Canon Photography
Urgent camera & lens advice please
I am in a real dilema here..... I currently own an Canon EOS 300 SLR 'film' camera which I use with 2 Sigma lens's: A 28-80mm lens which has a macro facility built in. The 2nd lens is the 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 - APO Macro. The autofocus does not work with either lens, so it is extremely frustrating to use. I also have a Kenko 1.4 Teleplus Pro 300 Converter which I was told I can use on a digital camera when I buy one. I am going to Lesvos VERY soon and would dearly love to buy some new kit (will probably be with Warehouse Express - buy in 12 months time deal). (I have already found out that my current Sigma lens's cannot be re-programmed for digital)
I want to upgrade to a digital slr camera and really like the look of the Canon 40D which isn't that much different in price to the new EOS 450D. I cannot possible afford to by the lens's I want for bird photography, but will be just as happy with the equivalent lens I have now and ideally would like to have the IS facility. A very helpful man at W. Express suggested either the 70-300 APO Sigma lens £154.99 which although doesn't have IS, is a very good lens or the 70-300 IS USM Canon lens at £369. Also he suggested the 18-50 Sigma F2.8 macro lens £279.99.
Any suggestions to which camera and lens I should buy would be very helpful from you camera experts out there please? I do have a Nikon Coolpix 5000 for snapshots and digiscoping, but its not same as an SLR is it!
Best Wishes Penny
I have the 40D and love it, I recently tested the 450D and definitely prefer the 40D over it. If nothing else the faster frame rate will give you a real edge when shooting birds.
As for lenses - I used to have a Sigma 70-300 and liked it, though clearly 300mm is often not enough for birds. The Sigma 18-50 f2.8 is a good little lens, but if you are planning to shot a lot of macros I'd suggest the Sigma 105 f2.8. If you want a wideish zoom why not buy the camera with the kit lens (it is a lot better than many people give it credit for). If you are considering the Canon 70-300 and the Sigma 18-50 you're looking at spending ~£650 on lenses, for not much more you could get a secondhand 100-400 IS.
[QUOTE=postcardcv;1180326]I have the 40D and love it, I recently tested the 450D and definitely prefer the 40D over it. If nothing else the faster frame rate will give you a real edge when shooting birds.
As for lenses - I used to have a Sigma 70-300 and liked it, though clearly 300mm is often not enough for birds. The Sigma 18-50 f2.8 is a good little lens, but if you are planning to shot a lot of macros I'd suggest the Sigma 105 f2.8. If you want a wideish zoom why not buy the camera with the kit lens (it is a lot better than many people give it credit for). If you are considering the Canon 70-300 and the Sigma 18-50 you're looking at spending ~£650 on lenses, for not much more you could get a secondhand 100-400 IS.[/QUOTE]
...and the slower 18-50mm Sigma F3.5/F5.6 is an alternative to the F2.8. It's not as good optically, but it's not bad, though the closest focus isn't up there with a genuine macro lens.
Penny, you've hit the dilemma faced by many on a limited budget where they need the whole package rather than just adding a digital body to an existing system. Any compromise item you buy now will soon be seen as money that could have gone to the item you really want!
Either of the 70-300mm zooms wil give you good quality images if you can get the bird large in the frame but that may mean totally altering the way you do your birding - I've got a 400mm + the Kenko 1.4x and, in order to get the best from them, I've sort of had to change into a photographer who's interested in birds rather than a birder with a camera (I've got stacks of old slides with a tiny little blip in the middle of the frame from when I just used to carry my old camera+400mm over my shoulder on a general day out birding!).
Another alternative is to go for the best lens you can afford and a secondhand digital body - something like a little-used 20D can be bought at a reasonable price (some people are 'serial upgraders' who constantly trade in their current model for the latest super-duper model even though they've only taken a few thousand frames).