DSLR priority - body or lens

Pete,
With the release of the 5DII Canon have shown that the hunt for ever greater amounts of megapixels is not in itself the be all and end all. The 5DII now shows the limitations of virtually every lens they make - so unless you go with the very, very best glass on that body you are not doing it justice. So dont worry about the amount of pixels on a 50D - it has enough for the job most times. They are even reducing the pixel count on some newer bodies (but increasing their relative size).
You do not say to what sort of size you intend to get your pictures to - but the 50D has more than enough pixels to show up every step you take in going up lens ladder - so from that point of view glass is more important than body.
Weight is another consideration. The 5D and above can be very heavy with an L series lens to lug around all day, they may be (slightly) stronger, and some waterproof - but do you intend to shoot in a rainstorm? I now consider very carefully what the pics are going to be used for before I pick the body for the day.
Trying to strike a balance is not going to be easy for you. Even the cheapest L is going to be expensive - as is the 17-55 zoom (the apc equivalent to an L)review herebut this guy keeps it on his 50D most of the time.
There is a huge amount of guys here that know way more than me - I hope they chip in.
Good luck!

Pete

What makes a good photograph is a good photographer

What makes a good photographer is study and practice, practice, and more practice.

Even the least expensive of the Canon DSLR's will do a great job in the right hands.

Spend your money on good lenses as DSLR camera bodies continue to evolve and in any case, are not built like the cameras of old. They are not a lifetime purchase.

I'm somewhat old fashioned in thinking that a camera is a camera, a camcorder a camcorder, and never the two shall meet. Such machines are all about "marketing", "product positioning" and having "convenience" even if that convenience comes at the cost of mediocrity. Doesn't mean don't buy one, it just means don't let the camcorder option be the deciding factor in your decision.

Finally, check out the "nice photos" thread as there are some really talented folks posting there.

Regards

Any camera body with a decent sensor and at least 6Mb will be fine, but the one that feels really good in your hands will encourage you to use it more. Try handle some in stores.

Joe

I'd rather have an EOS 10D with an L series lens than a 7D with a cheapo lens. The only thing I really like on newer bodies is the large LCD screen.... much more practical than the old 1.8" efforts.

As an aside, has anyone seen the list price of the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS II? £2,800!! Are they continuing the old model? If not, my lens will go up even more in secondhand value. Bought new off eBay 18 months ago fir £900, now £1,350 off the same seller. More reason to spend on glass.

Tony

I would go along with the lens and your technique being more important than the body and MPs, as long as these are up to a certain standard, which the 550D is.

Handling the camera is obviously the best way, you may even decide that the way a Nikon handles warrants the extra expenditure.

With regard to lenses, Canon don't have a monopoly, the higher level Sigmas get excellent reviews such as their 18-50 2.8 & 70-300 APO.

Also don't forget to take the crop factor into account, if you want wide angle, wider than 28mm it will cost.

Get the 24-105mm f4 L lens and buy whichever body with the left over cash.

Even the Rebel XSi or whatever it's called now is a great image maker.

In an ideal world, I'd get a 7D just because it's video capture capability is incredible.

The 7D I thought was a replacement of the 50D ? Now, if you can find a 40D ... it'll be cheap, cheap, cheap !!

The lens will last the life of your next three or four DSLR bodies ...

Bodies are disposable. Forget pixel count.

Spend your dough on fast, pro-quality lenses for the versatility in low light ("sharpness" is a bonus). I'm increasingly leaning towards prime lenses.

Agree with Shoot, get a 24-105 F4 L with any of the Canon body. This lens is a no brainer with crop bodies. It will cover most of your focal needs. Demo it against any kit lens, sharpness, contrast and colors are miles ahead and not mentioning built quality...

If budget is tight, you can even find a used 30d or 40d for peanuts: they are completely obsolete products from 2 years ago with their really great 8 to 12 MP picture

The answer depends on the kind of pictures you take. If you take family or travel pictures, I agree that there is no point in buying an expensive DSLR.

If you shoot e.g. racing cars or air shows, an expensive camera is a real asset, since the more sophisticated and fast the autofocus is, the more on focus pictures you will get. And taking 8 frames per second is better than 3 for action shooting. You will make better action pictures with a Nikon D90 than with a D40, an even better pictures with a D300s. I can tell from experience.

On the other hand you will end up buying expensive fast telephoto lenses also.

quote:

Originally posted by alainbil:
The answer depends on the kind of pictures you take. If you take family or travel pictures, I agree that there is no point in buying an expensive DSLR.

