Just Midol Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 Hey guys, I am looking at picking up a 400d, not a crazy photographer man but want a DSLR. What type of lens am I wanting just for general photos? In the future I'll be wanting a lens good for taking photos of people from a distance (I'll be doing a PI course and might pick up some odd work in PI every now and then)... Will the 400d cater to this? What kind of lens is suited to this. If you want to recommend a different Camera then it must have an underwater housing available for it as I also want to take some photos underwater! Is this a good kit? A good price? http://www.insanemobile.com/product.php?productid=2445 Any advice would be ace. Cheers, Michael. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 (edited) midol, you are looking at a lot of $$ if you want underwater housing for a DLSR. The underater housing will be as much, no make that more, than the DLSR body. I found one on the net recently when browsing to fit the 350D and it was $USD1400. Add to that a strobe unit you will need and attachment arm to the camera which is more $ and the ports, which cost more $. You cannot take photos at depth without a strobe to bring out the colour as the deeper you dive, the more colour you lose - red at depth looks green for one thing, trust me, I've cut myself on coral at depth and had greenish looking blood. So you need a good strobe unit. We borrowed my BIL's Nikon Coolpix which I think is like the Canon 300D and its underwater housing unit and attached flash unit and that was about $10k worth of camera back in 2005. Edited November 29, 2007 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted November 29, 2007 Author Share Posted November 29, 2007 Wow. Okay, maybe scratch the underwater idea then I won't be able to afford that for a long time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 ... I'll be wanting a lens good for taking photos of people from a distance (I'll be doing a PI course and might pick up some odd work in PI every now and then)... Take care Midol, stalkers can end up in trouble even when they think they are legal.... even insurance stalks against disability claimants can be dangerous ground (or an ethics minefield). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 I assume we learn about the legal side of it in the course. Well, I'd bloody hope that we do! Our security instructor has a friend who owns a PI company that is always looking for people - they mainly handle insurance crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PossumCorner Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 I assume we learn about the legal side of it in the course. Well, I'd bloody hope that we do!Our security instructor has a friend who owns a PI company that is always looking for people - they mainly handle insurance crap. Yes mostly it is just insurance/legal. The legal people act on behalf of the insurance Co., to get them out of paying big compensation to people with, err, Mediterranean Back. Or RSI - all those suspicious hairdressing apprentices with stuffed up hands and wrists. One of my apprentice friends was followed for days til they got a shot of her using her hand - taking the petrol cap off her car and filling the tank. It backfired on them because the shots also showed she needed to use her elbow for extra leverage. 'Domestics' work used to be a big part of it but not now the divorce laws have changed it's not much of an issue. They'll surely recommend a camera/lens at the course. Sometimes a big lens from a distance can be more obvious and in-the-face than just a little tourist pocket camera from a bit closer up. Household accidents also required photos as evidence when I worked for a law firm in Melb, they'd sometimes need a shot of the ladder someone had fallen from or broken roof tiles or whatever - think one of the solicitors used to pop by the client's house to do that. Most DSLR cameras are good these days, I wouldn't buy anything from an outfit called Insane Mobile that has no stock but just imports to order, but that's just me. The Canon is fine, though my personal choice in that price range would be the Nikon D40x. You could find a grey-market service problem with these imports, much better to deal with someone like PhotoBuff who is really reliable with insurance claims and service. He has the Canon at $759 and the Nikon at $740 (or $1100 with the two lenses). He keeps a good stock and supplies Australia-wide. Much cheaper than shop-front franchise camera stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 I purchased a Canon 400D from here last Sept, at the time they were the cheapest online, very helpful, Gold Coast based. https://www.camerasdirect.com.au/index.php/...-400d-body.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 What's your max budget? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Someone at work is selling their Canon 350D at present. Details: ** As new Canon 350D with genuine vertical battery grip for sale for $500, package includes: - EOS 350D in black - Canon 18-55mm lens (with Hoya filter) - Battery grip BG-E3 - SanDisk Ultra II 1 Gb CF card (very fast) - Battery - Hand stripe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagsalot Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Battery grip BG-E3 Would they sell this seperately? I need one but can't afford a new one, and Im not too keen on the ebay ones from Hong Kong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Bella* Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Someone at work is selling their Canon 350D at present. Details:** As new Canon 350D with genuine vertical battery grip for sale for $500, package includes: - EOS 350D in black - Canon 18-55mm lens (with Hoya filter) - Battery grip BG-E3 - SanDisk Ultra II 1 Gb CF card (very fast) - Battery - Hand stripe How many pics has it taken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 Tess, whatever. If its above my budget I can save - not really capped at anything other than I'm not getting one of those $6000 cameras Possum, yah, I won't go through them now. Reason I am pro canon is because thats what the PI guy told me to get - the instructor was talking to me and said get a Canon DSLR. Ripley, I don't understand the differences between the 350d and 400d. Do these differences equate to any real difference for a complete beginner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 No there's no real difference you'd notice between a 350d or 400d. Esp as a beginner. For a reasonable price, you could get a 400d, the 70-200 f4 L or if you need longer - 70-300 f4.5/5.6 and a wide angle, I have a sigma 17-70 which is pretty cheap but really sharp. Avoid the kit lenses if you are willing to save/pay a reasonable amount. They are fine/average and many beginners won't notice the difference though. 200mm isn't very long if you want to take photos of people from a distance, 300mm isn't bad. You could go for a 100-400L but it's stlil pretty pricey or even a sigma 50-500. Most lenses are $800 plus. If you buy the longer lens like the 70-300mm and a wide angle, you are pretty much covered. You can't really get a lens that spans from side angle to 300mm without giving up quality or paying so much you'll need to save for 50 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Midol Posted December 8, 2007 Author Share Posted December 8, 2007 Just thought I'd let everyone know that I am getting either the 30d or the 40d (but probably the 30d) now. Tess convinced me to ;) Won't be getting it for Christmas though, probably later next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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