rob answers:

They all do.
If you have further questions, you might consider looking on the canon website – it is FULL of information about all their cameras.

rob answers:

I have a canon . That memory card won’t do. Get a Samsung 8GB SD Plus Memory Card – Class 6

rob answers:

Actually the Nikon D3100 is the competitor to the 550D (T2i) and cost less as well.

Since your digital Canon is a P&S, you cannot use it to compare it to a dSLR.

Start fresh.

Decide which camera system you want to be married to for the next few decades and then buy a camera that is in that system

Crystal clear: This is all about your skills as a photographer, NOT the camera
Great colours: The same. You are in control of that. ANY dSLR can produce great colour
Shallow depth of field: This is called selective focus and is a technique that uses a medium to standard telephoto lens, a wide open aperture and with the subject close to the lens.

As you can see, the photos you want are up to you, NOT the camera per se, although it is necessary that you have a fully adjustable camera and good lens

rob answers:

Every DSLR camera will let you manually control the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture…that’s the whole point of a DSLR camera.

All entry level DSLR cameras, including the T2i have a built in flash.

rob answers:

Its awesome that the T2i had video capabilities..but it is limited.
12 min clips take up 4GB
You will need class 10 SD card 16GB to have upto 48 mins of video.
It is also slow to focus and you definitely would need high end lens to shoot in manual mode.

Better choices would probably be the Canon T3i (avail March) approx $799 body
Or, the Canon 60d.
Rumor has it that the Canon 60d ($888 body) will have $100 rebate sun 2/20th.

rob answers:

Broadway Photo (the epitome of shady camera shops): 1.18/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Broadway_Photo

camera Addict: 0.68/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/ camera _Addict

1way Photo: 0.74/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/1_Way_Photo

Razz Photo: 0.00/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/RazzPhoto

Best Price cameras (AKA as Razz Photo): 0.23/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/reseller_list.pl?search=bestprice camera s&imageField22.x=13&imageField22.y=9

Expecam: 0.00/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/reseller_list.pl?search=expecam&imageField22.x=16&imageField22.y=10

Foto Connection: 2.73/10

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/FotoConnection_1

– user ratings (lifetime) of stores on ResellerRatings.com

I think it’s safe to say that none of these “featured” stores are legitimate. The canon 1Ds Mark II is nearly 4 years old; your chance of finding one new is slimming by the day. You should approach any store that advertises new stock with caution.

Amazingly, ShoppingCartUSA hides Amazon which is reputable. Also, DigiCombos seems pretty legit, with a 7.07 lifetime rating on ResellerRatings. Not surpisingly, these two shops have the highest prices out of the pack.

rob answers:

If you don’t know how to take photos…a $5000 camera isn’t going to do a damn thing for you !!!!

rob answers:

If you are doing amateur work then why buy a “professional” camera…..

rob answers:

By the time you have to pay duty on it, its not a better deal. Also the menues will not be in english, but in chinese. Also there will be no warrenty should you have any issues when you return home.

The 1ds M3 is a great camera. I love mine. You might consider buying a used one here in the USA. I know atleast 1 person that is looking to see theirs. So let me know if you are interested, as its a good deal.

When you go overseas you need to declare your gear prior to leaving the USA. There are different ways of doing this but you can file a form with the state listing your gear, model #s and serial #s. That way you wont be taxed on it when you bring it back in. Otherwise, if you have it all insured, carrying that info with teh make and models and serial #’s of it then as well. Those are the 2 most common ways to protect yourself from being charged on gear you already own and take overseas.

Hope this helps. Have a good trip.

rob answers:

If you are careful about taking your lenses off in areas of blowing dust you will still not have to have the sensor cleaned very often, I would still say get eh D3X and keep the D300 as a backup you will do great with that

Here is the benchmark comparison on sensor RAW data from DXO for the D300, D3 and Canon 1Ds Mark III they do not have the D3X on here yet but it will have better marks than the D3

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Compare-cameras/(appareil1)/262%7C0/(appareil2)/209%7C0/(appareil3)/192%7C0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Nikon/(brand2)/Nikon/(brand3)/Canon

Canon and Nikon both make good cameras and lenses so alot of it is personal preference but remember the controls on the D3X will be very similar to your D300 so there will not be a large learning curve

rob answers:

The Xti will be great. All SLRs these days have full auto modes so you don’t need to learn all about manual controls right away.

