What lens to get ?
 

I will soon be getting a Canon 400D DSLR i think, but i am a little unsure which lens to get, i am thinking of the 24-105 F4 IS as it is a nice range and i can use it on holidays etc as a walkaround lens. I don't really want to go down the 70-200 road if i can help it.

Any pointers would be welcome.

I don't like the 400, I prefer the twin screen 350.
A mate at work has a 400, it's big screen seems a bit gimpy, it would be an advantage if your vision is not too good as the characters on the display are MASSIVE.

Thanks for the info, but its really what lens to get, i have had plenty of Canon dslr bodies before, i am just wondering if i will be able to cover must things at 105mm

The EFS 17-85 may be more suitable. For general stuff I just use the cheapo 18-55, which is good, but if cash was no option it would be the 17-85 for the spoon stuff.

With the small sensor size you really need to get down to 17 or 18 to get wide angle stuff.

If you want a go with a 70-200L just come and see me or Jimmy, I have a little one and Jimmy has a big one.

I use to do motor racing photography semi pro, so had the 300mm f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8 IS but you need these as you were a long way fom the action, with buggy racing you can get a lot closer so do you find you can fill the frame with the 17-85 ?

I don't mind spending the money on some decent glass, just want to spend it wisely lol, but i just want one lens which i can cover most stuff with.

I have used the 17-85 for two years on my 20D, as a one lens travel setup and it has served me well. As Stu says you may miss the wide angle with 24 and a crop sensor, I know I would.

The 24-105 will hold its value well. Would work well on a 5D !

the 24-105 F4L is a spectacular lens - one of the bets Canon have made in a long time. its idea for RC and general walk about photography. the 17-85 is too short for most tracks with more and more of them limiting your ability to get close to the action for safety reasons.

Neil.

Why are all these lenses so spenny :( Would love a nice mid range zoom but canny afford / justify it really. I am using my 50mm 1.8 cheapo lens a lot more recently, have to almost rub the camera on the cars though.

Jimmy when i get a lens i will let you borrow it :D but it is looking like the 24-105 at the moment.

just been looking at it, does look nice.

And its a 'L' lens plus the IS which i have always found to be good, and i could shoot 2 to 3 stops lower with it.

Will the range of that lense be enough for R/C stuff, even with the crop-factor of the small sensor?
I would have thought that it would be too narrow for 'walk-about' stuff, but not enough for 10th cars? You really would have to get on ya belly trackside (not that we haven't been doing that anyway).

It would be an ace 'walk-about' lense on a 5d or 1d, if you were inclined to go 'walk-about' with one of them.

I've found I need 'walkabout lens 18-55' & 'action shot lens 70-200', 50mm is always a compromise.

I am not 100% sure, looking on the exif data what are most people shooting at? , or do people just crop there images ? I don't really need anything wide to be honest.

Not sure what length, all I can say is between 70 & 200.
When light is good Jimmy will use the 1.4x extender on the 1d to get a bit more reach, makes it like useing an F4 lense on the small sensor.

I used the 50mm on the 1d a bit, and its a decent walk around lens, gets fantastic shots but it is quite a narrow field of view - still, you just have to compose your shots in a different way I guess. indoors its not really very good since you can't control where you can be (cant get far enough away to fit things in the view)

If I were taking a camera on holiday, I would take my Nikon with the 18-70 lens as it does it all. When I go out, sometimes I will just take the nikon with the fisheye though, its fast (F2.8) and gets EVERYTHING in the shot - plus its a mad lens, which is funny.
Nikon make a 18-200 VR which is supposed to be very good, but I don't think there is a canon lens like that.

Tamaron do one, but is about F5million at 200mm.

I think what ever i get it will be lacking in some area, i just don't want a bag full of lens again, just one to cover most options hopefully :)

I used to use just the 18-70 for action shots, ok, I had to get close but it wasn't overly bad. I beleive Neil (@domino) only has the 24-105 for his camera and he gets some good shots.

The best lens I ever used was the 35-350, it was magic.

I second the 35-350, super lens for the range, much better than any of those 28-200 or 28-300 that tamron/sigma came up with. Only thing is it aint cheap..

I think what i am going to do is get the 400D with the kit lens, i only save £30 if i just have the body so i might as well have the lens, which will give me something wide if needed, then get the 24-105.

Have a look at this.

