OT: looking for a new digital SLR, which one??

[Lima]

Just keep in mind that most lenses with such a long range will have some shortcomings. So long as you know that going in and are happy, then there'll be no unpleasant surprises.

Have a read of this site (scroll down for Canon reviews).

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html


Cheers Liam

 

[blur32]

Can you do decent price on L IS glass for the Canon ? Recommend sweet point glass (price/quality) for the Canon DSLRs ? I'm not a Canon fanboy (though very happy with the cameras) so any good glass I'd be interested in. Cheers.

Sony's lens' (Carl Zeiss) is an absolute pleasure to use. I'd be hoping their Alpha is better in low light than the F series.

Without breaking the rules, anyone can PM me and I'll sort out a "Golf" price....sure to be good! :thumbsup:

 

[vwgtimkv]

Just keep in mind that most lenses with such a long range will have some shortcomings. So long as you know that going in and are happy, then there'll be no unpleasant surprises.

Have a read of this site (scroll down for Canon reviews).

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html


Cheers Liam

Yeah, that's an excellent website, thanks Liam!

Yeah I read through a lot of it pretty thoroughly and I see the compromise you were referring to.

I had a look through a lot of the different ones.

I've decided on:

Canon EOS 400D - Body Only

Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro

And depending on whether I need it;

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 USM IS

It seemed that these two were the best compromises in each of their categories. They are entry level lenses of good quality, and good performance.

Cheers

 

[Lima]

Yep, good selections there I reckon! :thumbsup:

The Sigma 17-70 is supposed to be quite good.

I also have a Sigma 18-50 2.8 and I'm very happy with it's value for money.

I'd love to be able to afford the mega bucks for the top quality Canon glass, but, c'est la vie.

:laugh:

 

[vwgtimkv]

Yep, good selections there I reckon! :thumbsup:

The Sigma 17-70 is supposed to be quite good.

I also have a Sigma 18-50 2.8 and I'm very happy with it's value for money.

I'd love to be able to afford the mega bucks for the top quality Canon glass, but, c'est la vie.

:laugh:

Yeah, they are good ones to start out on. Anything more would be wasted on me at this stage I think! But yeah, having seen some of the results with a better body/lens that can be achieved, I'm sure I'll upgrade at some point in the future once my skill levels catch up with my hardware. A mate of mine knows someone at Canon and can apparently get it all at cost price; let's just hope that's the case! Failing that, the cheapest place I've found is this ebay store (http://stores.ebay.com.au/The-Digital-King), which has an amazing range of lenses and I think all the mainstream bodies and it's quite cheap. And all the warranties and everything are fine as they sell legit, domestic products. The Canon 400D sells there for $749 vs. a best online price elsewhere of around $760, a price at Ted's of $899 and an RRP of $1000. So 25% off retail seems OK. The lenses are priced in a similar fashion.

Cheers

 

[Lima]

Just be doubly sure about the warranties. Canon bodies do not have an international warranty offered by Canon Australia. That means, if you buy a body with an "international warranty" you'll have to send it back to the eBay reseller who then deals with their supplier.

Canon lenses, however, should have a full int warranty.

Mind, the mate of mine that bought his Nikon D80 with one of their kit lenses paid $350 below the $2199 sticker price from Domayne. Then he gets his GST back as well when he goes overseas.

 

[vwgtimkv]

Just be doubly sure about the warranties. Canon bodies do not have an international warranty offered by Canon Australia. That means, if you buy a body with an "international warranty" you'll have to send it back to the eBay reseller who then deals with their supplier.

Canon lenses, however, should have a full int warranty.

Mind, the mate of mine that bought his Nikon D80 with one of their kit lenses paid $350 below the $2199 sticker price from Domayne. Then he gets his GST back as well when he goes overseas.

Yeah, they clearly state on their ebay site that the manufacturers' warranties all apply etc. Maybe I should call Canon and ask them?

They say this on their ebay store;

We guarantee our customers the best possible prices by bypassing the middle person so that you can enjoy top brand and current model products at discounted prices. We can offer you these prices as we source our products from manufacturers / distributors who supply these products to Australian retail stores.

So I think it's legit. We will see, I'll see what I can find out.

Cheers

 

[REDMKVGTI]

As far as I (and my Canon rep) know only "L series" lenses offer international warranties.

