Considering getting myself a DSLR

I have been dabbling in photography lately, mainly through borrowed cameras (point and shoot, Canon and Sony Alpha DSLRS and Nikon P6000)s. A selection is available here, here and here.

I have had opportunities to try them first hand through my good friend Nabin, who runs a photography blog at Nepal through the lens, Nischal ‘Batta” and Shoki Shakya who run an events and promotions company – Kgarira.com, and my cousin who owns a Sony Alpha DSLR.

Initially, I was settling for a Canon PowerShot G11 10MP, which is available in the local market for NRs 44000 /- with a 4 GB memory card, which is a wonderful camera if you wouldn’t want to lug around a DSLR and its accessories daily. I might even consider one in the near future as all photographers seem to augment their choice of DSLR with a powerful point and shoot. 🙂

The Canon Vs. Nikon Vs. Sony Vs others had me flabbergasted. Sony isn’t my cup of tea even though they seem to make most of the image processors for Canon and Nikon as well. I had my qualms on settling for a similarly priced Nikon D5000  with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens instead but this comparison did help.

Courtesy Black Friday, and Canon’s incentive to do away with their stock, Canon is running a $200 rebate when the camera kit  is bought with the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens and a $150 rebate on Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras when bundled with its range of DSLRs.

I finally settled for  the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (also known as Canon 500D) with kit lens (EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens), which should be a reasonable buy for an entry level DSLR enthusiast like me. Canon’s rebate programme bowled me over.

Product Highlights
– 15.1Mp CMOS Sensor
– HD 1080p, 720p, and VGA Video Capture
– 3″ Clear View LCD with Live View
– DIGIC 4 Image Processor
– ISO Expandable to 12,800
– EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
– EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Lens
– Compatible w/ 60-plus EF & EF-S Optics

The final assortment including camera body, two lenses, one filter and backpack, which should set me back quite a bit is as  follows.

Canon EOS Rebel T1i (also known as Canon 500D)

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens

Hoya 58mm UV (Ultra Violet) Multi Coated Glass Filter

Transcend 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card (TS16GSDHC10)

Canon Deluxe Photo Backpack 200EG