We’ve all heard “it’s the photographer and not the camera” before, but which camera are you looking at to capture your holiday moments this year?
The EOS Rebel T3 previously on the last woot-off and Sellout.Woot
Both at a dollar less! Woot succumbs to price inflation!!
Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR and 18-55 IS II Lens Kit Woot New = $400.00
AMAZON = New in box, $499.00 and Free shipping. Also, 2% back in rewards. (not cash back)
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Rebel-T3-Digital-18-55mm/dp/B004J3Y9U6
Walmart = New in box, $499.00, free in store pickup but kit includes added Canon Gadget Bag and a 4GB SD Card.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Canon-12.2MP-5157B017/17254377
B&H = New in box, $499.00 and Free shipping. Also, once you view the product in the link below, if you scroll down you will find 366 reviews.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/753766-REG/Canon_5757B002_EOS_Rebel_T3_Digital.html
Seems woot has the best deal as the extras Walmart offers does not add up to $100 worth of extras.
Canon is a leader in innovation and quality including entry level cameras as this is. Canon USA customer support is very good. I know, I have been shooting with Canon equipment for over 40 years.
*Special Note While this is an entry level DSLR there is nothing cheap about it. Repairing or replacing a lens, even just the front optic can be very expensive. So, if you are going to invest in this camera or any by another brand at this level you need to very inexpensively protect your lens. This is done with a filter. That is a piece of optical quality (do not buy a cheap one that is plastic or non-optical grade glass) glass that crews down on the front of your lens. If something contact it hard and breaks or scratches it, it is much cheaper to replace than replace or repair you lens. Hoya is one of several good brands. You would need a UV or Skylight filter for this and either one is fine. The filter size needed for the lens included it this Canon is a 58mm. For this level lens, a lower priced Hoya filter will do nicely. Here is a $13.07 (free shipping) example. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/652130-REG/Hoya_A58UVC_58mm_Ultraviolet_UV_0_Haze.html If you want to go up in quality for this or a more expensive lens this Hoya at $38.99 + $4 (appr) shipping is about as good as you could ever want. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/574271-REG/Hoya_XHD58UV_58mm_Ultraviolet_UV_Haze.html Hope this info is useful to you.
PENTAX 15086 Q 12.4MP Dual Lens Camera Kit - Black or White New = $500 on Woot.
Is this a good deal?
Compared to other vendors one could say yes.
Tiger Direct New = $653.00 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2436303&SRCCODE=WEBGOO0163C&cm_mmc_o=mH4CjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE&gclid=CJjK9cTesLMCFQeDnQodtmMAJQ
AMAZON New = $496.95 + Shipping http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00604YS3K/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B006C74UXS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=03GMF7W9FGPANR01PRA8
When you take S&H into account, it seems Woot wins but is this really a good deal? Compared to the Canon T3 being sold on Woot today for $400, I would say, no.
The Canon T3 is a far superior camera that offers more hands down. And the one lens on the Canon gives an equivalent focal length slightly larger than the two lens combined on the Pentax. The Pentax is smaller and lighter but that is the only up side and one that is negligible in my opinion when put up against the Canon. Canon offers a vastly larger quantity of lens that allows it to be expanded much further and it also has along with the view screen an actual view finder. On bright sunny days while one struggles with the Pentax the Canon owner is going to be shooting away. And let’s not forget for $100.00 less. In a head to head match up between today’s Pentax and today’s Canon, The Canon Wins, Hands Down!
Actually, $399.99 vs $400, so it’s a 1¢ difference. We do round numbers on Plus deals for some reason that has yet to be explained to me. I guess it looks prettier.
I got that tiny camera in my BOC, I lost it before i got the chance to see how good the pictures are.
Too small!
Pentax FTW! They just cut the K-01 down to $350 also.
Sadly this isn’t even a deal. $499 is the new price for the Pentax Q dual lens kit as of 11/1…meaning you can pick it up elsewhere for the same price (and usually free shipping at BHPhoto or Adorama). The new K-01 price is pretty darn good though, under $450 with the 40mm kit.
Anyone have the details, like which lens to buy for the “snow conversion”???
Oh please. That’s utter crap. People tend to overstate the importance of keeping your front lens in immaculate condition. If anything, your photos will be worse off due to the loss of clarity, contrast, etc. The reason your front element of the lens doesn’t matter (that is, imperfections don’t appear in photos) is that it is so far from the focal plane. A little experiment to prove this point is often performed by getting a roughly 3mmx3mm sticky note piece and putting it on the front of a lens. Look through the viewfinder, and it will be so obscured and out of focus it won’t even be visible.
