eos 20d lens choice - HELP!!!

Hello all,
am new to "the forum"...never done this before, so here goes...

I got into photography in '99 on a trip w/ the Air Force to Anchorage. Couldn't see the whale shots I had printed from my disposable, so I laid Benjamins down at the Base Exchange and picked up a Minolta XTSI film camera. Got a 24-70mm lens with it and then went out and bought a 70-210mm zoom. My only complaint is (was) having to switch lenses midstream when shooting.

Now, with all that useless info out of the way...whew....on to my question...

I'm in the market for a 20d, but I'm not sure if I want to purchase the kit (lens included) or just the body and get a third party lens. The 17-85mm and 18-55mm models look nice, but I'm wondering if there is an acceptable substitute for these in the 18-200 range (or along those lines)

Much appreciation for your opinions!!!!!

Albert Harrison, Jr.

for optimum image quality probably best to get 2 lenses if you can - 17-40L, 70-200f4L. Sigma & Tamron do an 18-200 :
http://www.dcresource.​com/forums/showthread.​php?t=7524

Albert,

With the immediate feed back and ability to view and print your images at much larger sizes than the most common 4X6, 5X7 and 8X10 prints we used with fuilm,. you will notice more readily the differnces offered by better optics.

Sounds like you had two very good lenses for your minolta film camera.. by switching to digital and stepping down to an ulta zoom like an 18-200mm,. I think you may end up disappointed with the results.

The two lenses Racketman mentions are superb.. almost perfect choices that you may never outgrow or be disapointed with,. and yet comaprably affordable when compared to other zoom lenses of there image quality.

If this seems like much too much of an investment,. at the very least I would look at the 17-85mm.. (as opposed to one of those 18-200mm) but be aware that these lenses work on digtal bodies only. If you ever decide to go back to film on occasion,. they will not fit on Canon's film bodies. Likewise they will not fit on Canon's pro model bodies that use larger image sensors,. (all the 1D models and the 5D,.. a total of five DSLR bodies currently)

The afor mentioned 17-40mm and 70-200mm f/4L lenses however are film lenses and will work on any Canon SLR body

I have a 10D would love a 17-40 L lens. It is really sharp and great for those who like zoom.

SuzyView

Albert Harrison, Jr. wrote:
Hello all,
am new to "the forum"...never done this before, so here goes...

I got into photography in '99 on a trip w/ the Air Force to Anchorage. Couldn't see the whale shots I had printed from my disposable, so I laid Benjamins down at the Base Exchange and picked up a Minolta XTSI film camera. Got a 24-70mm lens with it and then went out and bought a 70-210mm zoom. My only complaint is (was) having to switch lenses midstream when shooting.

Now, with all that useless info out of the way...whew....on to my question...

I'm in the market for a 20d, but I'm not sure if I want to purchase the kit (lens included) or just the body and get a third party lens. The 17-85mm and 18-55mm models look nice, but I'm wondering if there is an acceptable substitute for these in the 18-200 range (or along those lines)

Much appreciation for your opinions!!!!!

Albert Harrison, Jr.

If you want the best performing 18-200 on the market I would look at playing with a Nikon body and the new 18-200mm "VR" in a store near you. Else if you go with the Canon you may want to puchase the 18-55 kit and a 28-300 IS zoom.

You could also look at a 20D and a Sigma or Tamron 18-200mm lens, but I wouldn't rate them much higher then the kit glass.

Thanks so much for the info...

I will probably keep my minolta, since it has served me well so far. As far as the "standard" lenses for the "digital" slr......mention was made about a 17-40 and a 70-200 combination. Will I miss much by not having the 40-70mm gap between those two lenses? Also, are "digital lenses" of any higher quality than the 17-40 and 70-200 "standards"?

I've read a lot of negative about the 18-200 zooms, so I almost definately won't get that one.

Thanks again,
Albert

Is there a 28-300 IS lens for Canon? Or did you mean 28-135?

No Canon makes a 28-300 IS, it's an L though.

http://consumer.usa.ca​non.com …tegoryid=149&mo​delid=9802

I still think a D70s with an 18-200mm VR Nikkor would make a great travel combo, perfectly acceptable in my opinion. IS in a very tight kit with lots of zoom. I'm sorry but this combo could be the total package for many users.

MrChad wrote:
No Canon makes a 28-300 IS, it's an L though.

http://consumer.usa.ca​non.com …tegoryid=149&mo​delid=9802

I still think a D70s with an 18-200mm VR Nikkor would make a great travel combo, perfectly acceptable in my opinion. IS in a very tight kit with lots of zoom. I'm sorry but this combo could be the total package for many users.

I seriously considered this combo. After actually trying out the camera (Not the Lens as they aren't in yet) I found that I was more comfortable sticking with a 20D.

There's always the 24-105 'L' if you don't need the wide angle, if you do the 17-40 f/4L is a great lens...