alan_fertmann

Wow. Thank you all so much for the tips and advice. As I mentioned earlier, I'm really glad I found this forum, as none of my friends are really experienced with dSLR equipment.

I've researched the 17-85mm IS lens and I think I might make a trip into B&H this Sunday (I live on Eastern Long Island) to try out both lenses. I've read each reponse to my original post and gathered a ton of useful information...

I WILL be bringing my small Pentax for going out at night and the beach. And now I'll also be investing in more memory. Someone made a good point earlier, with a GB of memory so cheap now, it would be foolish to forgo buying a few extra cards.

As for the filters: I believe it was Louise who had mentioned leaving her lens cap on, which I do right now. I will bring a circular polarizer and a decent UV filter as well. After reading your responses, I'd rather change a filter than a lens. :) When I go to B&H, I'll take a look at hoods also.

As for the monopod: I have a flimsy tripod which will stay at home. I was hoping to keep my camera kit fairly light (doesn't look like that's happening any more :)) so I probably will not invest in a monopod this time around, even though I know that it would certainly help.

So now I'm thinking the packing list will look like this:

Rebel XT body fitted with either an 17-85mm or 28-135mm lens w/ UV filter, cap keeper, and possibly a hood.

About 10GB of memory (five 2GB CF cards)

Two batteries & charger

Circular polarizing filter

lens cleaning kit

LowePro Mini Zoom Bag

Neoprene sleeve

Pentax Optio S5i with 2 GB of memory

...and, depending on which lens I get, I might be carrying the stock 18-55mm as well in a soft lens case.

I have a friend of a friend in the city who is a semi-pro, so I'm going to try to get a hold of her before I go to check how I shoot and what I can do better.

Again, thank you so much for all the help here.

OK - I posted that last comment before reading the ones below Ron's. Thanks guys.

How easy is it to switch out filters without getting dust in there? Any tips?

Also, I plan on keeping my pics on these CF cards. Maybe I should get an extra 2GB?

Right now I get about 500 pics on each 2GB card. I came home from 3 weeks in South

America with about 600 photos. I thought that 1000 would be enough for this trip, but

maybe having an extra around would be good peace of mind.

Also -- I'm overwhelmed with the response to my questions. I'm really glad I found this

forum.

Mark, Thanks for the insight on size / weight. I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't really

considered these issues. :)

Thanks Ron. I appreciate the advice on filters. My girlfriend had recently bought me a

circular polarizer (she knew I was researching a new lens) and I still have it in the

packaging. It looked smokey and I had assumed that it would reduce light overall. I had

wondered if it would be a good filter or not.

Alright, so then for this trip, my camera kit will most likely include the following:

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

28-135mm IS lens (primary) affixed with UV filter

18-55mm lens (for wide angles) in a lens pouch

2x 2GB CF cards

2x Li-on batteries

1x Charger

Small cleaning kit

Small LowePro Zoom Mini Bag (for when the camera is in my backpack)

Neoprene Camera sleeve (for a little added protection when it's in my shoulder bag)

Any other items I should seriously consider? I was thinking about a tripod, but we're

backpacking and I wanted my kit to be light and portable.

OK -- Thank you all so much for opinions. Bruce: I read the reviews, but I'm afraid that

my lack of technical jargon knowledge isn't helping here. I did read the verdicts though.

Thank you.

Andy and Phil -- I really appreciate your responses. You've confirmed what I've read about

this lens and that means a lot. Thank you.

So, lets say that I do end up going with the 28-135 IS lens. Is it possible to gain wide

angle perspective with one of those fish-eye adaptors that Opteka makes? I came across

one of those in passing and I'm assuming that the edges will probably be really distorted,

but would it be useful in a pinch? Like, backed up against a wall at Angkor Wat?

Also, a more practical question: If I was planning on fitting the 28-135mm with a filter and

felt uncomfortable switching them on the trip, would you recommend a UV haze or a

circular polarizer? I'm thinking of a dedicated filter that would remain attached for the

duration of the trip. The weather there will be cloudy, hazy, and muggy in the north and

more sunny and clear (but still hot!) in the south.

Also, is my desire to fit my lens with one filter indicative of a total newbie? :)

Thanks for responding Andy.

What makes the 17-85mm more suitable? I'm relatively new to SLR photography, so

please bear with me here.

This is my first time posting in a photo.net forum.

I recently purchased a Digital Rebel XT as an major upgrade from my previous point-and-shoot, a

Pentax OptioS5i. Some backgroud, so you have an idea about my skill level and how I will be using my

camera:

My girlfriend and I are traveling to Southeast Asia this summer and I wanted a more serious camera for

what will most likely be a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We'll be spending five weeks on riverboats, kayaking,

visiting Buddhist monastaries and temples, hiking, and eating our way through Vietnam, Cambodia, and

Laos and I felt like my Pentax wouldn't really do the trip justice. It had served me well on trips to

Europe and South America and I love how my pictures came out from those trips, but I was ready for an

upgrade and a dSLR was the obvious choice. I carefully researched cameras and kept coming back to

the Rebel XT. After an awful experience with FotoConnection (had I known about these forums, I could

have saved myself a major headache!), I finally got my camera, factory sealed, full USA warranty for a

very decent price.

So...all that said, I'm already thinking of upgrading my lens. I've spent the last few months practicing

on the Canon stock 18-55 lens that comes packaged with the Rebel and I've gotten mixed results in

low-light situations. Also, I'm anticipating having to zoom in on images on this trip and 55mm isn't

cutting it. After researching lenses on the internet, I've been reading a lot about the Canon EF 28

-135mm Image Stabilizer lens. It's in my price range (B&H has it for ~$400...oh, I learned my lesson

and am now researching online retailers :)) and I keep hearing about it being a great "walkabout" lens,

which would be great for this trip as I'd like to bring only one lens.

What is the consensus on this lens? I will probably use the autofocus features on the camera for *most*

of my shooting and I just want really good, frame-worthy photographs from this trip.

Is the IS feature worth it? What about buying a Canon telephoto without IS? Or will that just result in

close-ups that still look a little blurry? Since I'd like to bring only one lens, do you think that the 28

-135 would be a good choice? I obviously won't get the kind of wide angle shots I get now, but still, do

you think this is a worthy upgrade for a beginner who will mostly use autofocus but who has a

discerning eye for good photography?

Thanks so much for any help you can offer on this!

Alan