A few questions...

[da_teacher]

The 30D is on its way--whoo hoo!!!!!

Bag--I'm thinking of getting the Canon 200EG backpack--$32 at Amazon.com, shipped. How is this bag?

Lenses:

For sure, the Nifty Fifty and its coming down to the Tammy 17-50 f/2.8 or the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8--ANY THOUGHTS?

Finally, I live in Denver. We occasionally have snow--how to protect the camera from the elements--the snow itself, condensation, temperature drops, etc.????

Thanks!

[Forced Perfect]

The 30D is on its way--whoo hoo!!!!!

Bag--I'm thinking of getting the Canon 200EG backpack--$32 at Amazon.com, shipped. How is this bag?

Lenses:

For sure, the Nifty Fifty and its coming down to the Tammy 17-50 f/2.8 or the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8--ANY THOUGHTS?

Finally, I live in Denver. We occasionally have snow--how to protect the camera from the elements--the snow itself, condensation, temperature drops, etc.????

Thanks!

I have that backpack. It's pretty nice although I think I'd like to have a top-loading bag with me and the backpack for spare lenses, etc.

As for the lenses, I can't say I've been all that impressed with what I've read about 3rd party lenses (quality control and making the specs more impressive even though you couldn't possibly get a good photo at its widest ap on some lenses), if you could afford a loss of one stop I'd say get the 17-40 f/4.0 L.

As for temperature, cameras will pretty much work in any cold weather you're going to be in. Things to remeber are:

If you're moving from a very cold place to a hot place you should take the battery out and leave it for at least an hour as condensation may form inside the camera and that's never, ever good. Although I can't say I've had that happen (and I'm Canadian).

Snow and cameras don't mix. Well, unless you have a 1D and a sealed lens. :)

Also an interesting note is that the colder your camera sensor is, the less noise in your photos. So it's actually not a bad idea to go out early and let your camera cool down when doing winter night shots.

[glennp]

Finally, I live in Denver. We occasionally have snow--how to protect the camera from the elements--the snow itself, condensation, temperature drops, etc.????

For rain and snow protection, I've been known to use a Ziplock bag and some tape to make a cover. Works great provided it's not a tropical storm or blizzard. Just remember to leave enough room for your hand to operate the camera.

And it's not the temperature drops that you need to worry about. There should be no problem in cold weather with the possibly exception of the batteries. When it's really cold*, the batteries lose their charges faster. Folks recommend carrying spares in an inside pocket to keep them warm.

However, moving from cold/dry air into warm/moist air (aka coming inside) is a concern due to condensation. Most of the time, as long as you have a well padded bag, the padding will act as insulation. Just put all the gear inside the bag, zip it up, and let the bag sit for a couple hours to slowly bring the gear up to room temp and you won't have a problem with condensation. For extra protection and/or more extreme temperature transitions, put the lens/camera in a Ziplock bag (no, I don't own stock) while still in the cold air to help protect the camera from moisture after going inside.

* I can't say what "really cold" is. I just got back from Iceland and after being outside 4 days for 4-5 hours a day in 25-35 degree weather (shooting around 1000 pics), the battery meter on my 30D still showed three bars (full charge) without a recharge or swap. I don't know if I've got a miracle battery or it just wasn't cold enough.

[michaelb]

The 30D is on its way--whoo hoo!!!!!

Bag--I'm thinking of getting the Canon 200EG backpack--$32 at Amazon.com, shipped. How is this bag?

Lenses:

For sure, the Nifty Fifty and its coming down to the Tammy 17-50 f/2.8 or the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8--ANY THOUGHTS?

Finally, I live in Denver. We occasionally have snow--how to protect the camera from the elements--the snow itself, condensation, temperature drops, etc.????

Thanks!


In terms of lenses....

The Tammy 17-50 gets rave reviews. This would be a good choice.

The Sigma 24-70 is supposed to be very nice as well, but I don't think it's wide enough by itself. 24mm on a crop sensor is not very wide; If you do any landscape photography, you will want wider than 24mm.....I have used the kit lens (18mm) for over 6 months and I often wish I could go wider than than 18mm.....thus, I would vote for the Tammy.

[zmikers]

I can't say what "really cold" is. I just got back from Iceland and after being outside 4 days for 4-5 hours a day in 25-35 degree weather (shooting around 1000 pics), the battery meter on my 30D still showed three bars (full charge) without a recharge or swap.

Where I come from 25-30 degrees is a very warm to hot day!:) He he he....

[LoveOfSelene]

"As for the lenses, I can't say I've been all that impressed with what I've read about 3rd party lenses (quality control and making the specs more impressive even though you couldn't possibly get a good photo at its widest ap on some lenses), if you could afford a loss of one stop I'd say get the 17-40 f/4.0 L."

I second him.

[glennp]

Where I come from 25-30 degrees is a very warm to hot day!:) He he he....

I intended to type in degrees Fahrenheit. -4 to 4 for you Celsius folks :)

Of course, there's many folks that won't consider temps around freezing cold. I had to work in Canada a few years back and after single-digit highs (F), 30 degrees F seemed like spring had arrived :)

[Dcoggs]

I just received a good sharp copy of the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 from the Buy/sell on Fred Miranda's site, and I have been VERY pleased with the results. AF is quicker than the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, and it is as sharp as my "nifty-fifty". I was looking at the 17-40 L canon, but as usual, price and that extra stop made go the way of the Tammy.

I looked at that same Canon bag a while back, but chose the Lowepro Micro Trekker 200. It hold my 400 with 17-50, my 70-300 IS, 50 1.8, 28-75 tammy lens, and a flash, plus all the extra room for filters, CF cards, etc. It also holds my Tripod slung off the bottom. That canon bag seems to be a good deal, but I would rip off the Canon logo to prevent theft.

I haven't had my setup long enough to give advice on the elements, but I don't leave it out in the car overnight because these batteries will drain pretty fast when they get cold.

Good luck with everything