Buying the 5D Mark II. Need some suggestions on a lens.

Go to the "Photography Tutorials" at the top of this page and click. Inside there you will find a great explanation of what different kinds of filters there are to use and what they do. They are a necessary evil when spending mondo cash and wanting the best results from the best lenses. The name of the article is "Choosing a camera lens filter: Polarizers, UV, ND, & GND".

ND - Neutral Density & GND - Graduated Neutral Density

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Originally Posted by b00gym4n

I swear the water in your picture just moved! Lol. Seriously though, I really appreciate the effort and time you put in your response and everyone else who replied.

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You're welcome :)

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I think I will buy the 24-105 f/4 IS. Thanks!

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I think that for a first lens, it's the perfect choice for you. You'll add other lenses later, but it's a great one to start with ... and it'll hold it's value pretty well.

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Now it's time to shop! A friend of mine recommended buying a used body and a used lens, however I found a 5D MKII package that comes with the 24-105 f/4 IS as well as the body for $3000 shipped. Is this a good deal? Or should I keep searching for cheaper used parts?

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You'd be lucky to find a used 5D2 & 24-105/4, so my suggestion would be to buy new so that you get a warranty if you have problems but BEWARE - there are a LOT of sharks out there (do a search on "Sonic Cameras" if you want to read some horror stories ... AND they're back in business under a different name now). EVERYWHERE you go people will consistantly tell you that B&H Photo Video are the gold standard in integrity, customer service, and thay have excellent pricing too. I shop with them even though they're in New York, and I'm in New Zealand! Pop along to www.bhphotovideo.com. Other reputable dealers are amazon.com and adorama.com.

The combo you're after there is ... http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...D_Mark_II.html

Before you even consider buying anywhere else - PLEASE - make sure you tell us where so we can do a bit of due diligence for you. I can't stress that enough - it's SO easy to get ripped off.

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As far as the accessories.
"A sturdy tripod and timer is a must, as are ND and GND filters."
I will have to do some research on here to find out what the best options are available for me. Before I do, can someone tell me what ND and GND stands for? Thanks. :D You guys are awesome!

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We can help with that too. ND stands for Neutral Density and GND stands for Graduated Neutral Density; they're like "sunglasses" for your lens that cut down the light hitting the sensor so that you don't over-expose and can thus take longer exposures, which in turn give you many nice benefits :)

Since you're new to this I'd suggest letting us help - with us being folks who actually "walk the walk" and not just "talk the talk" as to so many salesmen. There IS a lot to learn, but the bottom line is that if you like the results that we get here - and want to get results like them - then you're going to have to do it the way we do. Many shortcuts are often an ultimate waste of money.

Hope this helps :)

Hi everyone and especially Pat,
I sort of came into this thread late. I looked around your profile to see where you are i.e which country but didn't find the info. If you live in the US, you might want to read this post from my blog.

My refurbished 5DMark2 arrived yesterday. It's in mint condition for a lot less. The gist of this is: I had a broken Point and shoot Powershot G3 which I sent to Canon USA for a trade-in towards a Canon 5D Mark 2. I paid US$2K for a body and a spare battery.

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Originally Posted by pixel pete

Hi everyone and especially Pat,
I sort of came into this thread late. I looked around your profile to see where you are i.e which country but didn't find the info. If you live in the US, you might want to read this post from my blog.

My refurbished 5DMark2 arrived yesterday. It's in mint condition for a lot less. The gist of this is: I had a broken Point and shoot Powershot G3 which I sent to Canon USA for a trade-in towards a Canon 5D Mark 2. I paid US$2K for a body and a spare battery.

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That's something I would be interested in if I had a camera to send in. I'm a 100% newbie to photography and the only photos i've ever taken were on my phone. Fail fail. On the positive note I do have a 1980's canon film camera (found it in the garage). Maybe they will accept the upgrade/trade? Lol. I'll ask and find out. Btw, yes, I live in California. Thanks for the info. I can't wait to start shooting.

To pixel pete. Thank you SO much for letting me know about canon's customer loyalty program. You just saved me over $800, literally.

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Originally Posted by b00gym4n

To pixel pete. Thank you SO much for letting me know about canon's customer loyalty program. You just saved me over $800, literally.

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So you bought direct from Canon?

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Originally Posted by Colin Southern

So you bought direct from Canon?

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I sure did. $1642 for a refurbished 5D mark ii + tax and shipping. Should I be worried about the refurbished part? A lot of photographers I've talked to are telling me not to worry.

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Originally Posted by b00gym4n

I sure did. $1642 for a refurbished 5D mark ii + tax and shipping. Should I be worried about the refurbished part? A lot of photographers I've talked to are telling me not to worry.

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I wouldn't be worried - I'm assuming that it comes with a warranty?

In reality what it means is the camera has probably been faulty "out of the box" - has been returned to Canon - Canon have fixed it - and are now just getting their money back. I guess that there's always a chance that the original fault was intermittant and that they haven't replaced the correct part, but that's what the warranty is for (and to be honest, one of the reasons you pay less for the camera).