WHICH ONE TO BUY

[lssphoto]

GOOD MORNING TO ALL:
I am new to the fourm, and will be looking to pick a digital later this year ( hope, if the wife don't kill me). I found this site thu the digital site on Yahoo. I left the retail camera store job some six years back and the store I worked in did not handle the high end digital camera. (Thats the store not the chain) My photography is 60% dirt track photography and 30% model photography and the rest is family when they can get me to do it...lol... I used an A2 for over ten years untill the dirt burned it up I have replaced it with an EOS3.
I have thought of getting the 20D but after reading some of the topics here I wounder. At the dirt track I shoot with the 3 and a sigma 70/200 2.8 with fuji 800, my model stuff is nude or semi-nude in home studio with a once in a while location shoot. Buget is allways a factor, so my first queston would be would my canon 550 flash work with the 20D as I have heard it will not. I have checked three local stores in the Dallas TX area and the 20D is in the $1400.00 range so it will be later this year before I buy. It has been somethig to have a camera die then replace only to find out that my old sigma lens also a 70/200 2.8 would not work with the new body so it was back to the store for a new lens as well.(2000 in all) Thank you in advance for any thoughts you may have on the digital that will best serve these two types of photography.
Keith Dickson
Dallas Tx
web site www.keithdickson.com (http://www.keithdickson.com/) or www.lssphotos.com (http://www.lssphotos.com/)

[GeForceFX]

you mean the speedlite 550EX?
that one will sure work on a 20D

[Icecamp]

I went from an EOS A2 to an EOS 3 to a 10D and haven't looked back, my EOS 3 rarely sees the light of day anymore, let alone a roll of film. With your shooting a lot of moving subjects, and coming from an EOS 3, I think you'll be happiest with a 20D(or a 1DMKII).
I assume you mean a 550EX flash, it is compatible with a 20D and should work for you just fine. Your Sigma lenses may or may not work with the new body. Sigma lenses are backward engineered to fit Canon and due to small changes in some bodies some Sigmas won't work, the good news is they usually can be re chipped by Sigma to work with a newer body.
Right now BuyDig.com has the 20D kit for $1259 after rebate.

[lssphoto]

Thank you for your replies: Yes it is the 550ex speedlight...
Sorry but having been in the selling end we have the tendenices to cut some of the terms off. The new sigma lens is the one set for the new EOS3 and has a new chip it was bought just a year ago. But before I buy I will take it with me and try it on the camera. Once again thank you.


NEW QUESTION:
What setting on a 20D are the same as 200 @2.8? I shoot in the turns so the car speeds are just 80 to 120 mph. The bommer classes they might hit 60mph.
Keith

[GeForceFX]

I dont get your question, F2.8 on the 20D is the same as F2.8 on an other slr AFAIK

the 200mm will be like 320mm because of the x1.6 'crop' factor

[lssphoto]

sorry 200 hundreth of a second at 2.8 film speed was 800 then how does that relate to 4x6 prints then 8x10 prints or larger? how is the grain?
Keith

I have only shot with point and shoot digitals and they do not come any where close to my high end print film cameras, thats why I ask.. Just trying to learn a little more before I make the change over....

[Icecamp]

I am still not quite following your question, but I think you are asking how higher ISO performance is. In the digital world noise is the equivelent of film grain. The high ISO performance of the 20D is excellent all the way to ISO 400 and is totally usable at 800 and 1600. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos20d/page20.asp
Programs such as noise ninja and neat image do a fine job of smoothing out a lot of this noise.

[norcal99]

Wow i'm still a bit confused reading all of that but here's my attempt to answer. Yes, the 550EX will work fine with the 20D. The Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 EX HSM will work with the 20D although sometimes there are errors when examining the EXIF such as 200mm appearing as 456mm. Compatability-wise, it works well. I'm assuming you meant what the comparable settings on a 20D would match 1/200 sec at ISO 800. It's tough to say without knowing the lighting conditions. As Icecamp as mentioned, ISO 400-800 are virtually clean, with very little noise/grain. ISO 1600 starts getting grainy but it's not at all. So, get a 20D, screw out with the ISO until you can get your shutter speed around 1/200. Just lock the aperature in a f/2.8 and tweak the ISO and you should get what you're looking for.

[robertwgross]

Buget is allways a factor, so my first queston would be would my canon 550 flash work with the 20D as I have heard it will not.

The 550EX flash tends to work badly for users who don't take the time to learn it.
(1) read the Canon manual
(2) read the Canon EOS flash sticky in the flash section of this forum
(3) practice
(1) read the Canon manual again
(2) read the Canon EOS flash sticky again
(3) practice more

---Bob Gross---