yobri

iTrader: (2)

Thanks, I'll look into the 10D. I'm a little apprehensive about buying used from eBay, but I'll exhaust all the avenues I can to find one from a reputable seller... one caveat, I wouldn't know if something was wrong with a 10D or not since I'm new to the DSLR world. I'll figure out something... thanks again

Vlad

There is always a risk of course, but I never got bad equipment yet. If you drop camera you'll see marks on the body. Get your L lens first. Negotiate 5 days or so return period for camera. Use paypal and credit card. Buy camera and shoot for couple of days, checking all camera functions following manual. See the pictures. If they are not stunning, than something wrong - return the camera. Otherwise everything is okay. Same goes for lenses, But with lenses you can also see if it moving smoothly, part not shaken, etc. Glass should be perfectly clean and clear and nice. Especially on the back of lens.

g35cfan

Is there really that big of a picture quality difference between 5megapix and 7+megapix? After a while, won't there be a diminishing returns type of deal?

Vlad

Quality is desided by lens. 5 and 7 mpx is just a size. Excluding professional photographers who constantly do big prints (8x10+), 5 mpx is all that people need. It also saves recording time and memorey space.

charlie_rdstr_Z

iTrader: (2)

I highly recommend the Canon A95 series. It's got good picture quality for a digital camera and superior manual control for that price range. So it's great for point and shoot and awesome for experimentation. Make sure you get a tripod. Since I lost my old A70 there was nothing that can replace it but the newer series A95. If I have mod money leftover I'm getting the Canon entry level SLR.

raceboy

I have had the Powershot S400 Digital Elph 4.0 Megapixel and we have loved it (replaced a previous Canon camera with it).

I just bought the new SD500 7.0 Megalpixel so I am selling the 400 with Canon Underwater Housing good down to 130 Ft and 2 extra batteries in case anyone is interested.

Tony Yeung

Im also looking into buying an SLR... well acutally im purchasing one in a few weeks. I have been using a Minolta G500 and it has been plenty good for me. I have played around with it for a while and learned alot and now i want to upgrade to a digital rebel 300d or 300xt. The comment about lenses is probably true. The kit lenses they give you arent that good. Anyway, a friend of mine tells me that if i get a DSLR the first lens i should get should be a EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens. Perfect for outdoor, indoor and travel. Im fairly new to a SLR but it looks like it has good Focal Length and a decent F Stop for a good blur no? I will mainly use my camera for automobile pics. What lenses do you think will fit my needs.

Thanks,
Tony Yeung

Vlad

First of all,

if you need zoom lens buy "L" series. It's canon for Pro and that's the only choise. Here you can see Conon lenses available:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...ns-Reviews.aspx

To shoot cars, you need something wide angle. Wide angle means you can shoot something big from up close and get it all in a frame. In numbers it means small mm numbers. Considering that Rebel has 1.6 lens multiplier, you need 10-40 mm range, which, using multiplier will be 16-65 or so.

For law light situation you need big F numbers. Like 1, 1.4, 1.8. That's if you want to shoot without any artificial lighting, in a not well lit place. But those small numbers mean big $$$. And really to get professional pictures you need pro lighting. Especially with cars, withougth good lighting no good lens will help you. Photography is about light. So I'd recommend to not focus on low light situations, but instead get the lighting equipment, or shoot outside.

Considering all this, I'd reccomend:
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM Lens
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM Lens

With 17-40 being most economical choise. It also is good for shooting people close (like indoors).

BTW, the pictures you mentioned isn't impressive at all. They were taken with kit lens and good point&shoot camera. Good SLR with good lens, will give you sharpness and crispness I don't see on those pictures.

Reed a book on photo lighting, or find lessons online. Alien Bees making very good strobes at budget prices. You'll need 2 or 3 AB800 units and softboxes to set up good light in studio/indoors. You also can get some constraction-grade halogen flood lights from Home Depot, which will not cost that much and probably do well with cars. Without softboxes, it'll give hard light with hard shadows, but for cars it can be okay. You'll just need to adjust white balance on the camera to 6500K or so.

I know, it's expensive hobby
Have fun

yobri

iTrader: (2)

Is $660 a relatively good deal (new) for this lens? From my research, I believe so, but I'd like some outside opinions from those better in-the-know...

Vlad

It's a normal price for it. I got mine for 560 used (like new condition). Those lenses are like Ferraris - they don't depriciate. Sometimes you can even make money selling.

longbowe

Thing I liked about the XT over the 10D was DiGiC II, and the fact that it's so light. It's even lighter than the 300D.

To the OP: If you like something stylish and small, consider the Digital Elph series (SD300, SD400, or SD500). I personally wanted something just a tad more solid, and originally I went with the G2 three years ago. Now that it's busted, I decided to go for the form factor, but still wanted to stick with CF, so I got the S70.

longbowe

Brian, there's a Bay Area photography group run by one of my friends. You should be able to find all kinds of stuff on there. Check this out:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sfbayphoto/

yobri

iTrader: (2)

Thanks Vlad. Found a 17-40mm for $650 after $25 rebate (new) with no tax and free shipping... I'll check out the used lenses on eBay too.

Thanks Bruce, my membership is now pending approval to the group

yobri

iTrader: (2)

BTW Vlad, do you have any price point recommendations for an excellent flash attachment (maybe encompassing 25ft distance)? I took some pictures for a tradeshow yesterday in less than optimal lighting conditions, and I feel that a flash could've really improved the resulting photo quality. Thanks

Vlad

Light is good if you are nature photographer and hike a lot... But if you are in the portrait/people photography, extra lightness (plastic feel) is a downside. You need some weight to steady the camera and balance the lens.

Vlad

I don't use camera mounted flash and I don't have one currently. In Canon community 420/520EX is considered the best. There is also a copy of that from Quantaray I think. It costs half and do the same. Also consider softboxes and reflectors for those flashes. If you plan to use them on people you also need a flash grip, so flash and lens are not on one line and close

longbowe

Yeah, I like doing scenery shots a lot. I was mostly reminded of hiking up a mountain in Nara, Japan, with my G2. Normally the G2 feels like nothing, but I could feel the weigth a little. The bulk is probably the bigger problem, though, and the Rebel does have the 10D and 20D beat on that.

But if I ever do get more into portraiture, I'll be keeping your advice in mind.

Vlad

When I'm going hiking I just take my Canon S60.

longbowe

Got any samples? Now that I have an S70 on the way, it'd be nice to see what kind of results it's capable of.

Vlad

pm sent