Now I know very little about cameras and photography but I’m looking for some advice from those in the know with digital SLRs.

The missus is after a DSLR and has previously used and liked Canons.
She has her eye on a EOS 600d but it seems it’s an older model.
So is this unit any good or is there anything better out there in the canon stable. I think she’s fairly set on Canon does anyone have experience of Canon and their cameras?
Also it seems they can be had with kit, lenses, filters etc. Are these any good or should they be avoided?

Was in the same boat recently and went for a Pentax k-500 which is far superior:

http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-600d-vs-Pentax-K-500

Canon, Nikon are a safe bet (not sure which models are hot at the moment), or for a leftfield choice (but blummin good cameras), Sony

I got a pentax k-5 for similar money, you’d probably get a k-5ii now.

IMO the difference between any of the brands were minimal (apart from Sony with the funny mirror thing which I hated), but Pentax had a lot more ‘pro’ features on their consumer cameras (possibly because they don’t do pro level kit).

2 dials for exposure and appeture, not one and a switch
LCD on top for the info
Magnesium body, not plastic
“Weather proof” (although people ahve used them in the shower with no problems, try that with a Cannon/Nikon!)
In body image stabiliation, which means old lenses work as wella s new ones, and new ones are cheaper/better as it’s one less feature to have to build into every lense, so the kit lenses feel much better built than the Cannon/nikon equivelent.

All in all it feels like a much more expensive bit of kit than the compettitors, and it’s nicer to use.

Thanks for the responses.
I’m not sure if she would be swayed away from the Canon brand but it’s worth putting into the mix.

I went for a Sony alpha57 (wanted the speed for sports photos) and its brilliant. Lenses are cheaper than Canon.
I almost went Canon for the touchscreen, glad I didn’t because I almost never would have used it.

I’m not sure if she would be swayed away from the Canon brand but it’s worth putting into the mix.

Try them in a shop (with people who know the cameras inside out, a propper one, not currys), there might be technical stuff you’d not considered that make one much better than the other, and more importantly you can pick them up and see how easy or not they are to use.

You can’t really get a rizzla between Canon and Nikon, very, very close on performance, just packaged differently. Generally it comes down to fit in your hand and what your friends have got (borrowing lenses etc). Once you buy a few lenses, your pretty much married to the brand…..

Try them in the shop and see which she likes the feel of and see if any of her mates/work colleagues etc have Lenses from Canon,Nikon, Sony etc.
I chose a Canon 1100 D because i can borrow Canon Lenses off a mate.

The 1100D is very good for me at the moment, but i will hopefully upgrade one day. Will be sticking with Canon.

If your wife likes Canon get Canon. Proteinase and feature-wise Amy camera these days is likely to outperform the photographer and handling and enjoyment of use its so much more important.

You can get a cracking deal on a used 60D or if the budget will stretch a 70D. I prefer these over the xxxD models as they have dual control wheels and a top plate lcd. If these aren’t important the highest xxxD number you can afford.

If you really feel like treating her the 6D is a great full frame camera but we are stretching budgets here.

If she is willing to consider other brands then I have used the newer Sony ones, specifically the A77 and loved that camera. Sold it as at the time I needed something smaller.

Not dSLR but a superb camera and great fun to use is the Fuji X Pro 1. Fuji lenses (the XF series) are up there with the very best from any manufacturer. I have one and love using it.

I also have an Olympus OM-D E-M10. Again mirrorless but like a mini dSLR. Very happy with the quality of photos. Even shot a couple of weddings with it.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the D600. Newer models add features you probably won’t care about (HD video was a big one around that time IIRC).

There’s a model comparison on Wikipedia, I’ll see if I can find it.

Here,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Canon_EOS_digital_cameras

Oh yeah,

The kit lenses will be poo-pooed by professionals who think nothing of spunking a four figure sum on a few pieces of glass, but they’re perfectly acceptable for what they are. The 18-55 that came with mine is still my go-to ‘walkabout’ lens when I’m travelling (relatively) light. I’d add a circular polariser to that, makes outdoor shots really come alive! (Sorry)

The F1.8 50mm is a brilliant bit of kit for sub-£80. Well worth considering as a ‘my first upgrade’ purchase.