As for lenses I’d get a camera with the kit lens. It’s 18-55mm so it’ll be good for scenic stuff as well as portraits. If you want to have major background blur on your portraits you should get the 50mm f/1.8 ($100).

If by nature photos you mean photos of birds and other animals you’ll need a telephoto lens. These are lenses with a focal length measured in the hundreds. The 75-300mm is canon’s cheapest telephoto but it’s also pretty crappy. I wouldn’t pay the $300 they ask for it in stores but you can find it used for $100. Your next option is the 100-300mm. It`s hard to find new but you can sometimes get it used for $250. Your third (and best) option is the 70-300mm but it`ll cost you around $500.

rob answers:

If $1300 is out of your price range for a housing, keep in mind that you’ll need an u/w flash, too!
That’s about as cheap as it gets for an Ikelite housing.

I didn’t want to risk my slr to the u/w environment, so I chose a cheaper option and am very happy with it. I bought an Olympus 12 Mpixel point & shoot (Stylus 8000), with housing, u/w flash, sync cord, memory cards for around $850. The pics are great! The camera itself is waterproof to 30ft, with the housing up to 130ft.

The 8000 has 3 white balance settings specifically set for u/w applications.

rob answers:

It depends on what “35mm film camera” you have. If you have an old Canon FD-mount camera (which means Canon’s manual focus cameras made before the 90s) you’ll need an adapter:

http://search.ebay.com/canon-fd-to-ef_W0QQfsopZ32

If you have an EOS 35mm camera with EF-mount lenses then they should mount and work exactly like they’re suppose to.

In any case, since the sensor of the XTi is smaller than a frame of film, there’s a 1.6x crop factor that you have to take into account. A 28-80mm lens would be equivalent to a 44.8-128mm lens on the XTi.

rob answers:

You might check at http://www.magiclanterndvdguides.com for an instructional DVD for your camera.

These books might help:

“How Digital Photography Works, Second Edition” by Ron White

“Hands-On Digital Photography” by George Schaub

There are 3 components to the “Exposure Triangle” : f-stop, ISO and shutter speed.

ISO is the measurement of the sensitivity to light of a light sensitive surface, either film or digital sensor. A low ISO (50, 100) is very insensitive and requires a lot of light. A high ISO (400, 800, 1600) is very very sensitive and requires less light. A low ISO produces the best image quality; a high ISO is needed in low-light, non-flash photography but does degrade the image.

The aperture (f-stop) is the opening made by the diaphragm inside the lens on your camera. A large opening (f1.7, f2) admits all the available light. A small opening (f11, f16) admits very little light. Regardless of the ISO chosen, the f-stop chosen controls the shutter speed and what’s known as “Depth of Field” (DOF).

The shutter speed determines the length of time the light admitted by the f-stop chosen is allowed to expose our film or digital sensor, based on the ISO.

Let’s look at some examples to see the ISO/f-stop/shutter speed relationship. These are based on the “Sunny 16 Rule” which states: “On a sunny day, set your aperture to f16 and your shutter speed to 1/ISO”. * For our purposes we’ll pretend our fastest shutter speed is 1/8000 sec. – which few cameras have the capability of achieving.

ISO 100
f16 @ 1/125 sec.
F11 @ 1/250 sec.
F8 @ 1/500 sec.
F5.6 @ 1/1000 sec.
F4 @ 1/2000 sec.
F2.8 @ 1/4000 sec.
F2 @ 1/8000 sec.

ISO 400
f16 @ 1/500 sec.
F11 @ 1/1000 sec.
F8 @ 1/2000 sec.
F5.6 @ 1/4000 sec.
F4 @ 1/8000 sec.

