Camera and separate Zoom lens or camera with zoom lens

[ClayDr]

I am a complete novice. I presently use my iPhone 8+ and absolutely love photography as a hobby. I do not want to invest a lot of money. I primarily enjoy taking pictures of nature, especially flowers and bees, up close. Occasionally I will take pictures of the full moon but shooting in darkness is not a necessity. I am looking at purchasing the EOS Rebel T6 DSLR Camera 2 Lens Bindle from Costco. I do not want to invest a lot of money as I am just starting out and want to make sure I enjoy this. What zoom lens would you recommend. The other option is going with a less expensive camera that I believe has a zoom option. It is the Canon Power shot SX530 f digital power bundle. I would appreciate your recommendations and thank you very much

[John_]

I have owned the SX50HS for several years now and am quite happy with the pictures it takes. It has 50X optical zoom and 4X digital zoom for a total of 200X. And it takes excellent close-ups also, has a remote shutter capability which is needed for long zooms with no shake and it has a lot more. Great camera I would not trade it for anything now on the market in the same field.

Having said that I just ordered and will receive on Saturday the EOS Rebel T6i which is a couple steps up from the model you're looking at and it is a package deal from a website I use called untilgone.com 

Canon EOS Rebel T6i Digital SLR, Wi-Fi + EF-S 18-55mm & 75-300mm III Lens, 100ES Case & 16GB Card- all for $559, all new.

The case is a Canon case too. I made the move because I wanted 2 things my powershot could not do and those are Bulb mode photography and also the ability to adapt it to a telescope for astrophotography. My powershot SX50HS did and does take great pictures of the moon and stars though using a tripod and remote shutter but I wanted more so I made the move and the price is right. Zoom lenses are very expensive that do not even come close to 50X no less 200X.. So you have to decide on shorter zoom lenses or spend a fortune on long zoom lenses but get greater flexibility in shooting and better quality professional pictures. I am not a pro and my SX50HS produces excellent pictures without editing or editing too much.

It's the same old dilemma price over the best or better quality pictures if you scrutinize the results which I rarely do.

[Waddizzle]

---

@ClayDr wrote:
I am a complete novice. I presently use my iPhone 8+ and absolutely love photography as a hobby. I do not want to invest a lot of money. I primarily enjoy taking pictures of nature, especially flowers and bees, up close. Occasionally I will take pictures of the full moon but shooting in darkness is not a necessity. I am looking at purchasing the EOS Rebel T6 DSLR Camera 2 Lens Bindle from Costco. I do not want to invest a lot of money as I am just starting out and want to make sure I enjoy this. What zoom lens would you recommend. The other option is going with a less expensive camera that I believe has a zoom option. It is the Canon Power shot SX530 f digital power bundle. I would appreciate your recommendations and thank you very much

---

I do not advise buying a camera kit from Costco.  Check out the Canon Online Refurbished Store.

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-eos-interchangeable-lens-cameras

https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/cameras/refurbished-powershot-digital-cameras

All gear comes with a one year warranty.  You will [spend] MUCH less money for the same gear.  And, you do not run the real risk of buying an open box item, or something that a prior customer has returned.

I cannot say if a compact PowerShot camera [or] a full blown DSLR is best for you.  

A DSLR is capable of taking better photos , over the long run.  But, a compact is capable of high quality photos in capable hands, too.  A DSLR would also be a bigger investment than a compact camera, mainly because of the interchangeable lens system.

[ebiggs1]

"I do not want to invest a lot of money."  And again, " I do not want to invest a lot of money as I am just starting out ..."

Best advice is, stick with your iphone. 

I do not want to invest a lot of money and photography are at opposite ends of the spectrum.  However, you spent nearly a grand or more if you consider the contact you had to agree to for the iphone.  If that is not a lot of money you can get a starter kit. The Canon EOS Rebel T7i DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens is around $850 and a fantastic place to start.  Buy just the camera and lens, nothing more to start.  Nothing more!  If they offer more skip it.