Canon 20d opinions required

[drphibes]

Hi All

I have been speaking to a friend this morning and she has been offered the chance to buy a Canon 20d body.
At the moment she does now own any len's to us on the body and is not sure what she would need to shoot some indoor basketball and also capture some images from Chester zoo etc.
Her budget is limited so I thought I would ask here to see if people can suggest a few len's that would be good to get her going without having to remortgage her house !!.

Thanks

Drphibes

[h4rri]

Originally Posted by drphibes

Hi All

I have been speaking to a friend this morning and she has been offered the chance to buy a Canon 20d body.
At the moment she does now own any len's to us on the body and is not sure what she would need to shoot some indoor basketball and also capture some images from Chester zoo etc.
Her budget is limited so I thought I would ask here to see if people can suggest a few len's that would be good to get her going without having to remortgage her house !!.

Thanks

Drphibes

Whats the cost of the body?

I would say go for a standard 18-55mm kit lense [£30ish S/H] and a mid zoom something like 70-200. Would allow her to see how well she gets on with the camera and invest in better lenses later.

It's easy to spend thousands on kit

[drphibes]

Hi

Think the body is £500.
Any model numbers for len's would be appreciated and yes the cost of gear can spiral out of control if you are not careful.

Drphibes

[h4rri]

Originally Posted by drphibes

Hi

Think the body is £500.
Any model numbers for len's would be appreciated and yes the cost of gear can spiral out of control if you are not careful.

Drphibes

£500 isn't a great bargain so think carefully before she buys it

The lenses are the 18-55mm kit lense and a 55-200 f4.5-5.6 USM II [£170ish]

Have a look at www.bristolcameras.co.uk for some example prices, you could also look at Sigma lenses to save a few £'s. Not a great difference in quality but sometimes a great £ difference.

Have a look around some various sites, is this her first dSLR?

[drphibes]

Hi mate

Yes this 20d would be her first ventrue into the dslr world.
What price would you say the 20d is worth ? I believe it is in excellent condition and well looked after.
I know my firend is a little worried that the 20d would be a bit to complex for her seeing that it would indeed be her first dslr camera.
Not being a Canon man I am not in the know when it comes to Canon's equipment but would a 350d or 400d with a kit lens be more suitable for her and is there a big jump in performance between the 20d and the 350/400d's ?.


Drphibes

[h4rri]

I'd say the 20D would be a good starter but it entirelly depends on how much she will use it etc.

With the 350D coming in at £465[ish] with an 18-55 kit lens, or the 400D at £510 with the same lense it may be a little too much for her.

Dixons are even offering a 350D, 18-55mm & 90-300mm lense bundle for £559 which could be reduced with various discount code/Egg card deals.

I would just be worried about her spending her £'s on a camera she might never really use to it's potential. You would see a quality jump from the 350D to the 20D but not 'that' great.

Hard to say how I'd play it to be honest as I don't know your friend and I wouldn't think to say she would not use it or be happy with it.

Maybe take her round some local retaillers to see how she likes the feel of it etc [would have to be the 30D as the 20D is discontinued].



Oh and I took a quick look on eBay and found the following, not sure on the seller etc just to give you an idea. Has alot of kit for the £'s

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-20D-...QQcmdZViewItem


LOL I'll leave the above in to show how easy it is to get caught out but having viewed their status and location inconsitsancies I'd avoid it. Better seller would be:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-20D-...QQcmdZViewItem



Ok last edit I promise

Someone is selling a 400D kit in the non-av classifieds:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showt...=419751&page=2

[tomson]

500 quid for a 20D is definitely a little much - it's verging on used 30D prices (just seen a 30D go for 550, mint, boxed 6 month guarantee).

I personally wouldn't pay more than 400 for a 20D now (maybe a tad more if it was as new). Mine was 420 about six months ago, well used but with guarantee.

[senu]

Originally Posted by tomson

500 quid for a 20D is definitely a little much - it's verging on used 30D prices (just seen a 30D go for 550, mint, boxed 6 month guarantee).

I personally wouldn't pay more than 400 for a 20D now (maybe a tad more if it was as new). Mine was 420 about six months ago, well used but with guarantee.

Totally agree, Even a used (newer) 30D Body will have trouble attracting more than £550

The Sigma 70-300 APO would be a great Zoom ( £140- 160) . The prime 50mm 1.8 for just under £70 is a sharp fast lens capable of great results when lighting condittions are challenging.

The Kit lens is actually quite usable to get used to the camera and it has a very useful range. It is not "rubbish " and although it is a let down compared to much better ( and costlier ) lenses , within its limitations it can be used to get far better than "snapshot" images

[drphibes]

Thanks for the suggestions people , I will pass on your excellent advice.

Drphibes