I got my 20 D & a sigma DC 18-125 !!!!

[Raj]

Hi,

Its bonus time :) & I finally got my 20D :) :). I purchased it last saturday with extended 5 years gurantee for just $70 extra. Plus under this scheme canon's one year warranty is extended to 2 years, for next three years camera is covered by the store & the scheme provides a clause for getting a brand new replacement for $80 more if it breaks during store's gurantee period :-) :-) :-)

As far lens I chose sigma 18-125 DC as a starter. Its covers wide angle 28mm to 200 mm telephoto. I focuses quite fast, even indoors & images are sharp (a bit soft as compared to my G3, however I guess with SLR's this is expected). Min. focus distance is 50 mm but it takes attachments for taking closeups. So I guess it was better than the kit lines to start with :-) :-) Only drawback is that motor is a bit noisy..

Right now I am buried in the manual :-) :-) :-) & shooting indoors & waiting for weekend to go out.

Thank you all for your support & guidance on various topics :-) :-) They have all contributed in one way or other to this purchase :-)

Cheers

[CaseyScofield]

I finally got my 20D :) :)

Congrats Raj!

I just got mine last Thursday and havn't been able to put it down since! Enjoy the new toy, & post some pic's when you get 'em!

[Raj]

Thanks Casey !
congratulations to you too :-)

Cheers

[megaweb]

Congratulation !

see my 20D + Sigma 18-125 shots
http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/20d/ho_chi_minh/
http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/20d/malacca/

[Arsonist lolol]

Niiiice Raj! I'm in the process of upgrading right now as well, was plannning on getting the 20D as well, but I went into the camera store a few days ago, and they have 10D's for about $850....and that was like the same as my Rebel w/ lens. So....shrug, I don't know what to do anymore. =/

[tim]

Arsonist - definitely get the 20D, it's a fantastic camera. If you can try them both at a local store, even after a few test shots i'm sure you'll agree.

[Raj]

Thanks megaweb. Do you use any filters for sigma ? I only have a MC protector.
Can you guys please suggest me some filters ?

Tim, I remember your recommnedation & 50 mm, f1.8 is next on my list. BTW, this lens is not good for Marco , right ?

Arsonist, go for 20D without a single doubt in your mind, you wont regret it :-)

[tim]

Who's Marco? ;) The 50mm isn't great for macro, no, if you want marco get a dedicated lens - I really like my 100mm Macro.

I'll be getting some extension tubes at some point... but i'll really need to use a tripod for anything with all of those things on. 9 inches away from a subject at F16 and focal length 168mm gives a DOF of 0.07 inches - 1.7mm!!! F32 @12 inches away gives 7mm, not a lot better, but about the best I think i'll get.

[Raj]

Actually, I need to get a good tripod also & I have no idea about whats good & whats bad in tripod's. My wife has one, but its too light for 20D.

My sigma takes some attachments (diopters ?) for close-up's, however the salesman told me quality wont be good using that & recommended to go for a dedicated macro lens. I do a lot of macro so I need it soon. & so a tripod too :-)

BTW, on your 20D whats the ISO you use normally ? dpreview says upto 1600 is fully usable, but I noticed some noise at 800/1600 while shooting indoors (partially lit room with flourscent light)

[MrChad]

I don't have a great tripod I grabbed a Sunpak 2001 unit from a local shop for about $15. And though not a heavy tripod it's light enough to carry anywhere and works great for quick family photos.

I just got my Sigma DC 18-125mm in the mail from BHphoto today and I love this lens.
Some quick informal tests with the above tripod show the lens to be as sharp as my 28-105mm EF for equivilant focal lengths. Which is fine by me I wanted to keep the EF lens on my Elan 7N.

I personally love the build quality of the Sigma, it's definately better and much faster then my 75-300 IS EF lens, a slight bit faster then my 28-105mm. The motor is a bit noisy, but quick and it doesn't sound cheap at all.

I have my Sigma on a Drebel and I'm so glad I purchased this lens over the EF-S kit lens. My buddies have that lens and personally I can't get past the build. I was very surprised that the Sigma had some metal on the zoom barrel when extended. The hood is as nice as an EF one. And the 62mm threading makes filters very affordable compared to some 3rd party hyper zooms.

A buddy lent me a Tamron 28-200mm lens and I find the Sigma build far better then the Tamron by comparison as well. Plus an actual working focus ring on a kit lens is a huge plus in my book. I'm not sure ~$260 bucks could have been better spent in my book on DSLR starter lens.

I really think BHphoto should include the Sigma 18-125mm as a kit lens, I love mine.

[tim]

BTW, on your 20D whats the ISO you use normally ? dpreview says upto 1600 is fully usable, but I noticed some noise at 800/1600 while shooting indoors (partially lit room with flourscent light)

I shoot on ISO 100 wherever possible, but 200 and 400 seems to be perfect. If I shoot ISO 800 or above I tend to use noise reduction software afterwards, with that even ISO 3200 is usable. It's quite a big step up from the 300D anyway.

[Geeeyejo]

Congratulations Raj! Have fun with the new "Toy"! I will probably have to wait until my B-day in the summer to get my DLSR - but so not think I can justify (to the wife at least) the price of the 20D. Will see what the Dig Rebel 2 will sell for, and may still go for the 300D if they really drop in price.

[tim]

One of the really big advantages of the 20D is not having to wait, partly because of the buffer, partly because it's just faster overall. I predict the 350D will have a small buffer and still be locked to 2.5 frames per second, but apart from that it should be quicker than the 300D. Loving the speed of the 20D :)

[Raj]

I agree sigma 18-125 mm is quite good. Actually in "big camera" store in Tokyo, they are recommending tameron 28-200 (or 300 ? I am a bit confused) & Sigma over kit lenses for DREBEL & 20D, for nikon its a altogether different story. They are giving 15% off on sigma & Tameron. One of my collegues who owns 20 D with 18-75 mm mentioned that 18-75 has some berrel distortion & some vingetting issues.

Geeeyejo, i hope you will get yours soon. trust me I waited for a DSLR almost a year, reason ? i didnt knew basics & offcourse budget :-) Its just that I got some bonus when I wasent expecting any & went for it :-)

Tim, thanks for the tip. I have very shaky ends & a tendency to shoot towards telephoto to fill the frame. I am not using lenses with IS, so I am quite sure I will need to use high ISO. I havent looked at the editing s/w yet. Here in japan, i got CD's with EOS viewer in english (optional) & everything else in Japanese (manual, s/w ...). I got manual from net, I will try to get rest of the s/w's too.

& definatelty agree on the buffer size, one of the key facotrs which made me turn to 20D :-) :-)

Cheers

[ron chappel]

I'm really glad you have success with your sigma 18-125! There are some mixed reviews for that lens
I've seen it compared with the new canon 17-85 where the canon flogged it.Mond you the canon costs alot more:)

[Raj]

Ron,
I dont have any first hand experiece with Canon 17-85/ nor with sigma when I purchased it. Sigma seemed to have some good reviews + longer telephoto than canon + $$ factor + seemed to be a good all round lens to begin with prompted me to go with it. Store salesman also recommended it.

I agree canon may be better than sigma & has IS also. Sigma just seems to be a good value for money it is asking for :-) Who knows I will go for canon next time :-) :-)