Got Lens Order in , Opinions please!

[rcarlson80]

ALL THIS FOR MY NEW 350D
Well I just ordered my first order from B & H , Lenses for Grand canyon and wedding trip, Now I am nervous and wondering did I order the right things.
1 52mm Haze UV-1 Glass Filter
1 58mm Haze UV-1 Glass Filter
1 Zoom Telephoto EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 III USM Autofocus Lens
1 Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens
Please REPLY (rip up the newbie if applicable) Thanks, Ron

[mdm]

I know I want to get the 50 mm f/1.8, that should be nice on the trip

[DxHatchback]

i want the 50 mm f/1.8 as well

will prolly order it in a week or two

[MTalley]

Assuming you already have the kit lens (18-55mm), that looks like about what you'd need for such a trip. I assume one or both of the lenses you ordered have 52mm filter threads?

The only thing I think I'd add, assuming you don't already have it, is a Circular Polarizer for the canyon part of the trip.

[Kinger]

I would get a graduated neutral density filter for those bright landscape shots. This will help overexposing the skies while properly exposing for the land. See the link in my signature, most of the landscape shots were shot with one. P.S. The Grand Canyon ones were from a moving helicopter, so please excuse the quality of those.

[pierrot]

The only drawback of Grand Canyon landscapes are that they require a real wide-angle to look as scenic on your pictures that they are in real life... :(

[condyk]

I'd have gone for the Sigma 70-300 APO Super II zoom or the Canon 100-300 USM instead ... otherwise it depends on your budget.

Getting sky and landscape exposure right is often a problem, but you have a suggested solution above for approaching that.

Do you have a camera bag :-)

[rcarlson80]

A bag is actually something that I am working on, I have a cheapy samsonite that wont do. I was trying to figure out how to deal with the tripod. none of the bags I have looked at have any thing on the bottom, Iwas thinking if I could find a bag with a couple straps on the bottom I would be able to stick the tripod there all suggestions welcome. Thanks. Ron

[rcarlson80]

OK first pic from 70-300 opinions please?

[tim]

Looks like it's done a decent job - I had that lens and apart from it being too slow (F and focus speed) I liked it, I returned it because F5.6 is way too slow. I was going to say don't bother with the UV filters for those lenses, bad quality filters degrade your image and good quality ones are a good fraction of the cost of the lens.

[Sicily1918]

I would get a graduated neutral density filter for those bright landscape shots. This will help overexposing the skies while properly exposing for the land. See the link in my signature, most of the landscape shots were shot with one. P.S. The Grand Canyon ones were from a moving helicopter, so please excuse the quality of those.Does the kit lens (18-55mm) have a rotating front element? If so the graduating filter won't work right (as it'll rotate when you focus), and I assume he'll be using that one for the really wide angle shots.

As for the other two, the 75-300 rotates, the 50mm does not.

Ron: I had the 75-300 III. It was fairly sharp even at 300mm, especially given its price. The biggest drawback (although I have not been to the GC yet) is that it's easy to mess up the shot at 200+mm because it's slow (f/~5.6) and has no IS; I'd say kick the ISO up to about 400 and see what kind of numbers the camera throws at you -- the DigicII processor's amazingly low-noise at 400 ought to help out those dark canyon shots.

[Jon]

If you find a bag that's otherwise what you want, but just doesn't have a way of attaching your tripod, consider one of these options:





Use a camera strap to sling the tripod, rifle style, over your shoulder
If the bag has a couple of D rings to spare, use them to anchor the straps
Get a couple of lash-point anchors at a camping store and sew them onto the bottom to hold your tripod.
Otherwise your list looks pretty good. The rotating front elements would make working with grads fairly difficult; a polarizer will have the same problem. Might be a case for C-FN04-1 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=46965) if the 350D supports it. Then you can focus and adjust the filter later.

[rcarlson80]

Now I have to place order for filter or two, Question I have is do I go with "graduated neutral density" or Circular Polarizer. And even Bigger question For which lens(es). for wide mostly. Budget starting to squeeze. Found a good bag at a steal at B&H ( Canon Special) , filters and a BGE3 are the only things left on the list. All replies are appreciated.

Yes I am an over equipped amatuer. With a lot to learn!
Ron

[Jon]

Circular polarizer, definitely, for starters. You need 58 mm for the 75-300 and the 18-55. The 50 takes a 52 mm. So one or two 58 mm polarizers (always multi-coated) and maybe a 52-58 step-up so you can use one on the 50. Then think about the ND grads. Cokin's aren't ND; they have a reputation for imparting a slight colour cast. Singh-Ray (http://www.singh-ray.com/grndgrads.html) makes good ones. Maybe a 3x sharp gradation if you're up on the plateau; a soft gradation if you're in mountainous areas. These are rectangular - you'd need to either hold them in front of the lens (not recommended) or get a Cokin "P" holder and 52, 58 mm adapters.

[ron chappel]

I too say the circular polarizer is a better choice
For those rare situations where the brightness range is too bright you can fake the grad filter (in fact probably do it better) by taking two identical shots -one overexposed and one underexposed then blending them in photoshop.

[Jmagru]

Look at M-Rock's bags at http://www.m-rock.com/. I have the Grand Canyon model and am most pleased with it. It's very well built, has nice extras -- including tripod-carrying arrangement on the bottom -- and is competitively priced. Amazon is one of many dealers that carrys them, and others are listed at the M-Rock site.

[Big Hands]

Lots of CF card room. I have two 1/GB cards and wouldn't want any less for a trip like that unless I had a way to download them.

You have a good starter set that will get you through most situations in one way or another. Now go out and take tons of pictures. What you want next will eventually reveal itself to you after enough time spent shooting pictures.

Try lots of different ways to shoot. Some of you best shots will come this way.