Homerdog: How much do you want for your 300??


That's an interesting question! They seem to fetch decent money on e-bay, but obviously it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay.

I would sell mine with the kit lens, remote control, battery grip, 2 batteries and a 512mb microdrive for £600. It has all of the original boxes and software plus unused strap and remainder of guarantee until 14/11/04. Purchased from Park Cameras :)

<<prepares for barrage of "it's only worth £3.49" posts>>

OK I've just bought a 10d for £600.

Mint and boxed and ready for action!

Now I need a lens. Will be mostly for shooting track days etc.

What do you suggest? Or better still, what can you sell me?

Shame, I'm looking to sell my Canon stuff that is only 8 months old due to lack of use, a G5 would suit me much better. Anyone interested?
This lot cost me best part of £1,500

Canon EOS300D 18-55 Kit
1gb Sandisk ULTRA compact flash card
Canon 55-200mmf4.5/5.6II USM lens
Canon 420EX Speedlight Flash
Tripod
Bag

I use a 100-400L IS lens for motorsports and it's great. For rallying, or if you can get a bit closer than the usual viewing spots at major racetracks, a 70-200L might be even better.

As usual it depends on your budget, but you want about 70mm at the wide end and at least 200mm on the telephoto - so, the 75-300 could be perfect. Not sure on build or image quality with that one, though; I'm an 'L' junky these days.

I agree with Andy, I use an 80-200 f/2.8D AF-S IFED (Nikon, non VR) for rallying and it's ideal. I shoot at 1/160th or slower to get the wheels blurred and catch the speed, otherwise, it's 1/250th and above to stop 'em in their tracks. Get the best glass you can - and do your research - Chasseur d'Images is probably the definitive euro photo magazine for lens tests, get a copy, buy the complete series of lens tests for your camera - don't skimp on the quality...budget depending. I always go with the manufacturers glass (i.e. Nikon for Nikkors) - too many poor experiences with 3rd party glass over the years, yes, this means Sigma amongst others. If you can afford to stretch to the IS/VR lenses, all the better (I find the big glass is enough to keep me steady at the slower shutter speeds !)

http://www.alwyngreer.com/mandement/DSC0272.jpg
http://www.alwyngreer.com/mandement/DSC0199.jpg

Above all, have fun and enjoy your photography !

http://www.alwyngreer.com/mandement/DSC0175.jpg
http://www.alwyngreer.com/mandement/DSC0189.jpg

Anyone got one to sell me then? :D

If you have some goodies for me to test out please bring them to Alton meet tomorrow :D :D

Think I'll go for a 75-300, for now....

There's a 90-300mm lens too which might be worth a look. Also be sure you get the USM (ultra-sonic motor) version of the 75-300, you'll need all the focus speed you can get for motorsports.

I was using a borrowed Sigma 75-300 yesterday at the Brighton speed trials and was to slow to focus, so you MAY find that at 75-300 is also slow, however the 75-300 does have a USM which will help alot.

I gave up in the end, I wait to see what the results are like :rolleyes: I really must go digital.

Darren

i use a EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

which quite a good lens

However, to me, the instant-on feature (0 sec turnon time) of the Nikon D70 wins over the Canon every single day. I would have bought the Canon at that price had it had this feature....to me, it's worth a few hundred more solely for that feature alone!
think you'll find that the 20D is instant turn-on :D (or 0.2sec for the pedants ;)) so the shutter can fire before you've taken your little pinky away from the on switch...

Today I bought a 2nd hand 35-80, just to test her out. Stunning results but even at 35 wide angle is out the question!

Next week I'm going to get a 75-300 USM

Think that should be OK, or should I go for 75-200 instead?

any difference in the aperture ranges and do they suit the type of piccies you want to take?

the 75-200 sounds like it could be a faster lens than the 75-300...

to get real wide-angle you'll need super-wide-angle on 35mm format lenses - something like a sigma 18-35mm will give 29-56mm equivalent on digital

Mostly taking motorsport pics, so maybe the 75-200 is more suitable?

Nevetas,

To be honest, do not spend good money on cheap new lenses. You will simply replace them within a year with the better stuff. :)

For motorsport, look at the Canon 100-400L (not cheap) or even the 70-200.

For wide angle on the 10D you need to be looking at lenses around the 17mm range.

Good luck.

Oh, yeah, no you can't have my 10D yet. ;)

Cheers

Ian

had a look on warehouseexpress.com for some info...

how deep are your pockets as obviously the dearer the lens, generally the better the quality:

70-200 f4 L USM £1249
70-200 f2.8 L IS USM £1399
70-300 f4.5-5.6 DO IS USM £889
75-300 f4.0-5.6 Mk III £149
75-300 f4.0-5.6 USM Mk. III £169
75-300 f4.0-5.6 IS £369
80-200 f4.5-5.6 Mk. II £118
100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS USM £1159

These are all x1.6 to get focal length on your 10D...

