Is it wise for me to resurrect a 350D?

Back in 2006 I bought a 350d as my entry to digital photography. I took about 400 photos, hated the results from the kit lens so I removed the battery from the camera, packed it all away, and went back to film for a few years before getting a 5D Mk11.

 

My wife is now expressing an interest in digital photography. I am tempted to resurrect the 350D and put the new 24mm f2.8 stm lens on it, making a very lightweight, easy to carry camera. However, friends are horrified that I would even think of using such old technology and tell me my wife may as well use her mobile phone camera.

 

I can't see that I've got anything to lose. If the technology makes the camera outdated I can then look at buying a newer camera. Am I missing something?

You have nothing to lose. It's still basically a new camera, and very easy to use. Why don't you get her using the kit lens first,to work out where she wants to work with focal lengths as you also have the option of a 40mm pancake.

You don't say if you have any full frame lenses to spare or are you the kind of guy who won't let the wife drive your red sports car?

My 400D, the next model, 10mp instead of your 8mp, is now 10 years old. It came with the same kit lens, which is useful but rubbish. I use it daily for recording work using decent modern EFS lenses and a 50mm/2.5 macro, and it hasn't missed a beat. I am pretty sure the 350D would give very respectable images up to around A4 size.

I would start her off using only the Av setting. I find people who start on the various program settings lose interest because they don't know what's going on, and feel they have no control, then graduate to phone cameras.

So no, you aren't missing anything. Just check that you can still download and use the jpeg and raw files. If she is happy, you can put in a 16gig CF memory to replace the 2gig one you probably bought it with.

You have nothing to lose. It's still basically a new camera, and very easy to use. Why don't you get her using the kit lens first,to work out where she wants to work with focal lengths as you also have the option of a 40mm pancake.

You don't say if you have any full frame lenses to spare or are you the kind of guy who won't let the wife drive your red sports car?

My 400D, the next model, 10mp instead of your 8mp, is now 10 years old. It came with the same kit lens, which is useful but rubbish. I use it daily for recording work using decent modern EFS lenses and a 50mm/2.5 macro, and it hasn't missed a beat. I am pretty sure the 350D would give very respectable images up to around A4 size.

I would start her off using only the Av setting. I find people who start on the various program settings lose interest because they don't know what's going on, and feel they have no control, then graduate to phone cameras.

So no, you aren't missing anything. Just check that you can still download and use the jpeg and raw files. If she is happy, you can put in a 16gig CF memory to replace the 2gig one you probably bought it with.

 

You have nothing to lose. It's still basically a new camera, and very easy to use. Why don't you get her using the kit lens first,to work out where she wants to work with focal lengths as you also have the option of a 40mm pancake.

You don't say if you have any full frame lenses to spare or are you the kind of guy who won't let the wife drive your red sports car?

My 400D, the next model, 10mp instead of your 8mp, is now 10 years old. It came with the same kit lens, which is useful but rubbish. I use it daily for recording work using decent modern EFS lenses and a 50mm/2.5 macro, and it hasn't missed a beat. I am pretty sure the 350D would give very respectable images up to around A4 size.

I would start her off using only the Av setting. I find people who start on the various program settings lose interest because they don't know what's going on, and feel they have no control, then graduate to phone cameras.

So no, you aren't missing anything. Just check that you can still download and use the jpeg and raw files. If she is happy, you can put in a 16gig CF memory to replace the 2gig one you probably bought it with.

I'm feeling torn to come up with a good reply. I would not hesitate to hand somebody highly motivated and willing to get into even the tougher parts of photography my pretty old 6MP Pentax bodies, maybe with a kit lens and some bargain bin manual primes to dabble with. They should be good enough to teach the basic lessons, including why to shoot RAW and how to process such files. - But that's how I'd torment apprentices.

I don't know what your wife wants to shoot and how it shall be published / used. I fear a modern beginner has different expectations than folks who jumped onto early DSLRs. Is your wife really into post processing on a PC? Or would she appreciate the "food" mode on the latest EOS giving her results she can share right away? (No clue if it really works) I see a need to shoot RAW and do post processing with my 9+x year old cameras but with more recent ones shooting JPEG and getting things almost entirely right seems like a real option.