As we ”open up” from f16 to f11 we admit twice as much light and our shutter speed doubles since admitting more light requires less time (faster shutter speed) for the light to expose our light sensitive surface.

If you doubt the validity of the example, do this simple test:
Place your camera in Aperture Preferred Mode so you can select an f-stop and allow the camera to select the shutter speed. (Av on your camera). Set your ISO to 100. Now go outside on a sunny day. Set your f-stop to 16 and record the shutter speed selected by the camera. Do this for every f-stop.

The only difference you’ll likely see from the chart I showed is this: The “Sunny 16 Rule” my chart is based on was developed when shutters were 100% mechanical. Today’s modern electronically controlled shutters are essentially “stepless” and will come closer to actually matching the 1/ISO part of the “Rule”.

Depth of Field (DOF) is controlled by the f-stop and the focal length of the lens. It is loosely defined as that area in acceptable focus in front of and behind your subject. You can find an excellent explanation on wikipedia. I’ll just say that a wide-angle lens (18mm, 21mm) will give you maximum DOF at f16 while a telephoto lens (100mm, 200mm) will give you a shallow DOF at f16.

OK, I can’t resist just 2 examples:

21mm lens @ f16, focused at 6′ : DOF is from 2′ 2” to Infinity

200mm lens @ f16, focused at 8′ : DOF is from 7′ 9-3/4” to 8′ 2-3/8″

Its easy to see how shallow our DOF is with a 200mm lens: 4-5/8″ (2-1/4″ in front of and 2-3/8″ behind our subject).

I realize this has been a long and somewhat complicated answer.

Good luck with this fascinating, frustrating thing called photography.

rob answers:

Canon XTi vs. XT (basic points):

- 10 MP vs. 8 MP
- 3.0 fps (27 JPEG or 10 RAW) vs. 2.8 fps (14 JPEG or 4 RAW)
- LCD 2.5” vs. 1.8”, with better quality on XTi
- XTi has the EOS Integrated Cleaning System (anti-static coatings + separate low pass filter + software tools)
- XTi has 9 point AF sensor (same as EOS 30D)
- XTi has proximity sensor on viewfinder

+ other neat-picks that make it a great camera.

Either way you go, you won’t go wrong. Choose the camera that best fits your budget. And regardless of the SLR you choose, never buy the lens kit (these lenses are usually lower quality than retail lenses).

rob answers:

No, you have to convert it to mac compatible video like mp4 or mov, here is a total video converter for mac can help you: http://goo.gl/xjJlb good luck!

rob answers:

Washed out = overexposed.

You will have to make adjustments either with the ISO setting (outdoors should be set to no more than 200 ISO) and/or aperture setting (stop down to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor during your shooting)

rob answers:

If you are asking whether you can import it and edit, then yes.

rob answers:

I would go to the menu, go to format, and low-format your card (I think that’s what it’s called) press the trash can button once you get into format and it puts a check mark in the box. Then try again.

rob answers:

Short “films”? Do you have a film camera too? If so I’m impressed, these are very expensive and can be difficult to use. I admire your adventure if you do use film.

If, on the other hand, you just haven’t learned your terms (I suggest you bone up a bit) and are referring to video as “film”, then you need some research and learning.

Have you read your owner’s manual? Apparently not. If you had you’d already know the answer.

rob answers:

I grew up using my grandma’s canon 35mm SLR… It never failed me… So, I’d choose the canon EOS-1ds Mark III in a heartbeat.

