New Camera

[nygiants11991]

I want to get my daughter a new camera. She wants the Canon digital XSI, because she has a film camera that here lenses with fit on this one. We checked at the local stores and they are around $700. I checked on ebay and I can get the same camera for $700 with a bunch of extras. Some that would be nice, but others that she really doesn't care if she has or not. I am not sure if I want to buy something like this off ebay, so I was trying to compare to see if it was truely a bargain, and found other web sites for even a lot less.

I guess what I am asking, what are the experiences of purchasing electronics via the internet rather than walking into your local store? How can they sell this stuff for such a discount????

Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Kal]

I would be very, very hesitant to buy an electronic item on eBay. However, I would definitely purchase that item thru internet vendors. You just have to do your homework to make sure you are dealing with a quality internet vendor. For cameras, many of those vendors are located in greater New York City. Some of them are a real problem. Only go with vendors who have great reviews by numerous customers and score high on the ratings.

 

[Mosca]

$637 at Amazon with the kit lens, $568 without lens. You can use the Gold Box system to get an additional 5% off. I posted instructions about 5 months or so ago. That has worked for me 5 times.

Skip the extras, btw.

 

[RonB]

There are many shady sellers out there. Stick with a well know site like B&H, or Adorama, or Amazon. If you use Amazon, make sure you are not purchasing it from a third party.
If you are not sure check at Reseller Raitngs. If they are not listed there, stay away. Also, you could go to live.com and get cash back from participating retailers.
I personally have used B&H for years without problems.
Ron

 

[Timeshare Von]

I have bought a lot of my camera equipment online, mostly through Amazon and Adorama. Cheap stuff (replacement batteries and memory cards) I don't worry too much about who I'm buying from but when it comes to major purchases (cameras, lenses, etc) I too would stick to a reputable known dealer/merchant.

 

[Icarus]

Avoid kits that come with junk you don't need, including telephoto adapters, third party lenses, etc. Buy from B&H or someplace like that. Ignore it when they say things like extra $300 value in our kit. It's marketing magic at best.

Depending on the lenses she has, they may or may not work that great with a DSLR. They may work, but the focal plane (or sensor size) of a DSLR is smaller than the focal plane of a 35mm film camera. They may be compatible, but eventually, you will probably want the digital versions of the lenses anyways. It's something to look into. Since the lenses are smaller, they are also lighter and there are some other benefits as well.

-David

 

[nygiants11991]

Thanks everyone

It looks like Adoram has the best deals currently. There was a one on B&H, that was priced well, but it was refurbished. Has anyone ever purchased a refurb??

David, I will mention the lense info to her. I know she took her lenses to the local camera shop and they fit, but I am not sure fit they mentioned about the focal plane. I dont even know what that is, but they should have mentioned it to her.

 

[Icarus]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with refurb.

If the lenses are compatible they will work. The sensor size for most consumer DSLRs is what they call APS size. Do you remember the APS film format? It was much smaller than 35mm film. Because the sensor size is smaller, a smaller lens will give you a similar telephoto range as a larger 35mm film lens.The lens itself has to project a smaller image on the APS-sized sensor, rather than the full-frame 35mm frame. That's why the DSLR lenses are smaller, lighter and often less expensive than their full-frame film counterparts.

Lots of people use film lenses with their DSLRs, and there's nothing wrong with doing that as long as they are compatible. I hope I didn't give you a different impression in my earlier post. Usually you just have to do a little research to see what "compatible" means for any given lens.

I have a Nikon D40. Most Nikon lenses work with it, however, if I want to buy the famous Nikon 50mm f1.8 or f1.4 AF lenses, they won't autofocus with the D40, because the D40 doesn't have a focus motor in the body. Newer Nikon DSLR lenses have focus motors right in the lens. The lens itself will work fine in manual focus mode with the D40. More expensive Nikon consumer DSLRs have the focus motor in the body as well which makes their full feature compatibility list larger, but they are also larger and heavier bodies. The Canon you are looking it is closer to the D80/D90 in Nikon bodies. I'm pretty sure that most, if not all, of Canon's autofocusing lenses have the motor in the lens.

The Rebel is a nice camera. A lot of people are very happy with it, and if she's already invested in the Canon system, that's a good reason to go with it.

-David

 

[Kal]

Go HERE for prices from a list of good internet merchants.

 

[PigsDad]

To follow up on David's post, the focal length multiplier for the Canon Digital Rebel is 1.6. So if you have a 70-200mm lens for a 35mm film SLR, it will effectively be a 112-320mm on a Rebel.

Personally, I have owned the Canon Digital Rebel XTi for about a year and a half, and have been nothing but pleased with it. I have a couple of L-series lenses, which has a lot to do with it, I'm sure.

Kurt