If I were buying my first "serious" camera, is there any value in buying a "full beginner's kit" like the below or should I just buy the camera with the kit lens? The full kit costs about $100 (or 10%) more than the camera and kit lens.
Overview of kit [brand names, other than Canon, obscured]
Answer
Most of the stuff in those beginner kits is total junk you'll have to replace within a year.
Don't fall for it... like I did :/
The only thing in that kit that makes it a 'video kit' is the mic; everything else is the same old rubbish you'd get in a 'photography kit', so I think it's fair to cover it here, rather than force the question over to 'video.se'.
The flash, filters, close-up adaptors, wide & telephoto adapters aren't worth attaching to the camera.
The tripod will barely be able to hold the camera's weight, let alone keep it steady.
Buy a kit with just the camera, SD card, batteries, chargers & 2 lenses, 18-55 & 55-200... it will save you the trouble of recycling all the other stuff & you'll probably spend $200 less.
Alternatively, if you really want to see what you get, I'll ship you all the shi... erm... cra.. err.. stuff I kept from my first kit, so you can see just how bad it really is ;)
A quick tick/cross value judgement on this type of kit [unmarked items are 'take it or leave it' with no real value call either way]. Camera & real accessories would be assumed to be premium quality, of course.
After comments - let me be more specific on some of the items...
I would have posted some example pics but I seem to have buried the lens adaptors so deep I can't find them ;-)
The wide adapter can make a full circle vignette on a crop-frame.
The long adapter has some less-than-delightful colour aberration. Same for the 'quick' magnifying adapters.
The filters add reflection & a general lack of sharpness that as a beginner it takes you a while to figure out what's causing it.
The tripod weighs 300g [under 11oz] & is so flimsy it develops a springy bounce at full height - about 1m. At minimum height it's not wide enough to stay upright with a camera on it, so you need it at about half height to get the balance right.
The flash isn't hot-shoe. It only triggers from another flash, so you have to have it off-camera & use the built-in flash to trigger it. The recharge times can be measured geologically, & the flash will re-trigger whether or not it has fully recharged, so you get "vari-light".
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