Help me pick a camera please

[t5Nitro]

Beerguy, is the canon 100mm f/2.8 a good macro lens, is it not good at all for vacationing type of shots? Is the 70-300mm canon lens with the stabalizer good for vacation shots?

Would you pick the canon 30D over the XTi or get the XTi and with the money saved from the 30D get a lens?

 

[raddogz]

Not Beerguy, but the 100mm 2.8 is a macro lens - great for taking photos of intricate flowers or insects.

It depends where you are going on vacation to utilize the macro lens and how much time you are planning on taking photos.

The 30D just took another little dip in price this weekend on a few online e-tailers. My guess would be Canon is coming out with something new very soon.

If you have yet to buy lenses, a XTi with some good lenses will give you a good idea as to whether or not you want to upgrade later down the road or stick with whatcha got. There is no right or wrong answer as to which to pick, both are great pictures.

I'm waiting on my camera to ship.

 

[t5Nitro]

So you would go with the 30D for the newer features? A brand new camera would be 1200+ body only I'm guessing, since the 30D is 1100, I would think that is more than enough camera for me.

I have a DSC-F707 sony right now, it was top of the line when it came out, 5 mp.

 

[t5Nitro]

For vacationing, the shots would just be the regular maybe people in front of an object, or just some shots of other objects that look neat. For the aquarium shots, I really like the look of people's macros on here, so I decided I would like the 100mm f/2.8, this will give top quality macros right?

Is the 70-300mm canon lens with stabalizer good for much? I tried it in the store and really liked it since you can look a long ways and if you move around it doesn't go blurry since it stabalizes the image.

 

[t5Nitro]

Is the above a good combo, or should there be one for a wide angle, is the 70-300mm one good for wide angles?

 

[raddogz]

Fwiw - I already have the lenses that cover from 17 all the way up to 200, so I am set for lenses.

17-35 mm 2.8
28-135mm 3.5 - 5.6
70-200 2.8

I am going from a pro slr (film based) (Canon 1V) to semi-pro 30D. The biggest reason is simply having to do with size and feel. The 30D comes in to a close match. If I had the money then a 5D would be a better bet for me, but alas my budget was only $1200 after everything was said and done.

I like the IS function which is great for hand-held shots not necessary for tripod mounted camera and/or lens.

I have yet to play around with my 28-135 on the 30D so it's hard for me to say it's a good lens with this camera, I know Beerguy loathes the lens.

If you're taking regular people shots a point and shoot will do the same. A wider angle lens for some nice tight group shots would be great.

 

[t5Nitro]

OK, well, I think I would like to order the camera soon, I wanted to today, but I am still confused on what lens to get. I want the 100mm f/2.8 for macros as I already stated. Is the 70-300 with stabalizer good for anything, or is it just a long distance thing and not too great?

I was looking to get body only and then get those 2 lenses possibly, but, is the 28-135mm lens it comes with better than the 70-300mm where I should buy it with the lens and then get the macro lens?

Any recommendations on a memory card brand?

 

[t5Nitro]

I think I know what I want now. I am going to go with the kit lens as the 28-135mm for vacationing and a decent distance lens and then get the 100 mm macro along with a 4g ultra memory card.

Thanks for the help!

 

[raddogz]

Cool! Good luck, and look forward to the upcoming pictures.

 

[bwest]

You made a good choice on the mm range in lenses. Currently I use a Rebel XT for everything, and haven't had a need to even consider upgrading. The lenses I use are the standard 18-55mm kit lens, a 70-200 F4/L which is absolutely amazing for mid-range shooting, a 300mm F4/L for any telephoto needs, and a 1.4x extender that I can put on either my 70-200 or 300mm L lenses for additional range.

In the near future I would like to purchase the 100mm 2.8 macro lens though to add to what I have already.