Any photographers in here?

[ChopstickHero]

Ok guys and gals, it's almost Christmas and so I'm thinking my business needs to give me an early bonus in the form of a lens (I'm self-employed). As an amateur I'm wanting a good telephoto zoom lens. I've narrowed it down to 2 choices (though I'm leaning heavily in favor of one of them):

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM $560

or

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM $550

I must admit I'm really wanting the L lens, but are the optics and convenience of the L lens worth the sacrifice of an extra 100mm and IS? The majority of what I shoot is handheld so you would think that I would want the IS lens, but I'm just stuck on that L. It's like "do I want a Mercedes C230 or a loaded Ford Five Hundred?"

What do you think?

BTW - I'm shooting on a Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D)

Can you think of any reason that you might use the extra 100mm and IS? do you shoot outdoor sports? or go take pics of animals? nature? etc? I would have to say that you should get whatever you feel you will use more often without sacrificing. if you only shoot outdoors in the daylight, then the 70-200 will do fine. if you find yourself shooting more towards early morning or sunset, then the 70-300 with IS might help a bit. but remember the aperture will be f/5.6 at the long end and even with IS, it may only help you get a few stops. so it really depends on your intended usage. possibly the 70-300 is a bit more versatile. but i think the 70-200 will have better image quality.

 

[Javo]

Great job man, I like it a lot!

Thanks mang..

 

[LinuxRacr]

I swear this thread is making want to pull my OLD Olympus OMPC camera out of the closet, with all the telephoto lenses, motor drive, and filters I have with it, and get back into photography on the side.

 

[k-lea]

Dooooooo Eeeeeet.

 

[NVP5White]

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM $560
or
Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0L USM $550

BTW - I'm shooting on a Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D)

IS is good for maybe 2 stops of crystal clear shooting, and maybe 1 more stop of image saving light. Of course, you eating a large portion of the IS's value by shooting at f/5.6. Night time and dawn/dusk shooting should be done with a tripod, so no real benefit there. Don't forget that there is a sensor crop factor with your Canon of 1.5x or 1.6x. That basically turns the 70-200mm into a 105-300mm f/4 lens! Finally, I would consider things such as weight, ease of use, focusing speed, durability, and coolness (hey, I,ve got L-glass!).

I personally wrestled with a very similar decision. I determined that the higher-quality 70-200mm (Nikon) zoom would be a better quality lens that would fit my needs the majority of the time. I'll pick-up a 1.4TC eventually which will give me a 420mm equivalent lens which will be enough for anything I'll want to shoot.

Good luck.

 

[LinuxRacr]

Well, I pulled my old camera (Olympus OMPC)out of the closet today, and a lot of memories with it. I found pictures, prom pictures, pictures of school events, and a lot of un-processed film. I also found some old, unused batteries. I may go develop some of them to see what they hold. It's been almost 10 years since highschool. Putting that thing in my hand, it was like I instantly remember how everything worked on that camera, and why. I put in the batteries, and fired off at 3 frames per second with the Olympus OM-1 Winder

My current camera is this one: Fuji FinePix S5000

 

[altspace]

I don't take pics.

 

[rjmhotrod]

Thanks to ChopstickHero and NVP5White for the advice. I find myself in alot of different photo taking situations. But my main subjects are my kids and so quality is very high on my list. I love to get good action shots of them. But I also like doing some nature stuff too. I already have a tripod and do use it some - at least for situations that require it. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the L lens. If I get it and don't like it, then I'll just sell it. It should hold it's value a little better (I would think). I'll let you guys know what I decide on.

 

[ChopstickHero]

Thanks to ChopstickHero and NVP5White for the advice. I find myself in alot of different photo taking situations. But my main subjects are my kids and so quality is very high on my list. I love to get good action shots of them. But I also like doing some nature stuff too. I already have a tripod and do use it some - at least for situations that require it. I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the L lens. If I get it and don't like it, then I'll just sell it. It should hold it's value a little better (I would think). I'll let you guys know what I decide on.

that's a good attitude. i think some people are afraid to commit to a lens and want to avoid changing lenses to often. if there are camera stores in your area that let you rent, try both of them for a week and see which one you feel is better. i'm sure you'll be happy with either one.

 

[altspace]

I live pics.

 

[NVP5White]

I live pics.

I live...lamp

 

[altspace]

I lied.

 

[NVP5White]

Almost let this thread slip off the first page...

Cat:

I got a new Micro-Nikkor 60mm lens for my birthday. Its a good lens but I really need some more time with it beofre I know if I will use it for more then just macro stuff. It seems like it might be a good portait lens; with the 1.5 crop factor it is a 90mm f/2.8 lens.

I don't have many good images yet but I will post some later this week. This was an interesting capture that I was expecting when I took the picture:

 

[MP3Architect]

so ive been watching this thread on and off for a while now...i love photography but have only been using point and shoot's since i was born. ive mastered most of what my latest sony can offer (at least in my opnion) and am ready to upgrade to a dslr. im really looking at the rebel XT right now. any of you guys suggest something similar? my price range is about $600-800 (online pricing). didn't really feel the xti was worth the extra $200. my gf really pushes nikon....ive just always heard canon was where its at digitally. the main difference i notice between the 2 is the nikon uses CCD (which i always heard was like super ****** good) and the canon uses CMOS. any opinion on this? also...where a great forum (like this one) thats about photography but not biased towards any particular brand? thanks guys...heres some shots from my point and shoot..(no photoshop in any of these)

got to be one of my favorite pics...

