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Hello fellow photographers! I am in the search for finding a Cannon 70D and was wondering If anyone had any idea on a great deal! I need the whole nine yards, tripod, camera, bag, memory card etc….. I want to get the best bang for my buck! Grateful and thankful for any help you might be able to give!!
Now when you say you need “the best bang for the buck” have you considered buying used/refurbished?
You can buy a souped up kit on ebay for $1500 which comes with a bunch of useless junk, or you could piece together your own kit which would exclude all the rubbish.
I have considered getting used or refurbished but at this point I think that I would like something new!
Ok, I was just writing up an article about buying a kit on ebay, when I lost it all! I’ll write it again, just hang tight!
This is based on a kit here on ebay. Scroll down to where it shows what all comes in the kit.
- First, the camera!
- Next: Canon’s 3 cheapest lenses. They will likely work for you, but they’re not L glass, so don’t expect results like the pros get from their L glass!
- Next is a “Telephoto 500mm f/8.0 T- Mount Lens” (whatever that is!) The minimum aperture is f/8 so you can forget about hand-held shots unless you’re taking pictures of the sun (Don’t do it, it’s very dangerous!) Also, this is a manual focus lens, so forget about auto-focus. This is just filler to bring up the price of kit I would suspect, no one in their right mind would dream of buying one.
- Next in line are two “lenses” one to make your lens go wider, the other to make it go longer. What they don’t mention, is that you also get: CA (Chromatic Aberration), extreme distortion, and other unhealthy photographic “effects” which most photographers try to avoid.
- Next up are several filters. Now these can be left in the kit, they will be more useful than f/8 T lenses. Since they cost next to nothing they don’t increase the value of your kit much. Just remember, you get what you pay for!
- Next is “T mount for Canon” which is an adapter to fit your “Telephoto 500mm f/8.0 T- Mount Lens” to your camera.
- Next, the memory card that is currently residing in my camera! I got my camera in a “kit” and I got exactly this SD card. It’s a little beat up after a few years of use, but it’s still working for me.
- Next is a cheapo tripod. Unless you like replacing tripods, don’t get plastic $20 tripods!
- Next is a so-called “Slave Flash” I have no idea what it’s worth, or how it works, but I still wouldn’t buy it. If you really want a slave flash, get one that gives you control over it. You can get the Yongnuo YN 560 III for about $70 from Amazon. It is a cheap imitation of Canon’s famous 580 EX. I own the YN 560 II which is an older version of it, and I’m very happy with it!
- Next is an RC6 Wireless Remote. I haven’t used this, so I know nothing about it. If it triggers the camera wirelessly, then good for it! That’s all it needs to do isn’t it?
- Next are two camera bags. I know nothing about them, but I’m sure they will house your new camera. Just hope that they have plenty of padding!
- Next, cheapo card reader. Are you seeing a pattern here? Everything in this kit is “cheap”, but you’re paying $1500 for it?
- Next, a little baby cheapo tripod. If you have a little tiny point-n-shoot camera you can use it, but don’t expect it to hold up your big DSLR.
- Next, a “cleaning kit”. Nice, a kit within a kit! This is one thing that will be very useful! All lenses get dust and fingerprints on them, and you don’t want to take your dishrag to it, you need a micro-fiber cloth. I have this kit, or one just like it, and I still use the cloth from it. If your ears are dirty, you can use the cotton swabs to clean your ears too!
- Next, a memory card wallet. If you have more than one memory card you can put your extra ones in here!
- Screen Protectors. It’s up to you, if you want to use them or not, but I do use them. They increase glare, and decrease clarity, but if you want to protect your screen from scratches, you use them.
- Lens Cap Holder. I got one of these in another kit, and I don’t know whether to like it or not! It does keep your lens cap from getting lost, but it gets in the way, and blows in the wind, and just generally aggravates you.
The rest listed there is what you get from Canon with your camera, it will come with any new Canon DSLR.
So, in summary:
If you want “the best bang for your buck” leave out the following:
- “Telephoto 500mm f/8.0 T- Mount Lens”
- “Wide Angle” and “Telephoto” filters, they are worthless. (Unless you want to modify them to use as a macro filter)
- Cheapo tripods.
- Generic “slave flashes”
- One of the camera bags.
- The baby tripod. (Unless you have a little tiny camera to use it with)
To be totally honest, I wouldn’t even buy a kit like this. If I had enough money to get a kit like this, I would get just the camera with the 18-135mm IS lens, then fill out the rest of the kit separately. You will rarely get a good deal with any “kit”.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Have you considered the Canon 60D? It’s a good $300 cheaper. I don’t know what features you’re looking for, but the 60D is quite the camera!
The 70D is available for $1350 on ebay right now with the 18-135mm STM lens. If you’re getting this for video, you’ll definitely want the STM lens.
