About to place an order...

[Zeke]

About to kit myself up with the following 'starter' kit.

• Canon EOS 20D w/18-55 II Kit
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
• Sandisk 1GB Ultra II CF Card

What do you guys think? Is this a good introductory setup?

[Nightcrawler]

Sounds great to me. That's my current setup right now until I get my Sigma 24-70 next week.

[Bob_A]

You'll really love the 20D, it's a great camera.

The only thing I might do differently is get the EF-S 17-85 f4-5.6 instead of the 18-55 plus 50mm f1.8. If you can afford it, maybe get the 17-85 and the 50mm f1.4, which are both excellent lenses that you will probably want to keep for a long, long time. Another very good choice if you have a tight budget would be to get the 20D body with the Tamrom 28-75 f2.8.

It all depends on what you can afford of course. You can still take pretty good pictures with a cheap lens as long as you understand its limitations ... so it's up to you to decide what you need.

[mrclark321]

DITO....Maybe just the Tamron 28-75 and no kit lense, you could always expand from there and have a great sharp lense to start out with!

Dan

You'll really love the 20D, it's a great camera.

The only thing I might do differently is get the EF-S 17-85 f4-5.6 instead of the 18-55 plus 50mm f1.8. If you can afford it, maybe get the 17-85 and the 50mm f1.4, which are both excellent lenses that you will probably want to keep for a long, long time. Another very good choice if you have a tight budget would be to get the 20D body with the Tamrom 28-75 f2.8.

It all depends on what you can afford of course. You can still take pretty good pictures with a cheap lens as long as you understand its limitations ... so it's up to you to decide what you need.

[Bob_A]

Sounds great to me. That's my current setup right now until I get my Sigma 24-70 next week.

I keep forgetting about the Sigma. Another good alternative to what you have selected (i.e., get the Sigma 24-70 f2.8 instead of the 18-55). I know the 50mm f1.8 is one of the greatest bargins out there, but for me (others will not agree) I would rather not spend the $75 and wait until I had $235 more for the 50mm f1.4.

[Zeke]

I'm trying to keep the setup to below $2750.00 (AUS)

• Canon EOS 20D w/18-55 II Kit ($2389)
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II ($130)
• Sandisk 1GB Ultra II CF Card ($150)

So that adds up to $2669.00 (AUS)

I guess it depends what some of the suggested lenses sell for here in Australia...

[mrclark321]

How much for the 20D body only?

[Bob_A]

B&H has the 20D body for $1229.95 after applying a $100 rebate. With the 18-55 it's $1299.95 (after $100 rebate) and with the 17-85 it's $1849.95 (after $100 rebate).

By the way, take a look on the B&H site and they have two versions of the 20D with the 18-55 ... one called the B&H kit for $1369.95 and the other for $1299.95 ... I must be going blind, 'cause I can't see what the difference is.

US prices by the way :o

[Zeke]

How much for the 20D body only?

20D Body Only: $2289

Canon EF 50mm f1.4 - $549
Tamrom 28-75 f2.8 - $615
Sigma 24-70 f2.8 - $569

*Aussie Dollars.

[joeseph]

as of last week, :-) 20D Body Only: $2349*

*Kiwi dollars...

[wolf]

B&H has the 20D body for $1229.95 after applying a $100 rebate. With the 18-55 it's $1299.95 (after $100 rebate) and with the 17-85 it's $1849.95 (after $100 rebate).

By the way, take a look on the B&H site and they have two versions of the 20D with the 18-55 ... one called the B&H kit for $1369.95 and the other for $1299.95 ... I must be going blind, 'cause I can't see what the difference is.

US prices by the way :o

The $1369.95 has an 18-55 USM while the $1299.95 has the standard (non-USM) 18-55.

[tim]

Personally i'd recommend getting the 20D body only and the Tamron 28-75 F2.8. If you can't get the Tamron 28-75, Sigma does a good F2.8 zoom that has about the same range - 24-70 perhaps? The kit lens is good as a cheap wide angle, if you think you'll need wide angle, but you can always buy one 2nd hand on ebay cheap later. I don't like the 50mm F1.8, I sold mine and got the far suprior 50mm F1.4.

[Bob_A]

The $1369.95 has an 18-55 USM while the $1299.95 has the standard (non-USM) 18-55.

I saw that but thought it might be a typo. How come the Canon site only shows one version of the 18-55?

http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=149

Are they making an even less expensive model to be sold as the kit lens that can't even be purchased separately?

[wolf]

They more than likely haven't updated their website. As far as I know the 18-55 USM was not available before the release of the Rebel XT.

[Bob_A]

They more than likely haven't updated their website. As far as I know the 18-55 USM was not available before the release of the Rebel XT.

Thanks!

[exposingmyself]

Zeke: All the best on your new purchase.

[mrclark321]

Your a little over budget with the Tamron but you will probably end up wanting it anyway. As someone else stated " why buy a $2000+ camera and put a $100 lense on it"

Best of luck
Dan

[Mark_48]

They more than likely haven't updated their website. As far as I know the 18-55 USM was not available before the release of the Rebel XT.
I had purchased the 18-55 USM from B&H back in January 2005. Am I correct that the XT had not been released as of then. Not one of the better lenses I own, but not particularly bad either for the price.

[ghocking]

I know it's not your fault, but would people in the US remember that the rest of the world pays nearly twice as much for equipment as you do, when quoting suggestions.

[Feihung08]

Personally i'd recommend getting the 20D body only and the Tamron 28-75 F2.8. If you can't get the Tamron 28-75, Sigma does a good F2.8 zoom that has about the same range - 24-70 perhaps? The kit lens is good as a cheap wide angle, if you think you'll need wide angle, but you can always buy one 2nd hand on ebay cheap later. I don't like the 50mm F1.8, I sold mine and got the far suprior 50mm F1.4.I totally second this nomination! Tim is a wise man around this forum! I have the 50mm F1.8 as well and have been totally let down. It's far from 'sharp' in low light situations. And the bokeh is terrible. It's a great beginners lens for playing with DOF, but that's about it. You'll want to move on quickly.

What would I do if I were you?
Well, you already have done a million times better than me by getting suggestions on this site before buying, but after that I would skip on the "kit" and the 50mm 1.8, and just get the 20D body + the Tamron lens Tim mentioned. That lens gets rave reviews all over the net, plus it's wide enough for MOST situations and way sharper than the 50mm 1.8. Please think that over! I wish I did!