Advice on upgrading from film to digital

[nurselambo]

hi all,

i am a very amature user, was introduced by a friend to manual cameras a while ago.
first started out with a canon AE-1. then went up to a canon 3000n with 2 lenses. now going to buy a digital.

i am looking at the canon 1000d.

not looking for anything fancy just need a good camera that comes out on holidays and car shows or when i need a break!

any recomendations? advice? comments?

many thanks

tania

[Colin Southern]

Hi Tania,

Thanks for signing up - it's good to have you with us. If I can help with anything, you only need to ask.

Your question is a common one - and the good news is whatever brand you go with it's pretty hard to go wrong; most of the big names (Canon, Nikon, Sony etc) have similar models at similar prices with similar performance so there's no "right or wrong" choice and a BIG overlap between all of them.

At the end of the day, the camera is just a box at the end of a lens that lets the light in - lenses play a far bigger part in the quality of the final image; thus the part that we need to play the most attention to.

So that we can help best with that, would you be able to elaborate some more on the types of things you're wanting to shoot? And, perhaps give us an idea as to the budget that you had in mind?

PS: If you get a chance, pop onto the welcome thread in the Site Suggestions & Feedback forum and tell us a little about yourself :-)

[William W]

and also:

"then went up to a canon 3000n with 2 lenses. now going to buy a digital."

Do you still have the EOS3000N and lenses? and if so, what lenses?

WW

[nurselambo]

hi and thanks for the welcome.

i shoot anything that takes my fancy! i so tend to get a bit snap happy!
love landscapes, sunsets, sunrises (never seem to get the lighting right), family functions, oh and don't forget cars (passion from the my fiance)

budget of about £450 with 2 lens, but that might be a bit of wishful thinking

heard mainly bad things about the tamron and good about sigma lenses, so just a bit confused at the moment, especially with all the shops trying to get rid of tamron!

still have all my cameras and intend on keeping them as i still love film and love waiting to see how the shot works out rather than just having it there.

so the digital will mainly be for my partner

lenses i already have are the 28-80mm and 80-200mm both canon (it came with the kit at the time)

heading home to Aus for 3 weeks so both will be coming with us. lots of family shots and as it is my partners first time out there alot of shots of just about everything

thanks
tania

[The Blue Boy]

Hello Tania, welcome,

All the above advice is, as usual, great stuff. The only thing I'd suggest (I always suggest this)is that you and your partner go into the camera shop and bother some sales people and try and get a feel of the different models in your price range.

HTH's

[Colin Southern]

Hi Tania,

I couldn't find your lenses in my current reference manual - so either they're older EF lenses, or from the even older FD range (Bill will know, but he did say in an eMail to me yesterday that he might be away on businees for 1 or 2 weeks). Good chance that they'll fit on a new Canon camera, but whether or not they'll autofocus is another question - so perhaps something to be salvaged there?

Mark's suggestion of spending some time in a reputable store is of course a good one (I don't know why I never remember to suggest it). A couple of caveats to that ...

- all cameras within a given price bracket pretty much have the same features & functions, so don't lose any sleep over "making the wrong choice" - all are more than capable of making really nice shots.

- As Mark suggests, if you have a play with a bunch of them you may find that some feel better to you, although the flip side to that is they pretty much all work the same, and often it's a case of "whatever you get used to" - or put another way, if you're tossing up between a Canon and a Nikon and you like the ergonomics of the Nikon a little more, then no reason not to go with it - on the other hand if they have a Canon that's a bit cheaper, even though you might prefer the Nikon ergonomics, I can assure you that you'll quickly get used to that too. Again, no sweat.

From what you've told me, it sounds like you'll need a wide angle to medium focal length zoom lens as your primary lens - keeping in mind that you'll be getting a crop-factor camera that has the effect of multiplying lens length by a factor of around 1.5 to 1.6 (depending on brand) - so the lens will automatically be better for telephoto work, but less field of view when shooting wide angle (different to your film camera). Something in the 18-55mm range (fairly typlical of kit lenses) should serve you well. If it has IS (image stabilisation; Canon, or Vibration Reduction; Nikon) then that's a significant plus.

