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Canon 30D for a newbie (1 Viewer)

JRE

JRE

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Hi all.
I am looking to buy my first DSLR. Having had a quick look through prices, and after a couple of suggestions, I am considering saving for (possibly secondhand) a Canon 30D, and then buying a 400mm f/5.6 prime lense. As I said, I am completely new to this, so any recommendations/advice is very welcome.

Many thanks
Joe
 
The best thing to do is to get your hands on the gear and see what you think, either find a decent camera shop or find someone you know who has it. I've only briefly used a 30D and was impressed by it, with the arrival of the 40D you can get good deal on used 30Ds. As for the lens, I got a 400 f5.6 late last year and am really impressed with it - it's lightweight, fast focusing and sharp. Probably one of the best walk about wildlife lenses around.
 
I've found a website selling a new 30D for approx. £240, as well as a few reasonably priced lenses on Ebay.
Thanks for the advice, it looks like it'll be worth waiting for.
Joe
 
I have both camera and lens Joe and it is a great combo for bird shots and light enough to walk around all day with. Works especially well in Devon ;););)
 
Hi Joe,
I'd love to know where you can buy a new 30d for £240!!!

Is it a "one off". If so you're 1st in the que. It's a bargain.

If they have more than one, please let me know quickly!!!!

Thanks

Martynl
 
sidwemn said:
Hi Joe,
I'd love to know where you can buy a new 30d for £240!!!

Is it a "one off". If so you're 1st in the que. It's a bargain.

If they have more than one, please let me know quickly!!!!

Thanks

Martynl
Click to expand...
I was surprised myself. I was told I would probably need twice my current budget to purchase one. Body only selling for $486(approx £250) here
 
Joe Ray said:
I was surprised myself. I was told I would probably need twice my current budget to purchase one. Body only selling for $486(approx £250) here
Click to expand...

If you import one from the States Joe you are likely to be hit with a load of taxes which will certainly push the price up significantly. Also I not sure that Canon UK would honor the guarantee for a grey import.
 
I'd be careful there Joe.
Do a quick google on them and read the Reseller ratings comments.

Sound choice of camera and lens though, just be prepared to pay a genuine price ;)
 
The 30D and 400mm f5.6 sounds like a great combination although I'm surprised to hear it being described as a walkabout set-up. I've always assumed most people would prefer the 100-400mm IS zoom for walkabout. However the 30D's high ISO performance does suggest frequently shooting at 1/1000 and ISO 800 may produce reasonable results.

It'd be useful to know how the 400mm prime lens compares to the more expensive 100-400mm IS zoom. I'm sure I read somewhere with the zoom being amongst Canon's earliest IS lenses it only gives a 2 stop advantage (surely conservative). At f5.6 presumably the zoom will have to be stopped down to F8 to get close to the performance of the prime lens. For walkabout situations in reasonably bright conditions (and the occasional tripod use where a teleconverter might also be added) is the 400mm lens a better choice than the 100-400mm zoom?
 
ikw101 said:
The 30D and 400mm f5.6 sounds like a great combination although I'm surprised to hear it being described as a walkabout set-up. I've always assumed most people would prefer the 100-400mm IS zoom for walkabout. However the 30D's high ISO performance does suggest frequently shooting at 1/1000 and ISO 800 may produce reasonable results.

It'd be useful to know how the 400mm prime lens compares to the more expensive 100-400mm IS zoom. I'm sure I read somewhere with the zoom being amongst Canon's earliest IS lenses it only gives a 2 stop advantage (surely conservative). At f5.6 presumably the zoom will have to be stopped down to F8 to get close to the performance of the prime lens. For walkabout situations in reasonably bright conditions (and the occasional tripod use where a teleconverter might also be added) is the 400mm lens a better choice than the 100-400mm zoom?
Click to expand...
I use the 400 mm f5.6 and 30D/40D as a walkabout combo - hand held for most of the time although I do take a monopod if I use it with a converter. The lens is a little lighter than the zoom so the weight is no problem. I have no problem getting sharp shots hand held at 1/500 sec which is almost always achievable for my style of shooting. With the monopod I can get sharp shots at 1/125 or even slower. The prime is superb for BIF as the AF is mega quick.
All the bird shots on my Gallery and web site have been taken with the 400 f5.6 (99% hand held). judge for yourself if it is a walkabout or not. BTW I never shoot from a hide or the like but walk for miles taking shots as the opportunity arises.
 
I own both and I never like to choose between them for IQ. Both are first rate lenses for sharpness even wide open.

I must admit that generally I take the 400mm prime with me when wandering about as I find it noticeably lighter to carry and the narrower lens tube is much easier and more comfortable to hand hold. Also in those circumstances birds tend to be a little further away. Like Roy I usually carry a monopd as well. I find the autofocus is a little quicker than the zoom which is useful for birds in flight. My main dislike of the lens is the minimum focus distance - it can still be used with extension tubes but isn't as effective as using the 100-400mm.

The 100-400mm obviously has the versatility for framing subjects with the zoom adjustment and I repeatedly find the IS a boon in duller conditions. Minimum focus is pretty good as well and with extension tubes added you can get into macro range without the need for an additional lens. I'm not so struck on the lens hood fixture and the extra weight but size wise it's more convenient to put in a camera bag as it's more compact. It comes into it's own for me at hides and hide screens where the birds are within a few feet at times but is also decent for more distant subjects.
 
Joe for a first DSLR it can be useful to look beyond the body and take into account what "affordable" lenses are available.

Best price I can find for a 30D body is £499 at Jessops. With the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 MkII Lens add an extra £50.

Likewise the Nikon D80 body is available at £499 however it produces arguably noisier images at high iso speeds than the 30D. However if the resulting images are put through any half decent £20 noise reduction programme I suspect the difference will be negligible.

In general Canon's lenses tend to be less expensive and in the affordable bracket you've got a choice of the 300mm f4 IS plus 1.4 teleconverter, the 100-400mm IS zoom and the 400mm f5.6 non-image stabilised. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a Canon user however the general consensus is the 500mm f5.6 is marginally sharper than the 100-400mm zoom in good light whilst the advantage of the zooms IS gives the zoom better performance in low light.

In the affordable bracket Nikon have a 80-400mm VR zoom and a 300mm f4 . The zoom lacks the seperate focus motor of its Canon equivalent and perhaps unsurprisingly is slower to react to birds in flight. The 300mm f4 is a superb lens however it lacks Nikon's VR. To gain the 400mm reach most people require it needs to be coupled to a teleconverter which effectively restricts it to good light conditions only.

Deciding which system to go for is a difficult decision. Logically given the bodies and choices of lenses available Canon appear to offer better value for money. However logic sometimes goes out of the window and when faced with the same decision I went with Nikon. On the whole I don't regret it however the limited choices of affordable lenses at 400mm is annoying leading to me having to crop photo's more than I'd prefer to. If I had to make the choice again I'd probably go for the Canon 30D and 100-400mm IS zoom.
 
Hi all.
Apologies for resurrecting such an old thread. My grandmother recently passed away, and although the legal documents etc are not yet finalized, she has left me in the region of £1000. After consulting parents, it appears this money is not in a special account for when I'm 18, but is reasonably accessible. Therefore my new budget is around 1k, however I could perhaps stretch £100 or so above that if necessary. It would need to be a combination that would last though. I would not be able to upgrade for at least 3 years.
Any suggestions?
 
If anyone wants to buy a 30D,I have one to sell.So any offers gratefully accepted.A good cam,but I use the 40D on a reg basis,and the 400d,as a back up.
 
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