I'm new! Need Advice!

[Muddy62]

Hi everybody; My name is Mark and I'm new to this! I have been looking at buying a Canon 20D at tax refund time and have been doing much research on what to buy. I want a setup that is flexable as I want to explore all the different types of photography, to get a feel for what really grabs me. My budget will be limited.
I was thinking of getting the conon 17-85 mm is USM lens: Sandisk Ultra 2 1GB flash card and the 550ex flash to start with.
I guess what I'm really looking for is a good kit to get started with. Any feed back on this would be deeply apprieciated.:)
Thanx in advance for you input. I'm really looking forward to learning alot from you guys and gals.

[TomC]

Hi everybody; My name is Mark and I'm new to this! I have been looking at buying a Canon 20D at tax refund time and have been doing much research on what to buy. I want a setup that is flexable as I want to explore all the different types of photography, to get a feel for what really grabs me. My budget will be limited.
I was thinking of getting the conon 17-85 mm is USM lens: Sandisk Ultra 2 1GB flash card and the 550ex flash to start with.
I guess what I'm really looking for is a good kit to get started with. Any feed back on this would be deeply apprieciated.:)
Thanx in advance for you input. I'm really looking forward to learning alot from you guys and gals.

Muddy, welcome to the forum. This is an oft asked question (I just recently asked it myself) Do yourself a favor, let us know what kind of photography you'll be doing (in detail) and you'll get a ton of feedback from folks helping you spend your money :).

What kind of budget are you looking at??

Search through this very forum and you'll find tons of feedback to most of your questions. I did. :D

Good luck on your new adventure. I'll be buying my gear in March so...

Tom

[Deckyon]

There is nothing wrong with the kit you describe. Discounting camera, memory and flash, for now, the lens is the only real variable. There is nothing bad I can say about the 20D - I have one. Check the price on the Sandisk Ultra 2 against the Lexar Pro (80x) memory. I was able to pick up the Lexar card (1 GB) for $90 after rebate. Not sure how much the SanDisk is going for. Both memory cards are comparable in speed/quality.

There is nothing wrong with the 17-85 lens. I do not have it, but I have yet to find any huge fault with any current canon EOS lens. You will feel, however, shortly after you start shooting that you will want a lens with a bit more reach than 85mm. There are some decent 300mm zoom lenses that would be considered "budget" lenses and be a bit slower than the L lenses, so think about that for summertime. The 10-22mm wide angle lens will give a great wide view, but with a small amount of edge distortion (expected on very wide angle lenses) but can be straightened in post processing. I would pick up the tele-zoom first. I think the 75-300mm f/4-5.6 (may be off on the numbers) would be a great addition after the initial purchase, or for go the 550 for the 420 and get the 75-300 instead...

Now, the flash. My personal opinion is get the 580ex so you can take advantage of E-TTL II on the camera. Granted, not all the lenses in the EOS line can communicate the right information to the camera to use E-TTL II, but when they do, the difference is noticeable. In the local store here, the difference is less than $100 between the 2 flash units. I am using my rebates to get the 580ex, and I have the 550ex.

[roanjohn]

.............you will hear this over and over again..........."Don't forget to add the 50 f1.8!!!".

Ro1

[TomC]

.............you will hear this over and over again..........."Don't forget to add the 50 f1.8!!!".

Ro1

Oh yes, that is a very common theme on this forum. I've added it to my wish list as well.

[DaveG]

Hi everybody; My name is Mark and I'm new to this! I have been looking at buying a Canon 20D at tax refund time and have been doing much research on what to buy. I want a setup that is flexable as I want to explore all the different types of photography, to get a feel for what really grabs me. My budget will be limited.
I was thinking of getting the conon 17-85 mm is USM lens: Sandisk Ultra 2 1GB flash card and the 550ex flash to start with.
I guess what I'm really looking for is a good kit to get started with. Any feed back on this would be deeply apprieciated.:)
Thanx in advance for you input. I'm really looking forward to learning alot from you guys and gals.

That looks like a good setup to start. I'd suggest getting a card reader as well. I just won't use my camera as a VCR to download images since I know that - sooner or later - I'd snag the cable and pull it onto the floor.

I'd also buy a good UV filter (67mm) to protect the front element of the lens. There is debate that a UV filter may degrade the image, and it is an argument although I don't think so. But I do think that a scratch on the front element IS going to degrade the image, not to mention reduce the re-sale value of the lens.

