Newbie with some lens questions

[sid]

Hi everyone,
I just registered here yesterday and have been too busy reading the forum to start posting ! Seems like this is the right place to look for good information.

I'm by no means a professional and probably wont be for a while anyway ;). In fact right now I'm using the Kodak CX6200 point & shoot digicam where the only things you control are the on/off switch and the flash. I'm interested in motorsport photography as well as macro photography.

I am planning on getting the Digital Rebel with the standard kit lens pretty soon and after reading a lot about it I've got some questions that I hope folks can help answer. I'm on a *limited* budget (being a student doesnt help... :( ) so I'm definitely not looking into buying high end Canon lenses.

For macro, I've noticed that that the 50mm f/1.8 lens seems to be popular for a limited budget. If I understand it right, it's not a true macro lens, right ? Dont know yet what I'm going to be taking pictures of... :confused:
I've also seen a lot of people mention the Sigma lenses. Are there any lenses that you can recommend ?

Thanks in advance !
-Sid

[gramps]

If you are going to be shooting motorsports outside I would look at the Canon 70 - 200 f4 and the 100 - 400. The 70 - 200 f4 should be plenty fast for outdoor use and has very good optics PLUS the price is very good.

[Mike Panic]

if motorsports is on your mind... i wouldnt even bother w/ the drebel... get a used 10d

for lenses, yes the 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens, and one of the cheapest, but not good for macro work.

for macro... tamron 90mm or canon 100mm are your 2 best bets, but run in at 400-500 each.

id stay away from sigma's low end glass

in a nutshell... for what you wnt to do, save your money, buying low end glass will only dissapoint you

[sid]

if motorsports is on your mind... i wouldnt even bother w/ the drebel... get a used 10d
Is that primarily for the higher frame rate on the 10D ? I dont really know too much about the 10D at this point.

[Mike Panic]

the frame rate is only slightly higher, but you will have a few other benefits working in favor w/ the 10d

better overall construction. the camera is just built better, period. this is important when you are trackside and shrapnel flys at you whenver

rear command dial - you will find that shooting w/ one makes a HUGE differance and you can shoot much much faster then w/ a drebel

custom functions - the 10d has a few custom functions that the drebel doesnt, you can get em on a drebel but you have to do a firmware hack to do so... one of the big ones is a rear curtain sync, which can really help out when shooting at night

[HJMinard]

the frame rate is only slightly higher, but you will have a few other benefits working in favor w/ the 10d

better overall construction. the camera is just built better, period. this is important when you are trackside and shrapnel flys at you whenver

rear command dial - you will find that shooting w/ one makes a HUGE differance and you can shoot much much faster then w/ a drebel

custom functions - the 10d has a few custom functions that the drebel doesnt, you can get em on a drebel but you have to do a firmware hack to do so... one of the big ones is a rear curtain sync, which can really help out when shooting at night

Shrapnel?! If there's shrapnel flying around you have a lot more to worry about than camera body material! (Eye protection? Flak jacket?) :lol:

The biggest advantage - for motorsports purposes - the 10/20D has over the DRebel is the ability to choose AI Servo (continuous) autofocus whenever you'd like (as opposed to only in the "sports" mode).

[yellow_belly]

Hi, I had a DRebel and found it a great camera EXCEPT for any instance where you want to follow focus on a moving object, in my case flying birds, in your case cars. The reason the DRebel is not very good in this respect IMO is that the only way you can RELIABLY go into AIServo mode (which means it will follow focus a moving object) is to put the camera into 'Sports' mode, this in itself is not a drawback except that in 'Sports' mode you cannot alter the exposure that the camera decides to give you which I found unacceptable. I would personally go for a 20D but if you do not want to spend that much then I would go for a 10D (new or used).

HTH

Terry

[sid]

Realisticaly, for atleast a year or more I doubt that I'll be doing a lot of motorsport photography. I'm interested in taking pictures of motorcycles (not that it changes anything) but, being in Ohio I doubt how often I'll find myself at the track taking pictures. I just wanna make sure that I have atleast some ability to take decent pictures at the track ...
I remember reading about the sports mode limitation on the DR...
I appreciate everyone's input.
Thanks ! :)