tjalf

Len,

 

I?m currently in Argentina for holidays. I?ve mainly been in Patagonia(also the Chilean part of it) en my 17-55 is on my camera for 90% of the time, so definitely bring the 17-40 and the 50. I have hardly used my 12-24 and my 85 has also stayed in my backpack for most of the time. My 200mm has seen quite some use for sea lions, pinguins en guanaco?s. I?m not really into birds but Patagonia has heaps of them in all shapes and sizes. Off course you?ll need something really long for that.

 

Enjoy,

 

Tjalf

"Why EF-S"...because I guess it should be possible to make an EF-S for about the same price (and size) as the EF 24mm 2.8. I've been wishing for an under 300 euro 15mm EF-S lens from the moment I bought my 350D. But I don't see it happen. Over 2000 euro for the EF 14mm is just not an option.

 

Cheers,

 

Tjalf

I was wondering if anyone has experience with stacking a extension tube and

the 1.4x entender on the EF-S 60mm macro? I used to have the 100mm macro and

it worked well with the 1.4 extender and a kenko 12mm tube. However I noticed

that, besides the fact that the kenko tube does not fit the EFS mount, a 12mm

tube is not enough to avoid the protruding front element of the extender and

the protruding back element of the EF-S lens to hit into each other.

Therefore I was curious if anyone has used the EF 25mm II tube with the 1.4

converter and the EF-S 60mm macro. Did this work reasonable well or does the

focus range become so small that it is rather useless. I've done a search here

on photo.net but didn't really find the answer.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Tjalf

I've had the 1000 FN, never been really happy with it. The 100 is definitely a step up. I would recommend the EOS 5/A2e though, truly a great camera and still ridicously cheap second hand.

Amol,

 

Personally I wouldn't sell the 50mm. You'll lose a very sharp lens and gain only a few bucks.

 

Based on the reviews I had also decided to buy the Tamron 17-50. But the store I went to had only one copy of the lens and although I didn't see much difference between my 35 f2 and the Tamron at 35mm (both at f2.8), I found the 50mm way sharper than the Tamron at 50mm. I ended up not buying the Tamron (so far). So make sure you get good copy, otherwise you'll be much happier with your 50mm.

 

Good luck!

 

Tjalf

I second the EF 35f2 and EFS 60f2.8 combo, which is in my opinion more versatile the 50/100macro combo. I recently sold my 100 macro after buying the 60 macro, no regrets. Both macros are excellent lenses but as said I don't find 100mm very useful on a crop body and I like the small size and weight of the 60 macro, the 100 macro is quite bulky.

 

enjoy, Tjalf

Hi Ray,

 

If you want to do true 1:1 macro, I'd say that it's hard to beat the 100mm Macro. However if you could use a telephoto lens and would like to chase insects and butterflies, a 70-200L zoom or the 200mm L coupled with an cheap extension tube or the 1,4x converter will serve both purposes very well.

I have the 200mm L and the 1,4x converter. This gives me a full frame equivalent of a 450mm f4 on my 350D, not to mention that I can't believe the colors from the 200L. The max magnification of this combo is something like 3:1 or 4:1 (don't know the exact ratio), which is fine for outdoor flowers and butterflies in my opinion.

 

Best luck, Tjalf

"I bought it to take exceptional photographs in exceptional places. I'll be cautious, but if I leave it at home I might as well sell it."

 

I fully agree though I have a few personal remarks. I've been to Thailand and Laos in summer 2005 for a total of 5 weeks and haven't felt unsafe a single time. Just use common sense and don't leave anything unattended. Travelling by bus or train works well and in cities I mostly used tuk-tuks.

At that time I still had a film camera and the 19-35mm and the 50 1.8 were my most used lenses. Hardly used my 100mm and didn't feel the need for anything longer with the exception of Khao Yai national park (200km North-East of Bangkok, highly recommended). Last summer I was in China with my 350D and again my 12-24mm and my 50mm were my most used lenses. Therefore I would also consider taking your 17-40 and something like a 85mm. It's much less conspicious and the weight of the 70-200 IS can be a pain in the hot and humid climate of south-east Asia.

 

Anyway, enjoy your trip!

 

Tjalf

I have the 100mm and the 60mm macro, both are optically great and you can't really go wrong with either of them. If you really want to get into insect macro, the increased working distance of the 100mm is a strong benefit over the 60mm. Personally I do only occasional macro photography and the find the 60mm to be a more versatile general purpose lens (macro, portraits, even landscapes). Also size and weight is a major factor for me and I find the 100mm a bit big and heavy, especially mounted on a rebel XT.

 

Good luck! Tjalf

No, 20D with 17-85 is not wide enough, cities in Europe tend to have narrow streets. 5D with 16-35 would be my dream combo. Maybe replace the 24-70 with the 50 and the 85 for low-light (the days are pretty short and dark at this time of the year) and portability.

I don't understand why the price of the lenses would be of any importance, isn't that what a travel insurance is for? And your going to Germany, pretty sure it's safer there than in the US.

 

Have fun, Tjalf

Jeff,

 

A 200 2.8L mark I for under $400,- seems like a very good buy to me. I recently bought one for EUR 475 which I considered a fair price. Mine had always been handled very carefully and looked as new. Can't recommend this lens enough, it's quite small, black!, very fast autofocus and the image quality really blows me away. Just a few comments from a very happy user.

