ryanjoseph

Hi guys,

 

I have not posted in forever, and I know your probably sick of reading posts

like this one, but I was just looking for some opinions. I am torn between

moving to full frame or sticking with 1.6x crop. Currently my camera kit

consists of a EOS 300D, 17mm Tokina F3.5, a 24-70 F2.8 L, a 100mm Phoenix macro

lens, and a 100-400 F4.5-5.6L (Along with a 50mm F1.8 I never use). As much as

I love the 24-70, the reviews of the 17-55 seem quite good, and if I were to

switch to it I could replace two lenses with one. Does this seem like a

reasonable change of kit? I am hoping to upgrade to a 30D soon since my 300D is

growing a bit long in the tooth.

 

Also, I am considering replacing my Phoenix macro lens with a EF-S 60mm f/2.8

Macro USM. I do alot of macro photography on my 300D, and although the Phoenix

is a great lens, the EF-S lens would offer me more magnification (from what I

understand anyways). Does this seem like a reasonable set of options? Or is it

not worth it?

Buy a book on digital photography and learn to use your camera. Get some decent software (Photoshop, Gimp) and calibrate your monitor.

I too have a Tokina 17/3.5 ATX Pro, for my EOS camera. It is an excellent lens and quite flare resistant.

Any EOS lens can work on any EOS camera (well EF-S lenses can't mount on EF cameras). The 300 F4 L is a great lens on digital and film bodies.

Bob I have a question about your idea for stitching photos together. I know this is thoery craft or maybe I am not understanding this part of optics. But I thought this would not work because magnification and focal length changes slightly with focus?

Nice quality but I could never live with a lens that has bokeh that ugly.

I am familiar with these lenses as I saw some over summer. Honestly the image quality is the worst I have ever seen from a lens. Avoid this lens and others like it.

Also get a rubber lens hood so you can press the lens all the way on the glass safely and cut the reflections. After you do that you can even use your flash since the reflection of it won't come back in your picture.

Well I live in the Carribean and that happens to my camera gear daily. Don't worry about it, just keep the lenses cap on while the lens adjusts to the new temprature outside.

I think it was a smart move since the only place I see Nikon going is to a lawyers office to sign for chapter 11 at the rate they are going. Like Lazy Sod said, my Nikon lenses are more functional on my 300D with an adaptor since I can actually METER them than they would be on a D100/D70 camera. Nikon's backwards compatibility is so dodgy that I would rather abandon a lens set than deal with it. What course did I take? I sold my FM2n, but some F Mount to EOS adaptors from Giampero, and now shoot with my Nikon lenses on my 300D. As for my focusing? Well lets just say that I turn the focusing ring slowly while I set the camera to rapid fire ;-)

I agree with David. Although folks who have never even used the Phoenix/Vivitar 100mm F3.5 macro love to bash it, it is simply an incredible deal for the money. I use mine constantly and have ZERO complaints about the image quality, even with the included diopter that it includes to go to 1:1.

Man if crappy instant coffee can make such interesting photos I wonder how well they would turn out if you used legendary Blue Mountain Coffee from my homeland of Jamaica! I bet the resolution would at least double ;-)

I don't think we will see high end DSLR's in the 1000 USD price range new anytime this decade...

My main concern with such a large microdrive would be the fact that you have all your eggs in one basket. If you are on a long trip and this drive fails, it would be a catastrophic loss of data. Why don't you consider getting two 4 GB microdrives instead? Thats what I use.

I clean my sensor every month with a sensor swab and eclipse cleaning solution. Not perfect, but MUCH better than leaving the sensor uncleaned.

My EOS 300D was faster when I loaded it into a canon....

Tell that to the countless fools showing me photos of what they call orbs. If there is a logical explanation to "paranormal" events people want to hear nothing of it.

Provided it does not get bidded higher. And who knows what the reserve price even is?

Sounds like more than a gamble. Sounds like a con. It would be foolish to believe you can get a new XT at this price.

There really is no way to make the viewfinder bigger on the 20D in an effective manner. If light levels are good enough I would suggest you simply use the autofocus system in the camera. Alternatively, as others have pointed out, people are now making split screen viewfinders.

 

I must admit it is a tad tricky focusing DSLR viewfinders on landscapes. I have a 300D and find macro focusing a snap. Remember these cameras have focus confirmation capacity that is very accurate, and I would trust it more than my eyes anyday.

I personaly use and own the 24-85 and can vouch for it's quality. It is an extremely sharp lens by F8, and actually gains sharpness quickly even at F5.6. It is a tad soft wide open, but nothing some extra unsharp masking cant do. I have found it is a nice walk-around lens on a film camera. It sits next to my L lenses and I keep it a walk around lens.

 

And yes, it is as good as a 28-105. So go for it, you will be quite happy.

The 100-400 IS is a good lens. Mine has consistent sharpness from 100-300, with a slight dropoff at 400. It gets sharper when you stop it down. Not a miracle lens by any means, but if you will use it at F8 like you are saying you will most likely find yourself very very happy with it. The 300mm F2.8 with a 1.4x TC is going to be sharper, but it won't be able to zoom either! So the choice is really up to you and what you want.

 

Try renting a copy and seeing for yourself.

Yeah working usually helps get money for school... life kinda sucks that way.

I have no problems with the ads. Its not like they come up between every page, just intermittently. Photo.net has to make money and I would rather see ads than photo.net close its doors.

 

BTW Brian, have you considered encouraging members to click on ads? Usually sites are payed a referal fee for every click an ad gets. Just a thought.

My 300D lives with a 24-70 L on it. No signs of strain at all.