Camera Labs

Firstly, hello everyone! As the thread title says I am planning on buying a 60D with with a couple of lenses, tulips etc. I have been reading for months now, scanning through reviews and comparisons especially the ones on this page (thanks to Gordon at this point, best page I have found yet and the only one I registered for). The only thing I am really set on is the 60D (feels better than the t3i and I know myself I will always regret the lower fps). As of now this is what I have in my Amazon cart:

Canon EOS 60D 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS UD Standard Zoom Lens
Tiffen 67mm UV Protection Filter
Opteka EW-73B Lens Hood for Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM & 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lenses

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens for Canon EOS SLR Cameras
Tiffen 58mm UV Protection Filter
Precision Design ET-65B Lens Hood Canon for EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM Lens

LensPEN Lens Cleaning System
Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster Large - Black
NEEWER® IR Wireless Remote Control RC-6 shutter release for Canon EOS 60D
Kata DR-467i Digital Rucksack (Black)

So my question now is of course if this is a good setup or what u think I should change. What I am unsure about is whether I shouldnt just buy the 60D body and get a Canon EF-S 15-85mm IS USM instead of the 18-135 (esp. since I'd have the 70-300 anyways). Is it worth the extra buck?
Any recommondations whatsoever are more than welcome, I am thankful for every advice and help I can get.

Last but not least, I was also looking at some portrait, low-light lenses. Am I getting ahead of myself with the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM or Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM? Should I as a beginner just get the EF 50mm f/1.8 II for now or will I regret that soon and upgrade anyways?

Thanks in advance, eagerly looking forward to your replies!

Thats a lot of kit with your first camera!! My intention is to purchase a 60D with a 17-85mm (because I cant afford a 15-85mm) I intend to learn what I need with that and maybe buy the new 100-400mm from canon when it comes out in the future, until then Ill stick with one lens and maybe get a 50mm 1.8

One thing I noticed, if you are going with what you stated above. Is the lens hood the right one for the 70-300mm On the hood it says its for the DO model or are they the same.
Gareth

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Cameras: Canon Ixus 100is. 60D 17-85mm
Computer: 2008 Apple Macbook Aluminum (dreaming of a new retina macbook pro!!)
Phones: iPhone 1g And HTC Wildfire Apple iPad 3 wifi
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gareththomasjones/

Well according to the reviews it fits on the non DO too, so I hope it really does :p.

The reason why I wanna buy at least two lenses (telephoto and wide-angle/portrait) is because I travel a lot and my honeymoon is coming up in 2 weeks. Since we're going to Hawaii I know that I will need a telephoto and I think a telephoto only wont cut it. Therefore I would need the two right away.
Of course I know that I have a lot to learn, but I'd rather buy a good lens now and therefore not have to upgrade anytime soon.

It's worth it if you make regular use of its benefits such as the greater wide angle when zoomed out and arguably sharper IQ. With my own money, I would buy the 15-85mm over the 18-135mm despite the price premium, especially since I too have a 70-300mm.


It's not at all a case of running before you can walk. Whether you'll regret buying the 50mm f/1.8 II or not comes down to your expectations of what it should do and how you plan on using it. I think is a lovely albeit flawed lens, offering perhaps the best value for money of perhaps any of Canon's lenses.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control

FYI I'm in Hawaii, and I have all three of those lenses. If you'd like to meet up while you're here to try them out, PM me. But if you'd rather spend your honeymoon ... um ... honeymooning ... I completely understand.

Mark

Your idea is pretty close to my setup. I would recommend looking at the Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD. It has a few features that the Canon does not have (Including a lens hood, dam you Canon and your not giving us hoods!)

Also remember, you are looking at a crop sensor camera, think about what you want out of a low light lens, 50mm may be too narrow for you. I have a 35mm f/2 and it is a great performer for the price (if you can get past the noisy auto focus) and I have run into a few situations that it is even to narrow on my crop sensor. I really want the Sigma 30 f/1.4.

Anyhow, hope you get your kit and enjoy it as much as I enjoy mine

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Mike "The Squirrel"
Canon 550D | Canon EF 35mm 1:2 | Canon 50 f/1.8 II | Sigma 18-125mm DC OS | Tamron SP 70-300mm Di VC USD | Canon 430EX II
Military Issued Canon 40D | Canon 55-250mm IS

@Hiking Mike: Just looked up the Tamron but it does not come with a hood either :p (at least not on Amazon). I am almost tending to getting this one over the Canon one now despite the higher price, thanks for that one!
edit: my bad, there is a lens hood included

@Maestro: Wow, thanks for the incredible offer, but I think the Missus wouldnt really appreciate us going out of our way for me trying out lenses :p But just in case - what island would you be on?
Since you have/know all the lenses, is there one that you would reccomend for me or is it really just about my personal preferences? And what camera are u using them with? Full frame or crop sensor? I know that is up to personal preference, but do u feel like it is too narrow for you like Mike said (if u have a crop sensored one)?

Ps: Just noticed btw that the Tamron comes with a 50$ mail in rebate which brings the price down to 399, nice! Atm all the Tamrons come with rebates ranging from 25-100$ btw!

