Art and Photography

DSLR Discount (Best Buy or Future Shop)

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  • May 24th, 2011 4:48 pm
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Deal Fanatic
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Sep 18, 2009
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ppb wrote: It truly is the camera. At first I thought it was something we were doing but basically the subject pretty much has to be still in order for the camera to take a nice clear picture. The moment our little one (or anyone for that matter) moves, it blurs the whole picture. We always had point & shoot and to tell you the truth now that I recall every time we did take pictures everyone would pose and stay still, so I guess that's why this problem never occurred. But with a little baby you can't tell him to stay still...
I'll just buy it at regular price and wait if there is a sale and do a price adjustment...I just can't wait any longer...been putting it off for too long. You'll probably hear from me soon as I start asking some beginner questions/advice :)

You are wise to get it underway ASAP. The hit ratio with a DSLR even by a newbie should be 90%.
At Henry's, Aden, or Vistek you'll be offered a Rebel with a kit lens or body only. The kit lens will be fine with the built in flash, and it has a good zoom range; I've used built-ins for family shots for many years.
If you want available light (no flash,) you will need a wide aperture lens, like the 50mm f/1.8, or the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 which is far pricier. A Rebel with kit zoom lens plus 50mm f/1.8 should get you going.
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Dec 11, 2009
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Brampton
Any camera in auto mode will produce blurry indoor baby shots. SLR or Point & shoot.

If your P&S has any "manual" or program modes, you can probably force it to use high iso to get better shots until you go out and buy your DSLR. Another option might be to put it in "sport" mode, this should tell the camera to favour high shutter speeds.

And when you do end up buying a 60D or rebel or whatever, you will still get similar shots if you stick to the "auto" mode, but you'll learn how to compensate quickly.
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Feb 5, 2009
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LE-37 wrote: Any camera in auto mode will produce blurry indoor baby shots. SLR or Point & shoot.

If your P&S has any "manual" or program modes, you can probably force it to use high iso to get better shots until you go out and buy your DSLR. Another option might be to put it in "sport" mode, this should tell the camera to favour high shutter speeds.

And when you do end up buying a 60D or rebel or whatever, you will still get similar shots if you stick to the "auto" mode, but you'll learn how to compensate quickly.

I would tend to disagree, The wife runs our dslr in auto and it works just fine indoors, outdoors, wherever.
The sensor in a dslr is much better than point and shoot sensors and are more capable in challenging light.
(you know, the old pixel density/size and all that stuff arguing)

I would suggest figuring out your budget and what your future needs are going to be..
as well, figure out what types of pix you'll be wanting to take, where you'll be taking them..

If it's just family shots that you're just gonna enjoy, and have no desire to learn more than point, shoot, develop/look at pic on pc / send to family.
get the low end , buy a flash, set it on auto and off you go, you'll have a high end point and shoot that'll get you pics you probably will find acceptable.
(as mentioned before if you don't want to use your flash, then you'll have to spend a bit more on lenses to make up for the light conditions)

If you have a desire to learn more about photography so your hit rate is higher, or are bit pickier of how the shots look (want bokeh/background blur, , then you'll need to learn about ISO, Shutter , aperture and the all the really fun stuff like white balance, composition etc.

All in all, you have many choices out there
Canon, nikon, sony, pentax, panasonic, whatever, they'll all do a decent job for capturing moments of kids. just find one that YOU like.


good luck
Newbie
Jan 3, 2011
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Since DSLRs are very capable I'd definitely want to learn...after all I love those photos with blurry backgrounds :)
I just feel a little ignorant for avoiding them for so long because they were so bulky and expensive...but I totally get the beauty of them now.
Thanks to everyone for their advice/comments!
Deal Addict
Feb 5, 2009
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ppb wrote: Since DSLRs are very capable I'd definitely want to learn...after all I love those photos with blurry backgrounds :)
I just feel a little ignorant for avoiding them for so long because they were so bulky and expensive...but I totally get the beauty of them now.
Thanks to everyone for their advice/comments!

Well, then, your wallet could be in for a world of hurt if you really get into it :-)
there's a few of threads in this forum you can go read to learn more, all from users in similar situations as you :-)


good luck
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Mar 10, 2006
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GTA
ppb wrote: Since DSLRs are very capable I'd definitely want to learn...after all I love those photos with blurry backgrounds :)
I just feel a little ignorant for avoiding them for so long because they were so bulky and expensive...but I totally get the beauty of them now.
Thanks to everyone for their advice/comments!

