Objectives Canon 35-80mm and 100-300mm

[jorge_sobota1]

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am planning to purchase a camera body that suits two camera objectives I have and which I used with an old analogic Canon camera years ago (do not remember if FD or EOS, probably the latter). One objective is a Canon EF 35-80mm 1:4-5.6 and the other is a Canon EF Ultrasonic 100-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 . So here you have my wish list:<br>

1. Canon body that suits those two objectives<br>

2. Extension or converter that could enable macro photos with the 35-80mm objective<br>

3. Suggestions for a wide angle (fisch eye) objective</p>

<p>I am not looking for the most sophisticated camera body. I prefer a used one, which can deliver me good results, maybe around 8 or 10Mp and easy operation - if possible automatic point and shoot option aside from the normal manual adjustments. I was talking with a friend some time ago, he told me that the best body cameras are those that have a chip with the same pixel size of the picture, or whatever, and this avoids noise. Well, I am not an expert and maybe I am messing things up in my wishlist, but those 3 items are the ones I want, so your advice for an economic purchase is welcome! :-) </p>

<p> </p>

[John Crowe]

<p>I will assume your budget is for a crop body. So for instance your 100-300 will seem like a 160-480mm lens. A Canon 20D or 30D would be a good start. If your budget is lower then perhaps a Rebel XS or XSi. Ultrawides are quite expensive, perhaps start with one of the 18-55mm lenses for around $100 USD. I doubt you really want a fisheye. If you insist on wider then check Canon 10-22 and Tokina 11-16.</p>

<p>If your friend meant get a sensor the same size as the film you are used to the least expensive option is a Canon 5D (original) for under $1000 USD. The crop lenses I mentioned above do not work on this camera. Your lenses will work. A good start for wideangle is the Canon EF 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 USM which fits nicely with your set of lenses.</p>

<p>The best prices and condition is usually found at keh.com. I have great luck with eBay. </p>

[franklin_white]

<p>Your friend was probably referring to the so-called full frame DSLRs have an image sensor that is about the same size as a frame of 35mm film. Those cameras are relatively expensive and quite heavy. Also, the lenses you have really aren't good enough to get the most out of, say, a 5DMkII. Yes, the larger sensor helps with reducing high ISO noise, but the noise issue is not all that bad with the other DSLR cameras when the camera is used at more normal sensitivities (ISO 100-800) -- especially at print sizes of 8x10 and smaller. I therefore recommend that you consider buying a so-called "crop" DSLR. You could probably buy a used EOS Rebel Xsi/ 450D for $250 and, at 12 mp, that camera has more than the resolution that you specified. <br>

You could use the 450D with your lenses, but be aware that the 450D body, typical of Canon crop cameras, has a 1.6x lens conversion factor, which would result in your 35-80mm lens providing an angle of view similar to that of a 55-130mm lens used on a 35mm film camera. This conversion eliminates the intended purpose of the 35-80mm zoom as one that would cover both wide angle and short telephoto focal lengths. For that reason, you should probably replace that with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. <br>

You should be fine with the EF 100-300mm. I used to have that lens years ago. It's more than good enough to give you great results with a modern DSLR as long as you stick in the 100-250mm part of the range. At 300mm, the finer resolution of the DSLR may show a bit more CA than what you saw in film where you couldn't blow everything up to 100 percent on a computer monitor.<br>

For extension, I'm sure that you could use a Canon 12mm extension tube with the 35-80mm or the 18-55mm lenses. I'm not sure whether those either of those zoom lenses can use the longer Canon 25mm extension tube. There are cheaper, off brand, alternatives if you don't want to buy Canon, but make sure that the brand will work with the particular lens. The 12mm tube will not give you true (1:1) macro magnification, but it probably get you somewhere between 1:3 and 1:2 magnification, which is good enough for a lot of subjects.<br>

If you take my advice and get the 18-55mm IS lens, you will have wide angle. There are specialized wide angle lenses, such as the excellent EF-S 10-22mm, but you will pay a lot for that. Most folks can probably make due with 18mm. As for fish eye, I'm not aware of an inexpensive option (I've never used that type of lens, but I have seen very creative shots using that type of lens).</p>

[PuppyDigs]

Sounds like a used EOS 5D is what you need: 13MP, full frame coverage ( so your 35-80 stays with 35-80 coverage) and

amazing image quality to ISO 1600. They sell for $700 to 1000 depending on condition. Save for the Rebel series, the 5D

is about the same size and weight as cropped EOS bodies like the 10D, 20D! 30D, 40D and 50D. The 7D is actually

heavier than the 5D.

[jorge_sobota1]

<p>Thanks you for your replies and advice. I am checking the most economic solutions, most probably for a crop body - however the Puppy Face EOS 5D is really tempting. :-)</p>