Keep in mind too that cameras have recently gone completely overkill in terms of resolutions etc - it may well be that the "best bang for your bucks" could be had from getting a better lens, and a 2nd hand body (eg a Canon 350D would be just fine) - sorry, but I have no idea as to what prices these are going for on the market at present. If you do buy 2nd hand (and I think that this is probably best value for money), be cautious - many a bargain to be had on eBay - but a lot of sharks as well; personally I'd suggest buying new or 2nd hand from a reputable store - preferably one that will give you a warranty on 2nd hand items. And if you find a bargain online that seems too good to be true, it probably is - so be sure to ask about their reputation in a few places (like this).

With regards to Sigma and Tamron lenses, I need to be careful and diplomatic in what I write! A lot of people swear by them, and a lot of others swear AT them! As with all manufacturers of lenses there are the diamonds and then there are the lemons in the range. My personal preference is to stick to lenses manufactured by the same company who manufacturers the camera, thus ensuring maximum compatability. In general, the build quality of Tamron & Sigma lenses are generally of poorer construction quality than those of the leading manufacturers. Some say "they're just as good, but cheaper" - others say "you get what you pay for" - I'm afraid you'll have to decide your own philosophy there!

With regards to getting the exposure of sunsets right, I do a fair bit of that (you might like to have a poke through my gallery at pbase.com/cjsouthern) - happy to help you with them once we've got your camera sorted!

Hope this helps :)

[William W]

I understand Canon made eight 28 – 80 zooms in the EF range:

One L series: EF28mm – 80mm/F2.8 - F4L USM

And then a range of seven versions of the : EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6.

In that range of seven consumer lenses there were two with no USM and five with USM, hence the list is:

EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 II
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 USM
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 USM II
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 USM III
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 USM IV
EF 28mm - 80mm F3.5 – F5.6 USM V

***

There were four 80 – 200 zooms, one L series: EF 80mm – 200mm F2.8L

and then:

EF 80mm – 200mm F4.5 – F5.6
EF 80mm – 200mm F4.5 – F5.6 II
EF 80mm – 200mm F4.5 – F5.6 USM


It is most likely, if these lenses were bought as a kit set with your EOS3000N they would be one of the non USM versions of the consumer lenses.

The main point for your consideration is that the two lenses you own have the prefix “EF”. If this is the case, I understand these lenses will be fully functional with any EOS digital camera.

***

I have used an EOS1000 and IMO it is a pretty handy compromise to the more expensive 450D and better value than the 400D which I occasionally use.

You must consider that the widest lens you have at this time is 28mm and that, on the 1000D will give a Field of View (FoV) as if you looked through your 3000N and set the zoom at 45mm.

So you do not have any wide angle. I think, considering your budget, you would be smart to look at a kit lens buy with the 1000D – and specifically: EF-S 18mm -55mm F3.5-F5.6 IS.

Please note this is the “IS” version, there are TWO versions of this lens: the “IS” version is the latter and as well as having Image Stabilization, the Image Quality is superior to the previous IMO. I have used both these lenses.

IMO there is little variations between the main DSLR brands in this area of the market. You should decide what value being able to use your existing lenses is to you – alternatively what price you could sell them for.

On the face of it there is an advantage in sticking with Canon, IMO, even though (blunt but truthful) the older EF non USM kit lenses are not really regarded well, for their Image Quality – but your should judge what results you have attained with your film shooting and remember that stopped down to F8 these older lenses perform OK for most outdoor situations.

Regarding Sigma and Tamron - I have only used one Tamron Lens, and I was happy with that particular lens' performance – but it was a specialty lens. I have W&P colleagues who use Canon Digital APS-C Cameras the Tamron 17 to 55 F2.8. I regard their opinions highly and the results from that lens are great. I have not used this Tamron lens.

The Tamron lens mentioned above is in direct competition with the (more expensive) Canon EF-S 17 to 55 F2.8 IS USM, this Canon lens is a cracker, and would be my recommendation to you as the best all round, standard zoom for any Canon APS-C Digital Body.