Canon Direct

Where is says refurbished they aint, its all boxed as new. It just says that to keep Canon's high street dealers happy. I think this e.shop is Canon UK's way to combat the likes of Digital-Rev from improting direct from hong-kong.

Northy got his 350 + lens for £330

You can get a 30d plus lense for less than the 400d's are in the shops.

I had looked on there but did not want to get a refurb, i was looking at digitak-rev as they have the 400d + kit lens for £450 shipped from london so no problem with import duty etc.

But i will watch a few auctions and see what price i can get the 400d for.

Was Northy brand new but said refurb on the auction ?.

Yeah, brand new.
From what I can gather it's all new factory sealed stuff.
I suspect they just say it's refurbed to keep their dealers happy, that's why they say they do the no-quibble exchange thing, cos they know it's all really brand new.

It certainly looked absolutley brand spanking new. Didn't John Price get one too Jimmy?

G

Don't know about that, Andy shill got 3 of them, (300d) from the same place

refurbed can still be in sealed boxes

I 400d (body only) has just sold for £390 + £6 P&P on the Canon shop, or i can get a new one from Digital Rev for £415 delivered ?.

G's camera was absolutely perfect, not a finger mark or spec of dust. That's as near to brand new as I would want.

That Rev price is good however.

Ok i will keep a eye on there shop and see what i can get ;) thanks for all the info.

Got the 400d off the Canon Outlet store ;) and the 24-105 off A.J.Purdys ebay store, over £100 cheaper than anywhere else, i have been to purdys shop so i know they were ok.

Not had the chance to take any actions photos yet, but taken a few of the S4 for the website, some A3 paper on the dinning table using the onboard flash and the dinning room lights on, no fancy flash setup here lol.

I really needed more light as the depth of field is pretty narrow and i did not want to pump up the iso to much these were at iso 200 with +1 flash compensation to blow out the white a bit.

http://atomic-carbon.gforceimages.net/images/s4_4_s.jpg


http://atomic-carbon.gforceimages.net/images/s4_2_s.jpg

http://atomic-carbon.gforceimages.net/images/s4_1_s.jpg

Thanks for everyone's advice on the camera etc, as soon as i switched the 400d on it was like using a old friend, and the 24-105 is nice and the IS works well, i can hand hold down to around 1/20 which is good.

Good choice on the 400D, I ditched my 1DS in favour of the 400D the 1DS was total overkill, a big heavy brute! Funny thing is the 400D produces better images!

My lens of choice is the 17-40L, a great sharp and contrasty walkaround lens.

Colin

I have had a 1D and 1D mk2 i am sure the 400D will not be as good for action stuff, you cannot beat the rapid fire on the Mk2.

But the image's do look spot on just from the few shots i have taken, kiddy next weekend will be the test ;)

The widest canon lens I have is my 50 1.8 so I am looking for something like one of these two zooms one day (when I've sold enough stuff), either the 17-40 or 24-105. Wouldn't mind a look at that lens when I see you next jonathan.

Next time we are at the same meeting give me a shout, with it being a L spec lens its built like a tank, has the waterproof seals (handy for Telford) and is heavy but would give a nice balance on your 1D mk2.

OldTimer,

I never needed the rapid fire of 1Ds for my photography, I am a little to old to be lying in muddy puddles at RC meets to capture the action:)

Are you from Telford also?

I was into Motorsport photography before i got back in to R/C stuff so the 8 shots a second helped get some great photos, have a look here http://www.gforceimages.net and goto the gallery to have a look at some of my stuff. Not from Telford but the national there last year was very wet :D

I actually quite like them, it looks like you are trying to draw attention to a particular point on the car.
I've thought more depth = better for that type of shot, not sure now.

Looking at them again it does look like a bit of gaussian blur from photoshop ;), honest it was all done with the camera lol.

I am not sure if the 17-40 would suit be better as I have the 50 and 70-200 also - hard to know what those extra few mm at the low end would give me. I think the 17-40 is about half the price of the 24-105 is that right?

Have to have a look at both really to get an idea. Right now anything that is wide I tend to use the fisheye which is a bit mad.

The 17-40 is about £100 less than what i paid for the 24-105, if you did not have the 50mm then it would be a nice fit, but i think the 17-40 is the way to go for you, with the multipler of the sensor it will not be as wide as 17mm also.