What do you think?

[soumya63]

I was looking forward to buy a Digital SLR and have zeroed on Canon system. So I started buying EOS lenses, though presently I have no Canon body to use them :-). After quite a bit of research and introspection of my need, I have bought a Canon Prime 50mm 1.8 USM and a Sigma 17-35mm 2.8-4EX. I want to add two more lenses to my collection, a Canon 100-400L IS and a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX.

The reason I have not bought my D30 yet is I am having a six-sense feeling that Canon may be soon releasing a major D30 upgrade. The stimuli for such feeling are as follows:

1) Nikon released a D1 upgrade D1X with 5.47 mega pixel CCD.
2) Canon at least for the time set their CMOS technology aside and used a bigger CCD sensor in EOS1D. That indicates they are yet to resolve speed issue of CMOS and falling back to more proven conventional technology for their highest end model. Can it mean a demise of CMOS? Do future D30 may sport CCD than CMOS?
3) Reading so many customer complain about D30 auto focus, (which I believe can not be resolved by firmware upgrade) can Canon engineers afford sit idle? If no, then definitely a D30 upgrade will be launched with better auto focus system.
4) The price tag of D30 is steadily sliding down. I am not at all comfortable in this issue. Big guys are selling it for 2999, where as not so big guys are selling is more than 1000$ less! This never happened for any conventional semi pro SLR. What about our investment protection? After spending 3000 or more dollar for the Camera body, if the price crashes by half within a year, then at least I am ready to wait patiently with my 500$ consumer digital camera, shopping around to buy my Canon 100-400L IS, till a D30 upgrade is released.
5) My last suspicion is Canon's huge incentive to sell off D30 stock by giving a 1GB Micro drive and a Battery pack free. Lately many dealers are also throwing in one additional year of extended warranty. I do not think a Camera as good as D30 may require that kind of sale push. Or is Canon trying to sell off their present D30 to make way for a new upgrade?

What do you think?

[beach512]

If you are a hobbyist or amateur photographer, the D30 has so much upside potential that it will takes YEARS to learn it all. I figure I will still be enjoying my D30, 5-10 years from now. My main concern now is NOT an upgrade, but saving for a WA lens and accessories.
The successor to the D30 will probably be $1000-$2000 more and will that be worth it to me, a hobbyist ?
I am content with what I have. Some of the pictures that I have taken with the D30 are unbelieveable and the quality surpasses anything that I have gotten from my hit or miss 35mm film experience of 20 years. I still have so much to learn and try. We have to learn to be creative with what we have. These forums are great for sharing.
I say go for it now and start learning. If you wait, you will never get in because there is always something new and improved on the horizon. That is how industry grows earnings. Ask yourself, how good will your D60 pictures stack up against some of the D30 pros/advanced hobbyists on these boards ??

good luck,
Dave

[oops]

Dave is right on. The D30 has a steep learning curve(probably years for me) and I have as yet to get past the "crappy shot" stage which is just the first level. Crappy shots by my standards for myself is 10% or less I would post on the internet, the next 20% I would only show my family, and the other 70% are learning tools. I am thankful I am not shooting expensive film.:p

So, you buy the D30 now and enter your own Stage One. By the time the D60 hits the market you will be blowing the socks off most new buyers because of your advanced learning curve and you will not even be interested in the new model because the D30 fits you like a glove. It zigs; you zag, etc.

A word of caution is in line here because this is a trap I have tripped too often. I find myself thinking that the ONLY thing I need to put my hobby over the top is JUST THIS ONE MORE LENS! Or JUST THIS ONE MORE ACTION to make my crappy shots great! Or, WHY DON"T I POST JUST ONE MORE TIME to brush against the talent on this forum. THEN you guys better watch out!

Bull. It hasn't helped me and it won't help you. You can fill your hope chest with all the "L" lenses Canon has to offer but when you buy your body it won't matter what series it may be, you will still start in the "crappy shot" stage. The only thing that has helped me is this and other forums (about 35%) and taking HUGE amounts of crappy shots (the other 95%) and learning from those. In fact, I should be out there right now clicking 'em off so my numbering system shows image #2000 instead of #200 since I got this thing.

You asked what I thought. This is all self examination and a "been there" response. 8) 8)

Good luck!

Chris

[soumya63]

Hi Guys, thanks to bolster my own wish to buy a D30! I just bought it from B&H auction at 1679$. Incredible price ah?! According to their rating, it is "Like New", carrying 90 days B&H warranty and 2 years Mack, so I think I have not lost my hard earned money. My next target is to buy a Timer Remote and a Canon 100-400L.

[oops]

Welcome to the Club!! Good luck with your new camera. If it could only be as easy with my kids when I share my life's experiences! I think you made the right choice and, looking at what you already have, you are off to a great start.

[d30guy]

I work at Ritz Camera outside Detroit.

