i'm getting my hubby one!

[erinspice]

I've decided to get my husband a 20D for his birthday, coming up in August, and I have tons of questions about accessories to get him. I realize I'm probably out of line posting a new topic here, but I figured you guys would be lenient toward me, knowing that by my posting and your efforts, another photography enthusiast like yourselves would now be shooting with the machine of his dreams!

The best thing for me would be to be able to discuss this live with someone knowledgeble via AIM, yahoo, MSN, or ICQ (ask for the info) but if that is inappropriate, here is some info and questions.

My husband is a self proclaimed amateur, but I know that he has the desire to learn and the instinct to become good. Right now he's only limited by his lack of time and equipment. He's shooting with a 6 year old Olympus 3040Z now. Here are some of the pictures he's taken. (http://www.shutterspeedway.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?user=mspice)

He loves to shoot macros and portraits. He wants a camera with a decent automatic mode but also with a good manual mode. He wants at least 1 zoom lens and 1 macro lens, then about 2 others that would fill in the rest of the spectrum. I don't know enough about photography to pick them out myself, so that's where my post comes in. Can any of you suggest the best, moderately priced lenses (a combo of 3-4) that work well for his purposes with the 20D? I'm looking to spend about $1600-$1800 total.

I'm also going to get him a camera bag, extra battery, 2G mem card and card reader. Any other suggestions?

Again, I apologize if this post is inappropriate or against forum rules, but I can't talk to my husband about this and I'm not knowledgeble enough to do the research on my own! Thanks for your understanding!

[Viking Joe]

Does the $1600-$1800 include camera, or just accesories? The camera and card will probably top that.

[BottomBracket]

A Rebel XT would probably be best if you want a few hundred more dollars to spend on lenses and stuff.

[FlyingPete]

He'll love you to bits for that!

I think Viking Joe is probably right though $1600-$1800 might not it.

For those $$$ you could go the 20D kit to start which gives you 18-55mm B&H do that for $1420, so that leaves $380 at the outside.

$210 will get a 55-200 USM, I am not that familar with non-Canon alternatives here. Both those lenses are pretty average, but good starting points.

IMHO he will need at least 1GB of memory (as you said 2GB is better but I don't think the buget will wear it), so that is $100ish, so that is $70 left.

$70 won't get you a macro, but will get you a set of macro 'filters' and a spare aftermarket battery (try StrilingTek, or mydigitaldiscount.com), and might be some $$$ left for a basic bag.

Just my two frames worth!

[CyberDyneSystems]

First,. are you sure your Husband is worht all the trouble?

Is there any cahnce at all that you ,ight be shopping around for a different model,. something in a Red Head? :lol:

Sorry,. just impressed with your gift Idea! :) :)

Lenses cost.. a lot. It will be a mistake to get a 20D,. such a fine camera and only have enough for a crappy lens.

I'd recomend you do either of the following;

1. Stay "roughly" on budget, get the 20D and ONE decent lens.
2. Stay "roughly" on budget, get the less expensive but still very capable 350D/RebelXT and more $$ for lenses
3. Forget your budget.. throw it out the window,. and get ready to spend twice what you had anticipated. ;) (divorce that particular husband and give it all to me :) )

If chosing option one,. Get the 20D and a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR

If chosing option two get the 350D/RebelXT the Tamron, an EF 100mm Macro OR an EF 70-200mm f/4L

If Chosing option 3,.. send a PM i'll forward my address and we can work the details when you arrive ;)

[tim]

I'd remove your email address and phone number from your post, you could get all sorts of weirds calling/emailing you, not to mention spam.

The Canon 100mm F2.8 is a good macro lens, and it works well as a portrait lens too, it's around $450. Between the camera with a kit lens and the macro lens you've reached your $1800 budget, and you haven't included a memory card yet :(

[erinspice]

Haha!! Thanks, but that's not my phone number, its my ICQ #.

I got this recommendation from someone else:
Body
28-135
50mm macro

Its ok if it goes a bit over, but i wouldn't want to spend more than 2G.

