Day of Reckoning Draws Near

I'd like to start by saying Thanks to all the people who have replied to my other threads in order to assist me with what I should buy.

Anyway, the time is getting ever nearer when I finally get my money and throw it towards some photographic retailers and get myself my first DSLR. WOO HOO My partner is getting slightly fed up with me going on and on and on and on about what I want to get and then changing my mind and doing that 24/7!!! I owe it to her to buy ASAP to ensure her sanity!!!

After some deliberation I have pretty much settled on the following as my initial setup. Any thoughts and comments would be appreicated.

30D
EF-S 10-22 (Landscape)
EF 24-105 f4L IS (Walkabout)
70-200 f2.8 EX (going for Sigma after a lot of thought about budget and needs)
50 f1.8 (Portrait)
Tamrac Expedition 5 (Have always had a fairly cheap bag in past. Treat time)
430EX (Can't be 580 unless I lose the 50 and I gotta have the 50 lol)
2x2GB Cards

When I originally knew I had money coming I budgeted about £1000 to get started. Soon realised that I was kidding myself and needed to push the boat out. So I messed about with my figures and managed to get budget to £2500. As it stands, the above is going to set me back about £2800!!! As you can see, not much room for adjustment other than DOWN!!! Have yet to tell her we might have to wait on the dishwasher!!!

Thank you all again and please do give opinions and comments if you feel there is better selection for the money.

That's a great starter kit! Congrats!

Very fine starting kit. That will get you so many hours of enjoyment you'll want to quit your day job...

wow! im jealous! i need some money to come my way so i can splash out!!

Thats a teriffic package and you have researched it well....have fun using it and remember to show us some pictures! You have taken the purchasing of camera gear to a whole new level but getting to the point where you 'have' to buy it in order to save your partners sanity I'm going to use it the next time I 'need' to buy another lens!

Amonline - Thanks.

Jim - Wanting to quit day job happens most days, being able to due to my love for photography could take a while.

MagicallyDelicious - I am sure the opportunity will come as, from looking at your pics, you are obviously a skilled photographer. Keep up the good work as you are doing a fine job with the kit you have.

Sugarzebra - Thanks. My eyes are hating me for all my researching!!! Glad I could help with ideas for buying new "toys"! It does work tho. My partner often tells me that she can't wait till I buy it all so I will shut up!!!

Thanks again. Good to see that noone feels anything is unsuitable or worth changing. Have spent far too many hours trying to decide on all this.

heh - you could have got the Sigma 10-20 and then got the 580 but all in all a pretty nice setup.

You have an excellent starter kit there. I hate to add to your list, but do consider picking up a Circular Polarizing filter, a set of Graduated Neutral Density Filters and a decent tripod for your landscape shoots. Those three items can often make or break a good landscape shot.

Enjoy your new gear and happy shooting.

Mark

Mr Clean - Thanks for your suggestion. It's kind of funny as I have a magazine sat next to me and suddenly remembered there was the usual lens test in there and it was the wide angle zoom test!! They gave the Sigma a good score and tho not as consistent across the aperture range as the Canon they state if you stay F/11 and wider it more than matches.
Mark_Cohran -First of all, you have some great kit and some superb photos on your site!!! Also, I enjoyed your Hints and Tips as well. I C&P them into my own little Hints and Tips document (for personal use only) I hope you don't mind.
I should have mentioned before, I do have a Manfrotto 055Pro tripod with 488RC2 head and have a selection of Cokin (not sure if you know them) filters. Used these with my film SLRs tho not sure if they would be ok on digital as well. They all fit via an adapter. The filters are:
ND 4
Grad ND 4&8
81A Warm up
Circular Polariser

Did have them listed in my signature but ran out of room!!! LOL

If it were me (which it isn't) and I wanted to be practical (which I wouldn't for a second) I would wait on the 24-105. I would use the wide zoom for a general purpose lens as I love wide angle and the 63 degree diagonal fov is my all time favorite. Also too much too soon is too overwhealming. And zooms are like that for me never mind 3 of them. But hey you have looked into it and you can second guess youself into the grave. (I always try to do that so I know how it feels). Enjoy the camera. Make some prints hang them up and then enjoy those.

This is the best I can do to help you in your budget. BTW the 430 flash is very nice and does not give up much to the 580 that a rubber band and a white card will not fix. I just got one and like it for its size and fast cycling times.

Quad - Thank you for you comments. I can understand what you mean about buying so much glass can be overwhelming. Thing is I am coming into some money from a house sale and after "essentials" accounted for I am left with a "chunk" I can play with. I am not financially flush normally so have decided to purchase what I can now knowing I won't be able to buy for a while after. I do intend to organise my time effectively with each lens to ensure I become familiar with it and learn how best to use it.

This is a major hobby for me and I am coming from a film SLR background so do have some knowledge and understanding of photography (just not digital). I am not setting out so that this is a source of income, if that happens it's a bonus. I am setting out to maximise my opportunities to take the best pictures that I possibly can given my financial and ability constraints. That's what photography should be about I feel. To do it because you WANT to do it not because you HAVE to do it.

Thanks again

dajomel wrote in post #2008635
To do it because you WANT to do it not because you HAVE to do it.

The BEST way isn't it? A lot of people want to turn pro. Hey this is fun why don't I turn it into a daily grind?

Looks great!

dajomel wrote in post #2006917
I'd like to start by saying Thanks to all the people who have replied to my other threads in order to assist me with what I should buy.

Anyway, the time is getting ever nearer when I finally get my money and throw it towards some photographic retailers and get myself my first DSLR. WOO HOO My partner is getting slightly fed up with me going on and on and on and on about what I want to get and then changing my mind and doing that 24/7!!! I owe it to her to buy ASAP to ensure her sanity!!!

After some deliberation I have pretty much settled on the following as my initial setup. Any thoughts and comments would be appreicated.

30D
EF-S 10-22 (Landscape)
EF 24-105 f4L IS (Walkabout)
70-200 f2.8 EX (going for Sigma after a lot of thought about budget and needs)
50 f1.8 (Portrait)
Tamrac Expedition 5 (Have always had a fairly cheap bag in past. Treat time)
430EX (Can't be 580 unless I lose the 50 and I gotta have the 50 lol)
2x2GB Cards

When I originally knew I had money coming I budgeted about £1000 to get started. Soon realised that I was kidding myself and needed to push the boat out. So I messed about with my figures and managed to get budget to £2500. As it stands, the above is going to set me back about £2800!!! As you can see, not much room for adjustment other than DOWN!!! Have yet to tell her we might have to wait on the dishwasher!!!

Thank you all again and please do give opinions and comments if you feel there is better selection for the money.

I guess you'll have to wash the dishes yourself for the next few years huh?

Quad wrote in post #2008948
The BEST way isn't it? A lot of people want to turn pro. Hey this is fun why don't I turn it into a daily grind?

I feel it is the best way. I am sure that all the Pros out there do enjoy their jobs but I bet one or two can tell you some nightmares they endured to get there. I plan on keeping this as a hobby with any payments, if they occur, being a bonus.

CDS- Thank you.

JulianL - Yeah I have to say that I'm not looking forward to that too much but then I will be so busy with my new gear that I could end up "forgetting" to help!!!