Well, the pre-Photokina announcements are one by one coming out for the various photo companies. I’m a Canon guy personally, and I know that there are a good number of others here, so I thought I’d post a bit about the announcements today:
EOS 400D Rebel XTi
I’m a bit surprised about this. I knew there would be a new Rebel announced, but I didn’t imagine one this nice. 10.1 megapixel with a new sensor cleaning system? It kind of makes one wonder how Canon will keep up 30D sales! I’m still ultimately headed towards a 5D (or it’s successor), so I probably won’t pick one of these up as my main camera. Still…if it’s priced in the same area as the Rebel XT, I can’t guarantee that I won’t pick one up for back-up / telephoto duty (since the 5D is full frame, I’ll lose my ability to add multiply my focal lengths by 1.6).
50mm f1.2L
It’s been awhile since a 50mm had an “L” (Luxury) designation on it. The last one was the EF 50mm f1.0L. It was really dedicated to low light / low depth-of-field stuff, and wasn’t that good as a normal lens. I’ve even heard that it was produced just so Canon could say, “Beat that!” to Nikon (which Nikon couldn’t do because the F lensmount won’t allow it). At any rate, I still really like my 50mm f1.4, so this is going to have to be a doozy of a lens for me to pick it up as it will probably carry a street price in the $1300 range. The half stop could be useful at times, but not at that price.
70-200mm f4L IS
This is a lens that I’ve been waiting for for some time. My 70-200 f4L is by far and away my best and my favorite lens. While I’ll rent or borrow the f2.8L IS on occasion, I could never justify the extra weight while out hiking. An Image Stabilized version of the f4L is just what I’ve wanted for a long time. With 3-4 stops of effective image stabilization, I don’t think I could ask for much more.
Of course, these are just my opinions. If you’re interested in these and want to lea
So Chris, Let me pick your brain a bit. If I were to get a Canon DSLR what would you recomend and what would it cost? And will my EOS lenses work with the digital cam.
Quinten, I got my EOS Elan in 93’ and it is still it tip top condition. It has been a very good camera and I have put lots of miles on it. I can probably get many more years out of it too (thus my reluctance to go digital). It has been one of the best purchases I ever made.
If you want to make the jump into the digital EOS realm, and don’t want to spend a lot (comparitively speaking of course), it’s hard to beat the Digital Rebel line. I’d avoid the original (300D…just called Digital Rebel). It made great pictures, but was a little feature limited. The Rebel XT (350D) is a great little picture taker, and one that I can recommend without reservation (well…except maybe that it’s too small…put the optional grip on it though, and it’s just fine). The new one (Rebel XTi or 400D) looks promising, and I assure you that I will be playing with one just as soon as I can find one to play with!
I’m asssuming the new one will be sold at the same price as the XT was…so $799 as a kit (comes with an 18-55mm lens…not great, but not excruciatingly bad, either…just keep her stopped down). I’d imagine that Rebel XT’s will drop to around $500 on the used market. If you really want to get in on the cheap, I’d imagine that original Rebels will be selling for $300 or less now. Like I said, they can be frustrating to use, but they produce a great 6MP image.
All of your EOS lenses are compatible with all three. Additionally, all three are capable of using EFs lenses (which include the 18-55 kit lens, the 17-85IS, the 17-55 f2.8IS, and the 60mm Macro).
If you need more information, or are curious about other possibilities, let me know.
I’ve been a Nikonite for the past 20 years. Still have an F4s and F5, plus a load of AF Nikkor lenses. The multiplier when using my D1X digital is 1.5 – that means a 300mm lens actually performs like a 450mm. That part is OK, but on the other side of the coin my 20mm now shoots like 30mm – a huge difference, and that negates the cool wide-angle that makes clouds in skies look “magical.”
My most-used lens for shooting trains is my 18-200, which fits just about all needs. I’ll be getting one of the new 12-24s when they come down in price.
My question: Is there a similar differential between advertised focal-length lenses with Canon digital cameras?
I also heard you can use Nikon lenses on Canon cameras. How, I don’t know.
…My Canon EOS Elan 7e is what I have with 28 to 200mm lens. Just wish I would have come along to think about this stuff a couple years later…The digital stuff, etc…Thanks. Guess I should be happy with what I have…Just don’t seem to use it now and grab the couple hundred dollar digital we have…
When I do use the Canon from this point on it will be pic’s on a disk.
Yes and No Poppa. The Rebel line, and the “Prosumer” line (D30, D60, 10D, 20D, and 30D) are all 1.6x crop factors.
The original 1D, the 1D Mk II, and the 1D Mk IIN are all 1.3x crop bodies.