Having said that, yes this hobby does get expensive.
On an unrelated note, the samsung 1080p underwater camera is very tempting. I’ll probably pick it up tomorrow.
I don’t think it’s that great of a deal. I got the same T3 and lens kit for $375ish directly from the Canon website earlier this year.
I bought the Bell Howell keychain camera the last time I saw it on here for the novelty value. I haven’t used it, as I imagine my iPhone pics are better, but it is super cute, and looks great with my camera collection. Probably the cheapest thing I’ve added in quite a while. Hoping it’s the lomographic of digitals… Lol.
The dual lens Pentax Q kit is $499.95 now everywhere. It’s not a deal at $500. It is a great camera though. The 01 prime lens is especially good.
You aren’t taking sensor size into account. The zoom lens on both is effectively the same focal length (about 28-80mm) due to crop factor. The Pentax Q has the advantage in low light situations because the zoom lens is f/2.8-4 where the Cannon is f/3.5-5.6. That means the Pentax zoom is 1 full fstops faster, which means it can operate in half the light.
Best Buy will Price Match! They have a sale on the lenses too.
A good quality UV filter is not going to have a noticeable effect by every day photographers and an excellent one will have virtually no effect with the exception they do indeed help prevent haze under certain conditions. However, there is nothing to say under critical and professional conditions that you could remove the filter for the shot or shots and then replace it. I have done shoots in hard places like NASCAR and the NFL to name just two. Guess what? Everyone around me had a filter on their lens. When you have 3K worth of lens and you are on the sidelines or track side, $30 worth of UV is not just smart is it a must! The same principle would go to the every day photographer. It is not Rocket Science. A few bucks spent to protect your optics is just smart money unless you have a tree that sheds dollars. To say that protecting the lens with a fairly low cost, optical glass filter is “utter crap” is well, UTTER CRAP and certainly not good advice for a novice. It may sound good or fine in the classroom and photography 101, but it is NOT what is practiced in the field and again with the exception of removal for a critical shot or a lens that is only used for that purpose.
BTW, I don’t sell camera equipment new or used. So my mention of filters is not to help me or any company that is in the business. It is to help the novice inexpensively protect their investment. With that said, if all you do is point and shoot with a point and shoot camera you have a throw away anyway. Optic problems, no problem. Throw it away and get another point and shoot.
They also say ‘give a thousand monkey’s a typewriter and one will write a novel’. With that thought in mind there is something amateurs can do emulates the pros and will in the end give those ‘home photo’ amateurs some great results. When a pro shoots a subject and even if it is just one subject such as a ‘still life’ he/she does not set up on just one shot as the perfect shot and then go. The pro will take a multitude of shots from all angles, from all distances and with many varying light sources and dimensions. In short, if you take 100 shots at an apple in a bowl, there is a good chance one of them is going to look dang good. lol So, it is your daughters birthday and you want some good pictures of the even. It is not hard and it is even less expensive today with digital medium over film. Film days, you ran out of film you were done. Today’s digital, you run out of memory, you can decide to cut out a few and start again or do a fast DL to the computer and have a full and empty card to start over again with. So, take a lot and I mean A LOT of pictures of every scene you think you want to have and keep. You take 80 pictures of that party instead of 8 and you have a lot to choose from and certainly a lot to cull out. Move around, close and more distant, every angle you can take and you will end up with some great shots. The odds are with you if you shoot in the high numbers. ENJOY!
Now pick the camera that you feel is right for you and then, shoot, shoot, and then, shoot even more. You won’t write a novel but you will most likely have a great family photo album.
Run this past Best Buy because it does not work out all that good where I live. Show them the price you have plus shipping, which would be your total out of pocket. Then ask, match that? What you are going to hear back (I believe) is we can match the price and not even charge the shipping but by law we have to charge you sales tax. That is right and it is not their fault but the price match may now not be the same out of your pocket. Bottom line, do the math. If your local store can match what is coming out of your pocket, great. If they can not, regardless of reason, it is not a match to you, now is it?
Correct and therefore one may consider the C note difference OK. However, that does not take in to account the availability to more lens by Canon (and others) and even more so, the overall ability for the Canon to surpass the Pentax with other on board options as well as expandability.Certainly 2.8 compared to 3.5 is a very admirable advantage in low light but again, every where else, the Canon is still hands down the winner at $100 less!