Canon EOS 550D

[John Arena]

Hi all, i am thinking of Purchasing the Canon EOS 550D for my Aviation Photography. I currently have an old Olympus E-510 14-42/40-150 and am in Search of an upgrade by June 23.

Does anyone else own this Camera, if so is it a good Camera for my purposes, and what lenses should i equip myself with??

John

[Tim B]

The Canon 550D should be good for the job, and as Canon has now brought out the 600D to replace it, you should see some good specials.
As far as I know the only difference between the two is the 600d has a rear screen which can swivel, which is a feature you probably wouldn't use much, if at all.
As for lenses, you can get the camera with a standard 18-55mm short zoom, or with a twin lense kit which has the 18-55mm and a 55-250mm zoom.
This is a good package, but the 55-250mm may not be long enough for some aircraft photography.
It may be the go to purchase the camera with the standard 18-55mm lense only and purchase a 75-300mm (or something similar, perhaps 100-400mm) at the same time. It may cost more (it will, and by quite a bit if you get carried away), but will be more useful.
Try and still get a package deal with the camera, lenses and filters etc included.

[Lukas M]

I have this one, upgraded this year from the 1000D. Great camera if you are new to the DLSR stuff. I narrowed it down to the 60D or this, but I found the differences to be small so went for this. The twin kit lens that are included, as like all Canon twin kits, are just the basic. Sure you could spend $1k on a great lens but so far I have been happy with the results, although a higher quality longer lens is something that I am now after. The only few issues I have found that some shots are a little soft, you really need to play around with the settings to get it right. I take aircraft shots on AV mode now, and window shots on P and they appear quite sharp.

And to show what a ripoff this country is, I bought it from Japan for $900 twin kit, while the best here was Harvey Norman at $2000!

Here are some recent shots I have taken, edited for contrast and sharpness in photoshop.

[Brock Little]

Just rang Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi, they're out of 550Ds on the Gold/Tweed Coast, and won't be getting any more in at the moment due to the earthquake in Japan, but JB are letting me get the 600D for the same price!!! Picking it up tomorrow!!! Cannot wait!

Just saying, if they don't have the 550D in stock, you could always just try and get a 600D for the same price.

[John Arena]

Thanks for your replies guys, i am going to get the Canon EOS 550d with the 18-55/55-250mm lens'. From there i will save up for the 100-400mm L Lens within the next 12 months.

Will pick it up next weekend

John

[Rod Sloan]

Let me know how you go John. I have the 550D. Haven't had enough time to play with the settings yet to see what magic it can do.
That said, its point and shoot capabilities are very good.

I do find pictures taken at max zoom can be a little on the noisy side. I too will be looking at a 400 lens at some stage. Any idea what they retail for ?

[John Arena]

The Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS is about $2000 brand new.

John

[Rod Sloan]

Riiight. lol. Maybe next year then.

[John Arena]

Guys, i ended up getting my new DSLR Camera, through a friend i ended up getting the EOS 7D 18-200 EF-S for only a few hundred more than the 550

I am charging it as i type it, and will get some pics here when i get down to the Airport next

John

[Tim B]

Sounds like a ripper deal. The 18-200mm lense will suit for most everyday stuff, and will make a great travel lense as you won't have to change lenses, lug around a second lense in your backpack or risk getting dust on the sensor in the middle of outback nowhere.