Unless you have legacy lenses go mirrorless.

Compact and more pre-processing adjustments options.

@cougar-quite agree the 18-55 Mk II is a perfectly good lens and the 55-250mm compliments it brilliantly for extra reach.

The 50mm f1.8 it’s the best value lens on any system imho. Simply brilliant for the money. Had one with my 50D and now I have my dads 5D Mk 3 and he had one for that which doesn’t perform badly at all.

Have used Canon DSLRs for about 13 years now, went in with a D60, and still using an old 10D, really like the quality and dual-wheel setup so if was in the market for a newer one would probably be a 7d or similar for the extra pixels and video ability. Would like something more compact (Fuji x100s maybe) these days, as lugging the big metal DSLR has finally become a chore.

The F1.8 50mm is a brilliant bit of kit for sub-£80. Well worth considering as a ‘my first upgrade’ purchase.

+1 for that. In fact have carved a career out of this lens – clarity is exceptional, focal length is spot on for my requirements (with the magnification factor). Never used one on full frame sensor though…

@MR – the came out when Noah was rounding up the last of the animals! There is rumour of a 7D mk II cover very soon but I am doubtful.

The 70D has inherited the 7D’s AF system and also has DPAF cover 80% of the frame which helps with live view focusing.

Love my Canon 650.
Checkout MPB

@cougar-quite agree the 18-55 Mk II is a perfectly good lens and the 55-250mm compliments it brilliantly for extra reach.

The 50mm f1.8 it’s the best value lens on any system imho.

Aye. Exactly my setup.

The 50mm f1.8 it’s the best value lens on any system imho.

Build quality is shocking, it’s a wobbly piece of plastic tat.
The 40mm is better built and optically very good.

If you can’t get a very cheap deal on the 600d then the 100D might be worth a look – it has a slightly more up to date sensor, otherwise the spec is incredibly similar.

I’d suggest you seet you budget first then go somewhere you can feel the camaera inyour hand- some people just get on better with one brand better than others.

The 40mm is better built and optically very good.

It’s also double the price and a slow-focusing STM lens aimed at the video market.

[asking for trouble]

I think we can all agree that the best choice for the OP is my Pentax plus lenses etc. Will include a Redsnapper tripod for £350.

[/asking for trouble]

On a more serious note, I found that Nikon and Pentax felt great in the hand, Canon and Sony not so much. Personal preference obviously but there was no way I’d have (of?) bought a Canon despite them looking good on paper so definitely worth trying a few if you can.

Mrs R is a landscape and wildlife photographer and she uses Nikon. The D600 is a full frame camera so would require full frame lenses to get the best out of the camera. She may be better looking at a D7000 or similar, plenty about at great prices and a good selection of lenses

MPB have some great deals on second hand kit if you dont feel like dropping big money on the latest and greatest.

@MR – the came out when Noah was rounding up the last of the animals!

And I still ride a steel 26er with vees. Wish it had discs tho…

Still have the ( original) D30, bit beaten up, top LCD display broken) but still takes great pictures. Remember very well dropping best part of 2.5k on a new setup with a ‘mahooosive’ 1gb Microdrive ‘only’ 12 years back.

Reliable tools, take great pics all day long on one charge. IMO good cameras are like artist quality paints in that a certain quality is reached, beyond which only fetishists would spend many thousands more to get (to the eyes of 99% of viewers) near identical results. In saying so, I do have a pixel-peeping fetish that requires keeping tame lest live entire life in debt enjoying the latest medium formst digital goodies.

She should stick with a crop sensor for wildlife photography – increases the “actual viewed” lens length. People will argue about this all day, but a 200mm lens on a crop sensor equates to a 300mm field of view. Simple as that – she’s closer to the action.

Add a tele-convertor, perhaps a Canon x1.5 job, and she’ll be taking photos of fleas on the animal’s back.