But that’s just me.

rob answers:

Nikon D3x 24.5MP FX Digital SLR

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MJ03U0?ie=UTF8&tag=0610-20

>>Extreme resolution 24.5-megapixel FX-format (35.9 x 24.0mm) CMOS sensor
>>Nikon EXPEED image processing technologies; 138 MB processed NEF (RAW) 12 or 14-bit image files
>>3-inch super-density 920,000-dot VGA LCD monitor; 100 percent viewfinder coverage
>>Two Live View shooting modes; continuous shooting at up to 5 fps at full FX-format resolution
>>Dual CF card slots with overflow, backup and copy options

Review: Owned a D3 for one and a half years and traded in for the D3x after trying out the new model for a day. My review is not about price – for the record I think Nikon stretched the barrier on the price point for this which I am not happy about – but as far as performance goes I am happy. The D3x results is are perceptibly superior for landscape and macro photography – which is what I typically shoot – even on just A3+ prints…. So I can imagine that the results would be that much better for larger sizes. Just as many of you, I have also read arguments on the net re the megapixel myth ad nauseam and was half convinced about it but nothing speaks as clearly as prints (and I’m comparing studio shots of the same subject taken with the two different camera s).

Have not tried the D3x for sports photography yet but I suspect that unless you are shooting either motor-sports or winter sports, the moderately slower 5fps in large FX mode compared with the 7fps for the D3 is not going to be an issue.

I also spent a day with the Sony Alpha-900 given that is the only other player in a similar mega-pixel category. The output was all right but overall just not in the same league as the D3x in terms of handling, build quality etc etc (I’m probably biased as I am very familiar with Nikon controls – just found the Sony too ‘fiddly’ and ‘plasticky’ and couldn’t see myself spending hours with it without getting irritated).

Early days with the camera but so far it feels like one of the best DSLR’s I have used especially when the medium format alternatives would involve rendering my large pile of Nikon lenses useless and the replacement cost would be prohibitive. As mentioned earlier the D3x pricing is a different issue altogether and I think that the right price point would have been around $2K lower……will update if and when I discover any shortfalls or glitches.

rob answers:

DO NOT PUT AN EF-S LENS ON A MARK III !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like Hondo said, you will damage the mirror.

You can use any EF series lens. Here is the Canon lenses currently available http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/ camera s/ef_lens_lineup

The “L” series lenses are really nice, but they are not a necessity. I would recommend the “nifty fifty” f/1.4 though.

The best thing to do is take your camera into a camera shop and try out the different lenses to see which will provide the shots you are wanting to do since you didn’t specify any particular uses.

Go to http://www.yellowpages.com put in camera and your city,state to find the camera shops near you.

rob answers:

D3X because its performance is much better. Test results here. Higher ratings are better.
Http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Compare-cameras/(appareil1)/287%7C0/(appareil2)/291%7C0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Nikon/(brand2)/Canon

rob answers:

You will find lots of evidence in publications and online reviews (and the answers here) of the following:

** Nikon’s high-end range of cameras have technically superior sensor technology for high-ISO shooting.**

I am not sure if your eyes will tell the difference at ISO 800.

Pretty sure that nobody could be sure about whether a shot was taken on a Canon or a Nikon at ISO 400 or below, with their eyes.

Shooting at high ISO above 400 is the last resort for exposure adjustment when the goal is clear, crisp photography. So you have to consider whether you will need to use ISOs higher than 400 often to get the shots that you want (are you shooting action in low light, or long telephoto lenses 200mm and longer?). Otherwise, the cure is longer shutter speed, wider aperture, or a tripod/image stabilization.

Nikon provides better value dollar for dollar in their camera body technology.

Canon has a much more extensive range of camera lenses and add-ons (both from Canon and from third parties).

I would only consider these top end cameras (D3, D3x, 5D Mark II, and 1Ds Mark III) if I were being provided equipment by an employer for a gig… Perhaps to go shoot wildlife or to do studio photography.

If it were wildlife, I would go with the Nikon D3(x) because the high ISO will benefit shooting distant or moving objects in uncontrolled lighting situations.

If it were studio shooting with controlled lighting, or product shots, I would put the cameras back on par because high ISO does not matter in this environment.

If I were talking walk-about photos and candids in uncontrolled lighting situations, I would get a D90 with an 18-200 VR, or an XSi with a 24-105mm IS.

If I were shooting weddings, i would use those same cameras as backups to either a D300 or a 50D with a prime lens around 100mm.

