Camera & Lense Recommendation

[reeferaddict]

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

I guess that is an option, going with the 20D and just the 17-85 lense instead of the Rebel XT with 17-85 IS plus 70-300 IS.

But I think I would miss the telephoto too much, and the difference between the rebel xt and 20d is going to take me a long time to notice. By the time I could say that I should have bought the 20D, then I will just buy the latest and greatest body, which will be better than the 20D.

Did you go with Canon battery grip, or 3rd party?

That would the the 30D... lol

I went Canon all the way. Their grip also has vertical controls on it so you don't have to fumble for buttons if you're shooting in portrait orientation. It was actually one of the deciding factors as I really like having the dual controls and grip. Nikon doesn't make a grip, and the 3rd party grips for Nikon are cheaply constructed and don't have the vertical shutter release.

If you really want to go that route and will miss the zoom I can fix you up with a decent Sigma 70-300 4-5.6 for $100. It has a crack on the barrel, (purchased retail at a discount that way), but is optically clean and works perfectly. It was one of the cheap zooms I bought with my previous system and wasn't a bad lens, especially for $100.