jonny_mac

James,

 

The Tokina 12-24 can "mount" on a FF camera, but it is meant for crop cameras and thus

unless you crop your FF picture you will have distortion.

I think Gil's advise is spot-on. I guess you need to decide if you want to continue on your present course, and I'm guessing you will continue to plod along and take a long time to reach your goals.

 

With digital, as said, you will have instant feedback and can learn on a daily basis, vs. the wait time to get your pics back from the lab and by that time you have forgotten what you wanted to do.

 

Good glass is nice, but at this time your learning will improve dramatically with digital.

 

Your decision of course.

another reason to wait for the update!

As Tommy says, that is why you have an SLR. Invest in a sensor cleaning kit too. Don't do it in a sandstorm.

 

In my opinion the f/4 L zooms and fast primes make a great combo. That way in good light you aren't carrying around a big zoom around that you don't need, and can pop on the prime when you want shallow DOF.

I guess we'll see if Canon is up to the task when the 5D successor comes out...

If you need the view provided by the 10-22 lens on your 30D, then get the 10-22.

 

If you don't need a lens to go that wide, then get the other 16-35 or 17-40 zooms.

 

I wanted the 10-22 range now, even though I'd like a FF in the future. I don't care if I have to sell it for less than I would have gotten otherwise. I don't want to wait another number of months or longer to be able to shoot in that range.

 

I guess first decide how wide you want to go and then go from there.

Chris,

 

How is the 135 f/2 specialized any more than any other prime?

 

The 200/f2 is a whole different ballgame. It is super-expensive, compared to what many agree may be a pretty good value in the 135 f/2. It's all relative I suppose though....

If you want the good IQ and speed of primes in the trade-off of versatility of zooms then it sounds fine. You could use your cheap zoom for everyday shots. You look to be losing the very-wide end, however. It's almost a zooms vs. primes type question and as the poster above states, only you can answer this. There isn't a right answer.

I agree with Sheldon, I doubt it is the lens "picking up" blur

I don't own either lens, but from what I've heard the new IS kit lens has surprisingly good IQ

for the price. It may be a good idea to get that one...although the build quality I'm sure isn't

as good.

Tommy,

 

Depends on the Doc. Most hospitals now don't allow video during the "crowning" due to liability issues but allow photography at any time. To answer your question I've had dads shooting all the way through. As long as the mom doesn't care about the exposure I don't.

 

Babies with their eyes closed (and most do initially) don't care about flash for the most part.

Having just had a baby 6 days ago I do have some experience here, and I deliver babies as a physician as well. I would definitely plan on bringing a flash just in case. Your wife may want the lights dimmed a little, and sometimes those babies don't come at 12 noon. Also, there may be parts of the room that aren't as well lit. Finally, she probably won't have the curtains wide open.

 

Do bring the 35 f/1.4 as well you won't regret it. I switched lenses quite a bit during my stay.

Yes you definitely have more latitude for post-processing with RAW, so if there is an exposure problem you can capture some of that data better.

 

Don't use the green square mode. You can always use program mode and adjust from there if you want to have it be more automatic.

You need Chuck Gardner's site:

 

http://super.nova.org/DPR/Canon/MultiCanon/

 

Trust me on this: the other links are good but for what you want, this precise information, GO TO THIS SITE!

 

There are a number of articles on his site and he has very specific information.

 

GO TO HIS SITE BEFORE ALL THE OTHERS!

sorry the upload didn't work. But my gallery has a couple pics with the Xti if you want to see what a good lens will do.

I would also add to get a flash or invest in new lenses. You can do plenty with the Xti for now. The lenses you get will last you a long time, bodies come and go. The ISO performance on the Xti isn't great I can attest as I use this. However, better ISO performance will likely come in the newer generations to come. Here's a pic I took with my lowly Xti

 

<img src=http://www.photo.net/photo/7095717>

M Barbu,

 

for the record I have never had a loss with a CF card nor have I talked to anyone that has. Maybe as suggested we are all paranoid. I find myself making triple backups (2 hard drive copies and a physical media copy) and who knows whether it is all necessary. As an aside, my 120GB hard drive that I luckily wasn't using frequently failed, so at least for that type of media I am glad that I have been cautious.

Donald,

 

Regardless of the chance of it happening, and I agree it is slim, if you have a once in a lifetime opportunity and all of your pictures are on that card, then if something happens you are going to be very sorry. Whether you are a professional shooting a wedding, or an amateur going on your African Safari, I would be very nervous about losing ALL of my pictures.

Two thoughts.

 

The lens is great. You already have faster glass with the primes, so a slower more versatile zoom that is light is great for general purpose use. The lens is a great deal with the kit, and you can always sell it for profit or at the worst a very small loss if you change your mind.

 

Second thought is that you survived a long time with the EOS-5, what is a few more months to see what Canon introduces into the fall. Obviously you keep your cameras a long time, which is great. If you buy right after something is released, you will more likely be able to keep that up. You'll hear "the 5d is great, buy it now" but that's my philosophy...

Maybe it doesn't have a bigger motor because it is already a huge big ass lens.

 

Seriously, it isn't a superfast focusing lens. It's not great for fast moving objects unless you've done some pre-focusing to minimize the distance it has to move. It definitely has it's uses, and is great for what it does. It's quality is amazing, you just have to know its limitations. Most portraiture or still-life, images this lens is made for, doesn't need quick focusing.

Geoff,

 

I think the confusion about the brightness of the viewfinder by some comes in to play with

the different focusing screens. I don't have one that you can change, but it is my

understanding that you won't appreciate the change in brightness much unless you get the

special focusing screen for lenses with apertures below f/2.8.

Agree with above, and check the link provided as well. Excellent resource. Don't get the ST-E2

I just wish the digital equivalent of an EOS3 cost the same as one. I remember buying my EOS3 for like $1050 new...

I've used it a lot indoors and with somewhat low light. I really dislike the high ISO (1600) performance of my Rebel XT so I try to avoid those situations. I would rather just not take the picture than have the grainy ISO 1600 shots. I used it for my son's basketball game and was amazed at some of the shots I got with the slower AF.

 

I can't comment on concerts yet...

You do lose the DOF some on a crop body, but you still have the difference relative to f/1.2 to the f/1.8 in the two 85mm lenses.

 

f/1.2 on a crop camera is always going to give you less DOF than the f/1.8. So, saying "you don't get the full effect of a f/1.2 lens" on the crop camera so you might as well get the f/1.8 doesn't make sense.

 

I'm not saying getting the f/1.2 lens in your case is a good decision or not, only you can decide.

 

I would find the 85mm on a crop camera as an only lens to be very limiting, however. Indoor shots are hard to get without lots of room to back up