I'm new and have a question about a camera: I have a chance to buy a Canon EOS Rebel xsi along with two lens' and a battery with charger for $230. Is this a good buy? Any input is...

CarrieB

I have a chance to buy a Canon EOS Rebel xsi along with two lens' and a battery with charger for $230. Is this a good buy? Any input is appreciated. Thank you. :D

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Welcome, Carrie. Is the camera used? Do you know the seller? The price appears competitive by doing a Google search. If your budget is tight and you are new to photography, it would be a good way to get your feet wet with an entry level SLR, especially if you know the camera is in good condition and hasn't been used a whole lotta lot :)

Nightski

Welcome to UHH Carrie. Here is a link to a new one at Amazon. It gives prices for with and without the kit lens. Which lenses come with the used one? Do you know how it has been cared for? It might be worth a little extra to know that your camrea is in good condition when you start out.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-Camera-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B0012YA85A

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Hope you get lots of good feedback. :-)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

CarrieB wrote:

I have a chance to buy a Canon EOS Rebel xsi along with two lens' and a battery with charger for $230. Is this a good buy? Any input is appreciated. Thank you. :D

The camera came out in early 2008. 12.2 megapixels had good image quality rating for the day.
Kit lens was the 18-55 mm the latest version of this lens sells for $200 at B&H.
What is the second lens?
What type of pictures do you intend to take?

If the camera and lenses are in good condition it is worth it as a starter dslr.

If you don't want or need the interchangeable lens capability of a dslr you might consider the Canon SX50 refurbished for $229.99 direct from the Canon store. Backed up as if new in box.

If this is from Craig's list, be careful, in my area we see stories of people who arrived to buy a Craig's list item and got robbed fairly often. Make the meet somewhere public and very safe, maybe the local PD will let you meet in their lobby. Some departments do that.

CarrieB

Thank you for the info Nightski. I will be checking this out.

CarrieB

I take all kinds of pictures. I have a Canon powershot that I got a couple of years ago that I take with me everywhere I go. I am by no means a professional. I just love to take pictures and have been wanting a dslr camera.

Whuff Loc: Marshalltown, Iowa

Welcome to UHH Carrie. Do you know what the 2 lenses are? The price does sound about right especially if they are kit lenses. More information would be helpful but if you're totally new to photography you may not know what lenses come with it.

Walt

CarrieB

Thank you for the welcome. It is a used camera. It is at a pawn shop, so I don't know anything about it, other than checking it out.

CarrieB

The one lens is18mm-55mm 75-300mm and another one, but I don't know what that one is.

CarrieB

No, it isn't from Craigslist. That invites trouble.

Nightski

CarrieB wrote:

The one lens is18mm-55mm 75-300mm and another one, but I don't know what that one is.

Carrie, I took this shot with the 75-300mm F/4 -5.6 lens on a Rebel XTI..

http://500px.com/photo/74897587/swanshine-by-sandra-nightski?from=user_library

It is hard to get a shot like this with that lens. I'm not going to lie. It was a lucky shot. The light has to be perfect. It's because that is a slow lens. It only opens up to f/4 and if you are out at 300mm it only opens up to f/5.6. So ... that does limit you a bit in light. But, the faster long lenses are astronomically more expensive. So really, if this is in good condition, it's a great starter kit. The key word is "if". You really have no idea since it's coming from a pawn shop. Can you test it out?

The other lens is a standard kit lens and it will be fine for learning. It gives you some different focal lengths to play with. 18 is wide and 55 is "normal". It's a zoom so you have all the focal lengths in between those two numbers.

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

I am still using my Canon eos 450 and in camera shops it sells as used at £200 with an 18 - 55mm lense so yours is cheaper.

Take it out of the shop - put it on auto and take some shots some close and some far away.

look at the pictures on the back panel and use the + - button to zoom in - check for black specks or colour changes.

OR take a friend who knows cameras to check it out.

Hopefully its as good as mine and will meet 90% of your initial learning and will reward you with some great shots

Good luck

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Looking at KEH, they're selling XSi's with excellent ratings at $220. With two lenses kicked in and assuming everything is operational, your $230 Craig's list price seems a good deal. But, there's some important if's in there. With KEH you have a 2-week no questions return and a 6-month warranty. You should bring someone if you're not comfortable / knowledgeable to give the camera a quick but thorough check, even if limited in time and maybe a parking lot purchase.

Nightski

CHG_CANON wrote:

Looking at KEH, they're selling XSi's with excellent ratings at $220. With two lenses kicked in and assuming everything is operational, your $230 Craig's list price seems a good deal. But, there's some important if's in there. With KEH you have a 2-week no questions return and a 6-month warranty. You should bring someone if you're not comfortable / knowledgeable to give the camera a quick but thorough check, even if limited in time and maybe a parking lot purchase.

It's not craigs list, it's a pawn shop.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Nightski wrote:

It's not craigs list, it's a pawn shop.

That's even better ... I saw craigs list in the posts but maybe didn't read the details correctly.