Rob and Lauren Blog

UPDATE: If you got that camera for Christmas and would like some tips setting it up then check out the following blogpost: http://www.theadventuresofrobandlauren.com/2010/jan/10/so-you-got-slrnow-what/

Hope you have a fantastic new year!

Every year around this time we start getting e-mails from almost everyone we know (and plenty of people we don’t know!) asking us what camera to get as a gift (for someone else or for themselves!). This year I decided to take a look at what would be the best camera for an amateur photographer. A lot of people give a price range and ask what’s best (which is an interesting approach to purchasing a camera). I think people assume that the more expensive the camera the better the photos. The fact of the matter is that while quality and price do have a correlation, most point and shoots do a decent enough job that there isn’t any sense saying one is that much better than an another. I think the important thing about buying a point and shoot camera is finding one that you’ll take everywhere with you, and finding one that you’ll find fun to use. To do that you pretty much just have to go to wherever cameras are sold (Walmart, bestbuy, futureshop, etc.) and play with them till you find one you love. Kind of seems like going to the pet store to fall in love with a new puppy. Because of that, if you want to buy someone a point and shoot then you might want to consider getting that person a gift certificate so that they can enjoy the whole experience of falling in love with a camera.

I also decided not to review or suggest the best professional camera. There is too much variety at the pro level and a lot of research needs to go into camera and lense selection. Not to mention that fact that most pro gear is usually way out of the budget for christmas presents!

So what did I decide on and why? First I considered who would be asking us for camera advice. It’s likely people who are pretty interested in photography and would like more flexibility than the point and shoots they probably already use. They probably want a camera that can keep up with them, something they can grow into creatively, but also something that accommodates a wide variety of skill levels. The Canon Rebel (500D) T1i fits that bill.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/613611-REG/Canon_3818B001_EOS_Rebel_T1i_Digital.html

First I’ll mention that I’m linking to B&H, a camera store in the States based out of New York. We buy most of our gear from there, they’re pretty much the cheapest around. However if you’re buying someone a Christmas gift it might be a better idea to pick the camera up from some place local like Vistek.ca, or bestbuy.ca. Or you might be able to save a few more bucks by taking a look on ebay or craigslist. There are always plenty of options to spend or save money when it comes to camera gear.

Now about the camera. This is an entry level DSLR camera. It’s bigger than a point and shoot, but it’s pretty much the smallest entry level DSLR. It’s got tons of features which I’m sure you’ll read about but here are the main reasons I like this camera.

1. It’s a DSLR. I think if you’re serious about getting into photography then an SLR is pretty much a minimum requirement. This SLR happens to be the newest cheapest entry level model by canon. (you could even save money by getting the older version XSi (450D). The viewfinder of this camera may not be huge, but it’s the experience of looking through the lens that makes getting an SLR the first point on this list. (The other big advantage of DSLRs is the lack of delay between pressing the shutter and the picture actually taking the photo - a lot of people seem to really enjoy that ;)

2. It shoots RAW. RAW is essentially the digital “negative” file format. We shoot all our images in RAW because it allows us to retain the full quality file and make more creative adjustments without having the image look very processed. Some people only shoot in JPEG and thus this might not be important to them, but I feel that shooting in RAW has allowed us to become much stronger photographers, by expanding our creative possibilities.

3. It’s cheap! It’s pretty much the cheapest entry level DSRL you can get.

4. Of course there are all those other cool features, lots of megapixels, high ISO, takes HD video (even 1080!), and lots of shooting modes. But the best thing is that it has manual control over shutter speed, and aperture. Shooting manual has really helped us grow and progress as photographers- both in our understanding of how a camera works, and how light works.

The other thing you’ll notice is that the link to B&H is for the camera body only. I’ve chosen the following lense to be paired with the camera.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-GREY/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html

It’s a 50mm prime lens which honestly is a little bit longer than practical for this camera, but it’s a very cheap (decent quality) lense with a large aperture (f/1.8) which will allow for creative depth of field control. It’s also a fixed focal length which will force you to move around and work to create some interesting compositions (as opposed to just zooming in and out). This will be a great starter lens, but it might not be a bad idea to pick up the camera with a kit lens (typically an 18-55mm lense) which isn’t the highest quality lense but at least you’ll get an idea of what other focal lengths are like.

Wow this article was a lot longer than I expected. I hope it’s useful for all you gift givers out there. If people are interested I might research a point and shoot. Let me know in the comments. Also just to let you know we weren’t paid by Canon or B&H to write this article and we don’t get commissions or anything if you decide to get that camera and lense. I think it’s important for bloggers to disclose information like that so that you readers know I wasn’t making a biased decision to recommend one camera over another.

Cheers,

Rob

P.S. Great stocking stuffer: Lenspen. This little tool would improve so many facebook photos! So often it seems that the lense of point and shoot cameras gets dirty or smudged and thus blurry/glowing photos result. This pen has two ends, one which removes dust particles and another when you can use to remove smudges from the front lense element. This a a great way to easily clean your camera and improve the quality of your photos!