350D, D70s, lenses - Need inspiration

In article ,
says...

Thanks for your answers mate. I'm more and more definately going for the
Nikon now. The one thing remaining that leads me to wanting the Canon
instead is the lower pixels, but everyone reckons I won't even notice,
so I won't worry about that. Nikon it is then.

An excellent choice. You will be happy with it, I'm certain.

I'm not sure why it's easier to take a card out and put it in a card
reader by the way, compared to plugging the camera in? Not that it
matters, I'll have both options if I buy a card reader. With my current
camera I plug it in to the USB lead and it's recognised straight away. I
can't imagine anything being faster. I guess it helps to have USB
sockets on the front of the PC case.

I think it has to do with the camera doing some of the processing. It
isn't recognised as a mass storage device by XP, but rather as a camera,
so there might be something in that which causes it to be slow.

You said I'll be disappointed with those 2 lenses I mentioned, which is
pretty much what I've read elsewhere too. I don't know what the best
option is going to be for a larger lens without spending a lot more. A
70-200mm has been suggested (I haven't looked at available options for
those yet) so maybe I'll go for that if I have to, but I'd rather have
higher zoom than that if possible. I guess I can't have it all for the
money I have.

Could you or anyone else suggest either a 70-200mm or 70-300mm lens
that's at least resonably good and has, above all else, fast focusing?
Sub 300GBP.

I'm afraid nothing from any brand exists that fits the bill. I used a
few of the 70-300mm zooms when I first got involved in photography, but
unless you have a really good tripod (or a lens with VR or IS) you will
get soft pictures for your efforts.

My advice is to save up and look at something in the pro range, maybe a
used 70-200mm f/2.8 ED will be a start. Just remember that with a D70s
you are getting an effective 105-300mm field of view (1.5x the focal
length). You won't find it for under UKP300 though. Keep a look out for
lenses on eBay.

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Rox-off wrote:

In article ,
says...


snip



I'm afraid nothing from any brand exists that fits the bill. I used a
few of the 70-300mm zooms when I first got involved in photography, but
unless you have a really good tripod (or a lens with VR or IS) you will
get soft pictures for your efforts.

My advice is to save up and look at something in the pro range, maybe a
used 70-200mm f/2.8 ED will be a start. Just remember that with a D70s
you are getting an effective 105-300mm field of view (1.5x the focal
length). You won't find it for under UKP300 though. Keep a look out for
lenses on eBay.




I was afraid you'd say that. Effective 300mm would probably be
acceptable, although it's some time since I used my old 200mm with 2x
teleconverter (35mm SLR) and cannot remember if I really used the last
100mm or not. I'll see how I feel about the 18-70mm when I get it
anyway, and maybe I'll be able to cope with that and a 2x converter for
now. I'll do some research on 2X converters another time.

Cheers,
Geoff.

Hi Geoff:

Great choice on the D70 instead of the 350D and here are some of the
reasons why I would go with the Nikon myself as well:
- The Nikon D70 has better construction - I just like the feel of the
Nikon so much more.
- The controls on the D70 are better (front and back instead of a
single wheel on the Canon)
- The 6Mp the D70 has is plenty for me - I actually think 4 to 5 Mp is
the real sweet spot unless you want to blow up to more than 8x10.

I have tried both plugging the camera thru the USB port and using a
card reader. I have found that I would use the card reader 4 out of 5
times. May be it is just my habits.

On the lenses, I would definitely get the 18-70DX kit lens. It's one
of the best value lenses you can find. For the 70-200/300 range, I
would save money to get the Nikon 80-200/2.8 which can be found for
around 500-600GBP. I would add a 1.4x teleconverter if you need to
extend your range. I prefer this combination of 80-200 + 1.4x
converter to any 70-300/4.0-5.6. If the Nikkor 80-200/2.8 is too
expensive for you, look for the Nikkor 70-210/4.0 - this is an older
lens but very sharp, however, I can not recommend you using this 70-210
with any teleconverter. Another inexpensive lens to consider is the
Tokina 80-200/2.8 ATX, this one can be found for half the price of the
Nikkor 2.8.

Anyway, good luck and cheers.

Escaper wrote:

Hi Geoff:

Great choice on the D70 instead of the 350D and here are some of the
reasons why I would go with the Nikon myself as well:
- The Nikon D70 has better construction - I just like the feel of the
Nikon so much more.
- The controls on the D70 are better (front and back instead of a
single wheel on the Canon)
- The 6Mp the D70 has is plenty for me - I actually think 4 to 5 Mp is
the real sweet spot unless you want to blow up to more than 8x10.

I have tried both plugging the camera thru the USB port and using a
card reader. I have found that I would use the card reader 4 out of 5
times. May be it is just my habits.

