Canon 40D

[JayMorr 0]

John,

 

I think the 50D is VERY tempting, however for that price it will probably push it close to the price drop of the 5D as mentioned. Having full frame would be sweet. I am not sure what I will do. I am still saving for a 400mm "L" and purchasing a new body would definitely set me back. Especially just after getting my new 40.

 

AHHH the world of photography! LOL, its worse than ff gear

[Wulff 0]

No kidding Jay.

Ive been saving my coin. Not sure what for yet. 2nd body, 300 f2.8 or 500 f4. Been waiting for the announced 5d replacement. Not that Id rush out and buy, but just to help solidify my plan. So Id no if I wanted to spend 3500 for it or 2000 for the 5D or keep saving for a dream lens.

 

I wasnt expecting this though

Caught me by surprise and its just added another wrinkle for the reasons above. If I buy a 5D or new 5D my hopes for a 300 f2.8 or 500 f4 are pushed even further back aother year or three Instead of 1,2 or 3 years for the 500 maybe it 5 or 6 years . Now the brains thinking, well instead of FF for second body I buy a 50D (about $1,600 up here) and the 500 doesnt wait as long, only 4 or 5 years instead of 5 or 6.

 

I shoulda married rich

Think Paris Hilton would take me?

Shes looking for a new BFF isnt she

*************

Unless you have a pressing need to upgrade Jay keep the 40D. Its a great body and unless your AF demands are realy stringent (meaning 1D bodies) there shouldnt be one to upgrade. The 50D ISO and IQ from the new technology would have to be extraordinary to really make it worthwhile..I expect it to be good but not the best ting since sliced silicone. The 5Dii might be unreal being FF and on the same processor and technology...Remains to be seen though

 

So while 50D has some nice additions,were it me Id not pay the coin to upgrade from a 40D. Maybe in a year or year and half. but by then the 60D will be coming out and buyers of the 50D this year will be in the same shoes as todays 40D owners. Its a cycle that keeps repeating.No sense playing into it unless its part of an upgrade plan and it fits.

[Peterjay 0]

I agree with John about taking it slow. Nobody's had any real-world experience with the 50D yet, and it's probably a good idea to let somebody else test it on their dime. The 5D's replacement has been coming "any day now!" for the past two years, but it could be that this time it's for real - Nikon's applied a good kick to Canon's butt this year with their new stuff and it's a kick that's long overdue. Canon's been able to coast along for years with little competition, but the game's changed now, and to everyone's benefit. Photokina opens in three weeks or so - if anything new's coming, it should be soon. Of course what I'm really hoping for is that HP launches a new large-format printer, and the price on the Z3100 drops. They were selling in Canada a while ago for less than half of the U.S. price, so it could be that something's up. This might prove to be a good time to be looking for new stuff. Decisions, decisions.

 

BTW John, forget about Paris Hilton. You'd be spending so much of your allowance on penicillin shots, there'd be nothing left for your photo budget. Of course, you could always peddle your honeymoon videos on eBay and spend the proceeds on a new 1D Mark III. I guess it's a decision only you can make.

[Wulff 0]

Lol Peter

 

[TomRC 0]

I’m a newbie to fly fishing but make a good portion of my living with a camera and over the years have owned and used extensively just about every Nikon and Canon DSLR ever made not to mention most of their better lenses. When picking a camera you really have to decide what you are going to be using it for. You can’t really compare a 5D to a 40D/50D/Nikon D300 as they were designed for different purposes. The 5D simply put is a portrait camera and oh boy does it shine. The 5D files blow the 40D files out of the water when it comes to making larger prints (ie 16x20 and up) particularly when you need to crop. Also don’t let the megapixel rating fool you although the camera mfg’s have done a very good job of brainwashing the public on what I like to call the “megapixel myth”. The sensor in the body (ie crop factor or full frame) and most importantly the glass is what really counts. I’d much rather see a newbie get a 40D which can be found for around $900 or heck even a digital rebel and put your extra $ into lenses than get a new 50D or Nikon 300D with a cheap kit lens. Always (if your budget allows) buy the camera body and lens separately. The lenses they sell as a kit are slow and of poor quality and in many cases will not produce images noticeably better than a nice point and shoot. Buy yourself a good fixed focal length prime (35mmf2, 50mm f1.4, 85mm f1.8, 100mmf2) which can all be had for under $400 if you want to make your DSLR sing. Then once you get hooked on these you can step up to the big dogs (135mmf2 or 85mm f1.2). Good zooms from Canon and Nikon run in the $1000+ range and actually are not as optically refined as the lower cost primes I mentioned above. I’m not a big fan of off brands lenses but there is one hidden jewel and that is the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 ($350 “ish”) which is optically on par with the Canon 24-70L ($1000). It is not weather sealed and focuses a little slower that the 24-70L but is fantastic from a optical standpoint…not as good as the fixed focal length primes but very very good for a zoom. Also, be aware that pixels are not all created equal. Pixels come in different shapes, sizes and quality. The pixels in a Canon 5D are not the same as the pixels in a Canon 40D/50D.

 

The moral of the story is put your $ into lenses and not bodies. You will lose your rear end on a camera body as they depreciate about like when you drive a new car off the dealers lot but good lenses will deliver for years and years and they tend to hold their value quite well.

 

Tom

 

[JayMorr 0]

Awesome advice fellas. Thanks for keeping me in line