New to SLR and I have a few questions

I am using an S5 IS but I think it's time to upgrade as I'm starting to do some work for friends and family. I'm debating between the XTi and the new 40D (a big price difference I know but for some reason I can't get over not having a live screen to work with).

My biggest question is which lenses to start with? In addition to the standard kit for the camera I want a telephoto and macro lens in the $100 to $300 price range per lens. The lighter the better. Can anyone provide some suggestions on this and if you prefer prime or zoom lenses?

Kev67,

These types of questions come up quite frequently and it's almost impossible to give any guidance without knowing more information. Mainly we need to know what kind of shooting you think you might be doing the most and in what conditions. And what you plan on doing with the images that you make.

For example if one person simply wants a camera to take pictures of their kids in various activities just so they can get small prints to make scrapbooks and another person is shooting high end weddings and regularly prints images at 16x20 or larger then there would defintely be recommendations for different cameras.

You say you are starting to do some work for friends and family... portraits? sports? weddings? Are you looking to turn pro, or just occasionally shoot for small fees? All these questions are important to determine the best route to go with gear.

kev67,
If you are getting the 40D with the kit lens then I suggest you wait till you become familiar with you new camera before buying more glass. After you are familiar with the 40D you might have a better idea on what you want or need in a lens.

There are plenty of lenses that will work with a 40D (and other Canon DSLR's) here there are example photos and opinions here on the forum ex.
-=Lens Sample Images Archive=- <-- click to see
Which should help you know whats available
Enjoy your new camera

kev67 wrote in post #4324898
I am using an S5 IS but I think it's time to upgrade as I'm starting to do some work for friends and family. I'm debating between the XTi and the new 40D (a big price difference I know but for some reason I can't get over not having a live screen to work with).

My biggest question is which lenses to start with? In addition to the standard kit for the camera I want a telephoto and macro lens in the $100 to $300 price range per lens. The lighter the better. Can anyone provide some suggestions on this and if you prefer prime or zoom lenses?

Do you realize that the live lcd view does not allow auto focus? I think your lens budget is a little low too. You'll soon realize the camera isn't the expensive part...it's the lenses.

I agree with the others above. Get a feel for your camera and spend a little time reading on the forums, and you'll soon have a much better idea of what you want. Here are a couple thoughts to get you started:

The 60 macro is a good, relatively inexpensive macro lens which would also work well for portraits. The only true macro lenses are primes (as far as I know), but some zooms focus close enough to give you decent magnification. Telephotos are generally more expensive, and it is worthwhile to look for a lens with IS. The 70-300IS or 70-200 f/4 (IS or non-IS) are over your budget, but are great lenses without being ridiculously expensive.

Prime lenses are nice because they are smaller and are generally better in available light without flash (indoors etc) because they have a wider maximum aperture. Zooms obviously offer more convenience and less lens switching. I personally shoot with primes a lot, because I shoot music gigs (low light). The holy grail for many people are constant f/2.8 zooms, which are relatively fast (large aperture), but still offer the convenience of zooms. The down side is that they are generally a little larger and more expensive than smaller or variable aperture zooms.

Eventually, you're probably also going to want a flash. The 430ex would be a good place to start.

Thanks for the help everyone!

Dermit - I'm looking at occasionaly shooting weddings and portraits for friends but not on a pro level, just for fun and to help them out. Right now I'm doing mostly portrait and still life work - not alot of landscape so I'm looking for something that will give nice crisp shots for close range subjects in my main lens and a telephoto lens with IS that will help me out at weddings and to capture some more candid pics.

Bacchanal - I've read in a few places that AF does work on the live view, is this not correct?

kev67 wrote in post #4326462
Bacchanal - I've read in a few places that AF does work on the live view, is this not correct?

I don't have a 40D, but the way I understand it is that the AF works through the lens, when you push the AF-On button, the mirror flips down, and the LCD turns off. So yes, you can AF while in live view, but the LCD isn't on while you're using the AF. It isn't the same as live view on a point and shoot. The LCD also goes black when the shutter is open, just like the viewfinder does.

Oh, and read up before you jump into weddings...lots of potential drama, no matter what your intentions are.

Be careful with weddings, even with shooting for friends and family it can get sticky. If you are the person being depended on to document their day and you mess up, paid or not, things can get ugly. Weddings are one of the things that you really can't just do a re-shoot if things go wrong.

Anyone shooting weddings seriously has at least two camera bodies and two or more flashes and several L glass lenses. If you don't have a backup and a camera dies on you in the middle of it all things can get ugly.

If you are shooting on a much lower key, like I assume you are, you really need to make absolutely sure they know exactly how you shoot, what you shoot, and what can go wrong.