Decided to buy some new gear

[angry hampster]

I've got a couple of deposits coming in for springtime weddings along with my tax refund. Decided to buy some extra gear. Going to get either a 20D or 30D for a backup body, a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye from Sigma or Canon, and maybe a 135L.

I thought long and hard about getting a 40D over a 30D, but IMO it's just not worth double the price. The 30D has the EXACT same layout as my 5D, and it'll be a backup so I don't expect to use it too often.


I'm also considering a Tokina 11-16 or Tokina 10-17 fisheye for my new wide lens. I used to have a 10-17 at one point and loved it. It'd be great to have a fisheye that could work on both of my cameras.


Can't wait for spring!

 

[PoopyPants]

why the fisheye ? do you really do fisheye work? its rare to find anyone who does enough to justify the cost vs maybe a rental.

and the difference in 30D to 40D, i would argue that as i went form a 20D to a 40D and was VERY happy i did. and the 30D and 20D are the same camera.
and then i went to the 7D (almost, allllmost got the 5D MKII)

its not double the cost, although retail it could be if you found one (30D).
buying a used body like i just sold here, or on ebay, you can pick one up a 40D for $600 easy.
and given your taste in lenses i dont see money as an issue.

the tokina 11-16 is a great lens from what i have seen.
myself i went with the Tamron 10-24.
its got some heavy distortion from the wide angle (curved edges) but depending on what you are doing, it may be a non issue.
the downside its its slower aperture.. but, again depending on your lighting it can easily be a non issue.

check out the tamron, you could save yourself $200 to put into th 40D backup body.

i like my manual lenses and very frequently use M42 to EOS adapters with some fantastic Asahi and Yashika lenses.
i have a 135mm F/2.8 and although a great lens, isnt something i use very much. so again something to think about if thats really what you want.

also, no need to say how differently they will react on the crop sensor vs your 5D.

 

[996GT2]

I thought long and hard about getting a 40D over a 30D, but IMO it's just not worth double the price. The 30D has the EXACT same layout as my 5D, and it'll be a backup so I don't expect to use it too often.

I've used a 30D and currently have a 40D, and I can say the 40D is quite a bigger jump from the 30D than the 30D was from the 20D.

Improvements:

2 more MP
Better AF: all 9 are cross points, center point extra sensitive at f/2.8
Faster: 6.5 FPS vs 5, much bigger shooting buffer
Live View (this is actually very useful in some cases, for example when you want to shoot at ground level but do not want to lie on your stomach)
14-bit RAW files have a bit more headroom in PP
Built in sensor cleaning
Bigger viewfinder
Bigger LCD (more accurate colors too)
ISO in viewfinder
Camera doesn't turn off if you open the CF door
3 Custom modes (5D only has 1)

On POTN, I see used 40D bodies with <5k clicks for only around $575-650, while 30D bodies are going for around $400-450 at the moment. Certainly not twice the price for a 40D, and I feel that the improvements are much more than minor ones. If anything, I feel that the jump from 30D to 40D is much bigger than the jump from either 20D->30D or from 40D->50D.

I'm also considering a Tokina 11-16 or Tokina 10-17 fisheye for my new wide lens. I used to have a 10-17 at one point and loved it. It'd be great to have a fisheye that could work on both of my cameras.

Do you really use fisheyes enough to warrant spending $5-600 for one over a wide-angle? IMO a ultrawide is much more useful for most things. Also, you don't really need to spend ~$600 for an autofocus fisheye, since with a fisheye you hardly ever need to focus (due to huge DoF). I do gigapixel panorama photography with a fisheye, and the lens we're using right now is a Saymang 8mm f/3.5 Aspherical fisheye. It has pretty good image quality even wide open and is much cheaper than the Canon 15mm fisheye or Tokina 10-17mm.

You can find re-branded versions of the Samyang marketed as the Opteka 6.5m or Vivitar 7mm. All are the same lens (the focal length difference is due to the different projection used to calculate FL), and some variants are only around $250.

Here's a little more info on it: http://photorumors.com/2009/05/04/samyang-8-mm-f35-aspherical-if-mc-fish-eye-for-nikon/

 

[randomlinh]

I've used a 30D and currently have a 40D, and I can say the 40D is quite a bigger jump from the 30D than the 30D was from the 20D.

I somewhat agree here, but there's something to be said for having two cameras with very similar layouts. And savings is savings, can put it toward the lens =) If it were his only camera, I'd def say used 40D/50D. But as a backup, I think the 30D does quite well. Though, a lot of this will depend on what he shoots.

 

[angry hampster]

Forgot to mention. This gear will be used primarily for wedding photography.

I realize the 40D has a few advantages over the 30D, and I'll probably wind up going for it just out of longevity's sake.

996, I've thought about getting an old M42 fisheye or a cheap russian one like a Zenitar 16mm..though I'm leery about not having a light meter with it on my 5D.

I'm not entirely set on the fisheye vs ultrawide issue yet. My 24-70 is wide enough for 95&#37; of what I do, but sometimes it'd be nice to have an ultrawide for dramatic effect or fun and quirky close-ups.

 

[bigi]

Get some bright lens f/1.4 or f/1.2
24mm, 50mm or 85mm

Try to get entire indoor church ceremony done with 50mm f1.4 and no flash. Not easy at first, but well worth the effort.

 

[angry hampster]

Wound up getting a 30D last night on KEH for $350. Bought another light stand and umbrella. Currently in the market for a Sigma 15-30 or similar.


Bigi: Primes really aren't my thing. I've got my 85 f/1.8 for the 'money shots'. That's good enough for me right now.