If you shoot e.g. racing cars or air shows, an expensive camera is a real asset, since the more sophisticated and fast the autofocus is, the more on focus pictures you will get. And taking 8 frames per second is better than 3 for action shooting. You will make better action pictures with a Nikon D90 than with a D40, an even better pictures with a D300s. I can tell from experience.

On the other hand you will end up buying expensive fast telephoto lenses also.

That's a good point. For family portraiture, my Fuji S5 has an incredible image quality. But it's auto-focus is slow especially in low light.

My wife uses a Nikon D300 and although it has a 51 point AF engine, in low light my D2H is much faster and has never missed an AF capture. Whereas sometimes I could toss the D300 across the room !

Thanks Guys,
Sort of trying to decide between Canon 50D and Nikon D90.
Photographing aircraft will be a common usage as well, so yes good glass will be needed, no kit lens will be purchased. I am gauging opinion as to how high up the food chain I need to go for the camera body.

quote:

Originally posted by PJT:
Thanks Guys,
Sort of trying to decide between Canon 50D and Nikon D90.
Photographing aircraft will be a common usage as well, so yes good glass will be needed, no kit lens will be purchased. I am gauging opinion as to how high up the food chain I need to go for the camera body.

Even as a dyed-in-the-wool Nikon user ... out of these two get the 50D ...

Thanks for your thoughts. In the end I scored a second hand D700 c/w commander, wireless and 24-85 AFS.
Great photos so far and still haven't switched to the manual stuff yet:-)

I agree with the folks suggesting the lenses first. As a novice photographer I can really see the much better results using the higher quality lenses with any of my camera bodies.

Now can anyone recommend me a very good lens between 28 to 300, doesn't have to be exact and I could maybe get two lenses to cover the range, they just have to be light and of excellent quality. Camera bodies are all Pentax (K7, K20D and K10D).

Cheers

Tim

quote:

Originally posted by Timbo:


Now can anyone recommend me a very good lens between 28 to 300, doesn't have to be exact and I could maybe get two lenses to cover the range, they just have to be light and of excellent quality. Camera bodies are all Pentax (K7, K20D and K10D).

Cheers

Tim

Tim, have a look at Sigma lenses. Unless you are going to blow your pictures up to make billboards I am sure they will be good enough.
Don't know current model numbers but consider 28-200 with image stabiliser, and 10-20 wideangle.

HTH
Don, sunny downtown York

Source first seems to apply to DSLRs too, subject then lens and so on.

quote:

Originally posted by Clay Bingham:
Pete

What makes a good photograph is a good photographer

What makes a good photographer is study and practice, practice, and more practice.

Even the least expensive of the Canon DSLR's will do a great job in the right hands.

Spend your money on good lenses as DSLR camera bodies continue to evolve and in any case, are not built like the cameras of old. They are not a lifetime purchase.

I'm somewhat old fashioned in thinking that a camera is a camera, a camcorder a camcorder, and never the two shall meet. Such machines are all about "marketing", "product positioning" and having "convenience" even if that convenience comes at the cost of mediocrity. Doesn't mean don't buy one, it just means don't let the camcorder option be the deciding factor in your decision.

Finally, check out the "nice photos" thread as there are some really talented folks posting there.

Regards

Chaps

This is the best post in this thread.

I have a Leica whose lenses are of legendary quality. Most of my pics are rubbish. Either you got the knack or you haven't and its the man rather than the camera that gets the results.

Regards

Mick

quote:

light and of excellent quality

Hmm two words that are nigh on impossible to put into the same sentence with SLR lenses.
I take it that you mean excellent image quality as opposed to the item itself (though one would normally lead to the other)
Don is correct - Sigma is a good place to start,also tamron. A lot depends on the amount available to buy it, what minimum f.stop you want and also just how large you intend to print / show on screen.
DP review is a great resource for checking them out.

Mick

quote:

I have a Leica whose lenses are of legendary quality. Most of my pics are rubbish. Either you got the knack or you haven't and its the man rather than the camera that gets the results.

Brilliant - at least you admit to being a crap photographer, how many others here would admit to that? I am a crap photographer who gets lucky occasionally!

Cheers

Jim

My name is Tim and I also admit to being a crap photographer. But I am getting better, reading books, practising often. I am lucky to own good quality camera gear and being able to visit some lovely places. Last weekend I was in Jasper and took these shots. Lenses ranged from mostly a Tamron 28-300, Pentax 12-24 and Sigma 120-400.

http://gallery.me.com/groombri...olor=black&view=grid

I think the Tamron is the weak link and the area I would like to upgrade.
Tim