I'm looking into buying a new camera that is no more than $400. I found that the Rebel 2000 to be a good camera for the price. What do you think? Have any of you had any experiences with it? If so, what do you think of it? Are there any other SLR cameras that you recommend I get? I am currently deciding between the Canon EOS Rebel 2000, Minolta HTsi Plus, and the Pentax ZX-7. Now, I am not spending more than $400. I would mainly use this camera for aviation photography. I am planning on buying a 70-300MM lens seperately.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards to all.

I too am interested in knowing this as I may get the same camera.

C. Wassell

Hello-

I was interested in the Rebel 2000 as well. It looked nice in the pictures and stuff, and it seemed to have nice features, which it does. (I have shot with it once before.) But, I wouldn't recommend it - it feels like a plastic toy instead of a camera.

I know both of you guys are experienced in photography, and really the Rebel is for people just getting started.

**It's made out of plastic!**

If you have a decent lens, I would just keep saving up and go with the A2E (I have it) or the A7E.

Just my opinion. Many people have the 2000 and love it.

Zach

Yep, it's made out of plastic - so is your A2E. Currently the only Canon with a metal body is the EOS-1V.

Now me? experienced? no way. I have a long way to go. The EOS Rebel 2000 has the features I want at a price I can afford. Besides it's gotta be better than what I have now(An old manual focus Pentax and a Nikon with a VERY SLOW autofocus)


C. Wassell

I'm with USAir_757, I am not too experienced in aviation photography. I am just getting into it and I don't want to spend a huge amount of money. I think I will get the Rebel 2000. Oh and Usairways@clt, sooner or later, EVERY electronic that you buy will be made out of plastic. There is nothing wrong with a plastic body. These days plastics are getting extremely strong.

Although I've been into aviation since I was two years old, I've only taken up a/c photography since Christmas. I got the Minolta Maxuum STsi and I find it perfect for me, a beginner. Some people told me that the AF is very slow on that camera, frankly its faster than I thought it would be. Even if does have only one AF sensor it certainly picks the subject up quickly and the two rolls that I've taken with it have come out very sharp. Try not to use it in dull conditions in the winter though, they come out quite dark. I suppose though thats because I have a slow lense. Since then I decided only to take pics on sunny days. Its cheaper than a Rebel 2000 (in Ireland anyway) and I got a package that came with a 28-80mm and a 75-300mm both f3.5-5.6 and f4.5-5.6 respectively. If you want more info on Minoltas in general, ask Michael F McLaughlin (mikephotos) for more info. He owned a lot of Minolta bodies and found them very good

Hope this helps,
Martin

The Minolta STsi is good for still/slow action, but for fast action, it will lose you many shots, because it wont foucs fast enough. I tried out an STsi once and I found the AF to be no faster than my dad's old Nikon N6006 which is 7 years old. I spoke with a guy who has the Rebel 2000 and he says neither the exposure meter nor the AF has problems, unless the battery is almost dead. And he shoots slides which are extremely sensitive to exposure mistakes. I find that convincing enough to get the R2K  



C. Wassell

Thanks for the replys!

Thanks for slagging off my $600 Christmas present. (not being cheeky by the way  )
Out of the 48 take-off and landing shots I took, I only lost 3 shots which still turned out very well thank you very much. The AF is fast enough and since its my first SLR, I have no complaints.
BA its a very good camera and if you feel that you find it at a good price, don't feel any hesitation in buying it. Its a great camera for the price and after reading some reviews about it, the AF is comparable to cameras in the same price range.

Good Luck in your search,
Martin

Thanks Aer Lingus, I appreciate your support. This will be also my first SLR camera. I'm considering getting these lens:

What do you think of them? Its a 75-300MM lens that is f/4.0-5.6. The price for them is $229.99. I would probably get these lens if I decide to buy the Rebel 2000. Any more input would be greatly appreciated.

What is the european equivalent for the Rebel 2000 model?

As far as a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 goes I don't know much but if you want I'll enquire about it with my Science teacher here in Dublin who has the European equivelent. Alternatively try http://www.photographyreview.com/reviews/35mm_cameras/product_4202.asp, it gives you some reviews about the Rebel 2000. On the same site if you look at the reviews about the STsi and they say the focus is slow, ignore it. I've been told that the speed of the AF is comparable to products of the same price and besides we're only beginners, we don't need top of the range equipment. E-mail me @ marty_oconnell@hotmail.com if you want any more info

Good Luck,
Martin

Thanks for the link.

Well I didn't say top range equipment is what I need...for awhile I wanted an F5 which is top range and I dropped that idea recently. I just dont want to miss that United 757 anymore!!!!! I've tried shooting it 5 times, I missed it to the AF every time!  

Oh well, you get the idea   I'll stick with the R2K.

C. Wassell

USAir_757, I just read some reviews that Aer Lingus posted. It has a slow auto focus compared to the Minolta HTsi Plus. I think I'll go with the HTsi Plus. I like the lens more also.

