After yesterday’s blog posting extolling the virtues of having a high-quality digital SLR camera to take marketing pictures for your lawn care business, I received a number of emails asking if there are less expensive options available that give equivilant results to the Canon T1i.
At current writing, the T1i costs just over $700 through Amazon.com. $700 certainly is a lot of money right now but if you are looking for a dSLR that also takes HD video, the 15 megapixel Canon T1i is one of the best options under $1000.
If you are looking to spend under $500, I have a great option for you. The XS and the XSi are near equivilant models that offer similar professional results. Though the XS and the XSi offer lower resolutions and no video, their feature set includes liveview and full manual controls for $100’s less than the T1i.
Canon XSi
The Canon XSi features 12 megapixel, liveview, complete manual overrides, and an 18mm – 55mm. At its current pricing, it saves you about $160 from the T1i.
Canon XS
If you want to save even more money, take a hard look at the Canon XS. At its current price of $449 it saves you $270 from the T1i’s price. At 10.1 megapixels, this camera is no slouch. I’ve read that the higher megapixel cameras are limited by the lens that comes with the camera body. If you have no intention of buying additional lenses and if you don’t need HD video, I think this camera is the one to buy if you are on a budget.
Additionally, with the $270 you save buying the XS, you can easily buy a fairly decent video camera to make short presentations of your lawn care and landscaping work.
If you own any of these cameras, let us know your reviews. Or, if you have a different high quality camera you want to tell us about, please let us know.
As always, if you are looking to improve your lawn care business, check out our training materials located at our main website: StartALawnCareBusiness.com
#1 by 509 Media on January 13, 2010 - 1:22 am
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If you are wanting to market your company effectliy you are going to need a camera. Not a 50 dollars piece of Wal-Mart hardware. I mean a real camera like posted here. The better pictures you take to represent your work the greater the impact will have on your client. Far too often i have people asking me to build a website for them. One of the first things I ask is, Do you have high res pics of your product and/or service? Many people replay with a umm uhhh I have some pics on my facebook. Well a facebook pic is not going to get the job done correctly.
What would you want to show a potential client? Would you and to show a photo from the disposable camera or a professional camera with zoom features. More important the better camera can handle the light tons better.
The pictures you take could be used for vehicle wraps, large full color banners, yard signs, billboard signs, print ads, television, banner ads for the web, and perhaps the most important, A professional website to showcase your work.
If I can ever help let me know.
Dan
#2 by Lawn Care Business on January 15, 2010 - 1:55 pm
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Thanks Dan.
Will you share with us some ideas on how to get great shots for vehicle wraps and other advertising?
Should a photograph have sharp focus and a wide depth of field or soft focus and a narrow depth of field?
From a marketing standpoint, what do customers react to best?
Your ideas are greatly appreciated.
Keith