The 1Ds, 1Ds Mk II, and 5D are all “full frame” bodies. E.G. The sensor is the same size as a 35mm film camera (24mm x 36mm IIRC). Eventually, I think all Canon bodies will be full frame (with perhaps the exception of the Rebel line), but cost is still a little prohibitive right now. The lowest priced FF body is the 5D, which can be found for $2500 currently. I expect a replacement by the next PMA show (March, 2007). I’m hoping the price drops a bit, but I’m not sure about that yet.
The Elan 7E is a great camera, and was my first EOS body. Even after I updated, I kept the 7E around because that is a quiet, quick, efficient little body. I sold mine about a year ago. Almost wish I hadn’t. Great camera.
“Just about any camera, regardless of how good or bad it is, can be used to create outstanding photographs for magazine covers, winning photo contests and hanging in art galleries. The quality of a lens or camera has almost nothing do with the quality of images it can be used to produce.” – Ken Rockwell
So, if anyone here is worried about the quality of your camera and lens affecting the quality of your photographs, you really need to read this:
I have always believed that the best photographs come not from the most expensive equipment, but from the photographer who know his equipment well and has a true “artist’s eye.” That includes the ability to see a shot in your mind’s eye before the train gets there and you push the shutter release.
Sorry Brian. Like Pop Z said in his post, it really depends on the photographer much much more than the camera. You’ve certainly demonstrated that time and time again with your DigiRebel. It’s just that every time I’ve used one, I get frustrated with the limitations on it. If I had one, I think I’d have to install the hacked software to get a couple features back to keep my wits about me.
Of course, this is all a lot of talk from a guy who still shoots a D60. Want to know about a frustrating camera? Try focusing that bugger in dark conditions some time! (and yet I manage to live with it…go figure)
Alas! When Canon brings out new cameras ever 1-2 years, it doesn’t take long for depreciation to set it. I still wish the Leica idea would catch on. You can install a Digital back on an R9 (and maybe an R8, too?). Assuming Leica survives a few more years (which seems to be an iffy thing from time to time), there should be a new version of the Modul-R available. Voila! The camera once again becomes a light tight box to put a lens and some sort of imager (whether film or digital on). Sure, nice bodies are a joy to use. But if the camera doesn’t leak light, and has an accurate shutter, the photo is going to be the same whether taken with a top of the line or bottom of the line camera.
Of course, I think the camera manufacturers know this, and have found a way to keep everyone buying new cameras, so it’s unlikely we’ll ever see it. Still…it’s nice to dream from time to time.
…Thanks Chris for the info on the EOS…I really don’t have any reason not to like it except now with digital it’s so easy to work with photos on the computer from them, etc…
The AE-1 is a great little camera. If you don’t plan on moving to digital, it can really pay off to stay with Canon’s FD cameras. For example, the latest 85mm f1.2L lens (the MK II) in the Canon line-up sells for around $2000. The MK I EOS version sells on the used market in the $1300+ range. The original FD version can be found for $400 (if you’re patient on EBay). That is a heck of a steal for a great lens.
Sigh…I wish someone would make a Digital FD body. I think that there could be a lot of money made on that. There’s some excellent FD lenses out there, and it would be a lot of fun to use them on a digital body. Oh well…
What Chris says about FD equipment is very true. At the moment I have 6 bodies and 14 lenses, all of which cost me less than a new 30D and kit lens. My first 50mm 1.4(FDn) cost me $37 from KEH. My second one(breech lock) came with my FTb(along with a 135 3.5 and cheap Vivitar flash) that cost me $51 on Ebay. Since a good FTb(and this one was really nice) will cost you around $75 from KEH, I consider my second one the be free. I also have an FL 55mm 1.2 that came on a $40 FT body, along with a low light booster worth around $30.
50mm 3.5 Macro(FDn)+FD25U extension tube mint in box-$113(Ebay)
FTb+50mm 1.4+135 3.5 and Vivitar 252 flash-$51(Ebay)
FT+ FL 55mm 1.2 + Booster-$40(Ebay)
Vivitar Series 1 70-210 3.5(great lens)+ FDn 50mm 1.8 + a bunch of other junk-$28 on Ebay.
KEH has an 85mm 1.2L right now for just over $400.
By the way, I’d be curious to see how the new 50mm 1.2L holds up against the old 55mm 1.2 Aspherical or 50mm 1.2L. One of the leading Leica guys compared the 55 Aspherical to the Noctilux and found that under most circumstances, the 55 Asph. was actually a better lens.
Truthfully, though, I find that often times I really don’t have any reason to use my 55 1.2. It can be nice to have an extra half stop, but at the expense of a lot of extra weight plus degraded performance(compared to the 1.4). Also, my 55 1.2 flares so badly wide open that it’s almost unusable in any kind of high contrast situation. The Aspherical and L are supposed to be much better in this respect.
I agree. The only reason I have kept the AE1 (and bought another body when my original finally gave out) was because of the investment I have in the lenses.