I’ve read all the on-line and magazine reviews and think I like the 20D the best so far. Since I am going to primarily use it for automotive shots while learning photography, do you think this is a wise choice? Also, I noticed that I can buy it with one of several types of lenses - which should I start with?

 

Congratulations on the new camera (even though it's a non-Nikon )!
Hmmm . . . for automotive shots eh?
I'm not a Canon guy but their EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5 looks like it'll do the trick (albeit an expensive trick).

For detail shots, you might look into a 50mm prime lens. They're usually well-priced and a pretty fast.

-Juan

 

I just got a 20d about 2 months ago and love it! It can do things I would never be able to do with my point and shoot. Some of my shots and more to come can be found at aaamini.smugmug.com. After searching high and low, reading lens review after lens review this is what I have in bag bag:

EF-S 18-55mm (Lens that came with the camera, ok quality)
EF 50mm 1.8 Prime (Great quality, fast lens for cheap! about $70)
EF 28-135mm USM (Great Quality, good walk around lens with moderate zoom about $410)

Next Purchase:
EF-S 17-85mm USM (Much better than kit lens, good walk around as well as for wide angle).

I Found a great lense review site at http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

Hope this Helps

-Andy

 

I'm a 10D user myself, I'm happy with canon as a whole, I carry at least one wide, one "normal" and one telphoto lens, plus some macro filters so I don't need to carry around another lens. I've used the 20D, its very similar for some reson Canon decided to switch to smaller buttons and a more akward layout, I don't feel anywhere near as comfortbe using it, but it is still a very sound camera. A 50mm is a good lens to have on standby esp. for night photos and also a must if you choose not to go the zoom lens route.

 

The 20D is an excellent Digital SLR. I've got one myself and love it. You might want to navigate over to the forums at Digital Grin. It's a forum dedicated to digital photography with plenty of opinions on the best gear to get.

As for myself, I have a Canon EF 28-105 f/3.4-4.5 and a canon EF 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 that I've had and used for years with a Canon EOS-Elan film body. They work great with the 20D as well. Last year I added a Tamron 17-35 f/2.8-4 wide angle lens. I find myself using this lens significantly more than I do the other two lenses.

If your familiar at all with 35mm film camera bodies and lenses, there is one major difference regarding lens usage with the 20D. The CMOS sensor on the 20D is smaller than the standard 35mm film frame. This results in a 1.6 crop factor. hat this means is that the focal length of a lens is effectively multiplied by 1.6. Thus my 17-35mm Wide angle gives the same field of view as a 27-56mm lens.

Canon also makes lenses dedicated for use on their digital cameras. These lenses are the EF-S lenses. I personally have steared away from the EF-s and other manufacturers compatible lenses as I still use my film body for black and white work. The EF-S lenses are not compatible with Canon film body cameras. That said, there is nothing wrong with the EF-s lenses if all you ever plan to use is a digital SLR.

If you don't mind waiting, you can save considerable money by purchasing on-line. There are plenty of on-line source recommendations at Digital Grin. Also, you might get a better deal buying your lenses separately via EBAY rather than as a package. There are some great deals on used but good condition lenses. Also, Tamron and Sigma make lenses that work with the Canon system. They're good lenses, although not quite as good as the best Canon lenses and are reasonably priced.

I over did it on the CF card. I got a 4GB card and can take well over 800 photos if I use JPEG at the highest resolution and about 300 if I use JPEG+RAW (this creates two files for every photo, a normal JPEG and a lossless file of exactly the data the sensor sees). I think a better choice would have been two or more 1GB cards. Check around for the best price on your CF card as well. You don't have to buy everything from the same place and I have found that if one vendor has the best price on cameras, his cost for CF cards will be much higher than others and vice-versa.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding the 20D and definitely check out Digital Grin.

Phil

 

I'm a Nikon guy, too, but I'll agree that a 50 mm prime is a great choice for car shooting. It's a focal length that lets you get pretty far back (especially with the digital "crop factor") so perspective is pleasing, they have a nice, big maximum aperture (f/1.8 is common), they're small and light, and they have great optical quality. You can't beat it for the price. Unless you'll be shooting mostly car shows where you need something wide, it would be very useful.

Mark

 

Rick, you'll love the EOS!! The imaging sensor is great!

After several years of sitting on the sidelines with a film camera (several EOS film cameras) I decided to take the plunge last fall and buy a Rebel XT. The price was right, it's small and most importantly it's lite. I looked at the 20D and it was really nice and well constructed!! But I'm not a pro photographer and since it had many of the same features as the XT, I didn't need it. The 20D is 100% magnesium frame, the XT only has a lens to image sensor magnesium frame/cage.

Anyways, the points I'm trying to make are the following:

1) Maybe consider the XT (review) (comparison)
2) Don't buy the camera kit!
3) Spend the money on good quality lenses! Your pictures will appreciate it.
4) Buy only glass lenses, never buy the polycarbonate lenses.
5) Buy lenses with metal mounts only!

I have an old (poor quality 100% plastic) 28-80 3.5-5.6 V USM and it weighs in about 250g. My good EF 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 II USM (glass) weighs about 420g.

Take a look at this review for some details on how Canon names their lenses. Case in point is the info on the EF 28-105mm 3.5-4.5 USM. Versions I and II were good lenses, but then Canon discontinued it and replaced it with a 28-105mm 4-5.6 which is plastic.

To see the differences between two lens in different revisions, take a look at the Rebel XT review from above. Towards the bottom, look for the window box pictures.

Good luck!!

 

Wow, thanks. For the price difference, maybe I will take a good look at the XT.

 

The 20D is getting replaced by the 30D:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos30d/

Be sure to either wait for the 30D, or get a deal on the 20 just when the 30 hits stores.

You'll love either, I have the older D60 and would love to move to the newest evolution if only I had money.

 

One lens that hasn't been mentioned yet that really should be is the 70-200 F/4. That would make a good lens for some car photography. As would the 70-200 F/2.8 IS (budget permitting).

And I would definitely take a look at the XT since it would mean you could put more money into good glass (which is what you're really investing in anyway from this point out).

 

Its definately worth going to the store to handle the cameras; I thought the XT was a shoe-in for the SO but after handling it found the ergonomics/feel lacking and we went with the 20D (whish was only a couple hundred more) - its sorta like looking at car specs on paper vs test driving it, its a personal thing you just have to experience to decide The SO has been very happy with it, only has a 28-135 so far which has been pretty flexible, would just like to add a good wide angle.

 

I'd disagree with avoiding the kit. You only save like $100 by not getting the kit lens. There are *very* few lenses you can get for that money, and I don't think the 18-55mm kit lens (er, for the Rebel XT, that is) is bad at all! I wish it were faster, but (probably because I haven't used any other lenses yet) I haven't noticed any deficiency in sharpness that some people complain about.