I kinda figured that might be the case. But just in case, I'm on Oahu, although it's not uncommon for me to hop a plane to another island. e.g. I was on Maui a couple weeks ago to watch our volleyball team play Nebraska.



I'd be hard pressed to recommend just one lens without for information. Especially since, in addition to personal preference, shooting conditions may also come into play. For example, I do a lot of music/band photography, so there are times, in a large crowd, when I can't get as close to the stage as I might like, and that necessitates a longer lens. There are also times, in a small bar, when I can't back up as far as I might like, and that necessitates a shorter/wider lens. And that leads into...



Yes and no. If I can't get the shot with one particular lens, I switch to something else. In addition to the ones we discussed previously, I also have the 35mm f2 that Mike mentioned, as well as a 100mm f2, 135mm f2, 200mm f2.8 and on the wide end, a Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 (in addition to a bunch of other m4/3 lenses, which leads into...)

They've all been used at various shoots on my m4/3 (2X crop) GH1 and GH2, as well as my partner's 7D (1.6X crop) and 5DII (full frame). Well, obviously the EF-S Tokina doesn't work well on the 5DII, but other than that...

Mark

Well, i can say two things - 15-85 is really wide on wide angle, everytime i want something to fit in it - its possible, 18 was not so good, especially indoors. So +1 for 15mm. BUT - i am not that impressed with its focusing, its quiet and fast, but when i was making my portfolio for 500px today, it seems i have sharper photos made with simple 18-55. Also, this lens is happy to dark your corners.

I know i must been doing something wrong, because i also searched for 60D on 500px and there are awesomly sharp photos there, but there is noone who could help me with my focusing problem (all my friends are shooting videos, not stills)

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I'm new to DSLR's, so please be patient and take my opinions with reserve. Thank you : ) Yes, i am Canon man.
Google + My picasa photos My 500px album
Canon 60D + 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS, Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, Canon 430EXII, polarizing filter 72mm,
Canon AT-1, 50mm FD F1.8
Canon A430,

@Mike: hehe, thanks

So as of now I think that I will go with the 70-300 Tamron, the 15-85 Canon and the 50 1.8 canon until I get the hang of things. Thanks for your input so far, I will order Monday or Tuesday so I am still open to any advice or suggestions
Regarding memory cards I have chosen the "SanDisk Extreme 16GB SDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDX-016G-X46,Black" of which I will get two. Maybe 1 and two 8GB card tough, still debating on that one.

Thanks for your input,
Christian

That does sound like a good set, I bought my 60D on Boxing Day here in New Zealand for a sweet deal, came with a 18-55 kit lens as they were out of stock for 18-135mm kits.

In a way, it turned out to be good, as I have now added 3 more lenses to my collection

Canon 15-85mm USM (Wide to mid Telephoto)
Canon 50mm f1.8 (Prime)
Tamron 70-300mm VC USM (Telephoto Lens)

One thing I would suggest you add to that list of yours is a Gorillapod SLR Zoom, it is really useful in some tricky situations and being flexible and all, its a must have. It fits into your camera bag too!

In my opinion the Tamron 70-300mm is better than the Canon counterpart, costs less and is very sharp. Beautiful Lens. The 50mm f1.8 gives you almost same range as the human eye although you may find it to be too close in some situations, I think it is a must have though, afterall its the cheapest lens in Canon's lineup.

The 15-85 mm is purely for the wide end, feels a bit heavy but balances excellently on the 60D and IQ is quite good. Strange but sometimes I feel the 18-55 is sharper for the same shot, maybe its just my mind, maybe not. Had to swap the one I originally bought since it had issues with focussing. 2nd copy of the lens is much much better.

Happy purchasing and you wont be disappointed with the 60D, its an awesome camera for what it does.

Another vote for the 15-85. A very nice walk about lens.

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Dan Marchant
I am learning photo graphee - see the results at www.danmarchant.com

@jiggz: makes me feel good that my research basically resulted in thinking about the same set of lenses u actually have. And damn u with that Gorilla Pod, added another 60 bucks :p (I ordered the one with the level since I'm a little OCD, hehe)

Also added a "B+W Clear UV Haze with Multi-Resistant Coating" for each lens. I opted for getting two 16GB memory cards since I know that every once in a while I will forget the 8GB in the laptop or somewhere else and then be stuck with the small one.
Also got two books, "Canon EOS 60D: From Snapshots to Great Shots" and "Canon EOS 60D Digital Field Guide".
Apart from that the Tamron 70-300, the Canon 15-85 and the Canon 50mm f/1.8 (crazy that the uv haze and the hood cost almost a third of the lens, lol)

Oh, just one last question, should I get a spare battery? If so, any recommondations?

Thanks again for everyones input, I'm sure I will be back with a lot of questions in the near future

Yes, get a spare battery. Firstly you don't want to be out and have your battery go flat. Second there will come a day when you check your kit before setting out and find the battery is nearly dead. If it's your only one you have to wait for it to charge. If you have a spare you can head out the door.

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Dan Marchant
I am learning photo graphee - see the results at www.danmarchant.com

Ok I've been looking all over Amazon for a spare battery, but i'm unsure about which one to get since often times the reviews say fake, etc, etc. So if anyone could reccomend one I'd be very happy!