New owner of Canon 350D - what do I need now?

jmbrailsford

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Hi Folks,

Right, now I have just gotten hold of a Canon 350D via the For Sale Forums, it came with the 18-55mm kit lens.

What I am looking for now is what do any of you suggest for further lenses?

I would like a zoom lens for shooting sports such as golf, motorsport, US Football ( guy at work is a Junior Coach and would like some shots for his website), I would also be looking to shoot some wildlife, I will be able to get within about 20 - 40 yards of most of what I will be shooting including a fox den which will have cubs in it soon.

I know all about how good the 'L' Lenses are but at the moment they are well out of my league as I was fancying the 70-200 F4 L and/or the 100-400 F4 L. Ok I know the 70-200 is around £400 S/H but with a holiday coming up in August I don't want to overspend just now and was looking at the Sigma 70-300 F4/5.6 DG Macro from Onestopdigital for £120.00. I appreciate it won't be in the same league as the Canon L's but it might do as a stop gap until I can afford an L lens and then punt it on eBay where they get about £100 - £130 so wouldn't be losing that much when the time came to get rid of it.

Phew, typing cramp setting in now..... right so what else would you recommend at under £200 that would re-sell ok when the time came to upgrade to an L lens? I have looked at loads of review sites for lenses and all of them give differing opinions on the same lenses, some say so and so lens is great and others say they are crap?

Help ....... :eek:

Sorry for the long winded post.

Mike.
 
I always say that if it's something you'll use for a while then always buy the best you can as you'll probably end up loosing money changing later although to be fair if you buy wisely you don't loose too much money on Canon lenses. Canon lens wise the 70-200 F4 L would be great, cheaper the 75-300 is not meant to be too bad and may get you by, else if you don't need that long a range then the 28-135 IS is a nice lens too.
 
budget zoom - sigma 70-300DG APO Macro. Not quite so budget but not expensive Canon 70-300IS. More expensive but more reach Canon 100-400IS

70-300 is often compared favourably with the 70-200, but has more reach and IS for handheld shots at slower shutter speeds. and its only one stop slower at full zoom than the 70-200 (and 100mm longer). I'd recommend that over the 70-200 if you'll mostly be using it for wildlife/sports etc - you can never have enough reach. I'd recommend the 100-400 over both, but its over twice the price of the 70-300

The sigma is a good budget entry that has good image quality too, although focusing might be a tad slow for fast stuff? Make sure its the APO version though which is quite a bit better than the older non-APO
 
17-85 to replace the kit lense and a 1-400L would [is] my choice. The 400 is a superb lense but obviously lacking in the wider end hence the 17-85 :)
 
h4rri said:
17-85 to replace the kit lense and a 1-400L would [is] my choice. The 400 is a superb lense but obviously lacking in the wider end hence the 17-85 :)

I'm sure you mean 100-400 (as someone else pointed out about your signature the other day :D )

My vote for quality and value would be the 70-200 f4 L plus 1.4 extender (bearing in mind the 1.6x effect). My current favourite lens review site has details here http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-Zoom-Lens-Reviews.aspx

Ray
 
Rayfin said:
I'm sure you mean 100-400 (as someone else pointed out about your signature the other day :D )


Yeah sorry didn't mean to confuse ;)

Good site, will have a looksie in a mo.
 
Nothing wrong with the kit lens initially. But when you do come to replace, consider the 24-105 too. great lens and it'd go well with any of the recommended zooms.

I have the 24-105L IS & 70-300IS combination and its great. A little bit of overlap is good to avoid changing all the time.
 
Hi Guys,

thanks for all the great help and info, thinking about it I might be best initially to got for a replacement for the kit lens ie: the 17-85mm and then worry about the bigger zoom later.

We are planning a holiday on one of the Greek islands so the 17-85mm would probably be a safe bet to save changing lenses, won't be much motorsport or wildlife to be seen as it will be a beach holiday and just chillin' for 2 weeks.

Mind you still a bit dearer than I would like at over £300, but might be a good long term buy.

Thanks,

Mike.
 
I had been thinking about a 17-85 for a while, built in IS, good walkabout etc and finally bought one. £397 incl filter and ND delivery from AJ Purdy. It is superb, I can't believe the difference in quality of the shots now, this will be a great lense for you and ideal for a holiday :)

Oh but it's bleeding heavy LOL
 
honestly, if you think you'll need a long lens quickly, then don't dismiss the kit lens. It can give you good results and many of us are too quick to dump it. If nothing else, it has the range, and is quite sharp if stopped down to around f8 (good for landscapes anyway)

IF you can only get one lens soon, seriously consider whether you want a zoom or not. If you replace the kit you are just improving the quality (which you may not even notice), whereas the zoom is increasing your range options.
 
:D

Nah, its simple.

If you can afford both lenses, then get something like the 17-85IS and the 70-300/70-200/100-400

If you can only afford one, consider your priorities - length or quality?
 
richard plumb said:
:D

Nah, its simple.

If you can afford both lenses, then get something like the 17-85IS and the 70-300/70-200/100-400

If you can only afford one, consider your priorities - length or quality?


To be honest the 100-400 is great but I hardly ever use it. I find it needs to be tripod mounted to ensure good shots or held well and the risk of lost shots. The 17-85 is superb and if I were you I'd grab that. It will be used alot more than the zoom.

As Richard says, consider your priorites [and finances] the £900 for the 100-400 is a 10-22 and a 17-85 :)
 
Hi,

looks like the fav at the moment is the 17-85mm IS and then maybe a longer zoom later.

Right, now to find the best deal on one, anyone seen a decent S/H one anywhere?

See ya,

Mike.
 
h4rri said:
the £900 for the 100-400 is a 10-22 and a 17-85 :)


or a 24-105f4L IS

or a 17-85IS and a 70-300IS

as for where:

parkcameras.com
ajpurdy.co.uk
warehouse express
photo optix (have shops)
jessops might price match in their shops
london camera exchange (might be expensive though)
 
Hi,
loads of excellent help from everyone, the general consensus looks like anything between 17mm - 135mm and IS so I will have a hunt around for something within that range.

:thumbsup:

Mike.
 
jmbrailsford said:
Hi,
loads of excellent help from everyone, the general consensus looks like anything between 17mm - 135mm and IS so I will have a hunt around for something within that range.

:thumbsup:

Mike.

You can always rely on someone here to spend your money for you :laugh:
 
If you want a pretty much straight replacement for the 18-55 except with L glass, then you should also consider the EF 17-40 L f/4. It's about the same price as the EF-S 17-85 IS but you get the benefit of L quality glass and the ability to use it on a camera that only accepts EF fit lens...
 
www.mifsuds.com has got the 17-85 for £349 + £8 for RM special delivery, not sure if its actually in stock though.

Im not sure on what your budget is but have you considered the EF-S 17-55 IS? They've got that @ £699. Its F2.8 all the way through and is considered to be L quality glass but without the red band (due to the EF-S mount). Again Im not sure if this is in stock either.

I haven't used this company before so cannot recommend them or not.

...steve.o
 
I ordered the 17-55 from them yesterday around 1pm, within 18 minutes I had an email saying it had been packed and shipped and when I got to work the next day it was already on my desk. :)
 

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