Camera Reviews

[djr81]

I'm a novice at this but some of the photos here have inspired me to get a DSLR.

I'm looking at buying Canon 550D. Which lenses would you consider a must-have?

Is their twin-kit a good option?

I got the twin lens kit with a 500D. I use the longer lens alot (for cars mostly) and the smaller one infrequently - mostly for boring family stuff. If you look at the price of buying the lens seperately you will see the value of buying the thing bundled.

Also I would strongly recommend spending some coin on filters & hoods etc - etiher UV or polarizing. Polarizing are really good for cars & anything near water.

[funkymonkey]

yup sorry, didn't see the 1.8!

I'm a fan of the 1.8s for both Nikon and Canon, but you feel the limits after a while.

50mm 1.8 is a great prime lens. I always use one when shooting indoors and in low light. I carry it with a couple of fast zoom lenses as part of my "take everywhere" kit.

The DOF on a 1.8 is what makes it great... backdrops just blur out so its only the subject in focus. Great for portraits etc.

[thegoobie]

Hi everyone.

Camera:

Nikon D700 (Around $3,500)

Lenses:

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G (Around $800)

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 ED A (Around $2,500)

Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR2 (Around $3,500)

Filters:

Polarising For all the above

UV For all the above

Flash:

2 x SB900

MISC:

12mm, 20mm & 36mm Extension tubes

Lowepro Fastpack 220(?) Camera bag

Spider 3 studio SR (Colour management)

Programs:

Adobe Photoshop CS4

Photomatix Pro

What can I say? The Nikon is the best low light camera I have ever used. When you couple it with the 50mm f/1.4 you can shoot in any situation without the need for a flash! The ultra wide angle of the 14-24 on the full frame sensor give outstanding photos without any chromatic aberration. ISO 6400 is the highest recommended gain setting, with only marginal visible noise.

I have attached some happy snaps taken with the camera and not included any studio work.

[Maxx]

Lenses:

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G (Around $800)

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 ED A (Around $2,500)

Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR2 (Around $3,500)

Filters:

Polarising For all the above

UV For all the above

you do aware Nikon 14-24mm looks like this?

it does not have threads to accept any type of filter and the hood is not removable

the only way to put a filter on is through a filter holder

and if u have one of those, why would you want a UV filter for it????

I am a canon user myself, you might able to tell me something i don't know

[blackrex]

I was keen on the Sigma 50mm F1.4 HSM for my next lens purchase...

Very nice lens, I use one on my D3.

[blackrex]

Hi everyone.

Camera:

Nikon D700 (Around $3,500)

Lenses:

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 G (Around $800)

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 ED A (Around $2,500)

Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR2 (Around $3,500)

Filters:

Polarising For all the above

UV For all the above

Flash:

2 x SB900

MISC:

12mm, 20mm & 36mm Extension tubes

Lowepro Fastpack 220(?) Camera bag

Spider 3 studio SR (Colour management)

Programs:

Adobe Photoshop CS4

Photomatix Pro

What can I say? The Nikon is the best low light camera I have ever used. When you couple it with the 50mm f/1.4 you can shoot in any situation without the need for a flash! The ultra wide angle of the 14-24 on the full frame sensor give outstanding photos without any chromatic aberration. ISO 6400 is the highest recommended gain setting, with only marginal visible noise.

I have attached some happy snaps taken with the camera and not included any studio work.

YEAH!!! another Nikon user!

Very nice system that you have there, I take it that you are not worried about the gap between the 24mm and the 70mm being only covered by the 50?

[thegoobie]

you do aware Nikon 14-24mm looks like this?

it does not have threads to accept any type of filter and the hood is not removable

the only way to put a filter on is through a filter holder

and if u have one of those, why would you want a UV filter for it????

I am a canon user myself, you might able to tell me something i don't know

Sorry, it was my mistake, I do not have any filters for the 14-24, I over-simplified that line. The 14-24 is an awesome lens that I probably use more often than the 50mm. It's impractical to use a polarization filter on a lens this wide. At 14mm on a full frame sensor, there will be a significant part of the frame that isn't getting polarized, due to the wide angle of the incoming light. This leads to an obvious colour difference when shooting a landscape (Particularly in the sky).

