Vlad

I'm going on a trip to Europe and finaly desided to upgrade to real good digitac camera. According to numerous rewievs EOS 10D seems to be best choise among what I can afford. So if anybody have something to say about this camera I'd like to hear it.

Also, if we have semi/profissional photgraphers here what exact lenses whould you suggest for digital canons (considering 1.6 multiplier). I own now a Pentax SLR, but their DSLR isn't on par with Canon, so I'll get Canon and will have to get all new lenses. I'm considering getting 28mm, 50, and 70/100-250/300mm analogs of film SLR lenses. Which is like 28 and 50mm is has to be 17 and 31mm for digital. So what whould you recommend?

Thanks

dchengmd

I currently have the following Canon bodies and lenses:
A-1 (FD, 35mm)
EOS A2e (35mm)
EOS-3 (35mm)
EOS 10D (6 mpixel digital)

EF 50mm/f1.4
EF 28-105/f3.5-4.5
EF 14/f2.8L
EF 70-200/f2.8L IS
EF 100-400/f4.5-5.6L IS

and I also use an EOS 1Ds (11 mpixel digital, $8000) at work.

The 10D is a great camera. If you buy it, make sure you get the combo accessory battery/vertical grip for it, it improves the balance when holding the camera and makes it much more convenient when shooting vertical.

I would recommend only Canon brand EF lenses for it. The ones made by Tamron, Tokina, and Sigma are fair for the price, but the autofocus mechanisms are made by reverse engineering. Besides, it's the glass on the camera that makes good pictures, not the body.

If you're looking for a lens that will compensate for the 1.6X magnification of the digital body to 28-50mm, your best bet is either the EF 16-35/f2.8L or the EF 17-40/f4L.

Vlad

Thanks a lot! I knew we got one of every kind here on board...

So you saying any of the Canon brand lenses mentioned above are good? Do you think it's smart to buy used lenses in good shape? On ebay, from a guy with good feedbacks? I'm afraid my budget can't allow new expensive lenses nor do I care about it being "new"

dchengmd

For the most part, Canon EF lenses are very good, but I would be careful about the cheaper 'consumer-grade' level EF lenses that sell for $200 or less. A lot of these cheaper lenses have plastic mounts and have fairly shoddy construction. If you can afford it, the Canon "L" series lenses are the best. http://www.photographyreview.com has user reviews of camera bodies and lenses.

eBay has a great selection of new and used EF lenses, but you have to make sure you're buying from a reputable seller. I personally buy from B&H Photo/Video in New York City ( http://www.bhphotovideo.com ), who are authorized dealers and are great to work with. They currently sell the 10D body for $1299, and if you live out of state (New York) there is no sales tax.

monkey7

You can buy the canon jdm lens and etc. Its a bit less for the same thing.

dchengmd is right, get the vertical grip. It gives you a better balance when shooting. Next to that you have 2 slots for battery and longer shooting time. But gets a bit heavy if your shooting all day.

If your going to get an after market lens, I would go for sigma for. Their glass quality is better compared to others (first hand experience). But for shooting quality, go for the canon. The USM speed can't be beat. Next to that they are quiet with great glass.

Vlad

Do you guys think 10D will be a bit heavy for traveling? I travel a lot and thats part of what I need camera for... Did you travel with this camera? 10D is like 2 or 3 times heavier than Pentax Ist*D for example.

Also, what is microdrive? Are they more reliable than CF? What about power consumption? In one word are they worth getting?

dchengmd

That's the price you pay for using a high-quality digital SLR and lenses. I normally carry a big LowePro Nova 5 camera bag whenever I travel, so I'm used to it. I would estimate my usual load to be about 15 pounds. LowePro and Tamrac also make a bunch of decent camera backpacks that may make carrying everything a little easier.

A microdrive is basically a tiny hard drive in the Compact Flash form factor. They can range from about 300MB to over 3GB. They're generally pretty reliable, but like all hard drives there are moving parts inside that can be damaged with movement or shock, and they do consume a little more power than regular CF cards because there's a motor inside them.

With the price of 1+ GB CF cards dropping, I wouldn't bother.

tulene

Hey vlad, as in the past i ditto everything dchengmd has said. i'm a commercial photographer and have the 10d.
a good starter lens is the 17-40 which will be around 700. i use the 16-35L 2.8 but it's as expensive as the body. however its worth the investment to couple to future body upgrades.

i also use a $350 digital 5mp point & shoot, the canon S50 (a new S60 is even better) for the form factor and resolving power it can't be beat. in fact i've used it to shoot some magazine editorials as well, there is alot to be said about having a convenient camera. it doesnt shoot RAW format files but the jpegs will expand to 18mb, which is useful for most applicable purposes.
some recent S50 pix-
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=82641

also, i dont recommend microdrives.

ideal 10D kit:

-10D
-17-40 or 16-35 L lens
battery grip (takes two batteries)
-3 extra batteries (to have two sets of two, comes with one)
-two chargers (comes with one, so you can charge a set of batteries at a time)
-550ex flash (it has to be this one if you want TTL)
-firewire CF readers (dont get usb!!!)
-2-3 lexar 80x 1gb CF cards

and if you want to-
-tenba camera/17" laptop combo backpack
-quantum turbo battery (mounts on your belt with cord to the flash)
-S50/S60 for quick candids and convenience
-macintosh G4 laptops


it's alot of stuff, and it will weigh a ton on your back.

good luck!

james

tulene

just to add to this, if you think you want to use the on-camera flash, it's ok but with the wide-normal zoom lenses, at the widest setting, the lens barrel will actually cast a shadow of itself in the picture. not good.
therefore if you can, the 550ex is an amazing flash, and can trigger additional 420 flashes remotely if you want to get tricky down the road.

if you dont need to haul a laptop, the lowepro bags are the best, hands down, but anything will work. some people prefer less conspicuous 'photo' bags, esp when travelling. . .

dchengmd

I totally agree with this. The 550ex is one of the best purchases anyone can make for their EOS system.

I sold off an old Sunpak PZ-4000 dedicated TTL flash for the 550ex, and there is no comparison. Canon's E-TTL flash metering system is fantastic.