. It's a kit lens and pretty poor quality. Also its somewhat useless if you have the 17-85. Which you can also get for under $200 from a reputable source (<a href="http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20607818.html?gclid=CNHPnYu-yrwCFc5DMgodiRUAUA" rel="nofollow">http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20607818.html?gclid=CNHPnYu-yrwCFc5DMgodiRUAUA</a>). I also used to have the 75-300 and again, cheap lens. Super slow. And do you really even need a telephoto lens? As for accessories, any camera you get will come with a charger and battery. Extra batteries are like $50. A 16gb good quality CF card is only like $45. Basically, I just don't think the set he put together for you is very good, and I think you can do better for the same or less money. immabeetoo on "Help! Is this a good deal?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/help-is-this-a-good-deal#post-1422378 Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:37:02 +0000 immabeetoo 1422378@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I already got one person's feedback that this is a good deal at $500 and after asking, he said he could go to $475. I am still SO nervous to buy something so pricey off craigslist. reassure me, bees! The kit includes: Canon XTi 10.1 megapixel camera body Canon 18-55mm lense Canon 75-300mm lense Canon 17-85mm lense (A very high quality lense) USA and international battery charger 2 - Batteries 4 - CF Memory Cards totaling 11GB of space (1000s of pictures)