Camera Labs

Well acctually it's the kiss X5 but I'm sure most of you know the difference or the fact there barly is one.

I bought it from digitalrev.com
I have a confession to make, I did not use the afilliate link, partyly because I didnt know digital rev had become an afilliate supplier since I last were on these forums and I just forgot.

I got a good deal with the camera and kit lens costing £459 and it arrived almost exactly 2 days and 12 hour from the time I ordered it.

I aim to get a 50mm 1.8 unless anyone were to recommend otherwise because the kit lens is too dark.

I can finally pretend to be a professional photographer like the rest of you ;P

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Bryan

Congratulations!

Well - yeah, the 50mm 1.8 is definitely OK, no reason why you shouldn't buy it. It's a beautiful lens for portraits and product photography.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Congratulations! I agree with Jiko it's a good buy and you can produce some stunning shots with that lens

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

well it's 1st on my list of things to buy.
I'm tempted to save up a little longer for the F1.4 lens but I'm only taking casual photograph really.

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Bryan

I went for the 1.4 option in the end. It has significantly better build quality and USM focusing. Overall I think I made the right choice although optically they are pretty similar.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

Optically I find the 1.8 is slightly better, so its definitely a great option. The 1.4 would have better AF though.

I went with the 1.8 and keep it in manual focus most of the time, and definitely enjoy it a great deal.

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Cameras: Canon EOS Rebel T2i, Canon S90
Lenses: Tamron: SP70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD, Canon: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens, 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III, and EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Retired camera: Fujifilm Finepix s700

I thought the 1.4 would be optically better.

if thats the case then I'm happy to stick to the 1.8

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Bryan

Optically these two lenses are very similar. Wide open up until about f2.8 the 1.4 gets the edge. After that the 1.8 probably has the edge. Although you don't really buy a fast prime unless you want to use fast apertures so the 1.4 is probably regarded as slightly better. The bokeh on the 1.4 is also nicer thanks to the 8 aperture blades as apposed to the 5 on the 1.8. Overall they are both very good lenses but if you can afford the 1.4 and like the benefits of it by all means go for it If you want to use it as more of an everyday lens and don't mind putting up with the bad build quality and slower focusing then the 1.8 will give you very slightly better images.

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

thanks, I'll have to consider my options when I cant afford it again.

I work in IT so I'm in the process of gaining qualifications although I'm hoping to move into a fulltime position in the next couple of months then I should be able to get some decent kit.

in the mean time I'll just practice and be in general very happy with my new camera
just glad to be a few steps up from point & shoots and mobile phone cameras, at least I can focus the camera on my self to take self portraits now my samsung phone is useless for this albeit a good phone though.

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Bryan

I just read a test of both lenses and it looks like the 1.4 version is sharper in the center but the 1.8 is sharper in the corners. At F4 they are very similar. But in the end it's not an extreme difference. If you stop the 1.8 lens down (F4) the "bokeh balls" are no balls but pentagons. But the sharpness itself if great. The build quality of the 1.4 version is noticably better but not exactly great either. And the 1.4 has a micro USM instead of a ring USM, which means that it is nearly noiseless (much less noise than the 1.8 with its micro motor produces) but not much faster than the 1.8 version. A ring USM would be better.

Short: Yeah, if I had to choose I'd take the 50mm 1.4 but as I have to pay (and I'm not rich) I went for the 1.8 version. I'd rather update to a 85mm 1.8 instead of a 50mm 1.4.

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Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Sounds like a good plan. For the meantime your current kit should allow you to take some nice photos!

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin