Photog alert - Screaming deal on Canon T4i

[Brad Johnson]

Canon is running a screaming deal on factory refurb Rebel t4i bodies through the Canon Direct Store.  $512 and free shipping (though they do collect sales tax).  Total, shipped, is $554.23.  I suppose it's to clear them out and make room for the recently introduced t5i (which performs identically to the t4i in virtually every respect save a couple of minor incidentals).

Same box-o-stuff as you would get if you ordered a new one from Amazon for $650.  The only thing you'll need to buy seperately is your choice of memory card and lens.  I've dealth with Canon factory refurb electronics before and never had a problem with them.  They were, for all intents and purposes, brand new units.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_320718_-1

It's about a hundred bucks more than I had in the Fun Money envelope, but it's too good a deal to pass up.  I've been waiting impatiently for years to upgrade from my anchient gen 1 D-Reb.  Now I gone 'n dunnit. 

Brad

[Kingcreek]

Also need a lens if ya don't already have one.
I bought a refurb t3i and I like it a lot. There have been some issues with the t4i and a recall I think. A refurb might be a safer bet than NIB off the shelf.
I don't have an eye-fi card yet but I'm going to get one to play with. I can set up with tripod and focus on the bird feeder while I sit at the kitchen table with a laptop and shoot wireless remote shots of the birds.

[Brad Johnson]

Also need a lens if ya don't already have one.

Good point.  Edited to add.  Didn't think of that since I already have a stable of Canon glass.

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Looks tempting, but I have a metric buttload of Nikon AF lenses already.   

[K Frame]

" I have a metric buttload of Nikon AF lenses already."

We didn't ask where you store them...

[Gewehr98]

True, 'dat.   

Let me rephrase - I'm heavily invested in some serious glass of the Nikon persuasion, so I'd have to start all over with a Canon DSLR body, even if it were on discount.

[cordex]

I don't have an eye-fi card yet but I'm going to get one to play with. I can set up with tripod and focus on the bird feeder while I sit at the kitchen table with a laptop and shoot wireless remote shots of the birds.

I have one.  If I'm taking a couple of pictures near my office it works fine.  Anything more than that just drains the battery and doesn't copy quickly enough for my tastes.  Sometimes it randomly slows to almost nothing at all and I end up having to plug the camera into the computer anyway.

I give it a meh and am glad I didn't pay more than $25 for it.

[Harold Tuttle]

t4is are ok but they are almost 2 years old

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-650d-rebel-t4i

[Gewehr98]

OMG, Harold, not 2 years!!!

That's not even old enough for Ken Rockwell to call them obsolete yet...

[Harold Tuttle]

L lens are forever, bodies get obsolete

[Marnoot]

t4is are ok but they are almost 2 years old

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-650d-rebel-t4i

You mean almost 1 year old? The review is from 8/2012, and was done with a preview unit. T3i = 2011, T4i = 2012, T5i = 2013.

[Harold Tuttle]

t5i was hardly an upgrade, blowing out the t4is harkens to the t6i arrival.

I use my xsi for a dedicated lensbaby rig, using the lens manual iris and the scroll wheel runs the exposure time. The lack of a rear scroll wheel is a serious issue with the rebels. My main crop sensor rig is a 60D.

[Gewehr98]

Holy Crap, Harold - you put the planned in Planned Obsolescence! 

I'd like to go on record and say a 1 year old DSLR is hardly worth sneezing at.

(Of course, I run a Nikon D300, myself - it's steam-powered, don't 'ya know?)

[never_retreat]

Nikon D80 here. Still only have two lenses though. 18-135 and a fixed 50.
Need a bigger telephoto and a wide angle. Anyone getting rid of anything let me know.

[Brad Johnson]

The lack of a rear scroll wheel is a serious issue with the rebels.

Only if your index finger doesn't work.  I actually prefer the top-scroll control.  It means I don't have to comprimise my grip on the body (move my thumb) to operate the scroll wheel.  When I have my 70-200 F/2.8L hung off the front, a good grip is necessary to keep almost a grand worth of glass from taking an unscheduled vertical excursion.

Also, with the just-now-as-of-only-a-few-weeks-ago intro of the t5i, I don't anticipate seeing another Rebel generartion introduced for at least a year.  If they do, it will be interesting to see what the improvements are.  They've pretty much reached the realistic limits of consumer-level cost effective pixel density manufacturing capabilities on an APS-C sensor.  Without a substantial leap in technology, the next few years may be ever-more-minor incremental revisions rather than monumental leaps.

