Help To Choose A Canon DSLR

[iCardboardRobot]

Hi folks im currently driving myself mad 
 
I have decided to buy a canon dslr and cant choose between the 450 D & 500 D
 
obviosuly the 500 is a stronger camera, its simply the ££££ that are hard to justify.
 
The 450 New & 18-55MM Lens is £360 Delivered, while the 500 New & Same Lens is £458.
 
Not a massive price difference, but i want to put some money into a new bag and decent lens (any tips?)
 
I dont really see the big advantage of 15.1 v 12.1 mega pixels, its the better ISO that is attractive
 
So any advice would be greatly appricated !
 
Thanks

[Angry Turnip]

I had a Canon 450D and it was the biggest pile of crap ever -my Canon 350D was a great camera and when it was stolen my insurance company paid for it`s nearest current equivalent the 450D.
 
No matter what I did with it I couldn't`t get sharp images,unless I was photographing still subjects-I took it back to Jessops who supplied it and the sent it off to get checked over,and it came back after 10days saying everything was fine with it.
IT WASN`T,so I decided to sell it on Ebay and put some money towards getting a 40D which is fantastic.
 
Maybe I got a duff example,but it was useless for aircraft pics-I think the problem was the slow burst rate,or a focusing problem,but my 350D had no problems and is a lower spec camera,so I don`t understand why the 450D performed so badly.
 
Images where very very soft no matter what I did with it,fast or slow shutter speeds and I spent ages trying to get a decent image using differnet settings.
 
I have included 2 panning shots to show you the difference.Both at 1/100th Sec at ISO200.
 
1st is a Tucano with the 350D. 50% sharpening
 
2nd is a Team Guinot Stearman with the 450D 95% sharpening STILL VERY SOFT!
 

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[Dave]

so I decided to sell it on Ebay and put some money towards getting a 40D which is fantastic.

Great decision!    The 40D is simply a fantastic camera all round.
 
Cardboard, I'm not sure how most people would feel about this but you could maybe look for a 2nd hand Canon 30D or 40D. Canon often sell refurbished camera bodys on their ebay store which come with warrenties.
 
I can't comment on the quality difference between the Canon 450D and the Canon 500D, however it should be stressed that it's the lens infront of the camera that matters the most when it comes to quality. A camera body can decrease in price rapidly over the years however often a lens will mainly retain it's value.
 
What is your budget for both camera and lens? The kit 18-55mm lens will not be enough for aviation photography unless you can get right up beside the aircraft. At Belfast City Airport, a lens length of between 100 and 300mm would be ideal.

[iCardboardRobot]

Thanks for the advice folks, indeed on investigation the 450d does leave photos soft, however newer firmware & better lens seem to go a long way in combating this. Replacing the standard lens with the 50mm f1.8 makes a huge difference apparently.
I order a 70 - 300 mm mk2 usm lens from cex for £130, believe it or not the cex website can loads of lens on it and are very well priced, I order one for the Olympus, took a while to come 1-2 weeks but was in perfect condition & 1 year warranty.
Thanks again folks

[Dave]

Replacing the standard lens with the 50mm f1.8 makes a huge difference apparently.

Ahhh but how much does an F1.8 50mm prime lens cost, fairly expensive I'm sure? Good choice with your 70-300mm lens! Let us know what you decided on the camera body

[casper]

Yes replacing the kit lens with a 50mm 1.8 (approx £90) will improve your portrait shots and aircraft static shots (if you can get close enough) but as Dave says a minimum of 200 or 300mm is needed for aircraft photos.

[Steve7]

If its Canon gear you are after try this guy:-

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FLASH-CAMERA/_i.html?_fsub=5&_sc=1&_sop=2