 

Cheers, Tjalf

Hi Steven,

 

I have bought the 200mm f2.8 two months ago and was surprised by the size and weight of this lens, it's only slight bigger than my 100m macro. Bokeh is fantastic and the lens tack sharp.

I've just bought the 1.4 extender as well but haven't received it yet, but all reviews say that it's works very well with the 200mm. I guess it is the best telephoto option for under EUR 1000,-

 

Enjoy, Tjalf

If you don't mind the great whites being big, heavy and white, then I guess the 70-200 f4 + 1.4x extender is a very versatile option. On the other hand, if you intend to use it mainly on the long end, I would also consider the 200 f2.8 L plus 1.4x/2x converter, its fast, very portable and relatively cheap. I just bought the 200 f2.8 secondhand in the Netherlands for 475 euro and I'm very very pleased with it, I don't believe it gets any sharper than this.

You should definitely add a 50/1.8. I started with a similar kit as you have and was happy as a child when I bought the 50/1.8. The increased picture quality and the ability to truly experiment with depth of field were boosting my inspiration and joy. And it's only EUR 80,-. You won't find better value for money.

 

Have fun, Tjalf

Another vote for a EF-S 30mm f1.8 for under EUR 200,-. I would definitely buy it! Would love a EF-S 15mm f2.8 for around EUR 300 as well.

 

Cheers, Tjalf

An EF-S 15mm f2.8 for around EUR 300 or an EF-S 70-200 f4 L (same price as its EF brother but black and significantly smaller)

I would also recommend an EOS 5 over the 600 series. Over a year ago I bought a used EOS 5 for only EUR 75, so I'm sure you can get it for even less today. I hardly use it anymore since I bought a 350D, althought the EOS 5 is a much better camera in many respects, I guess except for the fact that it's not digital.

 

Good luck, Tjalf

Thanks for the quick responses. I have just ordered two third party batteries from SterlingTek.

I'm travelling (backpacking) to China this summer and will visit

some remote areas in Sichuan and Gansu. At the moment I have only

one battery for my 350D and no battery pack. I'm not sure how often

I will be able to recharge the battery so I'm looking for some spare

batteries. As the Canon original is very expensive (EUR 54,-)I'm

looking for third party alternatives. I did some research but still

have some questions.

 

How many batteries would you take on 5 week trip and would you

recommend using canon originals or do third party batteries do as

well?

 

All the third party replacements are range from 580mAH to 1200mAH

while my Canon original states 720mAH. Do I need a 720mAH battery?

What are the pros and cons of batteries with a different mAH?

 

Do I need a NB-2LH battery or will a NB-2L do as well? What is the

difference between the two?

 

Can I charge third party batteries with my Canon charger?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Tjalf

Hi David,

 

www.fotokonijnenberg.nl and www.kamera-express.nl are both reputable online shops with an actual store as well (saves you shipping costs). Foto Konijnenberg mostly has on average the sharpest prices of all online shops in the Netherlands (as far as I know), but if you're looking for a specific item a search on internet may result in a better offer. The shipping costs kamera-epress charges are slightly lower than foto konijnberg though.

 

I've just compared both fotokonijnenberg and kamera-express with the german site that the previous poster recommend and the german site gives slightly lower prices for DSLR's (eg. EUR 649 vs 679 for a 350D) but will probably hardly outweigh the additional shipping costs. The Dutch sites seem on average to have the edge on lens prices (eg. EUR 88 vs 99 for a EF 50/1.8).

 

Hope this helps!

 

Tjalf

I have this lens and it works fine (sharp, but noisy and slow autofocus) on my EOS 1000fn or on a EOS 500. It also works on my EOS 5 (great camera, highly recommend it, you'll never look back at your 300V) but it makes a strange noise when the camera is turned off and I press the shutter. However if I've turned the camera on, it works fine.

I've tried it on a 50e, didn't work, neither did it on my 350D.

I second the Sigma 24mm macro superwide II. The autofocus is terribly noisy and slow but it is dirt cheap and very sharp. It won't work however on newer EOS bodies (like all digital bodies).

Go for the 350D. I'm 1.93, have pretty large hands and used to work with an EOS 5 (bigger than 20D). The 350D is half the size of an EOS 5 but after two days of shooting with the 350D, I just can't imagine I have used (and even have liked)a big camera like the 5. Love the size of my 350D, love the 350D, what a great first dSLR.

Go for the EFS 10-22 or Tokina 12-24, combined with your 50 1.8, maybe add a 85 1.8 or 100 2.8 macro, you'll have a great set up.

Thank you all. Distortion in general has become more clear for me and will buy a super wide-angle zoom in the near future. Not sure if it will be the EF-S 10-22 or the Tokina 12-24.

I've just bought a 350D and love it. As my sigma 24mm was the lens I

used the most with my EOS 5, I do miss a wide angle lens. The EF-s

10-22, although very expensive, does look very tempting to me as I

don't think I'll move to a FF dSLR in the foreseeable future (way to

expensive). I'm a bit confused though about the perspective

distortion of this super-wide angle. Is the perspective/wide angle

distortion of the 10-22 exactly the same as of a 16-35 on a FF body.

Or is a 10mm lens on the 350D still a 10mm lens and has therefore

more wide angle distortion than a 16mm lens on a FF body.

Previously I have used a 19-35mm lens on my EOS 5 and found the wide-

angle distortion too much in the 19-24mm range to make good

achitectural photos. As the longest end of the 10-22 is even shorter

than 24mm, I'm afraid that I won't really like it for achitecture.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Tjalf