waldr_p wrote:

You won't regret that 40D, it really is an excellent camera. I use mine for wildlife and I love the ergonomics, the IQ and the performance of the camera.



+1, a great camera, image quality is so much better than earlier models, it's a lot like 1dmk3. Good purchase misternikko, some of my best images have been produced by the 40D. Glad to know mine's still worth $650...purchased a year ago(on fm) :-) for that price. What depreciation are you talking about, MisterNikko ??

Great news mrnikko !

I am glad that you found your way into photography again and that you value these users opinions here in the forum. It truly can be a very richfull source of info, there are many guru's out here who like to share the knowledge....
You seem like a nice chap...and by the way...GREAT PICTURES !!

Your 40D seems great. Hope it is in excellent condition as advertised (i am sure it is) and you will definitly fall in love with it. I do not think you will want to buy the 7D soon...i fell in love with my 30D and still do. Yours should be as tuff..but faster, better AF and better ISO. Great !!!

About lenses...you have quit a big wishlist !!
My recommendation is start with 1 zoom + 1 prime.

I started with 17-40 because it was waaaay cheeaper than the 17-55 , and it could be used in a FF body in the future. But the 17-55 is a better lens, faster and sharper. It is MY own choice to buy only (USED !!!) EF lens, because i know that good glass never gets outdated but cameras do. Dont know when, but if ever switch to FF i will use all my lens . Only exception is my latest 10-22 but again, because i bought used, it has the same resale value ! And is GREAT !!! Love it!!

Cameras on the other hand...do get outdated because better ones appear, not because they worn out...my 30d and yours 40d still rock !! like they did 3 years ago. But in a near future we will have the 7d Mark3 with a zillion pixels and Giga ISO performance....tech does not stop, ate least for cameras.

Lenses....since EOS apeared have had 2 big developments (compared to a zillion improvements in cameras like AF, ISO, FPS, VIDEO, BATTERY, etc,etc).

1 - Autofocus. That's right...how on earth did photographers lived without it
2 - Image Stabilization. Great Great feature to have in a long lens.

So apart these two...lenses keep appearing with different zooms, some with less CA and sharper than others....but L lens will always be high quality in whatever camera!

So go confident in buying a used 17-55 or whatever you choose.
My personal preference is to have a 24-105L + 10-22 EF-S. But if you start with the 17-55 or 17-40 you will not miss the 10-22 very much...so go and by the prime first !! 50, 85, 135.....whatever you feel like!

And use it , use it, use it.......not good to keep the camera at home !!!
Cheers,
SAF

ace97302 wrote:
Nice shots, btw.

The car shot is fantastic. I love the colors.

The Temple of Heaven could benefit from being straightened out a bit, IMO. Just curious, why did you make that photo B/W? The blue tiles on that building are AMAZING!

Thank you sir The car's paint code is true red...lends itself nicely to punchy photos i think!

Temple of heaven - That was roughly one week after I got my XTi back in 2007. The shot was taken with my kit lens and to be very honest I barely knew what I was doing...looking back a it the columns could use some straightening and the temple could have used some breathing room between it and the last column. Ive thought of faking it several times however figured it would show my progression as the years passed. The blue sky there IS amazing and I have quite a few color shots, prob hundreds, i was SLR trigger happy during the first trip with the camera lol.I had custom color profiles - punchy color, BW and sepia...and being that i was new to this thing i thought i had to shoot with all of them not realizing this could be simply done in post...Im a noob now...i was a major noob back then lol With that said this particular shot was taken with BW...and jus so happened to be one of the ones i liked...too bad...but u are sorely right...wuda been killer in color....bummer.

Here are a few color from the day with the blue sky that shoulda been in the other shot :S I think the best part was NO ONE was there (-4C)

wow, i did not realize there were so many different users on here from all over the world...very nice to make your acquaintance guys and thanks for the continued input on my first thread

waldr_p - I am dying to get the camera...I could barely sleep last night and have been searching for a well priced used 17-55 all night and morning! Def will be getting the non IS 70-200 when the time comes...they are fairly cheap now..thanks for your approval and advice!

kirry007 - that is great news! Seems I made the right choice then...im guessing I will love this camera like everyone says I will and thus will prob be keeping it as my 2nd body when the time comes around for a new one...however if I decide not to keep its still nice to know that the price will hold as well as yours..i hope! lol

mactuna - ...i dont think ive ever been called a nice chap before...that was pretty awesome! thanks! Im glad you liked the photos and I was able to share. I have been lurking on here for 2 months trying to convince myself to pick back up the hobby and i have seen a lot of draw dropping photos...so its really just nice to be a part of it all in some little way

thanks for the advice on the zoom+prime as a starter. you are right, once I have the 17-55 i dont think i would need the 10-22 right away..the fast prime prob would be more practical and get more use..i love shooting people with a shallow, sharp and fast prime...now to decide if i want the 50 or the 85 first...decisions decisions...i guess it comes down to which one I find cheaper USED! lol...im loving the fact that Ive seen the light of used goods...itll expand my new USED kit much faster lol

take care guys and thanks again for reading and writing in my very first thread

Buy a 30D and save your money.

thanks camper, but i already got the 40D

the extra 2 bills it cost me are well worth the features I think. cant wait to get it!