[cruzyn56]

I would say an excellent gift even if you only get the body and kit lens. My wife gave me the 20d, kit lens, camera bag with extra battery and UV filter for Christmas. I would have been happy with that, then I opened the other 2 boxes that contained the Ikelite underwater housing and the lens adapter for the housing. What a great gift.

I recently bought the 50mm 1.8 lens, and ordered 2 zoom lenses ( we are going to Alaska and she agreed that for the trip I would need them). I suppose she would have gotten more at Christmas but she wasn't sure what I would have wanted.

[erinspice]

(divorce that particular husband and give it all to me :) )

Haha thanks, but I like this particular husband :lol:

[CyberDyneSystems]

Haha!! Thanks, but that's not my phone number, its my ICQ #.

I got this recommendation from someone else:
Body
28-135
50mm macro



If the above is in your budget,.. I'd say that's excellent!
The 28-135mm is very highly esteemed as an nice do it all lens.
But if possible, the 100mm f/2.8 Macro would be a much better choice than the 50mm...

Just remember to get at least one memory card.. and that's all you'll "need" to get started! :)

[Ballen Photo]

Haha thanks, but I like this particular husband :lol:

That's Obvious by your choice of Gift. ;) Lucky Fella. :D
-Bruce

[tim]

Haha!! Thanks, but that's not my phone number, its my ICQ #.

I got this recommendation from someone else:
Body
28-135
50mm macro

Its ok if it goes a bit over, but i wouldn't want to spend more than 2G.

Heh heh, I read in a hurry sometimes.

The 28-135 wouldn't be a bad choice, but personally I went with the Tamron 28-75 that CDS recommended earlier. It has less zoom, but the range it covers is higher quality, plus 1) it has a wider aperture which lets you take photos of moving things more easily and 2) lets you blur the background out more effectively.

The 50mm macro probably isn't bad, personally I like the working distance of the 100mm, but it costs a couple of hundred more. Personally i'd wait and save for the 100mm lens - that could be an xmas present :) The Tamron would be fine until then, though not near as good for macro as a real macro lens.

[iof]

I got this recommendation from someone else:
Body
28-135
50mm macro

That is what I started with when I bought my D60 in 2002. Both are fine lens but I soon found the 50mm macro to be too short and wished I had spent a little more and started with the 100mm macro. Depending on what you want to use the macro for, you might consider spending a litte more now and getting the 100.

[Digital Prophet]

Wow, what a generous and thoughtful woman. Will you talk to my girlfriend? And when you do will you tell me who she is. I have been having trouble figuring that part out.

Ah forget it, I'll just buy my own 20D. Unless she's a redhead, then go ahead and tell me.

- Digital Prophet -

[lostdoggy]

My Birthday is coming up wish my wife would buy me a 20D instead of me looking for one. One suggestion make sure you get a pro level CF for the 20D, like Sandisk Extreme III or Ultra II. Otherwise he'll be standing there waiting for the buffer to empty out. A 2G card will run you around $180. List price of the 20D is $1499. So, you are up to $1679. Not much room for a lens.

[Maureen Souza]

. List price of the 20D is $1499. So, you are up to $1679. Not much room for a lens.

Costco.com has the 20D for $1299 after rebate. That might help. :lol:

[tim]

Don't bother with Extreme III, Ultra II will do unless you live in a desert or the arctic.

[Marshall]

Need a woman like you,iv'e got the 20d & lenses, ditch the hubby & with the money we will sail into the sunset !!

[sixshot]

Lucky guy.

[Rob612]

Of course I have nothing about the 20D (that's what I would have gotten if it stayed in my budget) but... thinking about and having up to day several thousands shoots with the Rebel XT, I wuld say that coming from a P&S the XT is still a GREAT improvement, and it is very close (not the same, of course) to the 20D. And with the several hundreds $ that are left there is space for almost (reasonably) everything else, including of course one of two good lenses. I suggest the XT for several reasons:

1) In a way or the other, in one/two years we will have a lot of new bodies with new features that may be of interest for your husband.

