SLR Camera Experts....need advice

[TreeWalker]

I am looking to upgrade from my Kodak digital SLR, and purchase a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT (8.0)

I specifically want to use this for outdoors/wildlife photography, along with some family/sporting useage too..............what size lens should I look at buying for starters ?? For say close range, intermediate, and long range ??

I'm guessing the factory 18-55 would do for all around normal home useage, but would it do for intermediate ranges ?? And what should a guy look at for reaching out and touching some critters, like antelope 1/2 mile out, etc........

I see on Ebay, there is anything from 500mm to 1300mm lenses out there

And what are the good brands.........keep in mind I'm on a budget also, LOL.......the wife would kill me if I start dropping a ton on accessories, LOL

Thanks for any and all help........Clay

[TreeWalker]

And just for conversations sake, what are your guys' preferences or opinions for favorite digital Slr camera.......what's a good buy out there ?? Am I off base with the Canon ??

I'm looking for good quality pictures, some durability, and ease of use........in the $600-800 range

[tedicast]

Clay, I have this same camera, and I love it, I have the factory 18-55 lense. I bought a Canon 75-300. 1:4-5.6 III lense, I believe I payed in the area of $250 for it. I can't remember where though. I also picked up a Quantaray 28-90, 1:3.5-5.6 Macro lense off of ebay dirt cheap. The one thing that you have to keep in mind, and I think it was someone from here that explained it to me, is that the aspect ratio of the digital SLR, is different then the aspect ratio of a 35mm SLR. This makes all lenses seem bigger. I was told that my 300 on the digital, is like having a 450 on a 35mm. I don't know if these numbers are correct, but the lenses are obviously "stronger" then what I was used to on my 35mm. Indoor the 18-55 lense that came with your camera is perfect. I have had the 28-90 on indoors, and it wasn't wide enough in some situations. I have been pretty happy with my budget lenses so far. I would love to have a couple Canon "L" lenses, but a used "L" lense on ebay is more then I payed for the camera, so that isn't happening anytime soon!

One other thing to watch for is that some older autofocus lenses, even Canon lenses will not be compatible with the XT. I was hoping to use the zooms from my 35mm Canon EOS Rebel 2000 on the XT, and they weren't compatible.

Hope this helps.

[billkay]

Canon is rock solid. If you can, stick with their lenses. Tamron and Tokina make decent aftermarket glass. Look into an 80-200 2.8. You can throw on either a 1.4 converter or a 2x. A 500mm mirror lense is dirt cheap and provides god images when there is plenty of light. They have a fixed aperture, usually f8, and the exposure is controlled by the shutter. Try to keep away from any lense that offers more than 3x zoom. The only way to achieve top quality images is to use top quality glass, and it is expensive. Either a 400 2.8 or a
600 4 will cost you upwards of $8000.

[TreeWalker]

That's kinda what i was looking at.....I had seen some Tamron lenses from bottom sizes up to 500mm and they were all under $200.00 each.......I'll leave those $8000 ones to you Bill

So the factory 18-55 is good for family and indoors photos like Basketball games, kinda what i figured........how 'bout outdoors say around 100-200 yards ?? 70-200 ?? and for the long range shots like I mentioned on goats, 500 ??

I'm kinda lens ignorant guys so you gotta spell it out for me..........man why can't they just say they are 10x or 15x or 20x like rifle scopes and binos.......would sure make my life easier, LOL

[billkay]

Your 18-55 will work for family pix with a flash, but not very well for b-ball. Your flash can't lite the entire floor, which apparently, a lot of folks don't realize if you watch any concert, hoops or football game. LOL It's probably not long enough in focal length to isolate any one player. An 80-200 2.8 would work very well and be a lens you could begin shooting outdoors with. Here's a link to the lens I'm talking about. I guess they discontinued the 80-200 in leiu of the 70-200. I'm sure you can find a used one if you look around. As far as what is 3x vs 80mm, I don't know. I do know however that whatever lens you do have will not be long enough, it never is! LOL

Lens

[TreeWalker]

So what do you suggest for indoor basketball games ?? would the 70-200 (or80-200) be a good crossover for both indoor situations like this and closer outdoors shots like I mentioned ??

Or on a side note, what would you also suggest for a lens for strictly indoor where lighting is an issue(if I would buy to seperate lenses...one for indoor and one for outdoors).....yes I'm one of those that has found out the hard way, LOL, but have managed by chaging some settings on my curretn Kodak.......

And how dependable and effective are those 2x multipliers ?? i've always been the train of thought that less compnonets is better.....maybe I need to change that ??

[tedicast]

Here are a couple pics I have taken with my XT.


This is a pic of the flag that flies in front of the shop where I work. It was taken from about 35 yards, and I was using the 75-300 lense



These 2 pics where taken from my friends front porch. The road is about 100 yards away, and it was fairly dark out. I was using the 75-300 off of a tripod, manual focus







this is just a neat pic I took of the weight from my windchime out on my deck. It was totally dark out . the lights you see in the background are track lighting in my living roon, throught the sliding glass door




this is a pic my wife took of me using the 28-90 lense, off of a tripod in sport mode

[billkay]

Look for fast. Can you get your pix from the floor? The 70-200 would be great. An 85 1.8 is the ticket if you can shoot from the floor. Converters are fine as long as you realize there is some degredation in quality. If you're making 11x14's you may begin to notice it. The 1.4 converter will only cost you 1 stop of light vs the 2 stops with the 2x. Keep in mind that due to the relative size of the CCD in your dig. camera vs the size of 35mm film, your lenses will already become slightly monger, about 1.5x. Thus an 80mmlens will be more like a 120mm. a 200mm will give you the same image as a 300mm lens on a film camera.

[wtnhunt]

Bought a minolta maxxum digital slr at Christmas time to go with my maxxum 7000 film camera. Have been very pleased with it. While it is only a 6.1 mp camera, I have taken some long range photos with the 70-210 telephoto lens in the medium resolution setting and they are very sharp, even when blown up. My two most used lenses are the minolta 35-70 and the 70-210. Will try to load and post some pics I have taken with it when I get time.

Butterfly photo has some great prices on digital cameras.

[Tominator]

Can't improve much from what's already been said, but photography used to be a big hobby of mine.

I've had 4 35 mm slr's and they have all been Nikon. Canon makes quality cameras and glass. Nikon's glass is a touch better IMHO.

A 50mm lens copies what the human eye sees as far as field of vision. Any number higher and you're looking at a telephoto lens, any number smaller and you're looking at a "wide angle" lens. Both have their applications.

Like Bill said, if you're looking at taking great pics at long distances, I'd say go with at least a 300mm lens. The bigger the objective lens, the more light gathering quality and lower f stop. Some of those big lenses are extremely expensive.

I'd also maybe shoot CLB a PM. That dude flat out shoots awesome pics.

[ruttinbuc]

Canon's new Power shot S3 IS has the ability to accept bayonet mount lenses. This is supposed to be the prosumers'/advanced amateurs answer to the afford ability question.
This camera is on preorder now and I am awaiting a qualified review to see if it will meet my needs. It has a 12X optical zoom which will take it to 435mm or so. With the ability to shoot in manual modes you should be able to do some amazing photography.

Panasonic has raised the bar with this range of cameras with its DMC-FZ20. I believe Canon will now get that market share.

[wtnhunt]

Here are a few I have taken with the minolta digital slr. Took this out the window of my oldest daughter riding about 75 yards out in the backyard.


My youngest daughter inside pic with the built in flash.


I love this camera and the pics it takes.