SteveFE
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SteveFEMemberaoluain wrote:
Thanks lads,
So i am in a bit of a fix as to what to do with limited finaces to pump
into expensive glass.I was also looking at maybe some big glass in the FD system and getting
an FD to EOS converter for full frame. ok I wont have auto focus and
manual focusing will be tedious but wondering will it work?My advice: don’t bother. For one thing big fast FD lenses won’t be that cheap. Canon’s official FD-EOS converter is the best quality option but it’s rare as hell, only works with a few big teles, and will cost you an absolute fortune if you can even find one. There are cheaper FD-EOS converters out there but they all act like weak teleconverters (about 1.3x or so) and have poor quality glass in them, negating all the advantages of big fast sharp lenses. They get a bit better stopped down, but that’s not what you buy an f/2.8 L tele for is it?
Seriously, you will do better with almost any old school lensmount other than FD on an EOS. Nikkors will be no problem, same with M42s, OM Zuikos or Tamron Adaptalls (easiest and cheapest to go Adaptall—another mount—EOS for adaptors, I use Adaptall—Nikon F or OM and adapt those to my 30D). You can get off-brand Adaptall-EOS adaptors from eBay vendors but I’m not sure about the quality; heard of a few sloppy fitting ones. The original Tamron made Adaptall-EOS is another rarity that sells for stupid money.
You WILL find that almost any pro grade 300-400mm teles are now very expensive, Tamrons, Zuikos or whatever. If it’s 300mm+ and f/4 or faster expect a wallet-lightening experience. Fleabay sellers are wise these days.
As has been said, mirrors are cheaper, but usually much slower, hard to focus, have nasty bokeh and are not all the same (Tamron’s 500mm SP one is quite good). Nice and light though, and still realistically priced. If you can prefocus for action shots you should get fair results.
The best way to use FD lenses is to get a T90, which was Canon’s last and greatest manual focus SLR: it’s virtually everything that the pro EOS models are but takes FD lenses. Shoots film of course, but does it extremely well, and you’ll get a serious pro camera with a big fullframe finder and proper focus screen for a fraction the cost of a 5D ;)
SteveFEMemberLooked into this as I have the same issue with a 28mm f/1.8. it’s deffo a problem of communication between camera and aperture mechanism as it happens at all apertures other than full open (and even just prodding the DoF preview button triggers the error).
Sigma UK’s official line (and maybe that of Hahnel too, not sure) is that they can rechip lenses still in production if they have ERR99 problems with new EOS bodies, but if the lens is out of production, no dice.
It still works fine on my older EOS film bodies, and may work with older EOS digitals like a 10D.
SteveFEMembernfl-fan’s comparison is interesting, but I think that dull sort of light does level the playing field a bit. I’ve used a few Sigmas, and currently own the 12-24 alongside Canon’s 17-40L, and where the L shines IMHO is in bright sunlight with blue skies. I swear the damn thing has a hidden polariser in there somewhere. Saturation and colour rendition really does beat the hell out of the Sigma (although these differences can be post-processed out, I prefer to get it as right as possible in the camera, particularly when shooting film). The 17-40 is also usable wide open (although when you start pixelpeeping it does have fairly soft corners); the Sigma is strictly an f/11 lens, it’s utterly useless wide open. I keep it mainly for the mad angle of view on a 35mm camera; it doesn’t get much use on the 30D.
SteveFEMemberOne point: there’s a huge range of Canon and 3rd party lenses for the 450D, at all grades and prices from €100 or so for the fantastic 50/1.8 to sky’s the limit for the pro L lenses. Sony’s Zeiss lenses are rather expensive (good, but expensive), and the range is fairly limited at present, plus there aren’t that may 3rd party offerings as yet (Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc). You’ll also find loads of used Canon fit lenses, both on the marketplace here and on the bay etc. If you will be expanding your lens collection any time soon, I’d say Canon is the way to go.
I think the 450D is a great first DSLR, a serious advance over the previous 350 and 400D models. It really does feel and act like a mini-40D, a smaller version of Canon’s semipro range, rather than their previous plasticky offerings. It has a good viewfinder, a big 3″ LCD and a healthy dose of speed and features. You may find some of Sony’s features more useful (in-body stabilisation being the most obvious, meaning you don’t need to buy expensive IS teles if you feel you need them, as all lenses are stabilised via the body; be aware that most reviewers reckon in-lens stabilisation is more effective though).
SteveFEMemberCovey wrote:
Casten,
How old?
How many actuations?
Good condition only? Whats not so good?
Been repaired at all?Thanks
T.
I’ll let Carsten speak for the condition of the 5D, but will just add that I bought his 30D about a year and a half ago and it was in perfect condition. He looks after his equipment! Unfortunately I’m not in a position to spend €900 at the moment or I’d snap his hand off ;)
SteveFEMemberOrange_juice wrote:
Hi,
Looking for Canon Prime Len’s for EOS400 Body.
Will listen to any offersThanks
OJ
You don’t seem to have much idea about what you want. Probably at least twenty Canon-brand lenses alone answer the description, and then there’s the 20,000 others that could be adapted…
Buy the 50/1.8 anyway. New and cheap from a shop as it’s so badly built a secondhand one will probably be on its last legs.