WW

[Colin Southern]

^^^ See, I told you Bill would know!

[BillTexas]

Tania,

Since you have a Canon in the EOS series and have two lenses, my suggestion would be that you stick with Canon. The lenses you have will work just find on 1000D, marketed in the States as the XS (I don't know why).

I have a Canon 7E and wanted to try digital, so I went with the 450D (XSi), which came with a lens at $800 or without a lens for $700. Might be less now, that was a year ago. All the EOS lenses that I have fit the 450D.

I started with Canon with an A-1 something like 40 years ago and have not felt that I wanted to change so I am a Canon enthusiast.

If you like to take a lot of photos, you are going to really like digital. You can take as many as you like without the developing expense. Put them on your computer and sort out the ones you want to keep and make prints as you like.

Have fun!

BillTexas.

[nurselambo]

thanks all for the great advice it has been really helpful

we did go and annoy some sales people and i came away still liking the canon - sticking with what i like and know!

figured that the lenses would be somewhat interchangeable, so will more than likely buy with 1 kit lens and decide later on another one

thank you Bill for all the info on the lenses, i now sort of understand it a little better - sorry i am not very technical i leave that to my partner - he is the mechanical engineer

one day (when i win the lottery) and have time, i will actualy do a photography course
until then i think this site will help alot

many thanks
tania

[Colin Southern]

You're welcome Tania

I take it that you didn't buy the Canon just yet though?

[nurselambo]

hi Colin,

haven't bought it yet, going to this week
need to get some practice shots in before we go - off to Aus in 19 days time for 3 weeks

i will post some shots fom all 3 cameras when i get back (only taking 2 with us) i have some old shots somewhere that were taken with the AE-1

you can see how bad/good i am though the years/ cameras

prob worse as i tend to get lazy with an automatic camers

[Colin Southern]

haven't bought it yet, going to this week
need to get some practice shots in before we go - off to Aus in 19 days time for 3 weeks

LOL - sounds more like 18 days, 17 hours, 52 minutes, not that your counting or anything! Hope I don't put you off, but I sent an eMail to Bill (in Aus) a couple of days ago complaining that it was around 30 deg C here in Nelson NZ at the moment (32 yesterday), and he told me that it was 42 dec C @ 5pm at a wedding he shot last week

i will post some shots fom all 3 cameras when i get back (only taking 2 with us) i have some old shots somewhere that were taken with the AE-1

Excellent - you'll be able to enter them in our new weekly challenge I'm going to announce soon (when I've thought through a few of the details).

you can see how bad/good i am though the years/ cameras

prob worse as i tend to get lazy with an automatic camers

You're lucky, my 1Ds3 doesn't have an automatic mode!

Hope you have a great trip Tania - look forward to seeing some of the shots when you get back!

[nurselambo]

hi Colin,

30 & 42 dec c sounds alot better than 0 - -2 dec c
9 inches of snow we had today, everything came to a halt!
first time in 18 years since it had snowed like that - according to the news.

so very much looking forward to a little bit of heat

tania

[Colin Southern]

LOL - swap ya!

[nurselambo]

an update on the camera

have bought the Canon 1000D with 18-55mm lens.
so far so good, feels right and am enjoying using it.
now just need to sort out the computer and upload problems

tania

[Colin Southern]

an update on the camera

have bought the Canon 1000D with 18-55mm lens.
so far so good, feels right and am enjoying using it.
now just need to sort out the computer and upload problems

tania

Hi Tania,

Congratulations on the new purchase

Sounds like you're having a spot of bother getting images displayed here - anything we can help with?

[nurselambo]

hi Colin,

i have been reading other links and realise where i have gone wrong?
i have a temp. laptop at the moment - should get my one back tomorrow, so will try again then.
i don't want to lose any pics/ data with the swapping of laptops again!

i'll keep reading and go from there!
will let you know if i am still stuck (which i will be )

thanks

tania

[Colin Southern]

No worries Tania. It's pretty easy when you get the hang of it - hardest part is uploading the images to an online site (in my opinion).