On the lenses, I would definitely get the 18-70DX kit lens. It's one
of the best value lenses you can find. For the 70-200/300 range, I
would save money to get the Nikon 80-200/2.8 which can be found for
around 500-600GBP. I would add a 1.4x teleconverter if you need to
extend your range. I prefer this combination of 80-200 + 1.4x
converter to any 70-300/4.0-5.6. If the Nikkor 80-200/2.8 is too
expensive for you, look for the Nikkor 70-210/4.0 - this is an older
lens but very sharp, however, I can not recommend you using this 70-210
with any teleconverter. Another inexpensive lens to consider is the
Tokina 80-200/2.8 ATX, this one can be found for half the price of the
Nikkor 2.8.

Anyway, good luck and cheers.




Hi Escaper and thanks for all that information. The reasons you gave for
going with the D70s are exaclty what I keep reading too, so I'm
confident I'm doing the right thing. I also feel that 5MP or so is
adequate. My current camera is only 3MP and that's perfectly fine for
5X7inch prints. I'll probably want to do some larger prints once I get
going with the new camera but nothing that large, so 6MP will be fine. I
guess that wanting 8MP or even more is a bit psycological!

I really can't justify spending 500-600GBP on a lense, even though I'd
love to. I'm out of work at the moment and can only afford the camera at
all because I'm selling other things. I've been reading reviews and
opinions about the various Tonika and Sigma lenses and the main thing
that bothers me is speed of AF, but I can't have everything. I won't be
able to afford any lenses after getting the camera anyway so I won't
worry too much about that now. As long as I'm certain on getting the
18-70mm kit lens (which I now am) to start with, thoughts on the next
lens will have to wait a while.

Thanks again,
Geoff.

Stan Birch wrote:

On Tue, 30 Aug 2005 Geoff wrote:
Canon boast about how small and light the 350D is but that's
always put me off this sort of product as it can feel and look more like
a toy.



So . . . .you consider large and heavy to be a feature??



I wouldn't quite put it like that. I'm saying that 'too light' and 'too
small' is a bad thing. Too small can mean too fiddly, and too light can
mean it feeling off-balanced when using larger lenses.

Geoff wrote:

Thanks for your answers mate. I'm more and more definately going for the
Nikon now. The one thing remaining that leads me to wanting the Canon
instead is the lower pixels, but everyone reckons I won't even notice,
so I won't worry about that. Nikon it is then.

I'm not sure why it's easier to take a card out and put it in a card
reader by the way, compared to plugging the camera in? Not that it
matters, I'll have both options if I buy a card reader. With my current
camera I plug it in to the USB lead and it's recognised straight away. I
can't imagine anything being faster. I guess it helps to have USB
sockets on the front of the PC case.

You said I'll be disappointed with those 2 lenses I mentioned, which is
pretty much what I've read elsewhere too. I don't know what the best
option is going to be for a larger lens without spending a lot more. A
70-200mm has been suggested (I haven't looked at available options for
those yet) so maybe I'll go for that if I have to, but I'd rather have
higher zoom than that if possible. I guess I can't have it all for the
money I have.

Could you or anyone else suggest either a 70-200mm or 70-300mm lens
that's at least resonably good and has, above all else, fast focusing?
Sub 300GBP.

Cheers,
Geoff.

You might to to http://non-aol.com/D70/ and check the reviews there. I've
found the info worth looking through.

Regards, Bob

Robert W. Curry wrote:

You might to to http://non-aol.com/D70/ and check the reviews there. I've
found the info worth looking through.

Regards, Bob




I've had a quick look and bookmarked it. I think it'll come in very
handy. Excellent, thanks Bob.

Geoff.

Canon 350D
50/1.4
200/2.8
2x
24/2.8
0.8x

Geoff wrote:
I just cannot decide whether to choose the Canon 350D or Nikon D70s, so

Both will do fine for you. Consider also the Pentax *ist, Maxxum /5D
(antishake) and Oly E300.


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Alan Browne wrote:

Geoff wrote:

I just cannot decide whether to choose the Canon 350D or Nikon D70s, so


Both will do fine for you. Consider also the Pentax *ist, Maxxum /5D
(antishake) and Oly E300.



Thanks for your reply Alan. I've decided on the Nikon now after reading
reviews and listening to what others here have said. The main thing that
put me off the Nikon was it's number of Pixels, but now I know that's
hardly even noticable I think the Nikon has more positive things about
it than the Canon. The main thing against the Canon for me is it's small
size and plasticky 'toy like' feel. I haven't held it myself yet but I
trust what others have said about that, and I know I'm the sort of
person to be very put off a camera simply by how it looks and feels.
It's a shame because if it wasn't for that I may well have gone with the
Canon.

I admit I haven't looked strongly at the others you mentioned but I
guess I feel more comfortable going with the most commonly used and more
well-known brands that are thought of higher in the reviews, and also
that have the most number of third party lenses available.

Now I just need to wait until I have the money to buy the thing! I'm
selling stuff to get the money and I'm more than half way there, and
anticipate only having another couple of weeks at the most to wait
because I have lots to sell.

Cheers,
Geoff.