SteveFEMemberIt now exists! Ennis PS/CC had its inaugural meeting at the West County last night, with a solid turnout of twenty or so interested people. Next is in two weeks (May 6), at the West County again, 7.30 or so.
SteveFEMemberI doubt it. Some of the Samsung compacts can but I never heard of a DSLR that could.
SteveFEMemberdigitalbeginner wrote:
SteveFE wrote:
I have a friend in the UK who didn’t take them up on it but asked for a replacement. He got one, it was still dud, so he asked for another. Got one and it was still dud (the usual Sigma decentring problem, pics sharp in the centre and one corner but soft in another). He was refused a third replacement, didn’t want his camera to go off to have God knows what done to it, so had to settle for a refund
The reviews of this lens on Fredmiranda.com back this up Steve. However the reviews of the Tokina 12-24 were universally glowing, so I bought that instead. Only got it last week and have only used it at our Mellifont Landscape Course on Easter Monday. Very happy with it. Even though I lose a precious 3mm at the the wide end (using my new D300), I like the fact that it goes to an effective 36mm at the far end. Great for street photography as well as it’s a constant f4 through the zoom, gives me precious extra light at the far end compared to the Sigma (small though that amount is),
Dave
Yep, and I really fail to understand how a company the size of Sigma can’t address QC issues that are giving them a seriously bad reputation. They do come up with some pretty extreme designs (the 12-24 is just crazily wide as a fullframe lens for example, and is remarkably undistorted to boot, although it ain’t the sharpest tool in the box, and all those fisheyes and ultra-tele zooms as well; they should maybe invest a bit more into QC to go along with their undoubted investment in bleeding edge optics design).
SteveFEMemberSigma’s Irish distributors (Republic) offer a free recalibration if you get a dud copy (so I’m told by their senior sales exec). Depends on if you’re prepared to lose your camera for a while, because that has to go off with the lens to get the job done.
I have a friend in the UK who didn’t take them up on it but asked for a replacement. He got one, it was still dud, so he asked for another. Got one and it was still dud (the usual Sigma decentring problem, pics sharp in the centre and one corner but soft in another). He was refused a third replacement, didn’t want his camera to go off to have God knows what done to it, so had to settle for a refund.
I’m sure there must be several happy Sigma owners out there, and it’s not a problem unique to them (Canon have had several issues with soft 24-70Ls for example), but I’d advise taking a laptop and doing a long on-the-spot test (check the corners at 100% full screen at various apertures, don’t trust your camera LCD) on the exact copy you’re going to buy if at all feasible.
SteveFEMemberOld skool manual focus macros 2nd hand often fall within your budget (allow €20 or so for an adaptor off evilBay as well).
The best macros I possess are both legendary: a Tamron SP 90mm f/2.5 bought for about €60 on the bay (supersharp, 1:2 mag ratio) and a Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 AFD (even more supersharp, 1:1, but donated by a kindly relative so €0.00 :-)
For macro you’ll always want to fine tune the focus manually, so you may as well have a lens that lets you do it properly.
SteveFEMemberCheers for that Mike. Calumet have a good reputation and it’s nice to know they deliver to the Republic.
Where in Clare are you? There’s a few of us out west on these boards and if you fancy a bit of networking let me know.
SteveFEMemberThe real advantage you’ll get with a prime is a very subtle one. Bokeh (the appearance of out of focus areas) is generally regarded to be better (=softer, more blurry and buttery) with primes as their optical formulations are far simpler than zooms, especially at the classic portrait lengths of 85-105mm, where a prime may only have four or five elements against the 15 or so a modern zoom will have.
Many ancient primes are regarded as classic portrait lenses (Nikkor 85/1.4, the Russian Jupiter 85/2 for example: both easily adaptable to EOS cameras via cheap adaptors), and it’s the bokeh and softness wide open and blur/haze/veiling that is responsible more than just the focal length. Older lenses also tend to concentrate sharpness near the centre of the frame and let it all go to hell at the edges, which is fine for portraits. My personal favourite for portraits is the manual focus Tamron Adaptall-2 SP 90mm f/2.5, as it’s very sharp wide open (unlike the Jupiter), so easy to focus on the eyes, but still has beautiful bokeh.
SteveFEMemberSuperwides are certainly cool for superwide up-close shots. It suits sports cars but not family buses ;)
For action shots a long fast tele is good. The perspective compression is great for racing stuff.
SteveFEMemberYep. Canon will AF with every EF (EOS system) lens ever made in the last 20 years (but watch out for ancient Sigmas, as their electronics often give errors because Sigma never actually got the full spec on the electronics from Canon). Nikon D40x will only work with AF-S lenses (fairly recent) as Mark says, although it will mount every Nikkor lens ever made (Nikon’s F mount has been around forever). Pre-AF-S Nikkor AF lenses relied on mechanical screwthread drive from the camera body, which the D40x doesn’t have; it can only AF lenses with the appropriate electronic AF drive (ie AF-S).