Normally when I'm indoors or shooting the inside of elaborate buildings, I use the 14-24. When I'm just taking 'normal' or very low light shots I use the 50mm.

The 70mm-200mm VR2 is great for shooting stage productions or for portraits. The f/2.8 really knocks out the background and the Bokeh is fantastic (It's also great on the 50mm). This is a heavy bastard and I only take it when I know I'm going to use it.

Not having the focal length between the 25mm - 49mm and 51mm - 69mm isn't a problem. Just take a few steps back or forward to get the composition you need. The sharpness of the 50mm for outweighs the practicality or a bigger, heavier, softer lens.

It all fits into the Lowepro backpack, and I even manage to fit in an Acer laptop, Sony camcorder, all the wires, charges and transfer cables, spare batteries and memory cards.

[Ghostrider]

I have been watching this section for some time now and until recently have not even looked at a digital SLR. I only own 1 dgital camera and it's an Olympus 500UZ point & shoot compact.

I am considering the Canon 550D with 55~250 lens as it would be primarily be used for motorsport & action sport events. I can't really justify the thousands of dollars for a 5D body and more thousands for the top lenses to go with it. As the 550D is 18MP it should suffice my digital needs.

I own argueably the best film SLR's ever made and whilst I can buy film & get it processed I'm going to stick with them. In my collection I have 1 x Canon F1n, 4 x T90, 3 x T70, 4 x A1 and many accessories and lenses to go with them. The A1 & F1n motor drives wind at over 5fps and T90 not far behind at 4.5fps, so they hold their own against the best of digital equivalents. The only drawback is the length of the film vs a memory card.

Cheers, D

[GoldZilla]

I have been watching this section for some time now and until recently have not even looked at a digital SLR. I only own 1 dgital camera and it's an Olympus 500UZ point & shoot compact.

I am considering the Canon 550D with 55~250 lens as it would be primarily be used for motorsport & action sport events. I can't really justify the thousands of dollars for a 5D body and more thousands for the top lenses to go with it. As the 550D is 18MP it should suffice my digital needs.

I own argueably the best film SLR's ever made and whilst I can buy film & get it processed I'm going to stick with them. In my collection I have 1 x Canon F1n, 4 x T90, 3 x T70, 4 x A1 and many accessories and lenses to go with them. The A1 & F1n motor drives wind at over 5fps and T90 not far behind at 4.5fps, so they hold their own against the best of digital equivalents. The only drawback is the length of the film vs a memory card.

Cheers, D

Hey Dennis, long time since I've seen you on the forums.

If you don't mind waiting, the new 600D has just been announced to replace the 550D, and it has the rotating fold-out screen, which can be handy on occasion. Not sure on release dates yet, but it's already showing on the Canon Australia website, so it can't be too far off.

[Maxx]

50-250 focus slow and not very accurate

if HD video is not important for you

maybe consider a second hand 40d + 70-200 F4 (IS if you can) with that budget

a lens that can focus fast will helps a lot in motorsport & action sport shoting

much better IQ as well

dont worry about Megapixel too much, digital film (sensor) size is what makes the difference

[Ghostrider]

Thanks, I can understand the speed of focus. Many moons ago I used to do some part time press photography at Warwick Farm, Oran Park & some times Amaroo and in those days my set up was a Pentax Spotmatic & motor drive with a Novaflex 600mm follow focus lens. It was a huge lens from memory, about 450mm long in todays measurements and it had to be supported with a shoulder mount and cable release.

So what sensor size should I be looking for?

Cheers,

Dennis

[Ghostrider]

50-250 focus slow and not very accurate

if HD video is not important for you

maybe consider a second hand 40d + 70-200 F4 (IS if you can) with that budget

a lens that can focus fast will helps a lot in motorsport & action sport shoting

much better IQ as well

dont worry about Megapixel too much, digital film (sensor) size is what makes the difference

Ok Maxx, You have my attention;

Is the 40D the pick or is the 50D better or worse? They can be sourced for similar money.

