kerry_grim

Strange question, but if I knew the answer, I would not ask. I am considering a Camera purchase (Canon), likely early next year. If I were sure of which body I wanted, I would simply order on-line from New York as I have done in the past. Never had a problem. If however, I would like to see and hold different models, I would be easy for me to take a bus to NYC and visit one of the giant stores. So my question is...are the on-line price the price they would be if I were to visit the store? Or, would I have to haggle the prices to get them down to equal the on-line? If I purchased in NYC I would pay NY taxes (hopefully no other tax). If I ordered on-line I would not have to pay taxes. But, I would pay sales taxes voluntarily at income tax time because I am stupid, although honest.

It would be interesting to take both cameras and then test them the way you intend to use the camera and then try to guess which camera took which photos. I would be willing to bet it could not be done. The fell of the camera is more important. Each person has different needs. I could give a rats ass about whether the screen swivels on the 70D, but to the next person that could be an important feature. I would be more concerned about the viewfinder and wonder how it compares to my ancient 40D.

I do what I like, photograph nature. It is more cooperative.

I would say to get the DSLR, and maybe a kit lens and don't worry about the old lenses. A kit lens is reasonably cheap and you may like the autofocus.

A damp (spigot water!) diaper works great.

Are you hoping to use this as a TS lens of about 35mm? Which body are you using? I have no idea if this would work. I would think you would get excellent results by using the TS-E 24 II and simply crop the image. No cost to do that.

I would first back up the photos to two backup 1 terabyte drives. Keep one off site. You do not have control of the photos if on the cloud. Very likely they are fine there, but if something happens to that site you are SOL. On the other hand, there is no guarantee of your on backups, and everyone has done something stupid and lost photos. Depending on your files, downloading to the Cloud could take hours and hours. If you do use the cloud, I would highly recommend to also keep your own backups.

This camera has fantastic specs. I don't understand why people are so ho-hum about it. Evey model is not going to be revolutionary and if it were, there would be complains about their models being worthless. When the 7DII was announced, there was more being said about it on the Nikon Forum and they wished Nikon had an equivalent sports model. Unfortunately that thread disappeared. Thankfully, the Canon moderator is not that controlling.

It is an interesting variety of lenses and the camera looks excellent. Why so many people expect a lot me, I have no clue. Just wish Canon would add a EF-S 15mm f/2.8 to the mix. Is it so much to want a single focal length lens to equal a 24mm on full frame?

Looks like a damned nice camera to me. Wishing they would release a 15mm EF-S lens; the equivalent of 24mm on a full frame camera.

Thanks guys, the Gitzo is fixable, probably so without purchasing parts. It is overkill for my equipment, which I don't mind if working near a car. At least for the time being, I will use what I have. My thinking has always been, to buy top quality as that pays in the long run. But, money is an object, and I am now recently retired so have to be at least somewhat frugal. I would also like a full frame body. I will check into the, Feisol which is a new brand to me.

JDM, this is excellent advice and that is what I will follow. Most cases you get what you pay for and I will likely not be fully satisfied unless I get what I really want. Your advice, along with G Dan Mitchel has been the best to so many people on photo.net. Thanks again!

I am looking to replace my 30 year old Gitzo tripod that is giving me trouble. However it, along with the head weigh 8-9 pounds and this is too much to carry on hikes and is overkill for my camera, so looking to replace it. Here is what I am looking for... Strong enough for a Canon 40D with 70-200 2.8 Canon lens Carbon-fiber. Weight approximately 5 pounds max, but I don't want to sacrifice stability for minimum weight. Ideal would be RRS Series 2 with BH-40 head, but the price is simply more than I can afford. This would be my first choice if money were not an object. Willing to pay about one-half this price for a good tripod/head. Choosing a camera or a lens is easy. Not so with tripods! Thanks for any suggestions.

Sounds good, but what if they try to rob you at gun point?

<p>Dropbox. Easy to install, fast, and free.</p>

Will the low light photos be handheld or tripod? Moving subject or stationary? You do not necessarily need a fast lens for low light. Unless you really need the speed, the 70-200/4 IS would be fine and more portable. I have the 70-200 2.8 non IS. Excellent but heavy. Purchasing now, the 70-200/4 IS would be the choice for me and I would likely carry it further afield.

I use a the Canon 100 IS on a 40D. It is basically BS when people say it focuses slowly. If the lens is focused at infinity and you decide to focus at 1:2, yes it will take a while. If I am focused in the ballpark and focus on the subject, it is very fast and perfectly accurate.

The important thing is using keywords. At least for me, I am often not sure which folder I want to place the photo. But if it has the proper keywords I can still do a search and find it. Keep it simple. It can be over-organized in which case it becomes too much of a pain in the ass to do. A lot of excellent information but I think Andrew Rodney says it best.

A good P&S will work fine for what you want. If that is your basic need as for photography, don't get a DSLR. If interested in photography beyond jewelry that includes higher image quality and purchasing of additional lenses and don't mind the expense, get a DSLR.

Canon SL-1 with kit lens for general photography, used Canon EF 24 f2.8 lens just for auroras if they are available. Although the EOS-M with 22 would be an excellent combo. Can't imagine the 28-135 being sharp wide open. Although if not going with a Canon DSLR, I would look into other brands, compact mirror less and also a fast wide angle lens.

I used a film camera from the late 60s when still in high school. Then I got a Canon 40D, ancient by todays standards. Never looked back, never took a single picture with film again even though I have a nice, new EOS 3, complete with awesome focusing, stuffed into a closet. My photography has improved tremendously. Now I can press the shutter with the freedom to NOT worry about the cost of film and processing. That is just me, there are others who use film and still prefer that and that is OK for them.

Even before you come up with a plan to back up your files, get a portable hard drive...today, and copy all your photos to that and you have one one good back up. Something like a Western Digital passport is reasonably priced.

The pros who write books and articles just LOVE to use the words "visualization" and "pre-visulation". This in itself has as much meaning as "feeling the energy" which is basically bull crap, meaningless words.

Don't go cheap on the monitor. I would go larger than 20".

L lenses are good but at, say f11 with an L or non-L lens there may be little or no difference. How big are these photos to be? If very small, probably most lenses are acceptable after correcting distortion and vignetting (hopefully) in post-processing. If you are displaying 24" prints I would not consider any lens other than the 17TS.