Options to Canon 10D?

[Kerry24]

I currently own the Canon 10D but have been considering changing to something smaller with a fixed lens for the convenience of travel. The 10D body is big and sometimes I don't take my camera out and about because it is too much to lug around with my other lenses.

However, I have read various reviews on the Nikon 8700 & 8800 as well as the Canon Pro 1 , S80 and G6 but there seems to be either a technical problem or some compromise to be made with each. I thought the Pro 1 would be a great option because I liked the 28-200 lens- but some reviews said there were major problems with AF in low-level light.

I am an amateur photographer and often use the auto program but I am learning how to use the other options as well. I like to photograph a full range from wildlife, architecture, action sports, candid lifestyle and sunsets. I take adventure travel trips abroad where I try to travel light but am carrying a heavy camera pack. I usually travel with 3 lenses that provide the range that I like: Canon EF17-35 2.8, EF28-70 2.8 and EF 80-200 2.8.

So I am considering 3 options:

1) Keep the 10D and purchase the Canon EF28-200 3.5-5.6 lens to travel with and leave my other lenses home. I know the lens won't be as fast as my others but seems that it would suffice. I would still have the large body but only with one lens.

2) Buy the Canon Rebel XT and the Canon EF28-200 lens as my package. The Rebel XT is definitely smaller and lighter than the 10D. However, DC's review comments that the AF feature in low-level light requires the flash be used bothers me. I definitely like natural light as an option. Also his comments about fingernail scratches showing on the body concern me.

3) Buy the 20D and the Canon EF28-200 as my package. I know this does nothing to address the issue of camera size but I liked DC's review on this model. The change would be to acquire the upgraded features over the 10D.

Any comments on my thought process would be appreciated. If I have missed something on the advanced point and shoots let me know if I should reconsider. What are your thoughts on the 3 options I am considering?

Thanks for your help! :)

[jamison55]

I have both the 20D and the XT, and have owned the 10D. IMHO, the XT would be a smaller compromise than the all-in-ones (I actually sold my 10D to buy an XT, because the XT has better features!) When I have to grab one for a picnic or vacation, I usually take the XT. The XT has a few advantages over the prosumer fixed lens options:

- You can use your current lenses on it (I have both the 28-70 and 80-200 that you mentioned, and their optical quality is far better than any of the lenses on the prosumers)

- You can bump up the ISO's with usable results all the way up to ISO 1600.

- You get the DSLR image quality that only a larger sensor will produce.

As for the size, you can't beat it for portability:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/jamiewexler/smLensComparison096.jpg


Fingerpring scratches - Pah! What the reviewer meant, is that the hard plastic surface of the body is like a nail file. It will scratch a bit of your nail off, but not leave scratches in the plastic. It's actually a pretty dense little unit.

And as far as low light focusing, you can turn off the flash-as-an-AF-assist light feature. Without it, I still find that the AF is pretty darned accurate in low light.

Here's a shot I took this morning. My kid was sleeping in the darkest corner of his dark blue room with the dark blue shades drawn. I was at ISO 1600 f1.4, and still 1/3 to 2/3 underexposed (brought up the levels a bit in The Gimp). The camera hunted for a second, but did lock focus on his little hand (with one of the outer focus points NTL):

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/jamiewexler/XT1600.jpg

And one in one of the darkest rooms I've ever successfully taken a photo in. Once again f1.4 and no light to speak of. This time I was using center focus on had no problems locking on:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y216/jamiewexler/xtlowlight2.jpg

Now I should mention that your lenses make a difference. Canon built in extra sensitivity for lenses that are f2.8 and faster, but the body is certainly capable of excellent focus even without an an external AF assist light!

As for lenses, I'll leave that for someone else. I'm tired and hungry!

[coldrain]

You say you have a 17-35 lens, and you use it. You are aware that the 28-200mm lens will give you a field of view of a 45-320mm lens due to the 1.6x crop factor, and that you will miss the wide angle end?
If you keep the 17-35 that may not be a problem, else you might want to check out the Sigma 18-200mm.

If you don't mind losing the wide angle, you can also look at the 28-300 Tamron, it has more range and is not even a very bad lens.

As for the EOS 350D/XT, it does not need flash to use AF in low light conditions. In dark conditions contrast can be so low that the AF can not find focus, this is with all cameras that way. But the 350D and 20D lack a dedicated AF light, and use the flash unit to help AF determination IF you choose for it. What happens when you pop up the flash is that it will flash when you make a photo, that is what Jeff Keller meant in that review.

It does not mean you have to flash, just means to use the AF help light you will get a flash photo. I only encountered 2 times being unable to use AF in the dark. If you have an external flash unit that can help with IR, it never is a problem.

