I'm helping my brother in law out by doing abseiling with some kids on these teambuilding excercises that he does, and earning a bit of cash on the side at the same time. Anyway, if he pays me in equipment I won't have to pay tax on it, which means he can get me a Canon eos 350D and a 2gb memory card to go with it. :grin2:
There's also enough for a medium priced lens, but I'm unsure which to get.
I would like a good allround lens for it, preferably with some extent of zoomage and have been looking at this (http://www.canon.co.uk/for_home/product_finder/cameras/ef_lenses/image_stabilization_lenses/ef_1785mm_f45is_usm/index.asp)

Any ideas?

no real idea on your lens...but i'd like to address this issue of manufacturers making smaller more compact dslr's.
i just don't like them myself...my first nikon was an n4004..wonderfully heavy and durable...when i had to replace it (i was in a rush) i bought the n65...and i noticed the difference immediatly...a bit more compact and much lighter..almost too light.
so now i'm seeing the same thing with the dslr's ...don't get me wrong..i understand the desire for something smaller and light weight...but for me they begin to feel too much like a toy in my hand.
what can i say..i like em big :cheeky:

A mate just got the 350d and I've had a go at taking some shots with it. I must say, that I like the weight and feel of it. So no issue there for me.

I had the same problem when I got my 10D.
I went with the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 Di lens and was very happy with it. Though it isn't as wide as you want.
At the time I had decided that I would rather have one good lens with a narrower zoom range than have a wider lens that wasn't as good.

I was originally looking at the 24-75 Tamron but it had poor reviews with distortion at the very wide and tele ends of the zoom. I went with the Tamron 17-35 F2.8-f4 for a wide angle and it performs very well even on my current camera.

I would rather have a faster lens (F2.8 vs F4-5.6) than IS (but both if possible). F2.8 allows you just so much more IMHO. IS gives you the same advantage as a F2.8 lens but limits you to a wider depth of field.

The IS is good but it does make the image not-as-sharp as non-is (or turned off).
I have IS on the 300mm F2.8 and use it quite a bit when I have the 1.4 multiplier on as it allows me a larger aperture/ faster shutter and lower ISO when shooting moving subjects in the early morning or evening... but I am also shooting the lens wide open or almost wide open at F4. I wish I had a 400mm F2.8 but that lens was almost twice as much as the 300mm ($10,000 canadian) and double the weight.

Have you checked places like Fred Miranda for reviews of that particular lens?

:)

Thanks for the constructive input. I have read some reviews on Fred Miranda and everybody seems fairly pleased with it, despite the price.
Some people also mention that it's susceptible to Chromatic Abberation, whatever that is?
I will get some more lenses in the future, but a good all-round lens is important because both my wife and I will be using the camera for everyday shots.
I also thought about getting the EFS 18-55/3,5-5,6, but might as well spend the money I have and get the IS and more zoom. I can always turn off the IS, can't I?

Yes you can turn IS off (but it is still no substitute for a F2.8 lens).


Chromatic Abberation is bad (Like most abberations). Generally there are two types of colour problems with digital cameras. Purple Fringeing (PF) and Chromatic Abberation (CA). CA is what all the sliders in the advanced section of photo raw are to try and fix. You can think of it like looking through a cheap magnifying glass. If you look straight down then the image is fine but if you look to the side the colours will seperate like with a prisim. CA on a lens usually happens more the further away from the center of the image you get. It will also (usually) happen more the wide or narrower you zoom with the best quality happening in the middle of the zoom range.

Purple Fringeing is the weird purple highlight you can get in areas of an image that have high contrast. For example the frame of a window that is backlit by a bright sun/sky.

Just to give you an idea of what I use for lenses

20mm wide angle on a Tamron 17-35 Di (super wide landscapes, fireworks)

45mm using Canon TS-E 45mm Tilt shift (most lanscapes, objects, creative stuff)

100mm using 100MM Macro (macros, ferrets, portraits)

300mm using 300mm F2.8 (Larger "wild" animals, picking things out of surroundings )

420mm using 300mm and 1.4 extender (birds and smaller animals)


Other lenses I would like to add sometime are:

Replace the Tamron 17-35 with a Canon 24mm

Canon 85mm F1.8

Canon 135mm F2

Thanks for your interest and info, Andrew. Truly appreciated :)

guys, i want buy a digital camera for graphic design but i dont know what digital camera must i buy?? must i buy SLR?? or not? juz for graphic designer not for photography...
can u tell me.. what is the good digital camera for graphic design but please not to expensive..
thx all for ur help...