Is this a gift I should accept?

[david_mcewan]

<p>I have just been offered a new boxed 350D body, purchased in 2007, as a gift. My immediate reaction was to accept; however, after giving some further thought to it I wonder whether the technology is just too old.<br>

<br />I use a 5D Mk 11 and the 350D could be left in my camera bag purely as a backup. As I do not have a suitable lens for the 350D, could I justify buying an ef-s 15-85 for this body?</p>

<p> </p>

[dhbebb]

<p>350D bodies are selling on e-bay for about $100 - probably the fact that this one is new + unused will not cut much ice because of the 8MP sensor - things have moved on. If you need a cheap backup, this fills the bill - it may be cost-effective for you to buy a lens for it, the 15-85 has been positively reviewed but is not cheap at $900 or so.</p>

[david_john_appleton]

<p>for a lens if you get the new ef 40mm f2.8 stm lens which is very sharp and cheap it will make a splendid standard lens for the 350D and with the demiertive size of it, it will make a good travel cam.. remember the saying the best camera is the one you have with you.... it will fit on your 5D so you will not be throwing money at a old body<br /> Another lens that springs to mind is the ef 35mm f2</p>

<p>Dave</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>Number 1 rule: Always accept gifts (unless it's a turd).</p>

<p>I used the 350D for years and it is an awesome little camera. Totally reliable (more reliable then my current 5D MkII) and very refined. Don't let the puny LCD screen put you off. The image quality is outstanding once you've uploaded the images to your computer. </p>

<p>Some samples from my old 350D:</p>

<p>

[frank_skomial]

<p>If you are holding a public elect office, and the gift could be construed as a bribe, definitely do not accept it.</p>

<p>What is possibly expected from you, after you accept it?<br>

Will it cost you more?<br>

Accept only from a close family member.</p>

[BrianS1664879711]

<p>It is rude to reject the offer of a gift (unless one is a public elect office holder). Be gratious. Accept it with sincere expressions of gratitude. Use it. If it works for you... great. If not... don't use it.</p>

[geoffs1]

I'll give it a good home! ;-)

FWIW, I use my old 20D all the time.

 

The 40mm pancake is a good suggestion.

The EF-S 18-55mm IS mk2 would be

another inexpensive choice.

[dcstep]

<p>Perhaps you could have it converted to IR.</p>

[peter_mckone]

How about donating it? Your local junior college probably has a photography instructor who knows a deserving recipient.

[David_Cavan]

<p>David - I don't think anyone has asked, but why wouldn't your EF lenses work on the 350D? We use a mixture of EF and EF-S lenses on our crop-sensor cameras every day.</p>

[david_mcewan]

<p>David, my EF lenses do work on the 350D, but the body is so light that the combination of weight and length of the EF zooms make for an 'out of balance' feel. My favourite prime is the 85mm f1.8, and that is 'front heavy'. When I tried my Sigma 24mm f1.8 it was way too heavy.</p>

<p>I am very interested in the suggestions of David John Appleton and Geoff Sobering with regard to the 40mm pancake, and I now have the idea of the light camera body and pancake lens making an ideal pairing. The camera would take up very little room in my bag and I could grab it whenever I needed that focal length. I know that the 350D does not have any sensor cleaning function, so leaving one lens on it would help relieve my anxiety with that problem. </p>

<p>As I'm writing this I've just realised that 40mm on APS-C is 64mm on full frame - a rather curious focal length. I think I'll get to a camera store and try the 40mm before making a decision on this body.</p>

[phule]

<p>[[David, my EF lenses do work on the 350D, but the body is so light that the combination of weight and length of the EF zooms make for an 'out of balance' feel. My favourite prime is the 85mm f1.8, and that is 'front heavy'. When I tried my Sigma 24mm f1.8 it was way too heavy.]]</p>

<p>While everyone is different, I think you will find this is simply a matter of use and that the "out of balance" feel will go away after shifting the support to the lens. I regularly use the 85mm f/1.8 on a 350D. I rented 24mm f/1.4 II just recently and did not have any problems either. </p>

[Marcus Ian]

<p>Rob is right, but it's similar to ergonomics in that, while generally one can/does learn to work around an issue, rarely does it go away completely. Personally I find that the more and more I use of my cameras the less and less accepting I am of ergonomics which are hard to use, and make what I do routinely harder (such as selecting a single center point for AF via a menu *rolling eyes*). The 'balance issue' is a great example of this, but the 40/2.8, 50/1.8, or 35/2 all neatly sidestep it.</p>

<p>Alternatively, you could get a BG to help weight the 350D. Likely with that, it would counterweight enough to use small to medium sized primes without a significant issue, though it would loose you the 'take up very little room' argument ;-)... Instead, I think I'd do the 40/2.8. </p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<blockquote>

<p>FWIW, I use my old 20D all the time.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>The 350D has the same sensor as the 20D so expect the same results. I used my 350D with the 24-105mm f4L, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and the 300mm f/4L IS. You get used to the ergonomics (or lack of).</p>

[mark_ethridge]

<p>I used a 24-105 f/4L on my 400D (with and without a battery grip) and never thought anything of it. For me, I wanted that focal length range and image quality--balance of the camera was way down on my list of desires. I now use it on a 7D and I guess you could say it's better balanced, but the whole rig is a lot heavier, too.</p>

[Mark Keefer]

<p>This was my first DSLR, it was a great little camera and I took some great photos with it. It's no 5DMKII, but still a good camera, it took sharp photos and worked well even with consumer grade lenses, mine came with the Canon 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 and I would get really sharp shots though only 8 mega pixels. You can get away with a consumer grade lens on that camera, where even a 40D to 7D you may not be as happy with the results.</p>

<p>Will it just sit in your bag depends on you. It might be a good camera to take places you don't want to risk taking a $2200 body. It could make a nice run around camera for taking to the beach, canoeing, fishing, rough neighborhoods...</p>

<p>If you look at my portfolio you can see a lot shots from around 2007 and 2008 were shot with the Digital Rebel XT.</p>

<p> </p>

[dennisgg]

<p>You can balance the weight and size with the battery grip. You can get a non-Canon brand for less than $40. I found that the XT is too small for my hands with a large lens, but if you put on the battery grip, you get more battery life, better ergonomics for portraits as well.</p>

[umbush]

<p>Never kick a gift horse in the mouth. Take it and perhaps give it to someone else who is in need of a digital camera. My address is ........:)</p>

[zigzag]

<p>I'd take it and use it to try some timelapse stuff - run that shutter into the dust while you try something different.</p>

[david_mcewan]

<p>Today I went to a local camera store and tried out the 40mm f2.8 on the 350D. Five minutes later I walked out of the store with the lens still on the camera after paying my money. I can understand now why people are so impressed by this lens. It is so light and small and on the 350D the lens protrudes no more than a few millimetres beyond the built in flash.</p>

<p>When I got home I put the lens on my 5D Mk11. Now I'm really impressed. I use the centre point for focussing, and even in poor light at dusk the lens snapped into focus every time with not the slightest hint of hesitation. The shots on my computer screen are excellent to my eyes. I'm reluctant to take the lens off the 5D, so what will I put on the 350D?<br>

<br />Seriously, I can see this lens appealing to most amateur photographers because of its size, cost, and the results it produces.</p>