Which camera is best for me????

[Jenn2741]

i am looking for a canon camera that would be best for taking professional portrait pictures for under 700$. I just recently had my first child and i am tired of paying other people to take her pictures, i just need a camera that will let me be able to capture every moment of her life

[Scatterbrained]

Any modern DLSR would be more than adequate for what you want to do.  Portrait work isn't very technically demanding on the camera.   The issue comes in from having to learn the nuances of photography and aquiring the skill and ancillary equipment to achieve what you want.

[Scatterbrained]

BTW: my personal recommendation would be to pick up a used T2i (550D) . They can be had all day long for under $500 and have a modern 18mp sensor.    Then I would recommend getting a copy of "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson.     Couple the camera with a used 18-55 mII ($100)and a used 430 exII flash and you're on your way.   You should be able to aquire all of that for very close to your $700 budget.   Used 430exIIs go for around $200.  If that's a stretch you can get a Yongnuo YN 565 for under $150 and it has full ETTL capabilities, but the quality control isn't quite as high so the possibility of getting a dud is higher. 

 All told a used 550D ($500), used 18-55 ($100), YN565 ($165), Understanding Exposure ($17.50) = $782.5

Not a bad way to start.

[John]

Scatterbrained has a good breakdown. The below link goes to Canon's webpage for refurbished camera bodies and camera kits.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductListingViewAll_10051_10051_-1_29252_highP...

The more expensive stuff tends to be better overall but for those of us on a budget, you just have to find out what is good enough. The Canon XS with kit lens sometimes goes on sale for $300. That site will charge you tax. The T3i with kit lens is currently available for $560.

I second the comments on the flash.

[ScottyP]

For portraits of your child, you really should get a lens that has a wide aperature.  The EF 50mm f/1.8 only costs about $100.00 if you can believe that.  It is considered maybe the best buy in all of cameradom.

A wide aperature is perfect for portraits when you are not sitting in front of a professional backdrop.  Shooting "wide open" (at or near the lowest f/number your lens can hit) with the camera very close to the child, and the background farther away makes the background blur beautifully.  It will turn ugly distracting background (strangers, junk, anything) into something smooth and pretty, and it forces the subject to "pop out" of the background.  Any bush or line of trees becomes your pro backdrop.

Also, the 50mm lens length, when shot on a "crop sensor" Rebel camera, is ideal length for portraits.

Your basic kit zoom lens (18-55mm) will not be able to achieve the same blur and subject separation because its maximum aperature is much smaller than the f/1.8 of the "nifty fifty" lens.  At 50mm, that nifty fifty opens 4 times wider than the 18-55 lens can.  That means it lets in 4x more light than the 18-55 lens can.  So in addition to the above-mentioned background blurring benefit, it works much better indoors or at night without flash.

I'd go ahead and get the 18-55 with the camera, because they almost give it away with a camera, but I'd also spend the extra $100 and get the nifty fifty.

[ScottyP]

And as far as what camera (not what lens) if you want to stretch your dollar, get a T2i. It has the same sensor as T3i and also the much more expensive 60D and 7D. Also pretty similar to the sensor in T4i, image quality-wise. You can find a deal on that good camera and use the savings for lenses, which is common wisdom in camera stuff.

[Samsen]

There were several nice deals on T4i with kit lens and filter bag for about $600 recently including one from BH and Adorama. I believe the price is up now (BH without filter and bag is$ 640 with free shipping). Canon's "Promotion" also recently had very many nicely priced DSLRs. Look around and you'll find a good deal for yourself.

Suggestion for Nifty Fifty i.e. 50mm F1.8 mk II is very good. You simply can't get another sharp AF lens for this price of ~$100 or little under on sale.