As for those prices on the ebay store, they make me seriously wonder about the legitimacy of them being proper imports (I will check the current list price when I get to work in the morning).

 

[vwgtimkv]

As far as I (and my Canon rep) know only "L series" lenses offer international warranties.

As for those prices on the ebay store, they make me seriously wonder about the legitimacy of them being proper imports (I will check the current list price when I get to work in the morning).

Yeah I'm a little dodgy on it my self. What would be the best price I could expect someone to give me a 400D for? I've heard the cost price is around the $750 mark? Would I have a better chance paying something like $900 and then getting an extended warranty thrown in or something?

Cheers

 

[vwgtimkv]

So, after days os scouring the web (and calling various camera stores who were loathe to cut their prices) I found this website, which I'm pretty sure has the cheapest prices in the country.

www.digidirect.com.au

And everything's legit; they even have a shopfront in Sydney.

Canon 400D - $831

http://www.digidirect.com.au/products/slr_cameras/canon/49

And the amazing thing is Canon have cashback on many of their lenses at the moment;

Canon 17-40mm f/4L USM - $800 after cashback when bought with the camera. That's awesomely cheap for L-series glass; in fact cheaper than the standard Canon range equivalent.

http://www.digidirect.com.au/products/257

And the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM listed above - $579 after cashback when bought with the camera - a $300 saving.

http://www.digidirect.com.au/products/camera_lenses/canon/telephoto/498

Now I just have to figure out what the hell I'm going to do in light of this. $800 for the L-series lense might be too hard to pass up.

Cheers

 

[vwgtimkv]

Alright, apologies for the triple post! But I just bought my camera stuff. I'd highly recommend these guys to anyone. They are eager to discount (and provided the best prices I could find anywhere) and they offered overnight insured courier services from Sydney to Brisbane for $10. They contacted Canon and you can only get cashback on one lens with one camera (rather than 2 lenses with 1 camera). Given that, I thought it would be best if I just went with the Sigma wide lens and get the cashback off the Canon telephoto.

So, this is what I got;

Canon EOS 400D (Body only): $814
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro lens: $440
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens: $879 ($579 after cashback)
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Spare Canon Battery: $39
Delivery: $10

So the whole lot cost me $2407, which will come down to $2107 after cashback. Not bad, considering the whole lot retails for $2889.

Cheers

 

[BarneyBoy]

Alright, apologies for the triple post! But I just bought my camera stuff. I'd highly recommend these guys to anyone. They are eager to discount (and provided the best prices I could find anywhere) and they offered overnight insured courier services from Sydney to Brisbane for $10. They contacted Canon and you can only get cashback on one lens with one camera (rather than 2 lenses with 1 camera). Given that, I thought it would be best if I just went with the Sigma wide lens and get the cashback off the Canon telephoto.

So, this is what I got;

Canon EOS 400D (Body only): $814
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro lens: $440
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens: $879 ($579 after cashback)
+ 2 year additional warranty: $75
Spare Canon Battery: $39
Delivery: $10

So the whole lot cost me $2407, which will come down to $2107 after cashback. Not bad, considering the whole lot retails for $2889.

Cheers

Nice pickup! That 300mm will be a real bazooka :thumbsup:

 

[Lima]

Nice buying Steve. :w00t:

 

[vwgtimkv]

Yeah, I'm really excited. Can't wait until Friday - my last exam, and I get my new camera! I'm just going to spend the whole day sleeping/taking photos of random shit. :thumbup:

Attached is the pdf from Canon re. the offer + I've got it in jpg format if you just want a quick look.

Cheers

 

[REDMKVGTI]

Yeh the cash back has been fairly popular at work this week, moved a couple of 5D 24-105 kits and a few of the other lenses thanks to this one.

I have the 17-40, and you would not have looked back on that purchase at all, that said one of the guys at work has the Sigma 17-70 and loves it to death as well.

In terms of price, I could have matched that, but there is no way I would have gone that low for anyone other than family, and it would probably count as abuse of my managerial powers as well. Quite simply, retail stores can not offer prices that low, still help out customers when warranty issues arise and stay in business unless we sell extended warranties on all items or charge handing fees (we slug people that have purchased it from other store $35.00 handling fee).

Warranty wise, as long as they stay in business you should be right, enjoy the new toys and be sure to check out the lenses very closely (you should always check them out, regardless of origin).

Look forward to seeing some pics soon!