Decent starter lense? Decent Compact Flash card?

[thestoat]

Well now that I have secured an EOS 20D (woohoo!) I'm looking for a decent starter lens. I deliberately avoided the words 'excellent' and 'perfect' as it will be a while before I can do a perfect lens real justice...

What are people's thoughts? I don't want a long range lens yet but something fairly flexible. I'm assuming that the lenses offered in the 20D kits are fairly poor but is that true in your experience? Would the EF-S 17 - 85 mm F4.5 - F5.6 IS USM be a recommended starting point?

Also, what about Compact Flash? The prices vary wildly but so do the speeds of the cards offered. I've seen anything from 50x upwards. For a relatively serious camera like the 20D is there minimum speed I should be looking for? Are there any brands to avoid?

Thanks for any thoughts on this,

Andy

[Bee_Jay]

The 17-85 IS is a fabulous lens to start off with - then like me aspire to the 24-70L or 24-105L. The 17-85 gives you roughly a 28-135 equivalent in a modern, light package with IS. I have both the 28-135IS and 17-85IS, and the 17-85 is my walk-around lens and the one on my camera by default - the 28-135 is on a shelf where it has been for nearly a year, just not quite wide enough for general use (family, sightseeing etc)... Make sure you get the hood for it (EW-73B), much better for lens protection and image quality than slapping a UV filter on the end.

With regards to compact flash, look no further than Rob Galbraith's CF database fot the definitive answer as to what is best for the 20D (I personally use Sandisk Ultra II and Extreme III in mine.) - www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-7303

As to where to buy CF from, I personally prefer www.valuemedia.co.uk due to fairly competitive prices and excellent service, however a lot of people on here buy from a guy on eBay called 'flashman182' or similar (search is your friend).

P.S. - when buying lenses make sure you also pick up the 50mm 1.8 II - about £70-£80 and real fun indoors with a high ISO (800+) for great natural light photography. Also stunningly sharp and great contrast for a stupidly low price.

For hours and hours of nausiating opinion on lenses try the Lens forums at dpreview or have a look at the public reviews at www.fredmiranda.com.

J.

>> Edited by Bee_Jay on Saturday 24th December 19:24

[RobDickinson]

Gratz on the 20d, picked up a 350d for xmas

I'm getting:

Canon 50mm f1.8 - £60 pin sharp excelent prime.
28-105 USM II - bit long at the wide end but its £130 and highly recomended, very sharp
10-20mm sigma - love wide angle and this is 16-32mm, cracker, £300
70-200 f4 L - friend has one (borrowed for now) super sharp zoom and light enough to hike with (unlike the f2.8) (£400 or so).

I was thinking of the 17-85 instead of the 28-105, its a better range but its 3* the price and I've heard conflicting stories about it.

To those above I may add a 17-40 L as it fills a gap and is a stunning lens.

[poah]

consider canon 10-22 and the sigma 70-200 f2.8 too.

[RobDickinson]

poah said:

consider canon 10-22 and the sigma 70-200 f2.8 too.

Yeah will do/have done.

The sigma 10-20 is cheaper than the canon (by £100-200), and the sigma 70-200 is nice bit bigger and heavier.

[TheStoat]

Just to say thanks for the feedback guys. There's just too much information and choice out there... your advice has saved me a lot of time.

Looks like eBay is a good source of Sandisk cards and possibly lenses too, although obviously I'll have to be cautious who I buy from! Can't wait to get all of this gear together and start shooting

Thanks again,

Andy

[monkeyhanger]

Just before you go spending £££'s on lenses, have a play around with the 18-55...

It can produce some decent shots if you've got a good one. The one that came with my old 300D wasn't half bad when stopped down a bit and i was sorry to see it go, but i sold the 300D as a kit to make it more attractive to a buyer.

I'd definitely second the recommendation for the Sigma 70-200 f2.8, i've got one and it's an excellent lens.