simpfan742
People Call Me Andrew.
Premium
join:2003-05-18
Belmar, NJ
| [Camera] So I lied...
A few months back I posted I was looking into purchasing a Canon 35mm SLR. However, that day never came and now with a little financial help (cough, parents, cough), I am able to get a 350d or a 20d, most likely a 20d. My question is, where can I get a good kit with 2 good lenses? I'm looking to cover the 17/18/28-200/300mm range. A lot of packages I come across have lower-end Tamron or Sigma lenses (I'm not saying these are bad brands, they're just the cheaper lenses the two companies offer), and I want at least a little quality if I'm going to get a nice camera. Also, I'd like to preferrably get all Canon lenses.
B&H surprisingly had little to offer on this. Cameta-Camera (»stores.ebay.com/Cameta-Camera) has some good selections, but usually throws in unnecessary memory cards when I don't need them. Any help would be greatly appreciated on this issue. |
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DavisPhotog
Flyingphotog
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-26
Edmonton, AB
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| To begin with, I would strongly advise you not to buy the whole thing in a kit (from ebay or from other retailers). They often come with cheap accessories or lousy lenses. The best way to buy is to do your homework thoroughly and make individual purchases from the most reputable yet least expensive dealers.
I've read some really good reviews on the 17-85mm f/3.5-5.6 USM with image stabilizer (IS). It's an EF-S lens, their shortback mount, which will only work on the 300D, 350D, and 20D.
I'd suggest getting a battery grip as well, and make sure that your lens(es) have good UV filters to cover the front lens element. It's a good precaution, and it's cheap insurance.
For starters, I think that you should get the 20D and the 17-85 kit lens with the accessories I've mentioned. Starting out with one lens makes it a lot easier to learn how the lens behaves so that you can familiarize yourself with that particular lens (and the camera for that matter). I say this, because if you are new to the (d)SLR world, it can get overwhelming having all of this new equipment in front of you. In my opinion, it's much more important to learn how to use the equipment one piece at a time so that you have a frame of reference - an idea of what to expect when you buy new equipment. If you're constantly switching lenses and playing with the accessories, it's hard to keep track of how each one is performing, and then and it gets very easy to lose track of your actual photography goals.
It's easy to buy a camera and several lenses at once, and then end up blaming one or more parts of your ensemble because you aren't quite comfortable with the equipment yet.
Telephoto zooms are a whole different game, and they behave differently than whatever wide angle zoom you will purchase with your 20D. Now, many people have sprung for the canon 75-300mm in a number of its several flavors. It's not too great of a lens, in my humble opinion. Many people have had much better luck with the sigma equivalent. These are considered the bottom-most (cheapest, both in cost and quality) of the telephoto zoom family.
For two or three times the price of the cheaper 75-300mm's, you can buy a 70-200mm lens, either a canon f/4L or a sigma f/2.8 EX. These are very far superior in quality than the 75-300 family, simply because they're not trying to be the swiss army knife of telephotos.
It all comes down to how much you want to spend and how advanced you plan on becomming. Best of luck! I'm happy to answer any more questions you have.
--
My vision, My gallery. "How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd." - Alexander Pope |
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jester121
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL
 ·ViaTalk
| reply to simpfan742
Is it absolutely necessary to get the body and 2-lens kit together? Often when you see a good price on a kit it's because the retailer has slashed their price on the body to a thin margin hoping to compete, and then they try to make up the profit by selling cheap lenses at high markup.
About the only decent kit I've seen is the Canon 18-55 or 17-85 IS with the 20D body. This meets your needs on the wide end. The sky is the limit on the telezoom side -- maybe the Sigma 70-300 APO? Steer clear of the Canon 70-300 in my opinion, and I'd avoid the IS model as well. If you're set on Canon then look for the 70-200 f/4 at the low price end of the market. |
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jester121
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL | reply to DavisPhotog
hehe... nice post zak, you and I were typing at the same time.  |
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simpfan742
People Call Me Andrew.
Premium
join:2003-05-18
Belmar, NJ
| reply to simpfan742
Thank you both, zakooldude and jester121. The 17-85 does look like a very nice lens (it should for the price!) So I may consider just getting that and then a battery grip, UV filter and Polarizing filter. Should I consider a lens hood as well?
