Blank sheet of paper.

[dewmuw]

So I have had my G3 for 2 years and have been hoping to upgrade for a while (probably for 2 years :D)

I'm due a bonus from work in March of £2,000, I should be getting £600 tax rebate and I have just be told by Jaguar that I have been overpaying them for my car and they owe me £700! :)

The odds are about 30-70 against that I will spend this money upgrading (a 5 and a 2 year old eat up money like nobody's business) - but if I do I thought I'd ask for some thoughts from you guys.

I'm thinking a 20D. Lens wise I have a completely open mind - but my subjects are predominantly wildlife, landscapes and macro work. What would be a good set-up?

[Ikinaa]

I see that your photographic interests are similar to mine.

I bought the 20D a month ago, I still had the 75-300 from my previous EOS500.
I took the kit lens 18-55 : Not bad for the money.
and I bought a used 28-135IS (good walk-around)
my next buys will be :
100-400L (for the wildlife, the 75-300 simply isn't sharp enough)
then a 17-40L4 will probably follow (to replace the 18-55, architecture + landscape shots)
for the macros, I bought a set of kenko extension rings, which I still wait for. But in a still further future, I will probably buy a 100f/2.8 Macro

your £3300 will be fast gone...

don't forget the little extras which will eat up money also : a bag, spare CF-cards, spare batteries (the standard that came with the 20D lasts for more than 1000 shots, using IS, the internal flash and a lot of chimping, I was really astonished), tripod, external flash, etc...

[dewmuw]

Thanks. If you were to priorise your purchases what order would they come? I know I won't be able to buy the full kit and kaboodle in one go - unless my lottery numbers come up that is! :D

[sGu]

20D, 17-40mm for landscape, 100mm 2.8 Macro, for ... well, macro and landscape(you'd be surprised ;)) 100-400mm L for wildlife, but if you get 70-200mm plus converters, you'll get a great portrait lens plus wildlife, unless portrait really isn't your thing.

Don't forget, once you get 20D, you'll probably get couple of 1G, 2G CF cards, extra batteries, external flashes etc. ... and the list grows ... quickly ... it will not end ... :p

[Jonny]

Thanks. If you were to priorise your purchases what order would they come? I know I won't be able to buy the full kit and kaboodle in one go - unless my lottery numbers come up that is! :D

1. Well first off you need to get the 20D of course.

2. While you have the money get a decent 'L' lens but as they aint cheap i would try to decide what is most important, wildlife or landscape. You could always look at the 24-70 L which would make a great 'walk around' lens and maybe get some extension rings to get you the macro. It wont be much good for the wildlife but it will give you plenty of other options.

3. Buy all the little extras you will need, Tripod,bags,grips,batteries and cards.

4. Have fun with what you have whilst deperately searching for more funds to get the other lenses!

One thing i have learned is that if you know you really want the best stuff then it is better to get it straight away. I have lost ££££ buying standard lenses only to replace them with the L series ones.

have fun!

[sGu]

I'm with Jon on getting the best stuff right away, don't waste time and money on non "L" glasses, sooner or later you will want them. My first lens was 17-40mm, then I bought 24-70mm and 70-200mm 2.8 IS, never regret my decision ;)

From your posted photos in the past, I think 17-40mm and 100mm 2.8 would keep you pretty busy :D ... after getting the body first of course

[Ikinaa]

Thanks. If you were to priorise your purchases what order would they come? I know I won't be able to buy the full kit and kaboodle in one go - unless my lottery numbers come up that is! :D

Best would be to write down on your white paper everything you want (the 20D on top)
Then ask yourself : What do I do most? landscape, macro or wildlife.
Give that an order.
Then associate the lenses with this order.

As for the flash (What follows is my opinion after a month of 20D usage) : The internal flash of the 20D is good IMO. I have a 380EX from my previous EOS and I used it also a lot on the G3, but on the 20D, from about 500 flash pictures (mainly the family), 95 % are with the internal flash.

So write everything down, and put it in an order, close your eyes and klick on the 'BUY'-button and don't regret buying good material.

[mdr]

Given your subjects I would get:

20D
17-40 f4 L or even better 16-35 f2.8 L
100 f2.8 1:1 macro or even better, MP-E 65 f2.8 1-5:1 macro
100-400mm L IS or even better 70-200 f2.8 L and a 400, 500 or 600 L IS prime with 1.4x and 2x TC's.

For landscapes photography, you'll find that mostly the 24-70 f2.8 L is too long on the 20D due to the 1.6x crop factor. It would be a welcome addition to the above range, rather than a starting point.

I got the 17-40 L, 100 f2.8 Macro and I'm now saving for the 400 L IS.

[stoneylonesome]

I just picked up the Sigma 18-125 as my everyday lens and it is one sweet piece of glass well built rock solid and designed for digital cameras
here's a little review in Fred Mirandas site you can't beat the bang for the buck on this one and it gives you a great range 35mm film equiv. of 28mm to 200mm can't beat that for landscapes and a litte of everything in between

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=257&sort=7&cat=37&page=2

[rg-tom]

for macro save yourself some serious £££ and get yourself an old used Canon 35-80mm mkI.....might sound stupid but take off the front element (just turns off after uve taken off the front ring) and at 80mm tis more than 1:1 and oh so sharp ;)

http://neo-fusion.co.uk/gallery/gallery/Camera_Stuff/Lens_Samples/35-80_Macro_Mod/5pmacro3-2.jpg

http://neo-fusion.co.uk/gallery/gallery/Camera_Stuff/Lens_Samples/35-80_Macro_Mod/eye_small2.jpg

Cost: <£10 ;)

Look at a Tamron 28-75 XR Di lens for a general walk around lens, pretty cheap and a serious competitor to the 4x more expensive 24-70 L :)

After using Gu's 70-200, definitely grab one of them when funds allow. Also get a 50 F1.4 or if you want to save a few quid then F1.8 mkII which is a bargain of a lens.