Thanks again for all the replies.
I’ll take her to a proper camera shop and get to have a play with some.

Add a tele-convertor, perhaps a Canon x1.5 job, and she’ll be taking photos of fleas on the animal’s back.

If she has a sturdy tripod, a sharp lens and uses a timer/remote. Quite tricky getting anything worth using at 450mm efl

That said, I got the obligatory moon shot with my Sony, a 300mm cheapo Tamron and a lot of cropping….

[url=https://flic.kr/p/dHFFd5]Moon2[/url] by davetheblade, on Flickr

Personal preference obviously but there was no way I’d have (of?) bought a Canon

Have.

Personal preference is exactly right. I picked up a Nikon and it just felt ‘wrong’, everything was in the wrong place and it felt very counter-intuitive to me. Canon OTOH was immediately familiar and sensible. Though, I’d used an IXUS for years and the layout is broadly similar.

Ask someone else and they may well say the opposite. Everyone’s different.

I’ve used Canon since college so I always go for Canon simply because I understand the layout.

I do have a Samsung Galaxy camera for stuffing in the pocket and taking pictures of the family though – it’s a great piece of kit for £200 – basically an Android device with a pretty competent camera.

Choose you camera based on Glass. The lenses will outlive the camera body and are the most costly investment. Canon + nikon will hold their value better than many other brands as most of their lenses are compatible throughout the range. Note that some Glass will only work on cropped sensor lenses and that some bodies will only except cropped sensor glass. My recommendation is to buy a body that will except both, or stick with full frame (non cropped glass) allowing a natural upgrade path and use of adaptors to run other brand lenses.

Canon and Nikon have different ergonomics and button actions / placement. Little things like this over time can become very welcome or a huge issue for frequent and speedy use. You will however adapt, it’s a bit like different shifters and rapid rise mechs etc…

What’s hot:
http://www.dpreview.com

Don’t get caught up in Mega pixel count, focus on low light quality, chromatic aberration (fringing) and image stabilisation options.

Choose you camera based on Glass

Although you can get adaptors eg Canon users jealous of Nikon’s lenses can get an adaptor to use Nikon lenses of their DSLRs. Nikon users wouldn’t want to touch Canon glass….

Although you can get adaptors eg Canon users jealous of Nikon’s lenses can get an adaptor to use Nikon lenses of their DSLRs. Nikon users wouldn’t want to touch Canon glass….

Lol Do you actually take photographs or just talk about cameras on the Internet? There are plenty of gaps in the nikon lens line-up that have meant swapping systems or using an inferior lens. I use a sony A7r with adapted canon 17-Tse 24-Tse 90-Tse plus others like the new 24-70 2.8. Instead of using a d800 because the nikon lens equivalents are either poor performers or don’t exist.
(It can go the other way as the 45-Tse is crap compared to the nikon)

All of that is moot if your images are only ever seen on Facebook or Flickr, just buy the camera that feels good in your hands and is easy to use and offers the best VFM

FWIW I have been looking on ebay for a 7D as a second body to back my 5D3 up with and there are some screaming deals on bodies – £564 for a new body (in non-retail box with 12 month warranty) which coupled with an 18-55 mk II lens would give you a belting camera for around £750ish.

I have a 7D and have found it to be pretty good. There is a new one being released at the end of august apparently, so might be worth hanging on a month and watching the old ones drop in price?

The 7D mk II has been rumoured for the last few years and has never shown and it may be that they do not intend to do a direct replacement. The 70D uses the same AF system although with lesser options and the 5D mk III is a capable sports / action shooter – much more so than the mk II was (uses the 1DX’s AF system) so a 7D mk II would be an awkward fit in the line up.

The current 7D is being discontinued in any event – Canon will not be supplying and new stock apparently and I don’t think the new price is going to drop much below the £570 or so that it now is on eBay. Maybe some downward movement on the likes of Amazon where the body is still £8-900.

A in the process of selling my Olympus OM-D E-M10 to fund one…