Newbie Needing Advice On His Equipment.

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john182rs

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Hi People, im a little new to this forum but come here under some ones recommendation from another forum.

A little about my background with camera's, the best one i have owned upto yet is the Panasonic TZ7. Now while this was good for point and shoot i never actually had any photo's with decent quality if anything moved.

I have used a few peoples dslr but mainly the canon 50d's 500d's 450d's and the 400d's.
I am now looking to buy a 50D with a 70-200 f/4 L lens.
My price limit is £1400 to include everything from the bag to the camera.

I just want to do outdoor shots with my sister and friends who ride horses and if possible take some shots of the ice hockey for my own collection before i think of getting a better f2 lens in a year or so.

Does this kit sound ok or should i buy some thing diff bearing inmind of my budget and this being my first proper camera.
 
I found a voucher for jessops to get 5% cashback on the camera and i wanted it some where close to me in nottingham as i would like to be able to just walk in the shop and be able to leave it with them to fix, royalfail broke my tz7 when i sent it in for repair once.
 
40d or 50d if you need the frames per second, entry level is as good if you can get away with it.

I had Canon's 70-200 f4 and it was super sharp, wish I still had it.

Buy a 50mm and get closer to the horses, you dont need to use it wide open and it works ace on a crop camera.

Don't get hung up on kit, buy your gear and then get really good at using it.

best of luck.
 
Hyster - would the 70-200f4 canon lens be good for ice hockey or like steve suggested getting the sigma 70-200 f2.8 for about 50 quid more? I was thinking of getting a 50mm ef f1.8 to go with it as they are only £89.
 
If you are shooting sports, then I'd suggest 1-series. 1D mk2 can be had for only £400+ on ebay. Just buy with some common sense and all will be good. 1-series are much better for moving things than 50d or worse 500d.
70-200mm f/4 is an excellent lens and buying 2nd hand would save you some £££. There are many in mint condition. f/4 is much better than Sigma optically. That one stop is not worth it to get a lesser but heavier lens.
50mm f/1.8 is cheap and can produce results. However you should treat it with some caution and view it as a disposable lens. It is not very reliable. 85mm f/1.8 is a far better one.
 
You know what, if I were buying my first dslr now I'd spend most of the money on the lens I want and use the rest to get a body to fit it. In your case I'd go for a Canon 70-200 f4 is and a 40d/50d. I'd then save for a wider zoom, in the 17-55 range.
 
Daugirdas - ive seen one of the 1D mk3's and they are huge, too big and advanced for me considering this would be my first ever DSLR camera.

Davie - whats the difference between a f4 and f/4? as im looking at exactly canon 50d with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens.
 
john182rs said:
Daugirdas - ive seen one of the 1D mk3's and they are huge, too big and advanced for me considering this would be my first ever DSLR camera.
Click to expand...

Also, the ergonomics of the MkII (the MkIII will be a lot more expensive) are terrible - unless you've got three hands, or tentacles instead of fingers.

The 50D (amazingly cheap right now) combined with the 70-200 f4 will do a great job shooting horses outdoor. For ice hockey you'll probably find that you'll need to up your ISO to around 800 to be able to capture the action
 
The lenses with IS in them are these alot better and worth the 400 extra or do the normal usm ones have some sort of IS in them already.
 
If you're limited for funds, I would suggest looking at the secondhand market.

A 30D or 40D would be sufficient to get you started with, combined with either the 70-200 f/2.8 or the 135 f/2.

That would cover you for what you require, and the f/2 aperture on the 135 lens will allow you to get some better ISO speed from the ice hockey...cleaner shots all round.

Personally, I think the 135 is the best lens Canon currently make. It is absolutely tack sharp.
 
I'd say a 40D or 50D would be a really good place to start, you've got the right idea with the glass as well and you'd be able to get everything you want within budget - even more if buying used kit.
Come to think of it, if you buy used you may be able to get a 70-200 f2.8L IS mkI and a 40D within budget and that'd save you the hassle of upgrading in a year or so as you mentioned.
 
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