About the "nail scratches": The surface of the body is of quite a hard plastic, and what Jeff meant is that you can at times see some white on the body from your nails, like with a nail file. This is not a scratch on the body, just some white that comes off again.

I chose the 350D/XT for what you seem to look for, a more compact, lighter DSLR capable of excellent image quality.

The 20D has a few advantages over the XT, but they are very close in performance. So if compactness is a big factor (it seems to be), consider the XT and that 18-200 sigma lens for traveling.

[George Riehm]

I currently own the Canon 10D but have been considering changing to something smaller with a fixed lens for the convenience of travel. The 10D body is big and sometimes I don't take my camera out and about because it is too much to lug around with my other lenses.

However, I have read various reviews on the Nikon 8700 & 8800 as well as the Canon Pro 1 , S80 and G6 but there seems to be either a technical problem or some compromise to be made with each. I thought the Pro 1 would be a great option because I liked the 28-200 lens- but some reviews said there were major problems with AF in low-level light.

I am an amateur photographer and often use the auto program but I am learning how to use the other options as well. I like to photograph a full range from wildlife, architecture, action sports, candid lifestyle and sunsets. I take adventure travel trips abroad where I try to travel light but am carrying a heavy camera pack. I usually travel with 3 lenses that provide the range that I like: Canon EF17-35 2.8, EF28-70 2.8 and EF 80-200 2.8.

So I am considering 3 options:

1) Keep the 10D and purchase the Canon EF28-200 3.5-5.6 lens to travel with and leave my other lenses home. I know the lens won't be as fast as my others but seems that it would suffice. I would still have the large body but only with one lens.

2) Buy the Canon Rebel XT and the Canon EF28-200 lens as my package. The Rebel XT is definitely smaller and lighter than the 10D. However, DC's review comments that the AF feature in low-level light requires the flash be used bothers me. I definitely like natural light as an option. Also his comments about fingernail scratches showing on the body concern me.

3) Buy the 20D and the Canon EF28-200 as my package. I know this does nothing to address the issue of camera size but I liked DC's review on this model. The change would be to acquire the upgraded features over the 10D.

Any comments on my thought process would be appreciated. If I have missed something on the advanced point and shoots let me know if I should reconsider. What are your thoughts on the 3 options I am considering?

Thanks for your help! :)

In my opinion, 28mm is not a good WA point for a day-to-day dSLR zoom lens. I have tried 28mm-xx, and found myself missing a lot of shots in the 30-40mm (after crop multiplier) range. 24mm not quite as bad, but still not there.

I tried a slew of 18-50, 55, 70, 75's and found they were about 25mm-50mm short. So I went in search of an 18-105 that was sharp, with good color, and contrast. But none to be found. The Nikkor 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 was really close, but still too short. Then I stumbled onto the Sigma 18-125 DC.

A very sharp lens, with good contrast, and color. Distortion is in-line with other high ratio zooms, and it vignettes at the extremes of zoom and aperture, but for a 7X (!) zoom I found I could live-with, and Photoshop, the few frames showing the shortcomings of the lens. The sharpness, size, cost and utility more than make up for any negatives. Actually, come to think of it, the smaller Canon sensor (1.6X vs. 1.5X) would tend to negate the shortcomings even more.

With a 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.8 in the fannypack I find that I rarely miss a shot. A great travel kit as well.

Fortunately for me Nikon Capture 4 offers a vignetting correction tool, and the lens distortion rarely comes into play for landscapes, portraits, and even cityscapes. If you shoot a lot of critical architectural shots, this may not be your lens. A review for your collection:

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/sigma_18125_3556/index.htm

I continue to wonder why Sigma is unique in this zoom range, and can only hope that they bring out an EX HSM version at f/2.8-4.

Retain the sharpness and keep it under $600 and you have the perfect day-to-day lens.;)

I like it, but your mileage may vary. Lenses always seem to be a compromise.

As for the 10D vs. the 20D (after handling the 10D the 350D may be a bit small). If you have the money... it is a nice step up.

[Kerry24]

I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to post your detailed comments to my questions. They have been extremely helpful in focusing my direction and making my decision. :)

[coldrain]

I wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to post your detailed comments to my questions. They have been extremely helpful in focusing my direction and making my decision. :)
:o are you going to keep us in suspence?

[ReF]

i think that the extra lenses and accessories that one carries with the camera are what makes the whole set up/ bag feel heavy and bulky, not the actual camera body itself. i've got a bunch of lenses big and small and some accessories so i know how that can feel to carry all that around. i suggest trying out one of those 18-125 or 18-200 lenses. having just the one lens and maybe a flash in the bag should feel like nothing to carry around, considering what you're already used to.