Canon 450D vs. 1000D

Hi,
i am new to dslr photography and i am planning to purchase my first dslr
camera. right now there are two offers: the Canon 1000D and the 450D
kits (both with the 18-55mm lens). What do you think? Are they a good
choice for a beginner? Is the 450D worth 555 Euro compared to 380 Euro
for the 1000D ? What is the main differece between the two cameras (ok,
i can look up the technical details, but i am interested in an opinion
based on experience)?

Thanks,
Tobias

Tobias Heidelmann wrote:
Hi,
i am new to dslr photography and i am planning to purchase my first dslr
camera. right now there are two offers: the Canon 1000D and the 450D
kits (both with the 18-55mm lens). What do you think? Are they a good
choice for a beginner? Is the 450D worth 555 Euro compared to 380 Euro
for the 1000D ? What is the main differece between the two cameras (ok,
i can look up the technical details, but i am interested in an opinion
based on experience)?

Thanks,
Tobias

Unless you're stretched for cash, then get the 450d (and/or look at
other brands).
There's a difference between not having access to a feature that you
need, and not needing a feature that you have. If you're new to
(d)slrs, then working that out without experience isn't easy.
AFAIK, there's no "downside" to the better model, except price.

Tobias Heidelmann wrote:

i am new to dslr photography and i am planning to purchase my first dslr
camera. right now there are two offers: the Canon 1000D and the 450D kits
(both with the 18-55mm lens). What do you think? Are they a good choice
for a beginner? Is the 450D worth 555 Euro compared to 380 Euro for the
1000D ? What is the main differece between the two cameras (ok, i can look
up the technical details, but i am interested in an opinion based on
experience)?

This question is frequently asked on the Canon EOS 1000D / 450D - 300D Forum
at DPReview (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1031). If you
read all the relevant threads and still have some questions, you will get
some answers there.

Tobias Heidelmann wrote:
Hi,
i am new to dslr photography and i am planning to purchase my first dslr
camera. right now there are two offers: the Canon 1000D and the 450D
kits (both with the 18-55mm lens). What do you think? Are they a good
choice for a beginner? Is the 450D worth 555 Euro compared to 380 Euro
for the 1000D ? What is the main differece between the two cameras (ok,
i can look up the technical details, but i am interested in an opinion
based on experience)?
I've got a 450D and am very happy with it. I changed from
Pentax system (Still have the pentax gear) to the Canon on a
whim, and have so far been quite happy.
There are 2 functions that the 450D has that the 1000D
doesn't, that for me would be deal-breakers on the 1000D.

The first is spot metering. Depending on what you are doing
it may not be something you use every day, but when used
correctly it is an indispensible tool for getting the
exposure you want.

The 2nd is the highlight tone priority function that the
450D has. My Pentax didn't have this, and it was a source of
constant frustration having to underexpose then play with
curves to get a shot with decent highlight detail. The 450D
does it automatically, and it is a fantastic feature.

The other main differences, and my opinion of them are as
follows:
12MP vs 10MP - irrelevant.
9 point AF vs 7 point AF - minor benefit
3.5FPS vs 3FPS - irrelevant (might be of minor benefit for
machine-gunning sport, but that's not my cup of tea).
3" Screen vs 2.5" Screen - very handy when viewing photos
you have taken or using liveview.

Finally, I'm not sure about where you are, but in Australia
the 1000D is bundled with the EFS18-55/F3.5-5.6 but the 450D
is bundled with the EFS18-55/F3.5-5.6IS - not only is IS a
handy feature to have, but the IS lens is optically superior
to the non-IS version. The Non-IS 18-55 is pretty
universally considered to be a crappy lens. Likewise the
twin-lens kits have the 75-300 non-IS and the 55-250IS
respectively. Once again the 55-250IS is optically superior
plus you get the benefit of IS.

Whichever kit you settle on, do yourself a favour and add
the 50/1.8. It is dirt cheap, optically excellent, and with
the fast 1.8 aperture it is very handy - great for low-light
use as well as getting nice out-of-focus backgrounds for
portraits. Since I got mine, I find the 50/1.8 pretty much
lives on the camera - it has done probably 90% of the
photography I have done since I got it.


Thanks,
Tobias