Also, is my older 1gb IBM Microdrive any good for this camera? I know that many brands are offering bigger drives with faster write speeds... would I notice much speed difference, and about how many pictures would I get in the highest JPEG resolution (not raw)?
Finally, any suggestions as to where to get such a combo? Should I just look around or does anyone know of a good place that I'm not likely to find on Google? B&H is offering for $1,995.95 -$100 rebate... any good? |
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DavisPhotog
Flyingphotog
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-26
Edmonton, AB
clubs:
·Comcast
| I haven't been keeping up with the prices lately. A lens hood is a nice thing to have. They're standard on most of canon's upper-end lenses. The only time I had to buy one separately is when I had the 28-135mm.
The 1GB microdrive will be especially slow on the 20D. You should be able to get at least 250 (estimate, I don't have my camera so I can't check for you) on a 1GB flash drive. I'd just spend another $85 and buy a 1GB Ultra II card or high speed Lexar.
--
My vision, My gallery. "How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd." - Alexander Pope |
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simpfan742
People Call Me Andrew.
Premium
join:2003-05-18
Belmar, NJ
| Oh if only I was made of money... I'll consider getting another memory card...
On another note, I have 3 BP-511 7.4v 1100mAh Canon batteries from my G1 and G5, these are compatible, right? I'm looking at B&H and they offer two batteries at 1390 and 1500 mAh... |
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DavisPhotog
Flyingphotog
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-26
Edmonton, AB
clubs:
·Comcast
| Yes, the BP-511 is fine, perfectly compatable. They ship the 20D with the new BP-511A which has a higher mAh rating, but all that means is that the battery has a slighlty higher capacity.
Having batteries from the G1 and G5 are even more reason to get the 20D over the 350D.
--
My vision, My gallery. "How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! The world forgetting, by the world forgot. Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd." - Alexander Pope |
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simpfan742
People Call Me Andrew.
Premium
join:2003-05-18
Belmar, NJ | Oh how to afford all this...
-20d
-Battery Grip
-17-85
-Filters (would you recommend the Tiffen 67mm Photo Essentials Filter Kit?)
-1/2gb memory card
-Hood? |
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DavisPhotog
Flyingphotog
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-26
Edmonton, AB
clubs:
·Comcast
edit:
July 11th, @08:07PM
| Don't get the tiffen filters, tiffen frankly sucks. Get a UV filter and get a circular polarizer. In fact, wait on the circular polarizer and get to know the lens before you start toying with the polarizing effects. Just a suggestion, take it or leave it.
20D kit with 17-85mm on B&H: $1849
Grip: $169 on B&H
512MB Ultra II: less than $45
Hood: $30 here.
$2093 is the total, plus shipping (and tax if you're in NY).
Either of these are great UV filters:
»www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control···e=search
»www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control···e=search |
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simpfan742
People Call Me Andrew.
Premium
join:2003-05-18
Belmar, NJ | Thanks for all your great advice, zakooldude, maybe I will wait off on the polarizer.
Just gotta figure out how to pay for all this now...  |
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DavisPhotog
Flyingphotog
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-26
Edmonton, AB
clubs: | With cash in hand. Paying off a car or rent I can deal with, but making payments on a camera doesn't seem fun. It's more rewarding to save up the cash and then put it down for the equipment. |
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danza
Premium
join:2002-08-23
San Jose, CA | reply to simpfan742
You can also start with just a single focal length 50mm f/1.8 II lens ($70) and take photos the old school way |
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Orange3
Premium
join:2005-02-26
Longmont, CO
edit:
July 13th, @09:34PM
| reply to simpfan742
Cameta Camera is a great place to buy from. I bought my D70 Kit and nothing was cheap in it. And it was hundreds less than other places. I got the D70 with Kit Lens, a 70-300mm Nikon ED Telephoto Lens, a Lexar 1GB 80X WA CF Card, Nikon Gadget Bag, Extra Battery, Lens Cleaning Cloth and Free 3rd Day UPS shipping. Plus I got the $200 rebate from Nikon since Cameta is a authorized dealer. Came to about $1100 after I got my rebate check in the mail
They offer MANY different packages for each camera, with different lenses and options...Would not hesitate buying from them again. |
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