SLR jong

[mc_roon]

so im going to be buying a SLR around July-August, and have little idea where to get started

- Canon strongly preferred because almost all of my friends/family have canon lenses i would want to use

- experience with full manual 35mm film cameras

- reliability is a must

- need all the help I can get for lenses

- shooting outdoor sports and possibly some landscapes, few if any flowers, etc

- total budget around 1500-1700 tops! perfectly happy to spend less

- probably not going to make the transition to full frame anytime soon

- understand for shooting sports(especially skiing) in low light you need a f/2.8 lens? Is going for f/2.8 worth the massive price? can non-full frame cameras even handle a f/2.8 lens?

- lens manufactures?

Im sure that most of this information is discussed elsewhere, but most of the information appears to be for full-frame cameras. Ive tried to search through other threads for relevant information but i cant seem to sort out what is really relevant. Any information you can offer(including links to other relevant threads ) would by helpful.

[pechelman]

any canon dslr will do you fine
350-400D, 20D etc

2.8 is nice, but 4 is doable.
another thread was just talking about that 70-200 f4L

In my experience, I would Highly reccomend any peice of sigma EX glass.
I own the 105 and 12-24 and they are both superb.
Other than that, cant go wrong with canon glass, and in particular the L series.

[Tippster]

If you're starting from scratch why not get the full-frame Canon EOS 5D?



I know when I finally get a DSLR that's where I'm going. Then again I don't see myself needing more than 3fps...

[mc_roon]

doesnt a 5D cost ~1500?

Honestly, i dont see the need for a full frame right now, but it is a thought. How big of a difference does a full frame sensor make at a non-professional level?

[MeatPuppet]

- Canon strongly preferred because almost all of my friends/family have canon lenses i would want to use

- shooting outdoor sports and possibly some landscapes, few if any flowers, etc

- total budget around 1500-1700 tops! perfectly happy to spend less

It sounds like you have a Canon 20/30D in your future. It's what I would do if I were shooting sports with your budget.

Is going for f/2.8 worth the massive price? can non-full frame cameras even handle a f/2.8 lens?

Yes, and yes.

If you think of photography as a passing hobby that you might try for a while then move on, you probably won't want to lay out the money for 2.8 glass(although they hold their value well so you can recupe most of your cost when you sell them). But if you think you will be shooting for a while, think of your lenses as an investment. Just get the 2.8 glass up front because you will go there eventually. Bodies change and are replaced often, lenses last for decades if you take care of them.


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[Pura Vida]

doesnt a 5D cost ~1500?

Honestly, i dont see the need for a full frame right now, but it is a thought. How big of a difference does a full frame sensor make at a non-professional level?

Another issue w/ shooting full frame digital is unless you have L series or other high end glass, image quality will be an issue. The full frame will bring out the flaws in lower quality glass much more than a 1.6x crop will.

I bet there are some good deals floating around these days on the 20D. As mentioned in other threads the "improvements" in the 30D aren't much at all, especially if you can score a 20D for a significantly cheaper price.

[Tippster]

- total budget around 1500-1700 tops! perfectly happy to spend less....

doesnt a 5D cost ~1500?

Am I missing something?

[pechelman]

sounds like he has glass he can borrow but that maybe he also wants to buy some of his own?

[mc_roon]

^^exactly. that 1500-1700 is for the body and lenses.

I should have been studying last night, but just messed around looking for cameras

710 - used 20D
679 - used Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX APO IF HSM
209 - new Sigma 2x EX DG APO Autofocus Teleconverter
79 - new Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens

1677 total

does this configuration cover my needs?

[pechelman]

you're hurtin a little on the low end of the lens side, but yea, for sports, action, landscape, portraits, and maybe even some flowers\macro and such you're set

[summit]

Minimalist setup for what you want:

710 20D (used)
439 tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP
679 sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM EX (new) or the sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM EX (used)
40 sandisk 2gb ultra II CF

$1868... 10% over budget... deal with it or regret it

Don't leave yourself empty on the wide angle... 50mm is NOT the widest lens you want in your lineup... it's like an 80mm on your full frame. You will find that 17-50mm far more usefull than the 2x TC. Cropped sensor SLRs can of course use 2.8 and it gives them a great advantage in AF accuracy and speed over something slower.

[Conundrum]

I don't know much about photography but I think I have a nice setup. It took patience though but you have some time until July. Here's what I got with prices just to give you an idea. It took me about 3 months to get all the parts but I think they were worth it. I don't have any huge holes for what I do.

20D w/battery grip and 1 gb and two batteries ($610 shipped, used, ebay)
70-200 F4L, hood, uv filter ($450, used, shipped from a mag)
17-85 IS, hood, uv filter ($500, used, shipped, craigslist)
Extra off brand batteries (2) ($20 ebay)
Tripod, don't know the brand ($5 thrift store)
4 gb, Sandisk Extreme III card ($75 ebay)
550 flash (used $200 or $250 from a mag's friend)

I really like the 17-85 IS lens-I leave it on almost all the time. The F4 works great for sports. The 2.8 would be cool but hard to justify for the quality of pics I'm shooting. The only things I feel I'm missing is a 1.6 or 2x teleconverter (prolly go 1.6) and some good software. Would like a super wide angle but once again, hard to justify. I'm at $1,660 which is in your budget without the flash. Just keep looking around and you'll be able to piece something together.

[samthaman]

mc_roon. what body does your brother have? i'm in the same boat as you right now, though with a smaller budget. I've used wes's and like it, but dont know what model it is. i wanted to compare stats and what not.

also not to hijack the thread, but whats a good number of FPS for skiing photography?

[anotherVTskibum]

Minimalist setup for what you want:

710 20D (used)
439 tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP
679 sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM EX (new) or the sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM EX (used)
40 sandisk 2gb ultra II CF

$1868... 10% over budget... deal with it or regret it

Don't leave yourself empty on the wide angle... 50mm is NOT the widest lens you want in your lineup... it's like an 80mm on your full frame. You will find that 17-50mm far more usefull than the 2x TC. Cropped sensor SLRs can of course use 2.8 and it gives them a great advantage in AF accuracy and speed over something slower.

I'd second that recommendation, although I'd definitely go the 70-200/2.8 route over the 50-150 route. I'd also strongly recommend at least two CF cards, a dedicated CF reader for offloading to your computer, and a couple of extra batteries. I'd also throw in a remote cable release (about $20 for an off-brand from Hong Kong by way of eBay), which combined with a beanbag can be a reasonably effective substitute for a decent tripod. Either way, you probably will end up needing/wanting to spend money on accessories down the road, but starting with the Tamron 17-50/2.8 and the Sigma 70-200/2.8 lenses will give you a reasonable starting point and save you money in the long run (vs cheaper lenses).

[mc_roon]

mc_roon. what body does your brother have? i'm in the same boat as you right now, though with a smaller budget. I've used wes's and like it, but dont know what model it is. i wanted to compare stats and what not.

also not to hijack the thread, but whats a good number of FPS for skiing photography?

wes has a rebel xt with a 50mm prime lense (f/1.8?)

if i remember correctly, the rebel xt and the rebel xti do 3 FPS, and the 20D does 5 FPS.

[lax]

bump so i can find this easier