Is the 70~200U f2.8L lens worth the money they are asking, or is the f4 up to the task. I know from film lens experience, quite a number of after market lenses out performed the Canon L Pro lenses a lot. Like series 1 Vivitar 70~210 and Tamron SP 70~210 (arguably the best 70~210 zoom ever made) I was did a test on short, up to 100mm zooms once and in the 35~80 class the Tamron mkII 35~70 out performed them all including their own SP35~80 in clarity, sharpness & contrast. The test was done at Ulladula shooting over water between 1100 - 1300 on Fuji Provia 100F positive film & Fuji Reala 100 negative film.

Cheers,

Dennis

[Maxx]

Ok Maxx, You have my attention;

Is the 40D the pick or is the 50D better or worse? They can be sourced for similar money.

Is the 70~200U f2.8L lens worth the money they are asking, or is the f4 up to the task. I know from film lens experience, quite a number of after market lenses out performed the Canon L Pro lenses a lot. Like series 1 Vivitar 70~210 and Tamron SP 70~210 (arguably the best 70~210 zoom ever made) I was did a test on short, up to 100mm zooms once and in the 35~80 class the Tamron mkII 35~70 out performed them all including their own SP35~80 in clarity, sharpness & contrast. The test was done at Ulladula shooting over water between 1100 - 1300 on Fuji Provia 100F positive film & Fuji Reala 100 negative film.

Cheers,

Dennis

i do not have any personal exp. with 50d

it is a newer camera than 40d and suppose to be better

however i have seen a lot of reviews mention the high ISO performance is not as good as the 40d

i will leave it for you to research on this

for 70-200, you have choice of Sigma (F2.8, OS & no OS), Tarmon (f2.8) & Canon (F4 / F2.8, IS & no IS)

not only Canon has the best image quality & built quality

I recommended Canon over the others simply because they have more consistent quality control & better resale value

and with the budget that you mentioned earlier, F4 is your only choice

I have the 2.8IS and love it a lot

here is a good web site to look for lens review

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

[Ghostrider]

Well I have done some more research and as much as I love Canon, I don't think the 40D would cut it for me in the long term, so if I'm going to go for an interchangeable lens digital camera as a fill in, I think the Panasonic Lumix G2 with either 45 - 200 (90~400mm in 35mm equivalent), or 100 - 300 (200~600mm in 35mm equivalent) lens with my ultimate goal the Olympus E5 maybe.

The Panasonic from all reports has all the bells & whistles, a fast focus lens in AF mode, very capable manual focus eye piece/viewfinder and a very competitive price to boot.

The US guys have put huge wraps on the G1, especially the circles I move in and with an adaptor can use argueably the best SLR camera glass ever made, Canon FD, so the G2 is probably a good upgrade for me.

Cheers,

Dennis

[D_I_F]

Hey Dennis, long time since I've seen you on the forums.

If you don't mind waiting, the new 600D has just been announced to replace the 550D, and it has the rotating fold-out screen, which can be handy on occasion. Not sure on release dates yet, but it's already showing on the Canon Australia website, so it can't be too far off.

Just bought the twin lens kit in the 600D. Absolutely loving it with only half a day playing with it. My first SLR and I'm amazed at the picture quality.

[r32-25t]

I'm looking at buying a second hand camera and I notice a lot of people while advertising, stating how many photos it has taken.

So my question is does it make a difference?

[MaTBoY]

SLR cameras rely on a mirror flipping up to let light on to the actual sensor. Because the movement is mechanical it only has a finite number of clicks, even if that number is massive. I don't know many people who've had shutter failure.

It's also a direct reflection of how much use the camera has had. 400 acuations... it's sat in a box after the first month, 30,000 actuations... your buying my old camera hahaha

Think of them as km's on a car.

[Jay019]

30,000 actuations... your buying my old camera hahaha

i sold my old D90 with over 80,000 actuations on it and it was still going strong.

[NA_Goodness]

And I thought my 10,000+ was bad! Glad there is still life in the old girl yet

[r32-25t]

Ok so the one I've bought has 240 shots taken so is practicably new then