chiefkeefe

I went to Italy last May with 10-22 (used it about a dozen times), 17-55 (on wife's camera and used extensively), 24-105 (on my camera and used extensively), 50mm 1.4 (never used) and the 100-400 (used only about a dozen times).

 

It sounds to me like you'd be good with just the 10-22 and the 24-105 as someone stated above this.

Not quite as exciting to amateurs like me that have purchased an XT, XTi and a 40D in the past 2 years that still have the XTi and the 40D....but I still want to see what it is!

 

When is the next full moon?

I took the 10-22, 24-105 and 100-400 with me to Italy in May for my 40D (and yes, my back still hurts)...

I've built my last 2 home computers (I had to start from scratch basically and build another one when I "upgraded" to Vista). Vista is fine on a new system and most of the bugs have been worked out even on my upgraded version. Glad to see that you got the 22" monitor. That's the absolute minimum size for working with photos in my opinion.

 

As far as the Mac topic, if I hadn't spent so much time/effort/$ on this syetm, I would definitely be looking at a Mac. The Mac OS and applications run like greased lightning compared to PC/Vista.

 

With that said, you purchased a solid system and should greatly enjoy working with it relative to that old IBM "Stinkpad".

Definitely caveat emptor. I bought a used 100-400 L lens just over a month ago on Ebay from a seller with a good reputation. His description stated that the lens was in perfect working order with the exception of some minor dings on the exterior. He even stated something about how he "would sell this lens to his mother with no regrets." In summary, after receiving the item and noticing that the images captured with it were fuzzy hand-held with IS on as well as images using a tripod with IS turned off, I sent it away to Canon for repair. I got the $350 repair estimate yesterday and authorized the repair.

The original raw image looks pretty good. I'm extremely inexperienced with any type of processing and screwed it up while getting it to be the right size. Sorry...was trying to help.

In JPEG format...<div></div>

I'm a novice, so it took me some time working with it before I felt comfortable. It is big and heavy. The push pull zoom and loosen/tighten zoom creep ring take a little getting used to as well. Overall, I think it's a pretty amazing lens. Here's a pic I took with it over the weekend:

Here's a link with a pic taken of a B-17 flying over my house with the 100-400:

 

Dan, I almost spit my beer on my monitor with the, "Take your kids out in the light," comment. It was even funnier than the foil wrapped cardboard suggestion.

 

For what it's worth, the 17-55 EFS 2.8 lens really does help in low light situations. Throw in the "edit", "auto smart fix" function on Adobe PSE 6.0 and it really lightens up dark photos. I did however just purchase the 50mm 1.4 on-line to see how this works in low light situations (and to give a different look with the shallow DOF).

The lens is a 100-400 IS and I saved a lot more than $100 (at least $400 and maybe $500, counting taxes, relative to a new one).

 

 

I missed the opportunity to by a new one with the $100 rebate and figured I'd take a chance on a used one. A new one also would have become used after 1 picture, right? All I see that I'm missing out on, if it's in good condition, is the warranty (and that's only 1 year). The seller has very positive feedback and has sold some other big ticket items. There were multiple digital pictures of the lens and it included an offer to send a picture taken with it (which I didn't request).

 

 

Thanks for the feedback. Like I said, I feel pretty comfortable with what I'm getting, but I am a realist and wanted to know what options I might have if I do find a problem with it.

When I receive it, is there anything that I could/should do to have it

evaluated? I have no reason to expect that it is in anything but perfect

working order, but unless the pictures I take with it have something pretty

obviously wrong with them, I'm afraid that I might not know any better. I've

read often here about people having a lens "calibrated". Since I won't have

the warranty on it, is this even an option for me? If done without a warranty,

what does this cost typically? I'm guessing I'll wait until I get it (likely

early next week), take some shots with it and see how they look. In the

meantime though, I thought I'd go ahead and ask this question (just in case).

 

 

As usual, thanks in advance for any any all guidance.

 

 

PK

EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS

Another variable that changes things significantly; I do plan after this trip to use this longer lens for some wildlife shots (birds mostly) back home. I really should have mentioned this sooner. This was the reason originally for including the 100-400 IS lens. I don't think I have any more questions at this point. I just need to make up my mind about how much $ I'm willing to spend.

