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Originally Posted by TheReefGeek
Hmmmm, researching a bit more, with a vertical/batter grip on the Rebel XT, that might be a nice camera.
If I was to buy two lenses of decent quality, would these be good choices:
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon EF 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens
I know these are not as fast as 2.8 or 3.5, but price is a problem.
These are very similar to the Nikon lenses I was going to get, but both of these have image stabilization in them, wheras the Nikon ones I was thinking of, do not.
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I got my 20D with the 17-85 lens for $1500 landed off eBay - the deals are out there - just watch for positive feedback. IS gives you up to 3 stops more of hand held ability, and I notice a larger percentage of keepers. There's nothing wrong with the Rebel XT either... I had the original 300D and was quite satisfied with it - what I did wrong in that system was to buy cheap glass. I had the battery grip with the 300D, (as I do with my 20D), and coupled with that, the Rebel felt like a pro camera in my hands. I think they key is the glass, which is why I went this way, now when I want to upgrade to a full frame camera I have the lenses that will deliver image quality I demand.
I really think your decision is subjective. Analyze what you want to shoot - then buy accordingly. If you'll never shoot sports or in low light, then you won't need 2.8 lenses. The caveat of big aperature glass is the learning curve required to use them as the depth of field is paper thin, especially when the subject is close, making the lenses seem "soft" when the aperature is wide open. Once you use them and discover the "sweet spot" of the lens though, you won't be able to go back to consumer lenses. Primes are almost always faster and give much better image quality than zooms, even the 135 soft focus at $300 gives as sharp if not sharper images than my $1800 70-200 2.8L IS... all I can say is research research research... dpreview and Fred Miranda are probably the best two sites to do this.
*** A note about buying on eBay ***
I bought my whole system and never had a single problem. Don't use UPS for shipping across the border. Their brokerage fees are outrageous, $58.00 minimum... USPS charges $8.00... Hong Kong or Far East eBay retailers will mark your shipments as "gift" or "commercial sample" so you don't have to pay GST or PST, and there is no duty on digital cameras or accessories. I found that buying accessories like filters, remote shutters, and flash accessories was cheapest this way - close to 50% savings over even Adorama. Again I stress to watch for positive feedback, and don't buy anything without using Paypal.