If money's no object then get a 70-200 f2.8 L IS and a 100-400 L IS :D
For the shorter stuff, there's quite a few to go at starting at 10mm...

£250 - £300 really at this stage to be honest.

So either a Canon 75-200 USM or Canon 75-300 USM

based on your price range I've ranked these in the order I'd go for them plus a few notes for info...

1. 75-300 f4.0-5.6 IS £369
I know it's a teeny bit over budget but the IS system should be a great help for motorsports pictures. It's nominally no faster than the others but IS can be used in place of a faster lens - it might give you the equivalent of a f2.8 or better lens...

2. 75-300 f4.0-5.6 USM Mk. III £169
USM drive on focussing is preferable to non-USM

3. 75-300 f4.0-5.6 Mk III £149
see 2.

4. 80-200 f4.5-5.6 Mk. II £118
a bit of a companion lens to the 35-80 of old and "only" Mk. II incarnation - there's better out there...

Plus, there's other lenses by sigma, tamron etc where you might pick up a better spec lens for similar dosh but it won't say canon on the lens - you'd need to look into / try one to see it works OK on the 10D, e.g. all functions OK, focusing speed, what aperture focusing stops etc.

Good idea. Expensive lenses are fun :), but you do get 90% of the versatility and still get great photos with the more reasonably priced models. Certainly if you're unsure about which focal lengths you'll use, or indeed how much use the camera will get at all, then you've made a good choice.

It's also worth keeping a few quid spare for any other stuff you discover you need - tripod, flash, remote release, filters, gels, quick release system, extension tubes, reflectors, diffusers... ;)

IS is of questionable benefit for motorsports. You want to be panning with a moderate shutter speed in order to achieve a sense of motion, and IS doesn't work with panning - it tries to cancel out the pan as it starts, then jerks the lenses around as the system runs out of travel and has to give up.

For static shots IS is terrific, but for sports it's best turned off. The exception is with some of the high end lenses which have a special panning mode that allows (and aids) smooth motion.

Andy, is that what the mode 1 and mode 2 IS systems are for on the expensive lenses - one for static shots where the movement is generally in the vertical plane and the other understands / counteracts a combination of multiple planes, i.e. panning?

Cheers for the list Apple.

At this stage I'll be buying the:

2. 75-300 f4.0-5.6 USM Mk. III £169
USM drive on focussing is preferable to non-USM

On Friday when I get paid, unless somebody else has another suggestion before then :D :D

Mode 1 is for static shots and it works in both axes. This is what you get on all IS lenses. Mode 2 operates in the vertical plane only and is designed to allow horizontal panning while suppressing vertical movement.

think you'll find that the 20D is instant turn-on :D (or 0.2sec for the pedants ;)) so the shutter can fire before you've taken your little pinky away from the on switch...

If you want to be pedantic, my post was talking about the 300D :D :D

Also, the Nikon D70 has 0.0s turn on - you're telling me even the 20D can't do that????

Nikon does not have 0.0s turn on. Yes, it is a small number but not 0.0 ;)

Doesn't matter anyway. If you are paying that sort of money for a camera you should be skilled enough to have it switched on before you will want to use it. Never understood what the big deal is with quick turn on. Shutter reaction, yes, power on, no.

Nevetas
You wouldn't put a no name make, 20mm of a scope on your rifles, you would put on a Leupold (etc.). Same for decent cameras. :)

Ian

So Ian do you think the

Canon 75-300 f4.0-5.6 USM Mk. III

Will be OK to get me started in the right direction?

http://konicaminolta.com/products/consumer/digital_camera/7digital/index.html

but i'm biased ;)

So Ian do you think the

Canon 75-300 f4.0-5.6 USM Mk. III

Will be OK to get me started in the right direction?

Certainly, any lens is better than no lens :)

Seriously, the sooner you are out shooting and learning the better. We can tell you to go and buy expensive "L" series glass but for all we know you might get bored and give it all up in a few months time and we would wasted all *your* money :D

Buy the best you can afford in the zoom range you expect to use. Get out and use it. It will return good results, it has a Canon badge on it. Yes, you could argue that it will not return the results other more expensive lenses can provide, but you will no be disapponited with what this one provides.

If you have a few quid left over, you should not be without the 50mm f1.8 lens (known on 'net forums as the "nifty fifty"). It is about £80 (plus buy the hood that goes with it) and is truely one of the best lenses Canon do. Shoot with that as well (OK, you have to use your feet to zoom) and you will really see what the camera is capable of. Great for portrait shots and general "snap" taking. Allows some great effects with depth of field.

Cheers

Ian