 

Thanks again to all.

 

PK

Thanks to all for the feedback thus far. Rome, Venice, Florence and Tuscany (~2 days in each) are the locations. So, mostly city shooting.

 

 

Yes, I do have the 10-22 EF-S (for landscapes/wide city shots) and the 17-55 EF-S F/2.8 IS as my "walkaround" lens already.

 

 

I think I'll pass on the Sigma 30mm after seeing these replies. Now I just need to decide which long lens to get (just to address some of the comments, I do have a compact tripod that I'm taking and I certainly wouldn't carry this longer lens around the entire time). I really want the 70-200 F/4 IS, but agreed that a big honkin' white lens really can stick out and draw unwanted attention. I'm still open to going this route though if it provides better IQ over the 70-300 IS. I guess I just need to go research reviews/posts comparing these 2 lenses and see if ~2x the price, attention grabbing white and a few more grams in weight (about 20% more) push me to the 70-300 over the 70-200. There's really not that much differnce in weight between the two and I'm already carrying around the 17-55 (which is actually a little heftier than the 70-300).

 

 

Thanks again to all that have replied. I think I've got it narrowed down and just need to make a decision. I can wait all the way up until early May to pull the trigger. Is there any good reason to wait until then?

 

PK

My wife and I are going to Italy for a 10 day vacation this Spring and I'll be

taking the XTi (unless I do something dumb like buy an XSi before then and give

her the XTi; which could result in her killing me in my sleep before we leave ,

but I digress...). We plan to take the 10-22 EF-S and the 17-55 EF-S. I've been

reading posts here for several months now (hence the purchase of these 2

lenses) and I can't decide if I should also purchase:

 

 

1) The Sigma 30mm 1.4 prime for low light indoor shots (I'm pretty sure that

there will be many situations on the trip where this lens would come in handy).

I'm leery of the problems reported about this lens by some and certainly don't

want to have to deal with the hassle of sending it in for repair/calibration

right after the purchase. I don't want to miss shots though in "no flash

allowed" areas or have images washed out by the on camera flash with one of the

other two I have already.

 

 

2) A longer lens to complement the 2 or 3 mentioned above. Though expensive for

an amateur couple, the 70-200 f/4 IS and the 100-400 IS are under

consideration. I can't see that this lens (whichever one selected) would be

brought out very often on this trip, but I'd ultimately like to have a lens

with some reach to it.

 

 

It's highly likely that financial considerations will dictate that only one of

the two options listed above will be acted upon prior to this trip (see

concerns above about waking up alive and actually taking the trip). Therefore,

to the pros on this board that travel and any amatuers as well, what would

y'all suggest? Option 1? Option 2? Both? Why?

 

 

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.

 

PK

Unique situation here. I'm also an amateur and I bought the 350D as soon as I could get it for less than $1000. I swapped it at a local dealer for the 400D for the extra megapixels and faster startup time. I wanted the 40D (and could have afforded it), but I couldn't let the wife know that I had spent more money on another DSLR camera. I even had to wait for a silver 400D so that it would look as much like the 350D as possible. Everything was going fine until I added the battery grip. That led her to question the larger viewfinder and I was busted. Long story short, I now have a 17-55 EF-S lens and a 10-22 EF-S lens and love the 400D...but I still wish I could have bought the 40D.

 

 

Good Luck!

Oh yeah, and I share it with my wife...

I have large, basketball-palming sized hands and I'm adding another vote for the battery grip. The battery grip and the 17-55 EF-S lens combine with the XTi to complete a very comfortable unit. It also still neatly fits in a little Tamrac carrying case with all of my extra CF cards and my 10-22 EF-S lens. I also found it a little too small for comfort without the grip. After handling it in the store (pre purchase), I was afraid that I was going to drop it if I didn't have the battery grip on it.

Nevermind. I just found it using Google at "open drivers".

Sorry to jump in here on another's post, but how do we update DPP to the most current version? I'm using 2.2.0.1 and can't seem to find a way to update to 3.2 on the Canon website.

 

Thanks in advance.

PK