Equipment selections

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Nickerjo
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p.1 #1 · Equipment selections

Greetings - I am mostly concerned with wildlife (primarily birds) and nature (landscape) photography.

I have followed the old premis that it is better to invest in good glass than camera bodies.

Here is my present inventory of Canon gear.

Canon 30 D

Canon 17-40 f4 L
Canon 70-200 f4 L
Canon 400 f5.6 L
Canon 500 f4 L IS
(and of course the "nifty fifty")

Canon 1.4 TC
Canon 12 & 25 II Tubes

Canon 420 EX
Canon 580 EX II

Other than Canon:

Better Beamer

Manfrotto Tripods and Monopods
A Manfrotto Gimbal Head, Standard Pan and tilt head and ball head.

So my questions:

Body - There are many diverging opinions on the 1.6 crop factor vs. full frame. as well as the D vs various MKIII bodies for different "types" of photography.

For nature and wildlife, and considering my present inventory - What would be your suggested additions to my lenses/body?

Also - please consider my lens lens inventory first, as used with my present 30D,
but then also in conjunction with any new body that you would suggest -

My goal is to optimize, to the greatest degree possible, the combination of bodies and lenses for the sort of images I wish to capture.

I thank you in advance for sharing your insight and expertise

John Nickerson
Leaning Palm Studio

Feb 17, 2008 at 12:03 AM

Greg Schneider
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p.1 #2 · Equipment selections

I think you would be well off with a 1D III. Far faster AF and focusing than the 30D, and better lowlight capability. You lose a slight bit of "reach" by going to 10MP and 1.3x crop, but the AF would more than make up for it.

Feb 17, 2008 at 01:17 AM

Nickerjo
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p.1 #3 · Equipment selections

Thanks Greg - That was exactly the sort of practical advice that I was looking for -
There are a lot of D5 advocates out there, but it is hard to tell which body does the best job for specific types on images.

jn

Feb 17, 2008 at 01:31 AM

OwlsEyes
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p.1 #4 · Equipment selections

Hello John,
You've got some great optics. I have followed the same premise as you... invest in glass and work with a body that won't bring you down.

The 30D is a fine camera (we have one too) and will work nicely as a your long lens body. Matched w/ a 500 f4, it gives you great reach. If you're not looking to save money, the mkIII is the way to go. Personally, I just can't bring myself to invest $4000 in a body.

If you do landscape work, you might want to consider the 5D. While this camera is now considered to be dated, it is a fine landscape camera that still produces some of the finest images I've taken.

FYI... I have a pretty similar lens kit and match my lenses w/ a 40D and 5D. My wife uses our 30D & 20D... the 1.6 crop bodies really offers us the length we need to photograph small birds.

cheers,
bruce

Feb 17, 2008 at 01:56 AM

Nickerjo
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p.1 #5 · Equipment selections

Thank you so much Bruce - There are so many opinions out there I needed to request "specific" info, based on what I wish to accomplish.

Cool that your wife is into imaging also - mine is sweet, kind and understanding but gets a glazed over look whenever I talk gear and just tells me to get it if it is what I really need.

thanks again

jn

Feb 17, 2008 at 10:57 PM

Paul B
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p.1 #6 · Equipment selections

I think you'd do nicely with a 1DMkII-series body. I bought a MkIIn some time ago and haven't used the 20D at all since I started using it (I also like trying to shoot birds.) You lose a little reach but the increased frame rate and AF system is something. I'd recommend either getting a used MkII/MkIIn or waiting until Canon resolves the MkIII issue (can't tell if they've actually figured it out yet.) Eventually I'll probably add a 40D for its extra reach.

In the last couple weeks I've started toying with the idea of getting a 5D. Partly for landscapes but I can think of places where I'm close enough to birds that I might be able to use it with a supertele I'm planning on buying. The prices are relatively nice now and, being a bit paranoid (

) I'll probably buy now before they roll out a 5DII, all the 5D's disappear off the shelves, and then we find out there's some glitch with the 5DII (I was lucky to buy a MkIIn just before they rolled out the MkIII.)

Edited on Feb 18, 2008 at 02:42 AM

Feb 18, 2008 at 02:40 AM

Nickerjo
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p.1 #7 · Equipment selections

Thanks Paul

jn

Feb 18, 2008 at 03:25 PM


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