My two main reasons for lusting after the current generation of Rebs are the lightyears-improved high ISO noise characteristics and the ability to do 30 fps broadcast-quality HD video.  My first-gen DReb begins to exibit noticeable noise at anything over ISO 200, and enlargement capability is severely limited given the 6mp image.  If I shot at ISO 100, photo-quality enlargement were limited to 8x10.  Poster quality?  20x30, tops.

Brad

[Harold Tuttle]

you really need two scroll wheels to efficiently work a camera
one way the pro grade is differentiated from the rebel grade is thru feature reduction

[Boomhauer]

you really need two scroll wheels to efficiently work a camera

I would definitely prefer to have a two scroll wheels on my camera.

Right now I'm focusing on gaining moar lenses. MOAR LENSES!!!!!!

[Harold Tuttle]

moar cameras

you don't swap lenses in the field, you grab your wide camera and drop the tele

[Brad Johnson]

you really need two scroll wheels to efficiently work a camera
one way the pro grade is differentiated from the rebel grade is thru feature reduction

What I really need to efficiently work a camera is someone besides me holding it.  All I can say is PhotoShop Quick Fix RULES! 

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Never_Retreat, check your PM. 

[Gewehr98]

never_retreat,

Did you check your private mail here?

I wanted to give you and other APS folks first dibs on my spare 70-300 Nikon AF-G lens before I put it up for auction on eBay.

[RoadKingLarry]

t4is are ok but they are almost 2 years old

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canon-eos-650d-rebel-t4i

One of these days I'll have to upgrade from my AE-1.

[Harold Tuttle]

http://www.marco.org/2013/05/07/your-kit-lens-sucks

I’d go further and suggest that you shouldn’t buy an SLR if you only ever plan to use its kit lens or an inexpensive zoom lens. Kit lenses and low-end zooms produce blurry, distorted, drab images — they can look decent on blogs or phones, but the flaws become apparent when you see them on big Retina screens or printed at larger sizes.

[Brad Johnson]

http://www.marco.org/2013/05/07/your-kit-lens-sucks

I’d go further and suggest that you shouldn’t buy an SLR if you only ever plan to use its kit lens or an inexpensive zoom lens. Kit lenses and low-end zooms produce blurry, distorted, drab images — they can look decent on blogs or phones, but the flaws become apparent when you see them on big Retina screens or printed at larger sizes.

Complete horsepucky.  Lenses aren't the only reason for buying an SLR.  The author's vitriol against kit lenses reeks of photo-snobbery, especially when you consider it's being proposed in the context of photos made for a magazine.  His account makes it appear that kit lenses are no better than looking through wax paper.  BS.  They may not be as achingly precise as a $1500 Canon EF/L, but they're pretty darn good, and a damn sight better than the author's dismal account would have you believe.

Brad

[CNYCacher]

Only if your index finger doesn't work.  I actually prefer the top-scroll control.  It means I don't have to comprimise my grip on the body (move my thumb) to operate the scroll wheel.  When I have my 70-200 F/2.8L hung off the front, a good grip is necessary to keep almost a grand worth of glass from taking an unscheduled vertical excursion.

The rear scroll wheel cameras still have the finger wheel, it operates the same as the rebel finger wheel.  The thumb wheel operates like the rebel finger wheel does when you are pushing the exposure button (with your thumb).  It also takes the role of the rebel's directional buttons.

I suppose if you were in the habit of not using your left hand when shooting with your 5-lb lens you might have a point. . .
*except* you can't recreate the function of the rear scroll wheel on your rebel without moving your thumb, either. 

Plus the rear-wheel cameras tend to have beefy grips.

So, for example, in manual mode, the finger wheel adjusts the shutter speed and the thumb wheel adjusts aperture.  Or in Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes, the finger wheel adjusts the priority component and the thumb wheel adjust exposure compensation.

I recently traded a 2-year-old rebel with kit lens + $100 for a 4-year-old 50D body just to get the extra controls and I am very happy with that decision.  I shoot full manual now most of the time, with back-button focus and spot metering.  I'm pretty fast and getting faster.

I can still pick up a rebel and work it, but it's like typing on your phone vs typing on a real keyboard.