[scottbergerphoto]

That looks like a good setup to start. I'd suggest getting a card reader as well. I just won't use my camera as a VCR to download images since I know that - sooner or later - I'd snag the cable and pull it onto the floor.

I'd also buy a good UV filter (67mm) to protect the front element of the lens. There is debate that a UV filter may degrade the image, and it is an argument although I don't think so. But I do think that a scratch on the front element IS going to degrade the image, not to mention reduce the re-sale value of the lens.Two excellent bits of advice!
Regards,
Scott

[Jon, The Elder]

Muddy- Take a real hard look at the Canon 28/135IS USM.

It is a very versitile lens. Not too pricey and better than average performance. It made me a lot of money this year.

Go to www.pbase.com/jpferguson and see what it can do.

Jon F.

[Cadenza]

Mark,

This is a sexist forum -- I suggest you log off, and repost
the query signing yourself as a new girl. It will get you a lot
more responses.

Otherwise, your set is sounds like a good start. Besides the
17-85; you MUST get the $75 50 f1.8 so you have a quality
low light lens (I believe most in this forum will agree with
this recommendation) that also serves as an excellent portrait
lens; and then perhaps the 70-200 f4L lens (a great value --It
only costs a couple hundred more than the crappy zooms;
and are worth every dollar) so you get a taste of what a
quality zoom lens is like.

That will get you covered for most common ranges, and
you'll soon find out what interests and strengths you have
before you feel the need to invest in more esoteric lenses.

If you don't want to get the expensive 580EX yet (the E-TTL II
technology is still too new, not very many substantive reports
have appeared) perhaps you should consider the 420EX.
It will save you $150 over the 550; and eventually, when
you get the 580EX you can use the 420EX as a slave unit.

Regards, Cadenza

[defordphoto]

Muddy: Welcome to the forum. Ignore the peanut gallery...;)

Head to the top of the page here in the equipment forum and read the stickied threads. Tons of valuable information there.

[Cadenza]

P.S. Get a card reader -- not so much because it's not
very operationally elegant to connect a camera to
your computer, but because you can download files
to any Mac running OS X or a PC running Windows
XP, without the need of having the Canon software
installed. Very convenient.

[scottbergerphoto]

Mark,

If you don't want to get the expensive 580EX yet (the E-TTL II
technology is still too new, not very many substantive reports
have appeared) perhaps you should consider the 420EX.
It will save you $150 over the 550; and eventually, when
you get the 580EX you can use the 420EX as a slave unit.

Regards, CadenzaJust for clarification, ETTLII is built into the body of the camera. The 580EX allows you to take advantage of two minor features of ETTLII, auto WB adjustment and flash head zooming. The main thrust of ETTLII, separating the flash metering from the active AF points, occurs with all Canon EX flashes. I just bought my third 550EX instead of the 580EX. People who do alot of shooting where subjects are dressed in bright white or dark black (weddings, communions, etc) should notice a substantial improvement in the consistency of their flash exposures.
There is more in the EOS Flash Sticky.
Regards,
Scott

[ronmuller]

Hi Mark,

If your worried about snagging the USB cable and dragging your 20D onto the floor then just reroute the cable to prevent this. You mentioned your budget is limited so this next suggestion will most likely not fly for you. I bought a "Tripper" unit with a 40GB harddrive in it. Once I'm done shooting photos I plug the CF intothe tripper, perform a quick backup and then copy the pictures onto my hard drive. Once they are on the hard drive I view them quickly to make sure everything copied ok. That way I always have a backup of my photos.

Personally I'd rather have one quality lens than a bag full of average glass. I picked up the venerable 50mm f1.8 to start. After visiting differenct shops and shooting tests with different quality glass settled on a 24-70L as my walk-around lens. I highly recommend taking your 20D with you and shooting some tests for comparison. There are lots of web sites with lens reviews to help you decide as well.

Cheers,
Ron.

[Muddy62]

Thanx everyone. The card reader is a good idea and not too expensive from what I've seen. I will also invest in the UV filter. I have heard a lot of good things about the 50mm and the 70-300mm zoom lens. I should have mentioned a couple of things. I am already streatching my budget to the max on this (I'll bet I'm not the only one that does this LOL) Also to be really honest when I get this I will want something I can really show off and be proud of. ( I'll bet I'm not the only one to do this either LOL) As for the Flash I might as well go a head and go with the 580EX. From what I've read so far Flash photography is the hardest part of all this. (besides buying the right lens). And I'll need all the help I can get.