1st off, they were giving away 340mb drives back in june when i bought mine, so they uped it a tad.
2nd, throw away your 50mm 1.8 lens. the other guy said it doesn't matter what lens you have, and for the most part he's right. but that is the cheapest lens, and the AF is sick. I started off with that lens also, and was happy to get my 50mm 1.4. as far as the 100-400 goes.... I think you would be better off getting the 70-200 f2.8 canon L. there is also an IS version of this lens.

The D30 factor as i'm sure you know it's alreay a whacky 1.6x. so your 100-400 would be 160-460. That's much too long for most things, and the IS won't be able to help that much at f5.6.

The 70-200 is of course 112mm-320 at f2.8!! very bright/fast, and it's one of their best tele lenes ever. I haven't bought it yet because I just barrow it from the store if i go shoot somthing. ALSO... you can get the 1.4x teleconverter for it, that would make it F4 ...(i think) and you could go even 2x at F5.6!! there's your 400mm, and for less money AND most of the time you'll shoot faster shutter speed.

IS is crap if you're shooting sports, cause the players are running all around, it doesn't freeze them of course.


I own 20mm Sigma F 2.8, 50mm 1.4 USM, and an old used 70-210 f2.5 to 4.5 USM. waiting for my 70-200 2.8!!

Good luck. I'm sure you've already learned a ton about photography!!!

[soumya63]

d30guy wrote:
I work at Ritz Camera outside Detroit.

1st off, they were giving away 340mb drives back in june when i bought mine, so they uped it a tad.
2nd, throw away your 50mm 1.8 lens. the other guy said it doesn't matter what lens you have, and for the most part he's right. but that is the cheapest lens, and the AF is sick. I started off with that lens also, and was happy to get my 50mm 1.4. as far as the 100-400 goes.... I think you would be better off getting the 70-200 f2.8 canon L. there is also an IS version of this lens.

The D30 factor as i'm sure you know it's alreay a whacky 1.6x. so your 100-400 would be 160-460. That's much too long for most things, and the IS won't be able to help that much at f5.6.

The 70-200 is of course 112mm-320 at f2.8!! very bright/fast, and it's one of their best tele lenes ever. I haven't bought it yet because I just barrow it from the store if i go shoot somthing. ALSO... you can get the 1.4x teleconverter for it, that would make it F4 ...(i think) and you could go even 2x at F5.6!! there's your 400mm, and for less money AND most of the time you'll shoot faster shutter speed.

IS is crap if you're shooting sports, cause the players are running all around, it doesn't freeze them of course.


I own 20mm Sigma F 2.8, 50mm 1.4 USM, and an old used 70-210 f2.5 to 4.5 USM. waiting for my 70-200 2.8!!

Good luck. I'm sure you've already learned a ton about photography!!!


Hi d30guy, thanks a ton for 50mm 1.4 USM. I have not thought about the USM part at all. I fully agree, 50 mm 1.8II does have a slow and noisy auto focus motor, but I am totally amazed with the optical quality and versatility of this 80$ glass. Great portrait lens on D30, I use it in low light, portrait and macro also.

A week ago I went to shoot my friend's horse and used 50mm most of the time. AF Servo was too slow for a galloping horse. So I tried to shoot at single shot mode. After deleting quite a number of out of focus shot, I stopped down quite a bit to increase the depth of field to compensate the slow AF. I particularly liked a shot when the horse was running directly towards me, but it was hopelessly out of focus. So I tried to revive it by adding zoom burst in Photohop. Let me know how you like it.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid29/p94847c5055d3acb5296fadfd19819256/fdf09a14.jpg

The correctly focussed shots are like this
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid29/p7fcb76579f52b42923abe7419585bcdc/fdf09a59.jpg

50mm 1.8 is good for macro also when extended with ef25 extension ring. This is a closeup of a tulip bloomed in our balcony
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid29/p074227b056f858c8854c01cec86a17d6/fdede635.jpg

I can bet 50mm 1.4 USM will be great enhancement over 50mm 1.8II. I had a 50mm 1.4 FD earlier and it was quite a lens.

You are right about 100-400L. After purchase of D30, I have observed D30 is not suitable for slow lens, and Zoom lens (until it is best of the bred zoom like 70-200). So I went for 300/4L. I tried 70-200/2.8 of Canon and Sigma. Both are excellent. I am planning to buy a 70-200/2.8 IS next year and that will be the last lens in my arsenal in the long range.

I am totally dismayed with Sigma 17-35. What a waste of money. I should have bought 20mm and 35mm prime instead. Probably I will palm it off to some gullable sucker in ebay :D

Anyway, I am wiser now with D30 peculiarities. The purpose of writing this long is to help other new D30 folks not to commit mistakes in investing in slow cheap zooms. If sharp picture means anything to you, then wait a bit, save money and go for the best of the breeds.