what option do you choose?

[daniel_arg]

Best Regards to all members!

The information in this page there are really excelent!

I have a Canon S1IS and i will go to buy a DSLR. But the options are a lot!,

and I have a some money to do this.

 

I can choose 2 options.....with my budget

 

Canon EOS 30D SLR camera Body $1089.00

Canon 70-200 f/4 L USM $ 579.00

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Total $1668.00

 

 

Canon XT EOS 350D Camera Body $ 488.00

Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM $1139.00

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Total $1627.00

 

Can you help me to choose... What Can I get ? A very good lens w/regular Camera

or Very Good Camera w/Good Lens?

 

with a 70-200 f4 can I get some pictures of sport indoors, like basquetball

without good ligth?

 

Thanks for your Time!

Sorry for my english

 

Best Regards

 

Daniel

[ari_marks]

Hey Daniel,

You should consider that the lens will last a LOT longer than the body you are shooting with.

The normal advice is to get the best glass possible as this is what will influence the photos the most, since both have the same sensor (don't they?).

[chinoloco93]

Your F4 lens will be a bit slow. Better to crank up the ISO and get the faster lens. Too bad you cannot afford the IS. Thats a nice lens and will help you in low lighting.

 

Good Luck.

[ulrich_brandl]

Daniel,

 

I wouldn't even consider to touch the 1:4 70-200mm for available light indoor sports. Even the image stabilized version will not help you to get motion stopping (short enough) exposure times. A 70-200 as the only lens is very, very long and will not be useful for most general photography.

 

I I were you, I would spend the budget for:

 

Body: 400XTi plus 18-55mm Kit lens for general shooting.

Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 for sports plus a decent monopod.

 

The Sigma has F:2.8 and a more useful zoom range for indoor - and it is substantially cheaper than the 2.8 70-200mm. If light is very low, put in a 1.8 85mm for the money you saved - you loose the flexibility of a zoom but you win more than 2 full stops .

 

Ulrich

[jdarko]

If you get the 350D and the better glass you might want to consider getting the battery grip. The Rebel is really small and can get akward to handle with such a big lens. The grip helps alot.

[istvan_sandor]

If you do not have a specific reason for buying a 2.8 lens (moving subjects at low light, strong background separation, etc), I would seriously consider the 70-200/4 IS version which is roughly the same price as the 70-200/2.8.

You have the same FL range, IS, awsome optical performance and light weight.

And I definitely second to the recommendation of investing into glass instead of "magnesium/plastic" i.e. camera.

Further to the reason that lens is more important for the optical quality tha the camera, lenses (esp. Canon L) will retain their value for almost forever, as oppsed to (digital) cameras which almost half their values almost in every 2 or 3 years.

Good luck with your choice whichever you make, I guarantee that you will not be unhappy with any of the 3 a.m. lenses, anyway.

[istvan_sandor]

Daniel,

I am sorry, I did not read the last sentence of your post. Stupid me ....

Ulrich is 100% right ! However, the 70-200/4 is an awsome lens, F/4 is far from ideal for indoor sport with poor lighting. (and IS does not help here)

Furthermore, I do not shoot a lot of indoor sports, so I better shut up here....however I cannot help trying to help your decision:

maybe you should also consider a good flash (if allowed at the place where you shoot) e.g. the 580EX or a 550EX (used you can find good bargain, esp for the 550) which helped me a lot in those situations to stop motion in "M" Mode at 1/125 and the widest aparture avalable. Good luck, again, Istvan

[bueh]

Yes, <abbr title="Image Stabilizer">IS</abbr> is irrelevant for your subject. Flash is probably not allowed. You need fast apertures and a low-noise camera. If you can get close enough, consider fast primes, like the 50mm f/1.4, 100mm f/2 or the 135mm f/2. If find the handling of the EOS cameras much better than the Rebels, so I prefer these cameras.

[awindsor]

Bueh,

 

Flash is commonly used at basketball matches and is almost necessary to get get adequate exposure at f2.8 unless you are willing to use ISO 1600 or higher.

 

Daniel,

 

Why the 350D or 30D? You need the 2.8 lens for indoor sports but I would seriously consider the 400D over the 350D. The 400D has more megapixels and some neat features but the reason I suggest the 400D over the 350D is the improved auto focus. The 400D shares the AF unit with the 30D and uses a cross sensor for lenses with maximum aperture f2.8 or higher. Since you will be shooting moving subjects in lower light you will want all the AF performance you can get.

[chinoloco93]

Yes, IS is irrelevant for your subject.

 

Thats not necessarily true. The IS does have a panning mode (IS mode 2) and while it cannot stop motion from the blur of movement, it does cut down the shake from your hand. Basketball is a moving sport and you will get blur, but with the F/2.8 aperture and a monopod, you can almost eliminate hand shake which will often ruin more shots then motion blur.