Buying an SLR Camera: What accessories should I get?

I've had a soft spot for photography, and I was rather spoilt in having a Canon EOS 350d at my last place I worked, along with a nice secondary lens (I think was a x-300mm one, forget what the lower figure was), and a Speedlite EX580 flash.

I've never been able to take photo's like it since with any other compact camera, and that was without the nice IS option you get now.

I'm going away at the end of April, and I want a nice new camera to play with. Venue is Cyprus, and occasion is a wedding.
Outside of this, I tend to use it for scouting events (so people moving about, sports/activities outside etc.), and will probably do some photography in the school too when i've got it.

Now I've got my eye on the Canon 550d, as it seems to be a marked upgrade from the 450d and the 500d for not a great amount more.

What I'm stuck for choice on, is what accessories to get with it before I go away.

I have a budget in mind of about £800 ish in total.

Body only is about £510, and with the kit lens (18-55mm IS) is £575.
Kit lens on it's own is £100.
There's also the option of getting the body+ 18-135mm IS Lens for £725.
The next lens up seems to be the 55-250mm lens, at £160,
and I've also spotted suggestions to get the 50mm static lens at £80.

The flash, I've seen either the 430EX at about £200 or the 580EX at £370.

Frankly I'm stuck for what to buy. I don't think I'll need the flash for my upcoming trip, but it has huge advantages when working with people wearing white! And I can't decide which lenses I want as I want all of them, but cannot afford all right now.

Any suggestions from the happy snappers out there?

i would have said a good macro lens, but as you're going to do more sports/events type it wont really be useful.
if its sports events then how about saving on the flash (for now) and getting a higher end telephoto lens and maybe an extra battery pack.
also a UV filter can be handy

The body with the 18-135 lens (I assume it's the EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS Lens) will give you the most flexibility from the start. On your budget you could just about pop in the 50mm prime which while it feels cheap and plastic (hey it *IS* cheap and plastic), will beat the 18-135 where you want either pin sharp shots or open aperture/shallow dof (although if your doing portraiture with that, you will need to get up quite close). The camera will handle high ISO settings without too much noise so an external flash while nice, isn't going to be as useful as good glass on the front.

I would strongly recommend the battery grip - takes two batteries for longer usage time, and can also take a bank of AAs in a holder that comes with it; it also gives you the shutter release and a couple of other buttons where they're more comfortable for portrait shooting mode (might be handy, given the circumstances). Does add to the weight slightly, but I prefer that - makes it more stable when I'm holding it! It's certainly the most useful add-on I've got for mine.

If you're buying a flash but don't expect to use it much it might be worth looking into some 3rd party alternatives to Canon's models. Yongnuo, Nissin, Sunpack and Metz all make flashes that are cheaper then Canon's.

If you can hold fire the 600D has just landed. If Canon do it their usual way the 500D will be phased out and the 550D will effectively replace it so prices should soften a bit.

EDIT: Also have you looked into used gear, you might be able to get something more substantial for your money like a Canon 40D or Nikon D90.

From what i'd been reading the 600d wasn't really worth the extra money; swivel/tilt screen and a couple of new gadget-features, otherwise it's a 550d.

The 580Ex flash gun is superb. I do a lot of indoor sports work and it is a very powerful and quick bit of kit, however get good batteries to go with it. If you are only going to use it every now and then get the Energizer Ultra Lithium Ions for about £7 for 4. However I would highly recommend the new Sanyo Eneloop XX batteries.

For lenses, the Canon 50mm 1.8 is a stunning lense which you should be able to pick up for about £70.

If you don't know why you need something, you don't need it, especially if you've never shot a wedding, with a brand new camera. Take the instruction manual with you and learn what it won't do, before adding anything else into the mix. Only things I would buy is a spare battery and a bag to put everything in (unless you already have one).

Just to make things more complex, I might be able to get a Canon 350d (father in law is looking to buy a new camera too!) in which case that will cost me about £200, then I would probably splash out and buy all the nice extra's....

I've used the 350d before and found it to be a great camera, but is it better to have an older camera with a choice of lenses, or a newer/better camera body and basic lenses?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Busybub

If you don't know why you need something, you don't need it, especially if you've never shot a wedding, with a brand new camera. Take the instruction manual with you and learn what it won't do, before adding anything else into the mix. Only things I would buy is a spare battery and a bag to put everything in (unless you already have one).

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I've never done "proffessional" wedding photography, but I brought my work camera to a couple of friends weddings a couple years ago, and many of my photo's were better than that of the pro's who they paid for. I took about 400, and had more than 200 useable.

As a general rule, avoid the kit lens......

If you are tight on budget you are better off spending more money on the optics & less on the body. Super zoom lenses are probably the worst performers optically. If you are after image quality you may be better off buying two zoom lenses with more limited range vs a superzoom. The advice about a short (35mm or 50mm) fast (F1.8) fixed lens is good advice, especially for indoors/low light levels.

Assuming you are choosing a body that uses APS size sensor rather than full frame (true for most Canon & Nikon digital SLR camera bodies), remember to multiply the lense focal length by 1.5. A 'normal' view traditionally represented by film cameras is achieved with a 50mm focal length lens, this would translate to 75mm with APS sensor, which is a very good focal length for portrait. A 35mm lens will present a 'normal' 50 mm view with APS sensor, & is good for general use.

The 18-55mm kit lens you get with Canon cameras is generally considered to be not bad, especially for the money. I'm happy enough with the one on my 350D.

You might want to look at filters, the aforementioned UV filter if only to protect your lens and a CPL filter if you're going somewhere bright. A tripod and remote shutter control could be useful too!

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Originally Posted by Rydra

Just to make things more complex, I might be able to get a Canon 350d (father in law is looking to buy a new camera too!) in which case that will cost me about £200, then I would probably splash out and buy all the nice extra's....

I've used the 350d before and found it to be a great camera, but is it better to have an older camera with a choice of lenses, or a newer/better camera body and basic lenses?

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My experience tells me it is better to have an older camera and put the money into quality glass. I've an old EOSD60 (circa 2003, 6MP) which has seen a lot of use over the last 8 years and a more recent D5 MkII. I can happily print any pictures from the D60 at A0 size and they look great. Mostly that's down to scrimping and saving to buy good quality lenses.

50mm is a great little lense. If you are looking for the best quality for your money then go for smaller range lenses. I got the 17-55s (£600) lense and it takes awesome pics. The only downside is you will need to switch lenses a bit more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rydra

From what i'd been reading the 600d wasn't really worth the extra money; swivel/tilt screen and a couple of new gadget-features, otherwise it's a 550d.

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I think what was being said is that the 600D coming out will put price pressure on the 550D, so that will become cheaper if you can hold out for a short while. In theory the 550D will migrate down to the price point that the 500D currently sits at.

In general I would say: lens is more important than body; the lenses with the long range are good for when you're just out and about, because if you have to spend time swapping lenses, you've probably missed the shot; but 50mm prime lenses are an excellent idea if you want to do any portraiture because they are so much sharper.

Get a decent (waterproof) Lowepro bag to fit in camera and any lenses you'll want, get a lens cleaner of some kind, be it cloth or one of the little pen things (don't know how good they are but want to try them out), get a UV filter to protect the front of the lens. Consider a circular polariser because it's the only filter you can't easily replicate in post-production, but they're far from essential.

Get a hell of a lot of practice in before anyone relies on you to use the camera - you should be able to change settings (ISO, exposure/aperture etc.) without lowering the camera from your eye.