It’s eight months since I started SLR photography again, this time with a DSLR, a passion I’ve had since childhood. I spent quite a considerable amount of time and money on buying nice kit and I thought I’d do a round-up on my experience of the kit I’ve been using.

Canon EOS 350D Body

This is the cheapest low-end Canon SLR body which I purchased with a bundle including the BG-E3 battery grip, EF-S18-55 f3.5-5.6 II kit lens and EF55-200 f/4.5-5.6 II USM lens. I’m relatively happy with the camera after 6,000 shots which is about a 24-roll of film equivalent each day, something I clearly couldn’t afford with a conventional (non-digital) camera.

The kit lenses went out pretty much straight away. Their crafting quality was so bad I almost thought about going back to the Sony F828 point-and-shoot which is an excellent camera with 28-200mm equivalent zoom range in the built-in lens.

EF70-200 f/2.8L IS

This was the first separate lens I bought, a huge investment but definitely a worthwhile one. It’s a good telephoto lens (but you don’t need me to tell you that) and having a fast f/2.8 aperture with IS is just a killer combination for walkabouts. I’m quite comfortable walking around with just this lens in the countryside.. Here’s some recent results with it in Oxfordshire:

Photos taken on EF70-200 f/2.8L IS Lens
(click on the photos for larger view)

EF17-40 f/4L

This was the second lens I bought trying to balance the need for wide angle against my newly acquired 70-200 piece of glass. I know a lot of people praise this lens, but I am personally disappointed. Don’t get me wrong–The lens is fine, but I regret buying it because if I had the choice now, I’d buy the EF16-25 f/2.8 instead.. It was half the price which was the key reason, but it lacks the speed I need to work in darker conditions. This is the lens I use most infrequently. I will stress my photography is not that much about landscapes so the use for a wide angle is a bit more limited in portrait etc, which I prefer the 50mm prime for.

EF24-105 f/4L IS

This is the second lens I have some second thoughts on. I decided to go with this rather than the more popular EF24-70 f/2.8L for three reasons: It had a longer focal range; It was cheaper; Most importantly however, it had IS. I worked out that with IS, assuming non-moving subjects, this lens would beat the 24-70 f/2.8 in speed terms. I’m unsure as to whether I’d prefer the 24-70 but it would be nice to have some more control over depth of field at the narrow end. I can’t say however that I am disappointed with it, as it is an excellent carry-around lens.

Photos taken on EF24-105 f/4L IS Lens
(click on the photo for larger view)

EF50 f/1.4 USM

This is my first prime lens with a very fast f/1.4 aperture giving very advantageous shooting conditions in darker situations. It’s a brilliant indoor lens and very sharp. This is probably the one I most keep on my camera. It’s certainly made me a prime fan so I’ll looking at 35mm, 85mm, 135mm and maybe even long telephotos (although price becomes prohibitive on very long lenses).

Photo taken on EF50 f/1.4 Lens
(click on the photo for larger view)

Accessories

I have also purchased an EF12 extension tube which allows me to bring the focus a bit closer for macro-like photography. This is useful but no replacement to a macro lens. I also have an EF2x II extender which attached to the 70-200 lens to double the focal length. This is nice, but it has resulted in softer photos. I’m not sure if this is simply due to the time of day I’ve used it (lacking some light), the fact I’ve hand-held those shots (even with IS) or design but it’s not ideal. I think the EF1.4x extender will be on my list soon as it faster performance for the lens but gets that little bit closer. I also have the Speedlite 580EX flash.

Looking forward

I have been resisting the urge to buy more photography equipment although a new high quality tripod will no doubt be on my list relatively soon along with a second Speedlite or a transmitter which allows me to take mine off the camera and try some interesting effects.

In the long run, I look forward to higher resolutions like that offered by the Canon EOS 1Ds MkII at 16.7 megapixels, however that camera is way overpriced (at least for my hobby) and doesn’t have enough other improvements which would make me consider it. However another camera, the EOS 1D MkIII has just been released in the UK which does 10 frames per second (as opposed to 4 fps for 1Ds MkII) and costs about £3,000 (or $4,500 which is about £2,400) with new dual DIGIC III processors with images of 10.1 MP. It also has a crop factor of 1.3x which is probably a bonus for someone like me who prefers telephoto (EOS 400D with 1.6x is better from this isolated point of view of course). It’s unlikely I will go near this camera with a £3,000 price tag however for quite some time. Some friends have switched from the 350D to the 400D but aside from some aesthetic changes around the screen, it’s only slightly better at 10 MP which isn’t enough for me to justify a new one. Similarly, I feel the benefits of a 20-30D aren’t great enough.. and whilst the 5D boasts full frame 12.8 MP it’s too close to the price tag of the 1D MkIII so that’s out.

My next lens will probably be a 135mm f/2.0 prime which may even work with my extenders so could prove very useful. Longer telephotos interest me but it will probably be some years before I could consider the expenditure they would require.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 16th, 2007 at 2:04 am and is filed under photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.