[daveyuk]

I currently use the Canon 350D for a while now and I'm thinking of upgrading to the Canon 30D, I'd love the 5D but the pennies just won't stretch that far.

So I'm thinking of the Canon 30D + 17-85mm IS USM Lens + Battery Grip + Sigma 500 DG ST Flashgun. So I would appreciate your views and thoughts on the above please.

Many thanks in advance.

[Gary Bagshawe]

The 5D would be very nice but it does have a high price tag, How much are you willing to spend? There are some nice deals on things like the 1dmk2 that can be found or do you not want to spend that much?

[daveyuk]

Gary
A 1Dmk2 is a lovely peace of kit but I'm not nearly anywhere near good enough to own one of those, I do not even consider myself anywhere close to semi-pro although very nice and it has all the bells and whistles, I don't do enough photography to warrant that kind of spending.
The 5D as you say is very nice but again just a little to "pro" for me. I have some endowment money coming back to me and I'd like to upgrade plus put some away for "just in case money" if you know what I mean. So that's why I am thinking of the 30D plus a few "extras"

[silkstone]

If you went for the 5D or 1D you'd be limited to full-frame lenses, and expensive ones at that to get the best from the camera. There's also the weight issue - the 1D MkII and 1Ds MkII are superb, but I would never buy one because I don't want anything that bulky or heavy.

I'm wondering why you're thinking of upgrading - what is it about the 350D that's holding you back? For the price of a 30D you could get an extra lens or two which may be more useful. Cameras are short-lived, but good glass lasts for ever.

[stepheno]

I won't persuade you about cameras but I will say get the Sigma 500 DG Super flash not the ST. It's only a bit more a has more features.

[Dave]

Not being a Canon man I can't comment from hands on experience, but I have read enought reviews & chatted to enough people to know they love their 20Ds, so the 30D would be a great camera. From my understanding you may not see any real difference in your end image quality over the 350D, but you would have a superior built camera that will last you years, with even more functions, to keep you busy also

[asd]

You could wait until next week when canon bring out 40D! i jest but probably wont be too far away, i have 10D and would like 30D as well but still learning this thing still!.... i hear canon are bringing out a new top of range model/s, so we might see 1Dmk11Ns and 1Ds mk11 on the second hand market at a good price when they all upgrade,(and 5D price may drop as a result??) my friend has 350D and its a great little thing, as said image quality will be roughly the same, and frame rate is about the same i think, bigger LCD on 30D looks great, but is it worth upgrading just for that?.......................hell yeah cant beat new toys!!

personally will upgrade when they bring out **D that is 10+ million megapixels, they should as sony have just done that with the alpha 100, at a modest price as well

[Sonsey]

Asd has a point, we are getting close to the time that Canon usually announce's it's new cameras (mid/late Sept)... might be worth waiting to see what they come up with, I'm sure the 350D will tide you over 'till then