Hello,

For a long time I've had this interest in taking pictures.

A few years ago i got a cheap 2 Megapixel Kodak camera at some Christmas sale. Was a great learners experience but i soon realized it didn't really fit my needs in the long run.
Under a year ago i purchased another camera on sale ( I know, never had that much money ) A Canon PowerShot A710 IS - Great camera! Been using that for a while now, taken a lot of pictures and is really pleased with it. But yet again i feel the need to step up once more, get some cameras in the more expensive range.

My first thought was the Canon EOS 400D - I have heard nothing but great things about it. Although on the pricey side for me, I'm willing to shell out the cash for it ...
Problem is, i wouldn't have the cash for purchase in lenses now ( Perhaps sometime in the future? ) But for now I'm gonna have to make do with the standard lens that comes with the one I'm looking at ( Canon EF-S-objektiv, 18-55 mm ).

So i was gonna ask, should i go ahead and get this camera, wait around for an updated version perhaps there's a whole other camera that would suit my needs better, like same quality but better with a default lens?

Hope you understand where I'm going, don't wanna rush into this with these prices!


/ Michael.

The 400D is going to get updated soon, so I would until that's shipping to take advantage of the lower prices.

Definitely is a great camera though. The kit lens is by no means bad and will take great shots (many examples in the digital gallery here) so I wouldn't worry about that.

More 18-55 sample shots: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=185522

Well, I was at the same boat few months ago, after many weeks of extensive research, I settled on an Olympus E-510 with the 2 kit lens (according to reviews, two of the best kit lens with any camera you can get) and I can't be any happier! Check reviews to know about the full features and comparison to similarly priced cameras (including the 400D):

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse510/
http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/OlympusE510/

Also you may take a look at the E-410, if you don't need image stabilization and like a more compact body.

The Canon 400D is a great DSLR as well, but just to give you something to think about...

You'll become an addict like I did

Started off with a 2.1MP Epson PhotoPC 850z, but it was too big and sucked up batteries

Went to a Sony Cybershot DSC-P72 but it had no sports mode, so max shutter was limited around 1/60th

Got a Canon A510 and had a lot of fun for 8 months or so. I didn't feel that I was getting really quality pics, so I decided to save and get...

Nikon D50. Loved this camera to death. Took thousands of pictures and made a few hundred selling stuff on and off. Only upgraded for more FPS and better ISO

Canon 40D. Just got it. Its amazing. Only thing I dont like is the LCD, and its lower resolution making it hard to tell if its in focus when checking

I still have my Canon A510 to be my "backup" to my 40D, especially when I go to parties and don't want to drag a DSLR around.


Of course I remember like 4 months ago thinking that the 40D was way out of my price range...

You can zoom in and out using the the star and af buttons to the top right of the back of the body.

The majority of my earlier work was shot using the 18-55 and only in 2007 did I save enough to buy the £650 17-55 lens. This should give you an idea of what the kit lens can do as a photographic tool. I'm using a 350D too btw and my buddy has a 400D which I do like. I will upgrade to a 400D or maybe even the update this year as the 350D is on 13,000 actuations which is 3000 more than it's rated limit!

Naw, the rated limit is around 50k, but I have seen cameras rated for 50k go for near 100k without problem

The 18-55 isn't bad for general use, but if you use it more, you will see how important a consistent aperture is

The 350D is not rated to 50K, the 20D and it's updates are rated 20K whereas the 400D, 350D and 300D are rated to 10,000 actuations as an average lifespan.

According to the digital picture, it's 50k for 350D/400D/20D. 30D/40D/5D 100k.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews...era-Review.aspx

It really isn't that big of a deal anyhow as they're very durable anyhow and a new a shutter isn't expensive.

Haha tell my buddy with close to 70k pictures on his 300D (and I thought I was a nut!)

Chances are you'll never hit that unless you are shooting a TON of sports. Hell I was averaging around 10k a year for the past two years (including 1k per day at 2 sports events) and that you'll sell teh camera or get a new one before it happens.

It is quite expensive, Canon UK request around £200 for a shutter service on a 300D class camera. I know this because my ones shutter died on a winter morning hence me upgrading to 350D.

Regarding the actuations though yes I will agree they are very hard wearing but the rated actuations tested was quite different to those posted here when I read the Canon forums during initial purchase of both 350 and 300D bodies!

Oh, that's UK. It's about half of that I believe in the US from what I've heard for the rebel line.

if u dont' shoot jpg mode and do raw u can just bump up ur picture style sharpening settings to about 6 and then u can tell if ur pics are in focus or not really easily.

I started off in 81 with a Canon AE-1, it died in 2000, bought a Rebel....in 2002
bought a 2 mp digi, then a 3.1 digi, then a Sony H-1 3 years ago.
Bought a Panasonic FZ-50 in June instead of a DSLR do to the price.
I like the FZ-50 because it has a hot shoe for external flash, and full manual
control (including focus). It's a great camera, sort of a bridge between a DSLR
& a point & shoot. Hopefully, my next camera will be a DSLR, but I don't take
enough pictures to justify the price of a DSLR & the lenses. I like to shoot
close up & air shows, and lugging around a bag of lenses isn't something I want
to do.
As with other posters, one of the best sources of information would be www.dpreview.com
It's a daily stop for me.