local vs imported - total amateur looking to move away from the kit lens

[andrmash]

HI, I recently bought a 500d with 17-55mm kit lens (no IS) and will probably be fine with it for quite some time, but what's the point of having a DSLR if you can't at least fantasize about having a bag full of L glass, this forum turned out to be the best resource for local camera shops as well as a few international recommendations.

comparing for example sacamera to b&h:
the 50mm 1.8 is pretty much the same price ( including shipping ) but
the 24-70 2.8L comes in about R2000 rand cheaper

a similar situation occurs with electronics components.. you can buy locally, get immediately but pay double for certain uncommon items or save a few bucks ordering from overseas OR if you are prepared to wait 2-3 months and endure terrible customer service you can get everything a a tiny fraction of local prices from places like futurlec.com

My question is this, is there an equivalent of futurlec for photographers?

cheers

 

[noxibox]

B&H and Adorama are usually the two options. It's sometimes cheaper, sometimes not as you've found. It also depends whether you buy one item or several. Many times the shipping will only go up in small increments when adding more items.

 

[koffiejunkie]

I assume you mean 18-55 - the 17-55 is *not* a kit lens.

I would recommend getting the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM instead of the 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM. It's roughly the same field of view on crop as the 24-70mm is on full frame, but with a little more on the long end. It's as sharp, colour is fantastic, it has IS, ring type USM for fast and silent focus. It's a great lens, and worth every penny.

24mm is not particularly wide - I find myself footzooming a lot to fit things into the frame.

 

[andrmash]

yeah, sorry 18-55mm, thanks for the advice, I'm renting a few lenses this weekend to get a feel for whats out there (28mm 1.8 USM, 50mm 1.4 USM and 24-70 2.8 L USM) thats probably enough to keep me busy

 

[bwana]

I assume you mean 18-55 - the 17-55 is *not* a kit lens.

I would recommend getting the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM instead of the 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM. It's roughly the same field of view on crop as the 24-70mm is on full frame, but with a little more on the long end. It's as sharp, colour is fantastic, it has IS, ring type USM for fast and silent focus. It's a great lens, and worth every penny.

24mm is not particularly wide - I find myself footzooming a lot to fit things into the frame.

I take it you're enjoying yours then?

Problem with the 17-55 - apart from the glaringly obvious one of it being EF-s - is that there's no followup lens of any substance. You've got your 17-55mm. . . . then nothing until 70mm (70-200).

 

[koffiejunkie]

I take it you're enjoying yours then?

LOL! I haven't bought it yet, but I rent it from time to time. The only reason I haven't bought it yet, is because it mostly overlaps the 24-105L and there are other lenses I need/want more in the mean time. But unless Canon unleashes the mythical "3D" some time soon, the 17-55mm will be mine.

Problem with the 17-55 - apart from the glaringly obvious one of it being EF-s - is that there's no followup lens of any substance. You've got your 17-55mm. . . . then nothing until 70mm (70-200).

I haven't found that too be much of a problem. It's only 15mm, which represents a few degrees (23.1º to 18.3º = 4.8º) difference - easily crop-able on even a 10MP body.

 

[bwana]

I haven't found that too be much of a problem. It's only 15mm, which represents a few degrees (23.1º to 18.3º = 4.8º) difference - easily crop-able on even a 10MP body.

You've now got a 70-200 as well as the 200mm f/2.8? Anyway, I'd rather not have the gap in focal lengths 2.8 from 16-200 works for me and I can use them on all of my bodies.

 

[koffiejunkie]

You've now got a 70-200 as well as the 200mm f/2.8?

I don't have a 70-200mm - not sure what gave that impression - I do rent it from time to time though, and it is on my shopping list. Unfortunately, I'm not making money out of this, so it's a difficult purchase to justify just now.

Anyway, I'd rather not have the gap in focal lengths 2.8 from 16-200 works for me and I can use them on all of my bodies.

You're one of a very small minority of Canon users here that actually has something in the 1D/5D range. And while most of us like to dream about one of those bodies, very few will actually ever buy one.

I stand by what I always say - the 17-55mm will give me the shots I want while I have crop camera. I can always sell it on if I ever get a 5D or 1D body.

 

[bwana]

I don't have a 70-200mm - not sure what gave that impression - I do rent it from time to time though, and it is on my shopping list. Unfortunately, I'm not making money out of this, so it's a difficult purchase to justify just now.

My bad, you said in your experience and I just went and assumed you had the 70-200 even if you didnt have the 17-55.

You're one of a very small minority of Canon users here that actually has something in the 1D/5D range. And while most of us like to dream about one of those bodies, very few will actually ever buy one.

I stand by what I always say - the 17-55mm will give me the shots I want while I have crop camera. I can always sell it on if I ever get a 5D or 1D body.

I don't see larger sensored cameras being out of the grasp of everyone in the future.

While you can always try and sell the 17-55 if you upgrade I can't see that you won't lose more than the price difference ($300) if you bought the 24-70 from day one through depreciation.

 

[hilton]

bwana, you have way too many posts dude

 

[koffiejunkie]

I don't see larger sensored cameras being out of the grasp of everyone in the future.

I didn't say it was out of anyone's grasp. Just that few will justify that kind of spending if they're not making money from it.

While you can always try and sell the 17-55 if you upgrade I can't see that you won't lose more than the price difference ($300) if you bought the 24-70 from day one through depreciation.

I see them go on eBay for within £50 of the new price all the time. But even if someone I sell it at a $300 loss, that's still money well spent for an excellent lens on a crop body. Better spent than on cheapy lenses that can't be sold for half of their new price.

 

[BigAl-sa]

You're one of a very small minority of Canon users here that actually has something in the 1D/5D range. And while most of us like to dream about one of those bodies, very few will actually ever buy one.

I'm with you here. The crop factor suits me for what I want 95% of the time. I'm not going to fork out huge amounts of cash for the other 5% (actually in those cases I'd probably want something in the line of a medium format camera rather than "full frame").