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Old 18-04-2007, 04:08 PM
ausastronomer (John Bambury)
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What Digital Camera Should I buy

Hi all,

This is my 1st post in the Cameras and Photography section.

I am a long time photographer but only ever previously used film. I currently have a Canon EOS 50 with a 75-300mm zoom and a 28 - 80mm zoom. The 75-300mm lens is from the late 1990's, made in Japan with the metal mounting plate. It weighs about 4 times what the current el cheapo version of the Canon 75-300mm weighs, indicating it actually has some glass lenses in it. It is an excellent lens for film, I have nfi how well it would work for digital. I am told it "should" be very good but not quite as good as a lens specifically designed for a digital camera only. I know the focal length increases by 1.6X for digital. The 28-80mm is reasonable only and I have no sentimental attachment to it in any way.

My options are as follows:-

1) Buy a Canon 400D with a "good" lens in the 17-90mm range and use my 75-300mm zoom on this body.

2) Buy a Canon 30D with a decent lens in the 17-90mm range and use my 75-300mm zoom on this body.

3) Trash or sell my existing camera and lenses and buy a new camera of NON CANON manufacture with a decent lens in the 20-200mm zoom range. Some candidates that have been tossed at me include the Pentax K10D, K100D, Nikon D70, D80 etc. Or anything else that someone might care to suggest.

There will be a steep learning curve. I know quite a lot about photography, for an amateur and nothing about digital photography. Whilst it would be nice to have a camera I can attach to the 18" Obsession (Servocat driven) to have a go at short exposure astro imaging, this is not a pre requisite. My objective is to buy a camera that takes excellent portrait, sport, action, nature and landscape photographs. If it does reasonably well for astrophotography, that's a big bonus. I usually like to buy good quality that will last me many years. I am not scared to pay for this. For my last car I could have bought a Lada, I bought a Lexus. Similarly, I don't like to WASTE money for features I will never use, or on a new fangled toy that will be obsolete in 2 years time. If what I buy is going to be a boat anchor in 2 years time so far as technology and the Camera Body is concerned, maybe a slightly cheaper body with a good lens will be the best option. I have no need for and cannot justify cameras at the level of the Canon 5D and the Nikon D200

I am flying to Texas on 11th May for the Texas Star Party and would like to order the Camera and len(s) within the next week to take with me on this trip and also to save the GST.

I am open to your suggestions and all suggestions are welcome no matter how silly they sound.

Clear Skies
John Bambury
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  #2  
Old 18-04-2007, 07:03 PM
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iceman (Mike)
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As I said on the phone John, get the 400D body and a 17-70 sigma lens. You really can't go wrong. 10mp, plenty of resolution at a great price. The 17-70 is an excellent lens for the price ($450+), great zoom range, sharp and has macro too!

You'll need to check whether your film lenses will fit on the 400D body without an adapter.

Good luck with your purchase!
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Old 18-04-2007, 08:44 PM
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acropolite (Phil)
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Mike is on the money with his recommendation, the Sigma 17-70 is an excellent lens for the money as is the 400D. Your existing film lenses will fit, provided they are EF mount, but for example the sigma 17-70 (an EF "S" lens; EF-S stands for Short back focus) lens won't fit a full frame SLR or full frame DSLR camera (eg EOS5d), because the rear element protrudes further in to the camera and the mirror won't clear. The mirror on a 2/3 sensor camera such as the 400D is smaller and will clear the specially designed EF-S lenses. If you're curious as to why the lenses are designed to protrude further in to the body the main reason is to get the light path as perpendicular to the sensor as possible. Your existing lenses will have a magnification factor of 1.6x on a DSLR; i.e. a 28mm lens on a 400D will have a FOV the same as a 45mm lens would on your film SLR, a 17mm on a 400D will have the same FOV as a 28mm on your old camera. Modern DSLR lenses also have to have much better anti reflective coatings as reflection off the sensor and lens elements is more pronounced.
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