 

[zoomzoom02]

alright, I need some quick info...my parents are looking at buying a camera tomorrow. They just need a simple budget camera, $250-$350 6+ MP, and they would like at least a 5X+ Optical zoom. I found a few, being the Kodak Z710, but reviews say extremely slow, no image stabilization, and not highest quality but 10X optical zoom. Any input would be appreciated. As I said, just looking for a budget camera.

 

[rjmhotrod]

so ive been watching this thread on and off for a while now...i love photography but have only been using point and shoot's since i was born. ive mastered most of what my latest sony can offer (at least in my opnion) and am ready to upgrade to a dslr. im really looking at the rebel XT right now. any of you guys suggest something similar? my price range is about $600-800 (online pricing). didn't really feel the xti was worth the extra $200. my gf really pushes nikon....ive just always heard canon was where its at digitally. the main difference i notice between the 2 is the nikon uses CCD (which i always heard was like super ****** good) and the canon uses CMOS. any opinion on this? also...where a great forum (like this one) thats about photography but not biased towards any particular brand? thanks guys...heres some shots from my point and shoot..(no photoshop in any of these)

You've done a nice job with your point & shoot. It seems you really have learned what all the different settings do. I will say this, if you are thinking of a DSLR then be prepared to spend some money on lenses. You might be able to get away with the initial $600 - 800 outlay on the body and maybe kit lens, but if you really like photography you will get bitten by the lens bug (and the tripod, flash and filter bugs as well). The Canon kit lens just doesn't do enough. It's not a bad lens, but you definitely get what you pay for. It may seem nice at first, but the more you use it, the more deficiencies you discover.

Speaking of the Canon, as an owner of a Rebel XT, the small viewing screen is really annoying. The XTi has a 2.5" screen which is a huge improvement, I think. Plus, the XTi uses the 9-point focusing system inherited from the 30D. And obviously the MP difference, which to me is trivial for most people. All in all, the differences are definitely worth the extra $200, but the question is, are they worth it for you? To me, the screen is a compelling reason to get the XTi over the XT. But if money dictates, then the XT will do the job and more. But just know that the little screen on the XT is somewhat misleading. Many times I've taken a picture on the XT thinking it was clear by viewing it on the screen, and then finding out later on the computer that the pic was in fact blurred. Case in point, recently I took my XT to my daughter's gymnastic class to get some pics. I thought that most of the pics were good, but was disappointed after getting home and viewing them on the computer. So many of them were blurred (it's a low light setting and you are not allowed to use a flash). So for the next class, I loaded the Canon software onto my laptop and connected my camera to it while I was shooting so that I could see the pics as I was shooting them on a larger screen. This is highly impractical (obviously) but worked in that situation. If the 2.5" screen on the XTi would allow me to avoid the above situation, it would be worth the extra $200.

 

[k-lea]

James - Those look super nice.

I shall return with some more pictures. Every night we have a picture night I seem to be the model and not really take anything. I take a few here and there but nothing too special. I haven't had a "SLR Night" in a while.

 

[NVP5White]

im really looking at the rebel XT right now. any of you guys suggest something similar? my price range is about $600-800 (online pricing). didn't really feel the xti was worth the extra $200. my gf really pushes nikon....ive just always heard canon was where its at digitally.

Really nice images! Real nice. Let me be the first to tell you your pictures benefit tremendously from your use of a tripod. Keep it up. Also, you should get comfortable post-processing using PhotoShop or other PP software. I think you could tweek some of those pictures to art quality images with just a little work here or there.

As for a new camera: The image sensor technologies do not result in a discernable difference in quality. I know its hard to believe, but a image off the sensor of a Canon looks the same as one off the Nikon. The variables are lens quality and image processing. I recommend shooting RAW which takes the camera out of the image processing business for the most part. So after that, you have to base your decision on human-camera interaction and lens quality. That's how I ended up with the Nikon D50. It felt better in my hand. It has a LCD display on the top of the camera in addition to the rear LCD screen. The body is large enough to feel good in my hand, but light enough not to be a burden to carry all day. On balance, Nikon's best lenses will be cheaper then Canon's best lenses. Nikon's in-camera menu system is better, and the buttons are better positioned on the camera body, IMO.

Best thing to do is try them both and see what feels good and easy to use to YOU. No one else can make that decision.

For more camera tests and opinions, see www.DPReview.com

Canon Rebel XT review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/

Nikon D50 review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond50/

You can probably get both bodies factory refurbished at a significant discount from list. I would recommend this option and use the savings to buy a better or second lens. There's really no substitute for good glass!

 

[ChopstickHero]

alright, I need some quick info...my parents are looking at buying a camera tomorrow. They just need a simple budget camera, $250-$350 6+ MP, and they would like at least a 5X+ Optical zoom. I found a few, being the Kodak Z710, but reviews say extremely slow, no image stabilization, and not highest quality but 10X optical zoom. Any input would be appreciated. As I said, just looking for a budget camera.

Look at the Canon SD800 IS. great little point and shoot. i bought one for my parents for xmas. Lacks a little on the optical zoom, but makes up for it in other areas. i got it at bhphotovideo.com.

 

[MP3Architect]

alright, I need some quick info...my parents are looking at buying a camera tomorrow. They just need a simple budget camera, $250-$350 6+ MP, and they would like at least a 5X+ Optical zoom. I found a few, being the Kodak Z710, but reviews say extremely slow, no image stabilization, and not highest quality but 10X optical zoom. Any input would be appreciated. As I said, just looking for a budget camera.

from my experience with point and shoots, i wouldn't ever buy a kodak. my friends ho have them dont even like them...i remmeber making fun of citizenpros camera thinkins it was an old 1-2mp digicam. turns out it was a 5mp new kodak..it just sucked that much. i serisouly cant recommend them.