If 'bulky' is one of your main concerns, consider "EVIL" cameras as well. Combined with a small 'pencake' lens, they are not too much bigger than typical compact cameras.
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Aug 11, 2009
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Don't be nosey
Sorry to bump an old thread, but can an employees tell us how much discount do they get with their employee discount? I heard from elsewhere it's (cost + 5%), what does that mean? Also, does the employee discount only work with regular priced items or is the (cost + 5%) with on sale items too?

And for lenses, I assume you employees get 15% off?

I am looking at the Nikon D7000 BTW....

THANKS SO MUCH!!
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RunOrDie wrote: Sorry to bump an old thread, but can an employees tell us how much discount do they get with their employee discount? I heard from elsewhere it's (cost + 5%), what does that mean? Also, does the employee discount only work with regular priced items or is the (cost + 5%) with on sale items too?

It's cost + 5% for everything and is regardless if it's on sale. If an item is a loss leader, using the employee discount can actually end up being more expensive.
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Dec 10, 2008
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I don't have the actual FS price in front of me, but for the D7000 w/ the 18-105 I'm going to say it's around $1,250 (store cost) and the employee price would be around $1,310 ish
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Aug 11, 2009
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Don't be nosey
Hey man, thanks alot for your help. Are you sure the FS store price is $1250? I heard the mark up is only 10%, making the price $1350? So if it's $1350 + 5%= $1417.5 + 13% HST=$1601.78.

Thanks again!
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RunOrDie wrote: Hey man, thanks alot for your help. Are you sure the FS store price is $1250? I heard the mark up is only 10%, making the price $1350? So if it's $1350 + 5%= $1417.5 + 13% HST=$1601.78.

Thanks again!

The markup for just about every DSLR at FS is around 14-17%. The only time the markup is lower is when FS discounts the price without any "assistance" (i.e. rebate) from Nikon, Canon, Sony, et al.
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Dec 23, 2003
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ppb wrote: Since DSLRs are very capable I'd definitely want to learn...after all I love those photos with blurry backgrounds :)
I just feel a little ignorant for avoiding them for so long because they were so bulky and expensive...but I totally get the beauty of them now.
Thanks to everyone for their advice/comments!

Blurry backgrounds means using a fast lens or having a distant background. If you want to take great portraits, then fast lens is the way to go but it is not cheap. Something like a Canon t2i (cheaper then t3i) with a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 VC will give you the blurred background.
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hightech wrote: Blurry backgrounds means using a fast lens or having a distant background. If you want to take great portraits, then fast lens is the way to go but it is not cheap. Something like a Canon t2i (cheaper then t3i) with a Tamron 17-50 F2.8 VC will give you the blurred background.

You can also fake it with one of OnOne's plugins (Focal Point 2). It's actually works well if the image is fairly simplistic.
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Aug 11, 2009
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Don't be nosey
Is it worth waiting for my brother to buy an D7000 since its my BDAY, or should I just purchase it in store at $1449.99 with 16gb Duracell Class 10 SDHC???

You really think my bro can get it for $1312.5?
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May 25, 2009
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RCGA wrote: You can also fake it with one of OnOne's plugins (Focal Point 2). It's actually works well if the image is fairly simplistic.

Or, if you have the space to do it, have your subject stand further away from the background and you closer to the subject and shoot as wide open as you can... even on a kit lens you should still be able to get some decent bokeh (blurriness).
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Sep 13, 2010
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I'm looking to buy a Canon lens that FS carries. Seems like the price is pretty decent whenever they have the general 10% discount off lens (same for certain DSLR that rarely goes on sale). I was hoping that they would run the promo for Victoria's day but was disappointed that it was only BB. I wonder when FS will have the next promo?
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lord.vader wrote: I'm looking to buy a Canon lens that FS carries. Seems like the price is pretty decent whenever they have the general 10% discount off lens (same for certain DSLR that rarely goes on sale). I was hoping that they would run the promo for Victoria's day but was disappointed that it was only BB. I wonder when FS will have the next promo?

What lens?
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