I think I finally decided...time for a new camera!

[The Photo Tuell]

I've been waiting for the next DSLR from Canon to come out, and even though there are some things that are 'crippled' versus the 10D, I think the price of the Digital Rebel/300D is going to be the deciding factor. Of course I could wait for the next big thing but that is a neverending cycle of waiting, especially with digital.

After waffling a bunch of times whether to wait for the real upgrade to the 10D or get the 'cheap' Digital Rebel, I finally decided to go for it. So what if it's not exactly what I wanted, the price is right and it will probably be widely available soon so I can start getting better pictures compared to the 'good' ones I get with the G2/G3.

I researched on lenses and from the MTF charts it looks like the new 18-55 lens that will come with the Digital Rebel will be pretty good. The MTF chart for the new 55-200 didn't look so good, so I tried to find something quality that would last until my next camera. I found that the 70-200L is reasonably priced at about $600, so what I save from getting the Digital Rebel instead of the 10D could go to a nice lens.

Going to wait for the reviews to confirm my observations, but I think I'm ready for a new camera! Whew.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Investing in good glass over the initial cost of a higher end body is a good choice. The bodies (especially in digital) will be obsolete far sooner than any good lens you get.


... so "focus" on the Lenses,. and if at any time you decide that the Digital Rebel is not enough Camera,. you have wasted nothing ,. as you will have used it to learn the skills and to learn exactly what you need in your next body (IF you ever need to upgrade)

The hardest lesson I learned when I finally made the jump as you are about to do to a DSLR,. is that IT ISN"T ABOUT THE CAMERA!

It's about the lenses! And it was sooooooo hard to cough up $1,500.00 for a 10D,.. so why was it so EASY to blow twice as much on lenses in the few short months that followed?????

[pwagner]

One thing to note about the MTF charts is that the 18-55 lens' MTF chart has a horizontal axis that only goes to 13mm. (i.e.: they only show the drop of quality 13mm away from the center of the lens) That's exactly the information you need for a 1.6x crop camera. The other lenses' MFT charts are designed for full-frame cameras go to 22mm. (The distance from the center of a sensor to the diagonal corner is 0.5 * sqrt(36*36+24*@4) = 22mm.) When considering a lens for a 1.6x crop camer (D30, D60, 10D, D-Rebel), you only need to look at the MTF chart up to 13mm on the horizontal axis. With this in mind, youl'll see that the 18-55 is merely an OK Canon lens--not superb. (If you want to see a breathtaking MTF chart, check out the Canon 300mm f/2.8 !!! http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lenses/ef_300_28/ef_300_28mtf.html )

Anyway, I think the 18-55 is a GREAT lens for the D-Rebel because it will get you into a dSLR camera at a groundbreaking cost. It is also small and light (relatively speaking... I have the 100-400L). When you outgrow the Rebel, your 18-55 can go with it to the new owner. In fact, it MUST go with it, since you'll be moving up to something new that probably won't accept that lens.

>>> The MTF chart for the new 55-200 didn't look so good

[Guillermo Freige]

I think the 18-55 is an excelent lens, mostly when paired with an existing one (as my 28-135 IS) because you can use the 18-55 to cover the lost wideangle area between 28 and 45mm of the 28-135 lens (or other 28-xx zooms) when the 1.6x factor is applied. And the MTF charts from both lenses are similar, so the image quality probably is similar too.
The 55-200 is a very different beast, and the MTF remembers me my "too soft, too little contrast" 75-300 IS, so probably the new lens also suffers from the same faults.