ready to pull the trigger today-I think

[Rontech1]

First of all, thanks for the replys and help in my previous thread about this.
http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24567
I am ready to order- I think.
Here is the list. Note links are for reference only. Not neccessarily where I am going to buy. Will use where to buy/not buy thread for that:D

Rebel xti black-body only
Opteka or Targus battery pack. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000G3KLPA/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-4794547-2940713?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=A1P9QRDRYY6FXL&v=glance
Tamron 28-300mm f3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical Macro Ultra Zoom
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00066EK40/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-4794547-2940713?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
(Or is the Sigma equiv. a better lens?) A 1.5 convertor also MAY be in the future if pic quality does not degrade much. (advice here please)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/B00007E7JU/ref=dp_proddesc_0/104-4794547-2940713?ie=UTF8&n=502394&s=photo
i would not be against a Sigma or Tamron that would replace this lens, if someone has an opinion that would be close to the price range. IS not a high priority for either lens at this time.
Of course I will get a couple of good 1 gig CF cards, locally here.
In the future I will get a remote release for the camera. One that works off RF instead of IR. Wired may work also if the cable is long enough.
This should get me started. I had a chance to try the Tamron 28-300 on an XTi body at a camera shop in Chicago last week. Seemed to work well, fast auto focus, and reasonably bright.
I already have the tripod, bags and such that would be the add on's that start ratcheting up the price.:rolleyes:
I see that people are just about evenly split between Tamron and Sigma here as far as non-Canon lenses. Ford and Chevy thing I guess.:)
Looks to me like the best " bang for the buck", unless someone can point me to another short lens instead of the Canon 50mm f/1.8.
What do you think?
Again, thanks for all the help and advice.
Ron

[Dcoggs]

I've just recently purchased an XTI and bought the Tamron 28-75 F/2.8 lens at the same time. If that 28-300 performs anywhere near the 28-75, you should be happy. I'm not uber experienced with all the different lenses out there, but have been very happy with the Tamron lens, especially considering price.

A couple weeks later I bought the 50 1.8 and love it. For the money it cannot be beat, and rivals the tamron lens for sharpness, and lets in a WHOLE lot of light. Build quality isn't great, but I can't complain when it costs less than a good filter. Best $70 I spent on the camera.

I bought the Canon battery grip so I can't comment on the Opteka, but the added size of these grips make using the camera with bigger lenses much easier.

The guy at the camera store threw in an IR remote for free, and it works great if you don't mind having to be in front of the camera to fire the shutter. RF would be better, but it was free.

I just received my Canon 70-300 IS USM and love it. Very sharp, and the IS saves a lot of shots if I can't get the shutter speeds I want. This lens is worth a look if you dont mind the extra it costs over the Tamron 28-300.

It sounds like you have your bases covered, but wanted to add my 2 cents, since I just recently went through this with my XTI. Have fun with it.

[timmciglobal]

The 28-300 is VERY slow lens it will not be compatible with any tele converter and retain autofocus.

28 is 45mm on crop body.

I don't know why your going to buy a dSLR and mate it with such bad glass. You would be much better off spending some more $ on lens and gaining better quality or buying a superzoom.

Tim

[Rontech1]

Dcoggs and timmciglobal,
Thanks for the input. After reading and mulling, I believe your are right about the tele lens. The Canon 70 - 300 makes more sense than the Tamron from the outset. I guess I was just being a tighta##. :o
The IS WOULD be a plus and the price diff is insignificant in the long run. One less " I wish I had of ". The advantage of being able to use the teleconvertor also is a plus. I assume the better one would be the Canon 1.5?.
That is why I asked for opinions.
As for the small lens, it would be used much less than the big lens. Mostly indoors, mostly w flash.
Battery grip is to help out for my big hands. Opteka seems to be the same as the Canon. from Amazon
" Product Description
Opteka is proud to be allowed to use the same factory and mold as Canon uses for their BG-E3. "
Now to search out the best prices. Anyone ever use amazon for purchases?
Ron

[timmciglobal]

I suggest buydig.com, have had good experiences with them.

As far as TC, none are compatible because the max apature at long end is 5.6and the TC adds between one and two stops of light loss.

Tim

[Rhys]

I have the Tamron 70-300 and am not impressed by it.

Personally I would rather have the Sigma 70-200 or the Canon 70-300 IS.

[Rontech1]

I suggest buydig.com, have had good experiences with them.

As far as TC, none are compatible because the max apature at long end is 5.6and the TC adds between one and two stops of light loss.

Tim

Well,
I already ordered from Amazon. Buydig did not have instock just the body. Amazon said they ( from Amazon, not a seperate vendor) did, along with everything else. Checked the who to buy from thread, and did try all, but seems like the body alone is difficult to come by right now. If nothing else
I will have something to add to the who to buy from thread. Now the wait begins:mad:
Thanks for the help and will update when stuff arrives.:D
Ron

[Rontech1]

I have the Tamron 70-300 and am not impressed by it.

Personally I would rather have the Sigma 70-200 or the Canon 70-300 IS.

Canon 70-300 IS was the final decision. Missed your post when I replied a moment ago. Setting here reformatting and reinstalling WinXP on one of my laptops to sell to help pay for our new toys. Only my wife and I live here. We have 2 desktops and 3 laptops. Time to do some weeding around here of computors.
On that subject, just got a new Dell E1705 with dual core proc. Man that sure makes short work of pp and video editing.
Ron

[24Peter]

Ron -good choice on the Canon 70-300 IS. You should be pleased. I'm not sure if you ordered the TC with it or not but my experience is that lens did not work well with the Tamron 1.4X TC. (I don't think other brands are any better.) Good news is, the lens is sharp at 300mm and that focal length should be long enough for most uses. Congrats on your purchases! :)

[Rontech1]

Ron -good choice on the Canon 70-300 IS. You should be pleased. I'm not sure if you ordered the TC with it or not but my experience is that lens did not work well with the Tamron 1.4X TC. (I don't think other brands are any better.) Good news is, the lens is sharp at 300mm and that focal length should be long enough for most uses. Congrats on your purchases! :)

Thank you sir.
If I had ignored all the helpful advice I got here I would be an idiot!
Did NOT order tc. Seems like it would be a component that would be used then set aside to purchase the correct tool to do the job. If the situation arises, I will save my pennies ($) to purchase better lens' to get the job done.
IS did not seem high on the list to begin with, but the wife and I talked and she liked it in our S3is and felt she would take advantage of it, especially with the 70-300.
I believe that we will be happy with our choices, thanks to all of your input!
Ron

[Rontech1]

Got the XTi,50mm f1.8 and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM weds and could not be happier. The pic quality is superb with the 70-300 for what we wanted. And the pics from the 50mm is surprisingly good, especially for the money!!!
Again thanks for all the advice.
Ron

[gary_hendricks]

Personally I prefer the Sigma and highly recommend it to others as well. I think this is because I take a lot of photos of nature and really want to have great aesthetics when I take my pictures. I have done a lot of reading and I have happily discovered that the Sigma is able to provide this for me. I haven’t shelled out the money to try this out quite yet but I definitely plan on doing so really soon, maybe even today. I have seen some great pictures with this lens and some of these were of nature and it really did impress me a lot. The pictures were absolutely marvelous to look at. Unfortunately, I don’t know what you are going to be taking the majority of your photos of but if you’re going to be taking a lot of pictures of animals or even people then the Sigma gets my high recommendation.