Camera & Lense Recommendation - Page 6

TheReefGeek · #51 07-11-2006, 03:29 PM

The 20D carries a bit heftier price tag than the D70s, just out of my price range, I get $1500 to buy everything for now, including shipping, exchange, brokerage, etc.

I can get away with that for the D70s, but not the 20D

muck · #52 07-11-2006, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruth

Yuck Yuck Yuck - everyone is a comedian

sounds like a joke but really its not.

http://www.bugeyedigital.com/moreinf...rfe180pro.html
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography...s/fish15mm.htm

reeferaddict · #53 07-11-2006, 06:55 PM

Rory - You'll be very happy with the D70s... IMO not quite a 20 or 30D but a very good camera for the price none the less... and Nikon's kit lenses actually fare a little bit better than Canon.

Ruth - I bought my 20D with the 17-85 IS kit lens, a decent all-round lens, and I have also acquired a 28-70 2.8L, 70-200 2.8L IS, 300 4.0L IS, 135 2.8 Soft Focus, and for wide I went with the 10-22 3.5-4.5. The 10-22 is an absolutely amazing lens for wide stuff. I couldn't recommend anything else after having owned this lens. I have compared it to the 17-85 and there simply is no comparison... I'll go through some of my images to post so you can have a look later this week. (Maybe some tank shots? haha)

I went all Canon this time as I had bought a Tamron 90 2.8 for my previous camera, (Digital Rebel), and it gave me an error on my 20D. I had it rechipped, but since sold it as I want all my lenses to be compatible with any future bodies I may get. (D1s Mark II) Right now my macro solution is a set of extension tubes I use primarily with the 135 prime lens. As far as I'm concerned you have the best macro lens Canon makes, (not counting the 180 3.5L) as long as you have the USM version. I really DO recommend going with manufacturers lenses for compatibility reasons along with the fact that they really hold their value as well. I'm so happy I went this route. With my previous system I was buying $300 - $500 consumer lenses and always wanted "one more lens"... Now that I have these, I have no desire to go out & get another lens as I know I can't get any better. Well... I DO desire a 600 f4... but that'll cost almost as much as my reef tank!

There ARE some awesome 3rd party lenses out there, but a little hit & miss with quality and compatibility issues, so another reason to stay with manufacturers lenses be it Canon OR Nikon... One thing about Nikon though, they have clearly shifted their focus to the consumer line as evidenced by the D50 commercials that are continuously on TV, while Canon has held the course with it's commitment to the "Prosumer" line they started with the Digital Rebel and 10D.

seashells · #54 07-11-2006, 10:49 PM

More important than the number of pixels is the size of the CCD sensor. You can have 11Meg pixels on a 1/2 inch sensor and have poorer quality than a 6Meg pixel on a 2/3 inch sensor. For the 11Meg pixel camera just means they could stuff more or smaller pixels into a smaller size sensor. Better quality is achieved with large number of pixels on a large sensor.

We used to have a coolpix 990 and have a D70s.

Here is a good link http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/dq.shtml

Doug

TheReefGeek · #55 07-11-2006, 10:53 PM

Sensor size on the bunch of cameras we are looking at are identical I believe, or all very close. That is why I am not worried about the D70s haveing only 6 megapixel compared to the others with 8 or 10.

Old Guy · #56 07-12-2006, 12:09 AM

Notice the lenses that reeferaddict likes are 2.8L . A faster len's is what you will always want and need. 3.5 to 5.6 will only cut it for outdoor shots and especially on the long zoom at 5.6. The slower f4 L are nice but you will need high iso capabilities for indoor shots w/o flash. F2.0 and faster will kill the old pocket book in a hurry but I can garantee faster is better and anybody considering a DSLR should take this into consideration. Price what len's you need first. Body's will come and go.

reeferaddict · #57 07-12-2006, 05:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Guy

Notice the lenses that reeferaddict likes are 2.8L . A faster len's is what you will always want and need. 3.5 to 5.6 will only cut it for outdoor shots and especially on the long zoom at 5.6. The slower f4 L are nice but you will need high iso capabilities for indoor shots w/o flash. F2.0 and faster will kill the old pocket book in a hurry but I can garantee faster is better and anybody considering a DSLR should take this into consideration. Price what len's you need first. Body's will come and go.

Exactly - and when you compare Canon's stable of lenses to Nikon's these days, it just doesn't come close. I can trade my 20D up and forward anytime now that I have the high quality fast glass. The other thing that 2.8 offers is lightning quick auto focus, even in low light... the difference between my Rebel with consumer glass and my 20D with Pro glass is hard to describe, you almost have to feel and see it for yourself to understand, which is really pronounced with the Image Stabilizing lenses. You frame your object and watch it in a shaky screen, push the shutter release button down halfway and the image miraculously "goes still" so to speak. It will be interesting to see how Sony's built in IS is going to work and what type of new lenses they will design. When I shot film I shot a Maxxum 9000 - Minolta used to make some pretty good gear, so it will be worth watching to see if Sony can extend that into the digital market.

Ruth · #58 07-12-2006, 01:01 PM

I agree that the faster lenses are definately superiour from my limited experience.
For a point and shoot camera I have ordered a Fuji Finepix S9000 9.0MP as there are times when I don't want to mess around with a larger camera.

TheReefGeek · #59 07-12-2006, 03:00 PM

The "pro" glass from Canon does seem to be a bit faster than the Nikon equivilents.

But the Canon "kit" lenses are weaker than Nikon's, so I am torn, because for quite a while I will only have kit lenses, but eventually want to invest in pro lenses, so what to do!

I could get the rebel XT, but it feels a bit small in my hands.

TheReefGeek · #60 07-12-2006, 06:07 PM

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.