Thanks for the detailed info, buddingphotographer! I agree with you about all the cheap stuff included in most kits. However, Sarah showed me this kit: http://www.focuscamera.com/canon-eos-70d-slr-cmos-20-2mp-digital-camera-efs-18-135mm-lens-canon-speedlite-600ex-rt-shoe-mount-flash-64gb-memory-card-tiffen-67mm-uv-protector-circular-polarizing-lens-filter-kit.html
What do you think of it?
I think it’s pretty phenomenal especially for someone wanting to get into on-location portraiture. Do you think the smaller accessories are still cheapo?
The first thing I looked at when I saw what the price was, was the website. I have heard too many stories of people getting ripped off by “Professional” looking websites that have “too-good-to-be-true” deals.
I did a little research, and I found two websites that have something to say about “Focus Camera Inc.” First, the official BBB website:
If you look at the BBB site, the first thing you see is that “Focus Camera” is not Better Business Accredited. That raises alarms in my mind.
Next, I looked at reseller ratings: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Focus_Camera
Next, I looked at the bundled items, and I was surprised! The 70D with the expensive STM version of the 18-135mm lens PLUS a Canon 600EX-RT? And a 64GB SD card! WOW!
I did a quick look, and tallied up the prices of the items in the kit, and these are my findings:
- Canon EOS Rebel 70D with 18-135mm STM kit lens. $1,299
- Canon 600EX-RT $499 (I would recommend the Yongnuo YN 560 IIIIt is a Chinese flash, but at less than 1/5 the price, it gives a lot more “bang for the buck”
- 64 GB SD cards $40-$60
- Stroboframe Flash Bracket $19.81
- VIVITAR VIV-BC-182 4-Port Overnight Charger with 4 AA Batteries $33.40
- Vivitar Heavy Duty Off-Camera Flash Shoe Cord $17.90
- Tiffen Filters ~ $50
- And so on… I don’t have time to find prices on every little thing, but I got the essentials.
TOTAL: </nbrsp>$1969
One thing to note about the 64 GB Sd card. If you look at the picture, you can tell that it is just generic, not a Lexar, or SanDisk. You DON’T EVER buy generic SD cards!
Bottom line: You can take the risk if you want, but I personally wouldn’t try buying from this seller. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Hmm. That’s a lot of good information there, buddingphotographer.
I trust resellerratings.com and think that perhaps going with camerafocus.com is not a good idea. It looks like a risky place.
I would suggest going with a kit that doesn’t include the flash. Unless you need the flash right now, you can get essentially the same kit without the flash on a trusted source like B&H, it includes a $200 instant rebate so you are sure to get the deal without having to send in anything after the fact, and it includes a limited 1-year warranty in case of camera defects: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1012805-REG/canon_eos_70d_digital_camera_18_135mm.html
buddingphotographer, is it possible to get a better deal, still new and safe, off eBay? I don’t like eBay because warranties are not usually provided, but I thought I’d ask because you know more about eBay than I do.
From the research I did, to be totally sure you will be covered by warranty, you have to buy from “Authorized Resellers” on ebay. They must specify that the warranty is included. So I went to Ebay and found authorized retailers, and looked at the kits they have for sale. Boy, you really have to watch out! They will picture a Lexar SD card in the product picture, then sell you a “General Brand” SD card. But I went through all the kits, and found the best ones, and narrowed it to 2 options. If you want just the 18-135 IS STM, it’s $1349 here. For ~$150 more you get the excellent Canon 55-250mm included for $1489 here. You will NEVER find a good tripod in a bundle like that. I think that unless you are willing to buy used or refurbished, you’re not likely to find a much better price than this unless there is a special sale. The good thing about these kits is, they leave out all the junk! You’re not getting anything you won’t use!
One thing to remember is: with the more expensive kit that I linked to above, you’re not only getting the 55-250 but a battery charger, UV filters, SD card reader and a useless little table tripod. The other kit doesn’t include those items.
Also, you can buy the 70D with an 18-55 IS STM kit lens for only $1,149 if you so prefer. It’s up to you!
Another thing to keep in mind is… B&H has a NICE bundle for $1359.00 which also gives you substantial discounts on Adobe Lightroom and other items.
UPDATE: As of today, you can get the 70D with the 18-135mm STM lens refurbished for only $1079.20 plus however much shipping is.
It comes directly from the Canon USA website.
Please note that I am going to be away for a while, so unfortunately if you have more questions, you’ll have to ask someone else! I hope you find a good deal!
You’re welcome! Please post back when you do actually take the plunge, and let us know what kind of a deal you found!
Hopefully anyone else reading this later will still be able to get some good advice, even if it’s not the exact same kit they’re looking for.
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