Thread: Canon EOS 550D

Brett, I have the earlier model Canon 450D. Great camera, easy to use and really happy with the picture quality. The 550D is not a lot different and the 450D is still being sold. In fact saw it advertised in last weeks' Age green pages for $799 with the 18-55 IS lens, a steal at that price.

Edit:

450D was being advertised by Croydon Camera House, there are a lot of Camera House members in Sydney so it should be available in your neck of the woods.

Brett,

I have had a 400d with the standard 18-55mm kit lens (non IS), and then added a 70-200mm USM L Series lens to it.

I now have a 50d with a 24-105mm IS USM.

My advice and past experience is that the quality of the bodies is such that you wont be disappointed in the 550d - what makes the experience that much better is a good quality lens. Look at what photos you have and what style of photography you like. There are lenses that are specific for each eg landscape, portrait - no one "all rounder" lens will outperform a specific lens for those jobs - but you can have excellent results with having a specific lens or two.

Some examples I would consider in increasing price that are good places to start:

Canon EFS 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - $165
Canon EFS 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - $418
CANON EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Wide Angle Lens - $545
Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS - $1300

Then:
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L Series $1600
Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS L Series $1300

The above entirely depends on budget, shooting style, need for low aperture for low light, IS vs non-IS, what is included in a kit, whethter you will upgrade to full frame at any point, etc, etc. There are no right or wrong answers to all this, and certainly I am no expert but before you just grab a kit lens package, weigh up getting a body only and adding a more specific lens to it.

Nick

you wont be disappointed with the 550D, I have just recently upgraded from my trusty Fuji s9500 to the Canon 50D with kit 18-200 lens, I bought the Canon 100mm macro and the canon 10-22 ultra wide as well, I bought the lenses from DWI photographics at a really good price and the camera body and lens off Ebay, hardly normal often has the 50d body out on super special pretty regular as the new 60d is due out soon, I have seen the 50d body for under $1,000, there are some really good specials on cameras at the moment just keep your eyes peeled

Exactly - the 50d body is readily available for $950

I agree wholeheartedly with what Nick has wrote above, if I was to buy again I would go the 50D body only then purchase the lenses separately as needs apply, the glass is what makes the shot, the body captures it, I would love "L" glass but cant justify the expense, my ideal would be starting with the 5D m11 but the minister for finance says no! it all boils down to how much we are willing to spend! I have my eye on a Canon 300mm "L" for birding but currently haven't the pennies

Originally Posted by Dave50

I agree wholeheartedly with what Nick has wrote above, if I was to buy again I would go the 50D body only then purchase the lenses separately as needs apply, the glass is what makes the shot, the body captures it, I would love "L" glass but cant justify the expense, my ideal would be starting with the 5D m11 but the minister for finance says no! it all boils down to how much we are willing to spend! I have my eye on a Canon 300mm "L" for birding but currently haven't the pennies

I agree. I bought the 50D body and a 100 mm 2.8F macro and then a 70-200L IS F4. Looking back at at those Rocky mountain and Stampede shots I took and posted, and the L lens I used stands out like the proverbial over the kit lens. It's convinced me never to buy anything other than L again if I can muster the pennies.

Originally Posted by oges

Anyone have a 550D? do you recommend this camera?

Also thanks to ajw for the DSLR tips in an earlier post

I've had a Canon 400D for quite a while, and I'm looking to get the 550D soon. These days, I reckon there are two Canon DSLRs that I'd love.

The 7D is a great camera, but the 550D has most of the same features for about $1000 less. For the extra money for the 7D you get:

• much faster sports mode (around 9 shots per second compared to around 4 on the 550D)
• top LCD screen showing camera settings
• bigger body in the 7D which is around twice as heavy as the 550D (a disadvantage to me - too heavy for everyday use)
• ability to fire a remote flash wirelessly
• 2 processors to speed up writing to the memory card (550D has one)
• other things that I can't remember now...

The 550D has the C sized sensor, as does the 7D.

I agree with the other forumite who talked about the lenses you use. I've found the IS (image stabilised) lenses are great in low light situations. I'd love to try the L series lenses, but my budget doesn't stretch that far. I find the IS lenses I've got do a great job for me.

ajw

Thanks all for the advise.
Re: the lenses, I was probably going to go for the 2 IS lenses that comes in the camera and lens kit I saw. Would also like to get a Macro lens for it too, thought I saw a zoom macro lens on the Teds site once, but doesnt appear to be there anymore.

Once again, thanks for the advise..

Sometimes my procrastination pays off. I dithered over the 550D/7D choice, and then the 60D came out. Faster continuous shooting than the 550D, and a flip-out screen that makes shooting movies easier. Perfect for me.

Picked up my new 60D today, and looking forward to using it soon.

ajw

pictures mate, pictures!! ...........well done! take a look here............. www.dwidigitalcameras.com.au.........and here.... Citiwide Online Global Site ....... and here..... An online book of Macro Photography - by Rhett Stuart (Macro-Photography.org) .......just for a damn good read, also look up focus stacking (one of my favourites)

G'Day All,
While everyone is talking digital SLR cameras, could I please ask for some recommendations for my daughter who wants a good quality "point & shoot" digital camera which has good zoom, low light function and fast shutter speed for indoor sports photos.
We have been trying to check and select a camera but it's so difficult to sort through all the hype of advertising.
Any and all assistance is much appreciated, thank in advance.
Cheers, Crowie

Crowie I belong to a couple of photographic forums, and I am a photographic nut myself, D.S.L.R. mainly but to answer your question I think this would be the one for your daughter, the write ups and kudos given by high end photo nuts is documented everywhere........ Canon - G11 ............ I have heard a lot of good talk around the fora various about this particular one! not cheap but the old adage of receiving that which you pay for comes to mind, but compared to my setup (around $5,000.00 and building) it is very reasonable

Thanks Dave, I had a quick look and noted the zoom is only 5 while the XS30 IS is 35zoom and the XS20 IS is 20zoom. Have you heard or read any reports on either of these as I know she wants the high zoom function for photos from the stadium onto a preformer. Cheers, Crowie

no mate sorry