Another issue: Most beginners I met where happy to have zoom range. I don't know your wife's interests, strength goals etc. but suspect folks are best served with either a tourist zoom or maybe a 2 zooms kit to get started with? - Going out with a single prime is very old school and no longer everybody's cup of tea.

In doubt: Talk to her. And let her make her own experience with the "awful" kit zoom too.

If you thought it was crappy in 2006, what makes you think it won't be crappy in 2017? If you want her excited about photography, get her something from the last couple of generations.

I would give it to her to start with.

Camera #1 and lens #1 are learning tools.

Then as she uses it, determine what features to get in camera #2 and lens #2.

People are different, she may have different requirements and likes and dislikes than you. What you may hate, she may like, or the reverse she may hate what you like. So let her know that camera #1 is to determine what to get for camera #2. But keep an eye out for major issues that may arise.

 

Though in my case lens #2 (43-86/f3.5) was in theory a good idea, but lens #1 (50/f1.4) would have been a better choice. The f/3.5 zoom was just too slow for many of the situations I was shooting in for the high school yearbook. Today I am back to a mid-range zoom, but with a DSLR I can crank up the ISO to levels that I could not even dream of back then.

I think your plan is good, let her try out the camera and see if she likes it.

Maybe put a new kittens with IS on it, the new kittens is a lot better than the old one.

And if she likes photography get a newer camera with a bigger LCD on the back, the one on the 350D is a bit small.

The normal kit lens (18-55) of that time was what we might call 'useful'. That is, use it at F8 and put up with the barrel distortion. I retired mine early, and it sits unloved. If I want one, I borrow wife's late USM version, as it's much more useful. That isn't very often.

Thanks to all who have contributed to my query. Two reasons for going for the 350D in the first instance are its light weight and small size. Until using film became impractical, my wife was happy using a small Canon dslr with a 28-70 3.5-4.5 lens - a very light lens that still gives great results.

 

I felt that if I used the 350D with the 24mm stm it would give her the opportunity of shooting anything that took her fancy and give good results. If this rekindled her enthusiasm for photography then the 100D body would be a logical move, with other lens choices to be made at that time.

 

I really like the pancake lenses. I use a 40mm f2.8 on my full frame and results are excellent. It's my hope that the 24mm will give similar results on an ef-s body.

I love my pancake lens (I have the 24mm which for me is an all-rounder). The 70D with a handstrap and the 24mm stm fits into my handbag. It is the standard kit when I go on business trips where I can't lug around on my full frame equipment.

 

As for the 350D, I think it will be sufficient to start with. She'll be able to identify what she needs from her next camera. My husband still uses my old 350D from time to time.

If size is the issue, consider a Canon M5 or M6 mirrorless or even a Sony A7SII with Metabonest Canon adapter especially to share EOS lenses. The bodies are small and slim and may feel similar to a film camera.

If size is the issue, consider a Canon M5 or M6 mirrorless or even a Sony A7SII with Metabones Canon adapter

to share EOS lenses. The bodies are small and slim and may feel similar to a film camera.

I would anticipate that the decision to use the old 350D is as much based on budget as for any other reason - at least at this point. I am struck by the comment you made about how satisfied she was using the 28-70/3.5-4.5 on a small film body. A huge assumption is that she will appreciate a similar setup to yours. I would suggest that she might very well prefer something a bit more 'GP'. If trying to keep with the lightweight moniker, an EF-S 18-55 IS mk2 is as similar to the original 18-55 as night is to day, and lighter than the 28-70 - the FOV range of ~28-90mm makes it broadly comparable, and while a 24mm/2.8 would eliminate the strengths of the 350D in comparison to a cellphone, a compact cheap lens like the 18-55 (or better (but more expensive and heavier) the 15-85) allows much broader creative expression for someone who maybe doesn't appreciate the finer limitation of a prime ;)

I have two 40 D , one set up for IR and the other in original condition. Don't intend to stop using either until they die.

 

Also shoot A full frame 5D. Mk 3 again it will be with me until one of us dies.

If you do not have the 24mm prime yet, I would personally go with a mid-range zoom (semi-wide to short tele).

For most people, the convenience of a zoom outweighs the higher image quality of a prime.