2) In the same timeframe, he will enjoy the XT since its definitely a nice camera with a lot of things and features to use, learn and understand. One or two years, especially coming from P&S, is a reasonable timeframe to put the XT at its extreme performance (same apply for the 20D, of course).

3) Lenses do not have such a quick turnaround and most important will be compatible with all the new bodies.

4) Investing on good quality lenses will never turn down on you. Canon lenses keep their value fairly well and a good lens will serve your hubby happily for several years.

5) Even assuming that your hubby wants more than the XT after a while, the next step is inevitably one of 1 series (or whatever will be on the market at that point). At that stage the XT can become easily the second body (either backup or second lens always ready).

6) Starting with a nice set of lenses (for prices, I have to turn to our american forum friends, since here are horribly high) is always pleasant and gives him immediately a lot of possibilities to explore.

Just my .02, hope it helps.


Edited to add: Yes, your hubby is really a lucky guy ! :)

[mr.photoguy]

First,. are you sure your Husband is worht all the trouble?

Is there any cahnce at all that you ,ight be shopping around for a different model,. something in a Red Head? :lol:

Sorry,. just impressed with your gift Idea! :) :)

Lenses cost.. a lot. It will be a mistake to get a 20D,. such a fine camera and only have enough for a crappy lens.

I'd recomend you do either of the following;

1. Stay "roughly" on budget, get the 20D and ONE decent lens.
2. Stay "roughly" on budget, get the less expensive but still very capable 350D/RebelXT and more $$ for lenses
3. Forget your budget.. throw it out the window,. and get ready to spend twice what you had anticipated. ;) (divorce that particular husband and give it all to me :) )

If chosing option one,. Get the 20D and a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR

If chosing option two get the 350D/RebelXT the Tamron, an EF 100mm Macro OR an EF 70-200mm f/4L

If Chosing option 3,.. send a PM i'll forward my address and we can work the details when you arrive ;)
I agree with Cyber.
I think Option 2 would be great.
A 350 D , with Tamron , EF 100 Macro, and 70-200 f4L.

This should work out great. You said he would mostly use Program, and Manual, so the 350 would be excellent.
The 20D is a great camera indeed, but after reading your posts, I think the 350 would fit well..

Not to mention, you still get the great high iso performance, 8mp's, and image quality.

[OviV]

B&H has the 20D body for $1249 after rebate.

[erinspice]

Thank you all so much for your input! Just a couple of comments and questions from me now. I read the XT/20D comparision article that someone else posted here, and the main things that stuck out in my mind are the cheap feel of the XT and the small viewfinder, both of which would be important to hubby. Also, what are your thoughts on getting a microdrive instead of a memory card? I haven't looked up the prices here, so that may be out of my league right now! And one more, forgive my ignorance, but what is the main difference in the 50mm macro and the 100mm?

[lost]

My god my birthday was 5 days ago and I was hoping that my wife had picked up on my not so sutle hints. Like Leaving B&H and Dell webpage open to the 20D. I figured that wouldn't work so I actually made a wishlist on B&H and sent it to her. :) Still no joy. So I have been ebaying every thing I can get my hands on to collect enough money to buy one.

The only down side is I now that I have a few hundred bucks I keep looking at better wide angle lenses. This is the bad part. I will have to ebay my Rebel in order to get the 20D, which will leave me cameraless for a while. Oh well at the rate I am going I should have enough money by June for the new camera. YAY.

[Jon]

Microdrive vs. Cf memory cards - Microdrives are lower $/Gig than CF, but the CF cards are faster and more robust (no moving parts). For a 20D, a fast (SanDisk Ultra II, say) memory card of around 1 GB would be the preferred choice.

Macros - if you're using them in the field, the 100 mm will let you be further away from your subject which means you're less likely to spook it (insects) or disturb it (plants, flowers). Also the 50 mm doesn't focus to 1:1 without an adapter (only to 1/2 life-size), which brings the price up to around that of the 100 mm.