Beginner I've just bought a Canon EOS 1000F with a Sigma lens

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Robert
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The Sigma lens is a 28-70mm 1:3.5-4.5 , and I'm assuming that I can use this with my 350D. I'm getting impatient with the struggle to find a cheap lens, so I put a bid on this on Ebay, and I've won. Now for some questions, as I don't want the 1000F.

The camera was listed as untested, and I was going to put it back onto Ebay when I receive it - is this a good idea, or would it be better to offer it for sale in this forum?
With regards to testing, about all I can do is to check that it looks OK, and the lens is activated electronically. (if there is a charge in the battery ).
It comes with a strap, and I wouldn't mind keeping that, does the absence of a strap affect the sale?
Obviously I am going to keep the lens, but I won't have a cap for the body. Should I buy one, or use a plastic bottle top as a substitute?
 
That Sigma lens may or may not work on the 350D. Some of the Sigma lenses that were designed for Canon film camera don't work fully on Canon digital camera.
Some will autofocus but not allow you to adjust aperture, some just throw up an error code.

Take a look at this old thread: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/sigma-28-70-f3-5-4-5-pre-1990.179259/

As for the body, the 1000F was a fairly common consumer model, you might manage to get £10 for it. But in an untested state you're unlikely to get much for it.
You may have more luck if you can put a battery in it and show that it at least turns on. This would also have the benefit of allowing you to test the Sigma lens on the film camera to prove whether it works at all or only on a film camera.

Good luck.
 
You'll probably pay more for a new body cap than the camera is worth, and that's if it's in full working order! I'd hang on and see if the lens and/or camera work first before making plans. If the camera works then it might fetch around £5 to £10, if untested then it will probably fetch less than £5 or not sell at all. I doubt a cheap, thin, strap will affect the sale prospects very much; a wide, genuine Canon, branded strap might make £5 to £15, depending on the type and age, if in good clean and fairly mintish condition.

To be honest, if you're not on a shoestring budget then why not see if the camera works (but that will probably mean spending £4 or so on a new 2CR5 battery [check I've got the battery type right before ordering one!] as they're not rechargeable), then put a film through it (ask in the F&C section linked to below for advice on where to buy a cheap roll of fresh film - don't used an expired film to test a camera with because if there's a fault you may struggle to tell whether it's the camera or the film!).

If it's in full working order then it should work with any Canon EOS EF lens (the EF-S ones won't fit). So, depending on what lenses you have, it might be a bit of fun to have a film body that will work with them?

Shooting film is growing in popularity and some us on here have good fun with film cameras, either as a 'second string' to our digital photograph hobby, or as a main interest as, believe it or not, some people have migrated back from digital. Perhaps have a look in here and see if you might enjoy it: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/talk-film-conventional.56/ Hope this is useful.
 
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Thanks for the replies, and I did spot that thread. It looks as if there are a few versions of this lens, and I'm hoping I've got a later one. If I can link an Ebay pic here, then I'll post an image.
s-l1600.jpg
 
Well most of the bits I'v bought have arrived, but I haven't moved forward very far.
The Jessop battery is useless, so that has gone in the bin, but the Canon one seems to be holding its charge.
The charger came with a new battery, so I've got that to fall back on.
The long range lens I bought on Ebay was never dispatched, so I've claimed a refund for it, and that is going through,
I've fond some useful bits like bags and cables, so I can keep the whle project together,
The memory card looks as if it is fine,
The camera is giving me an err 99, and, as it doesn't keep the date and time, I'm going to replace the internal battery.
I bought an FD to EF converter, but the FD lens doesn't register, so I need to look into that. It was a cheap one, so I'm not too worried.
I bought an M42 to EF adapter for a penny on Amazon, and it is being shipped from China ( postage was 99 pence) - the world has gone mad. Anyway I thought I would get it and carry it around to see if I can find a lens with an M42 screw to experiment with.
I need to find some lens and body caps to keep the dust out of the bits I'm not using.
The EOS 1000F body doesn't have a battery in it, so I can't test it, so I might just put it on Ebay with a low start, and list it as untested, I need to find a cap for it though.
 
As an experiment in getting into digital for very little money, this is half interesting.

however my overriding feeling is that you’ll end up increasingly frustrated unless you’re far more patient than average and with very little interest in the actual pictures.

that lens was optically inferior on cameras it was designed for, which now makes it the wrong focal length projecting onto an unforgiving medium.
 
I'm really impressed with the FujiFilm bridge that I bought a few years ago, It's got loads of features, but up until now, I've just been a happy snapper using it in auto mode. Since I've been researching this 350D, I've started to vary the ISO and aperture settings on the Fuji, and it has improved some of the images - Notably a smashed window in a McDonalds. If I ignore accessories such as a toolkit to dismantle a lens, and the binoculars, so far I have spent under £50, so it is worth it for the education. I've got a bit of an enquiring mind, which is why I am often accused of being a tin hat political conspiracy theorist. I have got s tin ht, but it is one that was worn by a WWII dispatch rider, and I only wear it when I am riding my 1939 Francis Barnett.

I don't think it is fair to say that I have little interest in the final pictures, but I agree that my current setup is unlikely to enable me to create anything that is half as good as the Fuji images I can capture with the bridge camera. I've learnt quite a bit already about things such as battery life, adapter rings, etc. I'm also interested in the effects of aperture size on image size ( not light density }, so I might end up dismantling the current lens when I have found an alternative.

Ultimately I want to create some unusual images and video clips for stock sales, and exploiting the imperfections in vintage lens seems to be one way to do this.
 
Coincidentally, earlier this year I bought a Fuji Finepix S2000HD bridge camera from a charity shop for £16. It's in full working order and I got it to use for work as it's got a very useful 28-400mm optical zoom range. From what I've read in your thread so far, I think I perhaps got a better deal! :giggle: ;)
 
I've already got a FinePix HS50EXR bridge, and I thin that is great, even though it is now obsolete. I bought this camera and lens as part of my EOS 350D low-cost project. I've learnt a lot from this so far, and now that I have replaced the system battery ( 99p for 6 assorted CR20 coins from Home Bargains ), I'm starting to be able to store some images. I'm still getting err99 fairly often, so I'm going to have to resort to the final solution - read the manual. I managed to find a free one in pdf format.

As some have said, this is a training lens, and not one to be used for creating stock photos. Unsuitable products are great for learning, as the struggle to try to create adequate images forces one to understand the basics. I'm not sure how I will dispose of the camera body though. I'm going to end up with a number of items to go with all the other stuff I've accumulated over the years. Maybe I'll put a shopping cart on a domain name, and try to sell them for Bitcoin.
 
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