Camera Gurus inside please!--- EDIT!!! Made my choice.

[przero]

Try used from a reputable dealer.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

After considerable thought, I opted for a Canon Elan 7E and a Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 USM-IS lens.

Everything with limits is a compromise, and since I have no Canon lenses, I needed to start somewhere. Of course I understand that one lens cannot do all, but until I can save up for "L" series lenses, this will have to do. Fortunately, I have a very sturdy Bogen tripod etc.

Thanks again!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Bump for the AM crowd

 

[todpod]

Looks like a good start, and you will be able to make a nice transition to digital in the future.

 

[lowtech1]

AmigaMan - What part of this couldn't you understand?

"If he can do away with the tilt-shift lens, and go for used equipment then the lenses from 20mm to 100mm macro should cost around $600 for Canon/Nikon prime lenses, and what ever body that his heart desire. "


WinstonSmith - The 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USM is a good lens. Slightly sharper than the average 28~105mm USM lens. And IS motor is great for handheld, because you can effectively shoot tack sharp shot at 135mm with 1/60s. If you want to do any enlargment then you might want to consistantly using f:11 for best result. Another thing is purchase a skylight filter to balance the skylight colour & to protect you precious front element (at 72mm is a large area to easily get damage), and might want to add a polarizer filter for cloud/water & to cut down 2 stop of light when needed.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I just got it this evening, and am reading the manual right now. Things have changed quite a lot since my last SLR purchase (a manual focus Ricoh XR-P) I may pick up an old Pentax k1000 at some point as the lenses are interchangeable. Gonna need to work extra for all the goodies I could get

Now to start saving for that 4"x5"