Equipment First DSLR Recommendations

But its easier to hold my cable remote instead. And it all depends on where and what you're shooting. Horses for courses and all that.

 

Are you sure? I could swear ive used an IR remote on a 400D in the past.

 

Canon have two IR remotes compatible with the 400D, the RC-1 and the RC-6, then a slew of third party ones. Front facing detection only and you have to set the camera to self-timer.

 

Thought so. I did some night photography with one a while ago (trying to catch a meteor shower) and it worked with a cheapy IR remote from amazon.

 

I have a few quick questions about what lens to buy next. I have the 400D, 18-55 II non-IS kit lens, 55-250mm IS and a Sigma 28-80mm macro (which I'm gutted about not being able to use with 400Plus on the camera ).

I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading the kit lens to the IS version of the 18-55. Is it any better as a lens or does it have identical optics with added image stabilisation?

What I'm doing most at the moment is landscape photography and time lapses, with the occasional bit of casual portrait and macro stuff. I'm fairly sure I'll grab an f/1.8 50mm next, but after that I'm not sure what direction to go. I was thinking a good wide angle lens with polarising and neutral density filters would help with my landscape shots and time lapses because I'm not getting the sharpness and colour I'd like with the basic 18-55 and UV filter setup.

I was also thinking about investing in a bulb ramping intervalometer like the Timelapse+ for sunset and sunrise lapses, but am wondering if a new body like a 550D with Magic Lantern which adds this feature would be a wiser way to spend the ~£200 it'll take to buy the unit and get it here.

 

If you're looking to go ultra wideangle, the Sigma 10-20mm is a great lens for the price.

 

Agreed! It's a great lens.

One of the first pics I took with my Sigma 10-20:


Bourne Well Head by kenco, on Flickr

 

Thanks, it looks like a nice choice but my 400D does not currently like third party lenses with 400Plus firmware on the camera. I can't shoot with my own 28-80mm Sigma macro at the moment because it errors out every time I hit the shutter release

 

You could try putting a bit of tape across the pins (body or lens) and treating it as a manual - not necessarily a bad thing for macro work anyway.

 

That's a good idea, I'll give it a go today!