[Dave]

Possibly looking to switch from Nikon to Canon ....just for a change (Note I had Canon before Nikon & will not get drawn in to one is better than other debates )

Outfit must cover following :-

- Image quality / sizes good enough for Alamy
- Will shoot Landscape (50%), Portrait / Candid (20%), Wildlife (20%), Sport/Action (10%)
- Not interested in Macro, or flashes.
- Want circa 10mm at wide end & 400mm at long end (ideally IS)
- Maximum 4 lenses
- Not adverse to 3rd party lenses
- Would prefer s/h to new

So budget is £2,500 ....what would you advise ??

[P-E]

What's Nikon not doing for you Dave........if you don't mind me asking

[Whipspeed]

If you're going for s/h, how about a 20D, as for lenses the Sigma 10-20 is good and for your 400mm, I can recomend the EF 100-400 f4-f5.6L IS USM if you can pick one up sh. I use mine for rugby all the time & it's good. I aslo used it for the whole cycling season last year, although I'm using the 70-200 at the moment. Not sure what the costs are at the moment, as I've not looked at ebay for a while. Also the 17-40 is well regarded for landscape, but I've not got that. For portrait, the 50mm f1.2? is apparently not too pricey and excellent.

Lucky you, I love camera shopping!

Anyway must go, I'm off out to photograph a time trial this morning.

[Dave]

Not impressed with review shots of Nikon 100-400mm VR vs the Canon equivalent & tbh I never see one brand as being better overall than another, so just considering what a swap might offer I'm a bloke ...I get bored

I will try & get a rental of the Nikon 100-400mm VR lens before any rash moves, just to prove to myself if it's acceptable or not. Just need to find somewhere to rent near Cheltenham

Knowing you had both brands for a while, what made you choose Canon in the end Ian ?

[P-E]

Originally Posted by Dave

Knowing you had both brands for a while, what made you choose Canon in the end Ian ?

Well in the end I was lucky enough to finally get a 1DMKII which was always the camera I drooled over from the very start of my short photography obsession even though I went Nikon to start with.

Like you say your a bloke........I know where you are coming from

I still have a D2H which I might well be buying a piece of glass for due to moving back to taking product shots at work

I will watch this thread with interest

[Steve]

Canon 20D or 30D & Battery Grip
Sigma 10-20 or Canon equivalent
Canon 24-105L IS USM
Canon 100-400L IS USM

Job done.

Or if you want a slightly different approach buy the 5D forget the battery grip and the Sigma/Canon wide lens.

For the Canon gear I would have no hesitation buying from the Canon outlet on ebay or using OneStop for any other items. You may even get some change from your budget if you buy at the right times

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by Steve

Canon 20D or 30D & Battery Grip
Sigma 10-20 or Canon equivalent
Canon 24-105L IS USM
Canon 100-400L IS USM

Job done.

Couldn't argue with that Steve since, having just ordered a Sigma 10-20, that is my current line-up on a 30D. Oh - and Dave, when birthday comes you can ask for a 100mm f2.8 Macro

I've only had the 24-105 about three weeks but so far I am bowled over with it for a walkabout. My shot of the Busker was with it. Regards the 30D - high ISO shots are superb and with the spot metering I'm glad I moved up from the 20D. But it is your call - nobody will be disappointed with either a Nikon or Canon line-up but if you go Canon what Steve posted would be my recommended selection.

[stepheno]

Just a codicil for you Dave. I notice you mention £2,500 and used, which is just as well. I have just done a "replacement for new" list of my kit for an insurance cover and, including things like battery grip, flashgun, memory, AC/DC coupler etc, I was staggered to find that my gear would cost £3,500 to replace new

[stepheno]

If my wife finds out I've spent that much, I'm mincemeat

[Dave]

LOL ...oh yes, the missus believes the camera body is the only expensive bit .....think I will leave the pre conception there

Tx for the advice so far. The Canon 5D is an idea for wide angle, but then of course you lose out the other end on the 400mm .... can't have it all I suppose

[Dave]

Originally Posted by P-E

Well in the end I was lucky enough to finally get a 1DMKII which was always the camera I drooled over from the very start of my short photography obsession even though I went Nikon to start with.

Wonder what price the 1D-MKII's will go for second hand, now that the new model is out there What price do they normally gor for s/h Ian ?

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Dave

The Canon 5D is an idea for wide angle, but then of course you lose out the other end on the 400mm .... can't have it all I suppose

Higher resolution to start with means that you'll be able to crop more and still end up with the same resolution as the 20/30D (in most cases) and when you don't need to..you'll get much higher resolution to begin with (great for your 50% landscape work). That may go some way to offsetting the lack of zoom but you still have to remember that 10mm on a 1.6x crop is still wider than 24mm on full frame so it doesn't exactly balance out. 10mm on the full frame would be interesting though (albeit at the expense of the extra cost for the 5D and 10mm lens)

Its also widely accepted that the colour purity and gradient smoothness from the 5D is one of the best in all DSLR's currently available. You pays your money and takes your choice

[Dave]

What's the cheapest you've seen the 5D's going for Steve ?

[Steve]

I have not looked that closely TBH (as I am not looking to change myself) but I have seen them and the 24-105L IS USM go together as kits at the Canon Outlet for much less than normal 'retail' places would charge.

EDIT there is a 5D on there currently @£1120, a Canon 10-22 for £275 and a EOS 5D+24-105 Lens for £1,551.99 (all have at least a few hours to run though)

[Soupdragon]

Dave:

I don't think you'll get what you want as new stock for £2500.

How much do you want for your Nikon gear?