Chris this is just a suggestion but why not practice with the manual focus and save yourelf $300. Try and practise following some cars as they pass, apparently its a good method. Besides I'm sure the AF isn't that slow, otherwise the camera wouldn't sell !  
As for the F5, that £1500 in Ireland ! That would take ten years of my savings to get that. Eight if it were second hand !
Think about my advice  

Martin

BA I didn't know that the HTsi was the Dynax 505Si here in Europe. Basically its the same as the STsi other that a higher Shutter speed and flash sync I think. Also the STsi is a good $50 less maybe more

Martin

Well I have a few reasons I dont like minoltas the biggest being limited lens selection. There are an abundance of lenses made for CAnon and Pentax, however I find it difficult to find a single lens for Minolta. MOST of the reviews on that page for the rebel 2000 were 4 or 5 out of 5, there were only a few bad ones, maybe 8 bad ones out of 140 total. The ZX-7 which I will get if I dont get the R2000 or I take it back not liking it got mostly good reviews as well.

C. Wassell

Hi.

Rebel 2000 (or EOS 300 in Europe) is quite a nice camera. I've owned it almost a year now so I can share some toughts about it:

+easy to use
+AF is really fast, never got a plane out of focus with this body (Canon's AF speed depends much on lens because the focusing motor is inside the lens, not the body.)
+light weight (not necessarily a good thing)

-light metering is not so good, this doesn't matter if you shoot prints but slides go sometimes over quite much.

But anyway, good value for it's price.


Regards,
Janne
Helsinki, Finland
http://personal.inet.fi/private/efhk

I heard the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 is a very awesome camera. Although, the AF is quite slow, but it's not that expensive to buy. The cheapest you may get is around $379 for the body plus a 28-80mm lens. I'm thinking on getting the Canon EOS 2000 but I may go overboard with my money and get a Canon Elan 7e. The AF is really fast them the Rebel 2000.

BTW, why pay $300 for a 300mm lens. Although, it may be a very good "sharp" lens but go to www.ritzcamera.com and buy the Rebel 2000 for $379 and get a $30 Quantarary 100-300mm for $149. The reg. price for that lens is $179. But, it's up to you and money.

Good luck,

K. Cook/Arlington,VA/DCA

Gocaps16 wrote:
-------------------------------
>the AF is quite slow
-------------------------------
I found it to be quite fast...is your battery low?



C. Wassell

USAIR_757,

No, but my old camera is but it still take decent shots. I'm planning on getting a Canon type SLR brand in about a week or 2.

The Rebel 2000 may be quite fast but the Elan 7 is even faster.  

Ciao!

K. Cook/DCA

Well not everyone can afford an Elan 7. Besides the lens is more important than the body to me.

Hey jormy

I know a guy who shoots KR64 slides with a rebel2k, he says the exposure is fine.



C. Wassell

Yes, I've also shot ~20 rolls of Kodachrome 64 with that body and it seems to be working quite fine.
But when using 100ASA films, like Fuji Sensia, Provia or Astia I get much more often this overexposing. I also have a friend who has this same body and he has experienced these same results.

btw. some camera-magazine in Germany tested these entry-level SLR's about a year ago and EOS 300's light metering was tested to be among the worst in the test. even the cheaper EOS 3000 (about the same as Rebel G in the US) had better points.


Regards,
Janne
Helsinki, Finland
http://personal.inet.fi/private/efhk

Well when shooting those films you can always set the exposure-compensation.


C. Wassell

Yes, of course exposure compensation can be used but the camera does this quite randomly. I would say 2-4 shots of a 36 roll can be overexposed.
Now, if I would set camera -1/2 stop or -1 stop underexposure then only 2-4 shots of film would be correctly exposed.
Check this pic, I put it on-line to demonstrate what I meant:
http://personal.inet.fi/private/efhk/images/Eos300_test.jpg

Those shots were taken with Canon EOS 300 on a same day, almost same time, using same film (Fuji Sensia 100) and no exposure compensation was used, shots were taken in cameras P-mode. You can see how washed out the white fuselage of the MD-87 (left pic) is, reg is barely visible.


This was almost the main reason why I bought the EOS 50E (Elan IIe in the US) which perfroms very well. Nowadays I use the EOS 300 only for prints so the overexposing-thing doesn't matter.


Regards,
Janne
Helsinki, Finland
http://personal.inet.fi/private/efhk

Nearly all my photos until now (03.01.2001)http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?nr_of_rows=&keywords=tophoven&first_this_page=0&page_limit=15&sort_order=photo_id+desc&thumbnails=photos&engine_version=3.5&nr_pages=15&page=
are taken by the Rebel 2000 (EOS 300). It's a very good and powerful camera for this price. I've taken much pictures with it and I think I've tried to get out the best...

My original plan was to get a Pentax ZX-7, I have decided to back to that on a final bases.


C. Wassell

I have also decided to get the Pentax ZX-7 and buy a 80-320MM lens.

Great topic, I have been thinking about getting one of those too. I certainly want to get more into aviation photography. It seems as though opinions vary but it appears to be a good camera for the price. After all, if one wants really fast AF and top of the line features, one would have to pay for them.

Trintocan.

I have the Canon Rebel Gx with the EOS 28-80mm and 75-300mm lens. I really haven't maximized the usefulness of the camera, as I mainly point and shoot for the most part, but I can say that the entire package does a great job. (I'm still leafing through the manual from time to time to figure out what all these settings do!)
I have spotted all over the US in varying locations and conditions, and the camera has performed up to my expectations and beyond. My entire package was purchased at Best Buy for $630, and it is well worth it. After college, I plan to upgrade to a professional grade Canon, but for now my Rebel and Canon lenses work incredibly well for my needs in a spotting camera.