Bought a 350D + 70-300 IS *16/11: 17/40L*

[Darkel]

http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/6213/19uz.jpg

After many months saving money and thinking about buying an SLR, I finally did it :D

Bought almost everything in germany, less expensive than here (70-300 costed €630 and the kit €800 )

Yup, you'll say I buy a camera every year but this time I was fed up with compromises, my V3 was quite a good one, but its lack of zoom and the huge grain starting at ISO200 became really boring :roll:

So I went for the 350D (popular, good quality/price ratio and smaller) with the 18-55 kit (I know it's "crap" but I can't afford a better short range lens for the moment :bah:) and the beast, the Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM which many of you know quite well because TT also owns one :)

The BG-E3 batt grip and 2 more batteries are already ordered, I should get them during the next 2 weeks (fingers crossed, I need to have them for Geneva)
I also went for a Sandisk Extreme III 1GB memory card (I kept the old Sandisk CF 512MB).

One thing I won't have to buy is a tripod, my current one luckily still works great with the 350D+70-300.

Can't wait for to test that config during the next automotive event :D
Meanwhile I need to practice a bit and to get used to new functions :wink:

[TT]

Well done! The 350D owners group is growing pretty quickly these days!

I am sure you'll be VERY happy with it, even with the 18-55 and anyway I know you'll soon start saving some more for the next lense ;)

[stmoritzer]

congrats for your new camera :D , too bad you quit the V3-club :wink:

[Darkel]

Thanks, I hope that new config will allow me to be more creative :wink:

... and with some many well-prepared 'professional' JW photographers - I'm even considering leaving my Nikon D70 at home! :P j/k
Nah bring it there, I'm pretty sure your kit lens will kill mine :P

[MartijnGizmo]

Welcome to the club! :)


You'd better start up saving, as I'm sure you'll soon want better/faster lenses. :D

[Darkel]

Okay I'm finally ready, today I received the grip and two more batteries.
I read some interesting things about the grip and it's indeed a must have, especially with the consequent weight (630g) of the 70-300 :wink:

http://img463.imageshack.us/img463/8545/t18ai.th.jpg (http://img463.imageshack.us/my.php?image=t18ai.jpg)http://img47.imageshack.us/img47/6157/t27fn.th.jpg (http://img47.imageshack.us/my.php?image=t27fn.jpg)

[nthfinity]

the grip looks great, and nice telephoto :)

i have a question... how long does the battery last in the 350D??? i've never run out of battery with my 20D at any event... even when taking some 300-400 pictures over a course of 5-6+ hours...

speaking of the 20D; its officially obsolete :lol: the 30D just came out :( (although, as far as i can tell, the only thing about it i like better is the True Spot Metering... verything else isnt that much more special... not like the move from the 10D--->20D )

[Darkel]

i have a question... how long does the battery last in the 350D??? i've never run out of battery with my 20D at any event... even when taking some 300-400 pictures over a course of 5-6+ hours...
To be honest I still haven't used it enough to give you a precise answer, I've just been testing and testing for two weeks and had to recharge the battery only once :bah:

Now with the grip and 2 batteries in parallel it should last even longer ... TT told me that he never ran out of batteries yesterday @ Geneva and he took 500+ pics :D
The stabilizer and flash use some more energy though ...

Don't worry about your 20D (which will probably be a bargain very soon) the new one seems to be something like a v1.4 of the model it replaces, some minor changes only and IMO, nothing can really justify the price going up :bah:

[nthfinity]

^^^
the price didn't go up... well, mabey 100$ more then i bought it for... but thats only because of the Canon rebate at the time.

like i said... the only feature that seems good to me about it is the true spot metering.

i cant wait to get myself some IS lenses! and ebay the old shitty ones :?

[Darkel]

the price didn't go up... well, mabey 100$ more then i bought it for... but thats only because of the Canon rebate at the time.
Sorry, I haven't really followed the news lately.

[c0wb0y007]

Darkel,

Neat camera mate ! Congrats, enjoy your new toy 8)

I think you have done a good job by getting the battery grip as well, it makes it easier to handle (more stability).

Cheers

[Darkel]

Bump !

I had been looking for a proper bag for weeks and I finally found it : Lowepro Slinghot 100AW

http://www.lowepro.com/images/products/Slingshot100_equip_left_N.jpg

:arrow: http://www.lowepro.com/Products/Sling_Bags/Designed_for_Digital/SlingShot_100_AW.aspx

Everything fits perfectly in, I was afraid the 70-300 wouldn't but it's okay; this bag is really well thought, everything a photographer carries around has a precise place, no messy compartment :good:
It's a bit expensive (100€ - 120$) but it's worth every single cent IMO. Can't wait to test it in real conditions.

