Which DSLR?

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Originally Posted by loanrangie

If its anything like using the lcd of a P&S camera it will suck the life out pretty quick, i think that the liveview sort of defeats the purpose of an SLR anyway .

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It does. I have LiveView on my 40D. Waste of time, never used it, too many limitations.

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Originally Posted by dullbird

yeh if you could check out the price of a nikon 70-200vr 2.8 i would appreciate it:)......looking to buy before oct so i can take it on my travels

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is this the one?
AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED ??

if so, it's approx. S$2500 or about A$2000 give or take $100 - if paying cash, you could get it a bit cheaper, but not much and it has only dropped in price by about $300 since introduction in 2006.

That's the one dullbird's talking about. That's about as good a price as any. Very hard to get it under AU$2000. Great lens though:D

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Originally Posted by Col.Coleman

That is excactly why I decided on the 40D. The features of the 40D are more desirable to me RIGHT NOW than the 5D. I know that I will be replacing it at some time, so I think of it as a diposable option. For the sports I will hand held as well as tripod, so the IS is desirable for me.

The 50D is billed as a step up over the 40D and will fill a gap and run along side the 40D for a while, not replace it. The only disadvantage in the smaller sensor I see is it is harder to get big wide angle shots, and you have to be mindfull when framing using the eyepeice. It is not going to effect me just yet.

CC

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I'm glad to hear you've thought it through, and i suppose that's what this discussion is all about. If you do go the 40D, the 10-22mm is a necessary evil for wide angle shots due to the 1.6 x smaller sensor multiplier. I've got one as well for my 20D, (which I'll be looking to retire in the not too distant future), and it works great. And if taking sports shots (kids at soccer / footy or similar), the IS will be good, but the real question is, will it be worth the extra $1k (or whatever the difference is these days)

Some more food for thought...

The rule for handholding non-IS glass is the shutter speed should be faster than the reciprocal of the zoom length. I.e. if you're shooting at 200mm, your shutter speed should be at least 1/200 seconds. Keep in mind that's for a full frame sensor. On a 40D, a 200mm zoom becomes 1.6 x 200 = 320mm, so the minimum shutter required would be 1/320 seconds.

The IS would give you 2-3 f-stops on that, so instead of 1/320 sec, your minimum would be 1/80 seconds (2 stops), or even 1/40 (3 stops). At such long shutter speeds tho, you've got to worry about motion blur for sports photography.

Where the IS really shines (IMHO) is low light & indoor photography where longer lenses are required and flashes are either out of reach, or not desirable (disturbing the subject for example). For me, and the type of use my 70-200 gets, it's just not worth it.

Don't anyone get me wrong, the IS is desirable for me as well, but I can't justify spending an extra grand, at least not until I've upgraded to the 5D!:D

But each to their own, and, as I said above, you've thought it through and if you decide that the IS function is worth the money, great, so long as you're doing it for the right reasons.

If it were me however :angel:, and 5D was not an option, I'd seriously consider a macro lens, or at least a set of extension tubes. The abundance of macro subjects is unbelievable!!! Grains of sand on a beach, texture of a leaf against sunlight, bugs, flowers, bugs on flowers, the list goes on and on... :cool:

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Originally Posted by EchiDna

one more thing to consider is that $5-6k of brand new camera gear will not walk through Australian customs without attracting requests for proof of Oz purchase - so I'd expect to pay GST on arrival in Oz for the amount above the tax free threshold (dpends how many friends you have travelling together how much that will be).

If anyone every wants to save time on shopping around in Singapore, drop me a PM and I'll check out the market for you in advance - I've lived here for years and years and know all the local photography haunts....

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Very good point,

when coming back, I've mixed up my new gear in with the old gear (in a camera backpack which has obviously seen some use).

Now I'm a bit of stickler for packaging, so instead of chucking them out, I folded flat and concealed the boxes into the bottom of my bag, with the styro in my pockets :D

Didn't get a second look from customs, (and I didn't have any receipts for my other gear), but I suppose the gear bag looked well used, so they didn't bother.

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Originally Posted by Offender90

Very good point,

when coming back, I've mixed up my new gear in with the old gear (in a camera backpack which has obviously seen some use).

Now I'm a bit of stickler for packaging, so instead of chucking them out, I

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folded flat and concealed the boxes into the bottom of my bag, with the styro in my pockets :D

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Didn't get a second look from customs, (and I didn't have any receipts for my other gear), but I suppose the gear bag looked well used, so they didn't bother.

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you were lucky you never got pulled over for a concealment.......looks bad on you if it looks like you have delibratly tried to hide something even if it is boxes:D

concealed - well, put under the backpack lining to keep them straight, I should say, but in principle, I agree I was lucky none of it got a second look.

WELL,

after the events over the last week buying cars, I had given up on a new camera............BBBUUUUTTTTT.........


Got a phone call from Hong Kong tonight.

EOS 40D
EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM
4g card
bag
and maybe some other stuff

just over $900au:):)

SOLD

A good start for the dollars I have left. Expand the other lenses on their next trip.

CC

sure that aint for the 400D? it's VERY cheap...
even the bare body for the 40D is about A$1100 here.

and the lens is about the same price... umm... something doesn't sound quite right there mate :(

card and bag are free gifts, so nothing special to get them thrown in.

I hope not.

But the guys doing the deal are some real movers and shakers, so I wouldn't be surprised what deals they can get.

Time will tell

CC


PS. Even if it is, it's still WWWAAAYY better than my mobile phone, which is all I have to use at the moment:D:D