XTi with EF lenses

Fishie Nut

Fishie Nut

Premium Member
I got a "hand-me-down" bag of lenses and a Canon EOS film camera. I'm going to purchase the XTi as soon as I can. What I was given are EF Canon lenses: 28 mm, 35-70 mm, 55 mm, and a 75-300 mm. Should I buy just the body and use these lenses or should I go with the EF-S lenses.

I'm a relative newbie and all the info I can get will be helpful.

Thanks for your comments.
 
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Most folks prefer the EF lenses. EF-S can be used on "crop bodies" only (Rebel, XT, XTi, 20D, 30D) EF can be used on any EOS camera. I'd buy just the body until you spend some time with the lenses that you have. That way you can decide for yourself where to spend the money on glass.

With the XTi you get a magnification factor of 1.6x While depth of field and your exposure doesn't change your 28mm lens gives you the magnification of a 45mm lens for example.
 
Thanks Beerguy. I'm new to this so it's all greek to me. I an avid reader, questioner and fast learner, so the XTi Body it is.

I was vacillating between a Nikon 80D and this Canon -- made my decision very easy. XTi
 
Youre very lucky to have started off with such a well-rounded set of lenses. I just picked up a used 75-300mm lens a few days ago (as well as a new 10-22mm). Why do I gravitate to such expensive hobbies? Whyyy? Haha.
 
One potential issue that might pop up with the lenses is compatibility with the current pin configuration on the body - I'm not enough of an expert to say that it'd really be an issue but you might want to check and see if they will mate as-is.
 
You know, looking for the XTi online, the difference between the body only and the kit with the EF-S 18-55 lens is only about $50.

Is it worth the extra 50 to buy the kit? I guess I could buy and better -- faster/larger -- SD card, but I don't know...
 
i'm also a camera newbie but what does the crop body slang refer to? i've read this several places. sorry to derail your thread fishie nut. eric
 
eric: "crop body" refers to the sensor size, there's lots of info on the net but the 2 major influences to the end user are a larger depth of field (compared to full frame) and a multiplacation of focal length by 1.6. So a 50mm lens on a crop camera is actually equivelent to an 80mm field of view.

Fishie Nut: the kit lens most definately is worth $50, it out performs it's price tag & imo it's worth getting even if you plan to buy a more expensive lens covering that range as it will help resale if you upgrade bodies (or quit) in future. Also because of the reason I just explained above (1.6 crop) the kit lens will offer you a wide angle your current lens line up doesn't.

As the others have said you're lucky to start with the lenses you have, while none are of a 'professional' quality they are more than adequate. Most importantly you'll get a chance to sample the most popular focal lengths and be sure of exactly what you want for future lens purchases.

Here's a shot I took just the other day with the $50 kit lens:

firefish.JPG
 
Or in other words, a full frame camera will capture the entire pic shown below whereas the same lens on a cropped cam will produce the shot inside the red box.

croppedsensorwo1.jpg
 
Just throwing in another opinion....

I'd buy the body alone. That's $50 you can spend in other places, including a better lens someday, or as you mentioned, a CF card. You have a nice variety of lenses to start with, so that's nice. I would expect all the lenses to mount without problem, since they're all EF lenses. Years ago, Canon changed their lens mounts, so the old lenses won't mount on the new cameras and vice versa. However, this was years before anything digital came out. I can't imagine you'll have any problems.

Which 35mm body did you get? BTW, when you get the XTi, use either the 28mm or 55mm as a test to see "the crop factor." Put one of those lenses on your 35mm, look through the viewfinder to see what you would see. Then put the same lens on the XTi and point at that same spot. You'd be amazed.
 
Whew! I think I'm going to start with the 40D body and put the $50 towards a 2 gig ultra CF card.

I have the EOS A2 film camera body . My "benefactor" just told me she has a fisheye lens to give me also, so I'm sittin' pretty pretty. After some experimentation and a HUGE learning curve, I'll be able to decide what lens is best for me, in addition to the ones I now have.

I REALLY appreciate the help. I can't wait to begin shooting pics and posting them on RC. Thanks for all your help. I'll keep you posted.
 
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I have to say go with the kit lens.
I have the XT with it and while I agree that its not the best, but its not a terrible lens, either. Just look at the firefish pic fras posted! And like he said before, it has a wider angle that your other lenses cannot cover so at that price its worth it. I wouldnt count on the using fisheye for normal wide-angle shots. Its a bit extreme and very situation-specific. You'll see what I mean when you get it.

You'll also want to keep in mind that when you go on trips with your camera, you wont always want to carry all that glass around with you. Not only for risking your collection of lenses but the stuff gets damn heavy! The kit lens is a great "beater" walk-around lens considering both value as well as focal ranges. I give it another vote in favor of getting the lens.
 
Has anyone heard of FotoConnection.com? They have the cheapest prices I've seen. Like 635 for the XTi black body and 675 for the kit/lens.

Are they for real?
 
OMG! Thanks, jwedehase. I tried going on the Canon site to find these guy -- not there.

With those kinds of reviews there is no way jose they're getting my business. I'd spend all the money I save -- if any -- on aggravation.

THANK YOU!
 
Ha! I actually hadn't heard of them before this post, so I went and checked.

Do a reseller search there for bhphotovideo.com. I've always been EXTREMELY happy with them, and they have some extremely high satisfaction numbers. I also noticed they even took the time to reply to any negative feedback, which to me proves they care.

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1914.html
 
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