Now concerning pictures, as I said in the other topic, I'm a bit desperate to see any sportscar around here, and the weather isn't really what you could expect from spring ... still last month there was a big military exercise and a helicopter came in town, took those pics from the side of the field, 50 meters away.

http://img43.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_39927_IMG_1991.jpg (http://img43.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=39927_IMG_1991.jpg)http://img135.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_39933_IMG_1999.jpg (http://img135.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=39933_IMG_1999.jpg)http://img129.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_39938_IMG_2000.jpg (http://img129.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=39938_IMG_2000.jpg)http://img132.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_39943_IMG_1983.jpg (http://img132.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=39943_IMG_1983.jpg)
http://img137.imagevenue.com/loc24/th_39949_IMG_2003.jpg (http://img137.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc24&image=39949_IMG_2003.jpg) http://img15.imagevenue.com/loc55/th_40052_IMG_1989.jpg (http://img15.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc55&image=40052_IMG_1989.jpg) http://img128.imagevenue.com/loc23/th_62024_6.jpg (http://img128.imagevenue.com/img.php?loc=loc23&image=62024_6.jpg)

(too bad for the cable in the last one :/ )

[Darkel]

Since everyone is getting some new toys, here's my latest upgrade ...

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/8389/objpy6.jpg

Yup, good old 18-55 is out :D I finally decided to go for the L ... building quality is really impressive, everything is so smooth :shock:

I should be able to properly test it tomorrow when I get my camera back because it's still @ Canon Switzerland (had to ask for a CMOS cleaning as there was some dirt I really couldn't take off)

BTW the 70-300 is also away, in Germany this time for the well known portrait @ 300mm problem :roll: They're changing every single element. Luckily I won't have to pay anything.

[TopGearNL]

Congrats, it looks very nice :D

Want to see pics soon!! :mrgreen:

[TT]

Brillant! I whish you many nice pics with the new toy :D

[sentra_dude]

Darkel, you should send one of those helicopter pics to airliners.net. :D

Nice looking lens, lets see some pics of it, and how do you like the Hoya?

[MartijnGizmo]

Nice upgrade, from an EF-S 18-55 to a 17-40L. I also went that path, but be aware, it'll turn you into an L-coholic sooner than you think. ;)

[Darkel]

Darkel, you should send one of those helicopter pics to airliners.net. :D
I've become an Anet addict in the past few months and I discovered they have VERY high standards, for example a simple pole in the background could make them reject the picture if it's nothing "special" like some hello kitty 747 or a spectacular Su crash :mrgreen:
Strangely I never thought about submitting those pictures, they'll probably need some more work (better crops, appropriate sharpness) but I'll keep this in mind :wink:

Nice looking lens, lets see some pics of it, and how do you like the Hoya?
I'll take the first automotive pictures in two weeks or so (that charity event @ Anneau du Rhin; probably my last event for 2006) 'cause the weather's horrible those days and I don't feel like shooting some random objects in my house and showing them all over the internet :mrgreen:
The Hoya, well, it's already my 3rd Hoya Polarizer and my 2nd wide angle one so it should be quite the same : never had any problem with them. Now that the front element won't rotate every time I focus on another subject it should be easier to use.

but be aware, it'll turn you into an L-coholic sooner than you think. ;)
Too late, I could finally put it on the camera and it's awesome :shock: It's so fast, so silent :crazyeyes:

[MartijnGizmo]

Oh, by the way: I used a regular (i.e. non-wide-angle) Hoya CPL 77mm on my 17-40 and never got any vignetting. Only on the 10-22 it would show.

[Darkel]

Indeed, I guess a smaller ring just makes it harder to use :mrgreen: ... in fact it wasn't even mentioned when I ordered it :bah:
Fortunately I still have a "regular" CPL for the 70-300, wide angle filters must be such a pain in the ass to use on a tele lens :silly:

[MartijnGizmo]

Well, the Hoya Pro1 filters are actually the only usable slim-filters. Others, like B&W don't have a front filter-thread so you have to use a crappy lenscap that alwyas falls off.

[Darkel]

Damn Canon people and their Cashback :mrgreen: Couldn't resist, put the 70-300 on ebay and bought this :

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/42/26547531hp2.jpg


To be honest I wasn't satisfied with the 70-300's performances anymore, mostly because of my 17-40L, even if one can't compare their range, its autofocus was so much faster and more reliable ;-)
The 70-200 f4L IS got excellent reviews all over the internet, can't wait to test that beast 8-) Unfortunately it's been raining a lot these days ...

[TT]

Good move! On the field, I am sure 99% of the time you won't notice it is "just" F4 :D

And you'll appreciate the fact it is sensibly lighter than the 70-200 F2.8 :)

[stmoritzer]

nice purchase Darkel !

[alanw89]

Nice lens, i've got the non-IS version and cant fault it.

I'm thinking of ordering a 17-40 L and was wondering if you ever found the F4 a problem with regular shooting.

[Darkel]

I hardly ever shoot at F4 with the 17-40, but that's because I mostly take car pictures and I always want to be sure I won't end up with a blurry rear wheel ;-)
Yet I never came across a situation where it was so dark than f4 wasn't enough (I'd just compensate with the ISOs instead), you may ask TT about this as he has much more experience with everyday street sightings.

[volkoff]

Got same body like a year ago (btw in germany too) for private use, and I still belive that the 400d is not worth of the extra money - its still a aprentice camara giving almost the same results for 200€ more.

The IS version of 70-200 is just great, I'm considering getting one as a xmas present for my self )

[TT]

Wel, as for the 17-40 F4, I have to admit I had some troubles shooting at F4 (happens mostly indoor). Depth of field is obviously limited, but I also had some quality (focusing) issues. Probably just a glitch in my lense, but well...

Anyway, as Darkel, shooting usually cars and usually outdoor, like Darkel, I rarely use F4