I hope that you get the information you need to make your decision.

rob answers:

The Standard Lens 18-55m is actually really good for filming by itself, but you can move onto other lenses (which get quite expensive). When buying, make sure it has a fixed ISO because it won’t adjust automatically when filming (which often destroys the video). Other than that, there isn’t a ‘best’ lens, as it’s very subjective, so just try a few (not actually buy, but get your hands on a few). My advice is go to secondhand camera shops, try some cheaper equipment which isn’t damaged, and go from there!
Have fun!

rob answers:

Indeed, you cannot autofocus while shooting video

you can always set the lens to manual focus and focus that way

rob answers:

Rule # 1 – Read the Owners Manual

Rule # 2 – Read the Owners Manual

Rule # 3 – Read the Owners Manual

Rule # 4 – Start Back at Rule # 1 – Read the Owners Manual

This type of problem is actually actually covered in the Owners Manual.
Check the side of the lens where the AF/MF Toggle is sitting at.

rob answers:

1. Class 6 or better
2. How many gb goes on a card depends on the card size.
I’d say buy a 16gb card

rob answers:

Use the program Digital Photo Professional supplied with your camera .

rob answers:

Hey,

DSLRs have 15x+ bigger sensors, so image quality and noise performance are much better. Megapixels..for viewing pics on the monitor, you need 4MP. And megapixels don’t make images sharper, crisper or anything like that..It’s a myth, they only help if you print LARGE or crop a LOT. Which 90% of photographers don’t.

They all have same image quality and if you don’t need video, better high ISO performance and some minor stuff, get the XS.

I’d get the D3100, best price/performance out right now.

Here’s a post called ‘Buying a DSLR – http://www.the-dslr-photographer.com/2009/03/which-dslr-to-buy.html

Good luck!

rob answers:

You really have to look at the Nikon D7000 to use an external stereo microphone.

Since you are a Nikon user, switching camera systems will cost you more than the additional cost of the D7000 over the D3100.

In any case, only the two Nikon’s can can auto-focus in the video mode.

You do know, don’t you, that most of the sound in videos produced by video production companies, is laid in later in post production

Here is a sample of such a video made with a D7000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMbBKukJzBk

rob answers:

I’ve been using a Nikon camera ever since. I recently bought the Nikon D3100 and I find it very user friendly and the shots are definitely the shots I wanted.

You can try this one too.

Http://www.digitalcamerastop.com/nikon-d3100-reviews-the-best-d3100-price/

rob answers:

Between the two, it is a matter of what you like better. Which one feels better in your hands. Both cameras are very comparable, and the nice thing is that the Nikon is $200 less, allowing for another lens, or more accessories.

Go to a store, hold both for a good bit of time, and decide which one feels better in your hand, which one is easier for you to use and operate. I don’t like the canon very much, it is too light for my tastes.

rob answers:

Nikon off top!
Canon’s are a great camera brand, but there is soo much more flexibility when using a Nikon. The quality is superb (imo), and completely user-face friendly. Definitely worth investing in a Nikon camera. Lens’ are cheaper, cleaning supplies are cheaper, accessories are cheaper.

Look into the spec’s of the two camera’s and see for yourself. Many reviews will lean toward a Nikon rather than a Cannon, I had this same problem myself when I first started taking pictures. Obviously I chose Nikon and never looked back. =) hope that helps!

rob answers:

Firstly, since you will be doing african wildlife, the 1.3x crop factor of the 1D is actually an advantage since it effectively makes the same lenses functionally longer.

The 1D mkIII has autofocus design-defect issues that AFAIK still remain partly unresolved.

rob answers:

OK, I’ll answer! The person that presses the shutter release, plays the biggest role in image quality.

I’m not going to go into all the details, but do you think that professional photographers pay 6 thousand more for a 1D III, because it’s a cooler camera?

It’s a combination of the lens, the camera , and the photographer!

If all you ever want to print is 5×7′s you’ll never know the difference anyway!

And last time I looked, there are no Mark III lens’s.

Oh, and you’re just trolling anyway! Looking for my first response! It’s the shooter!

rob answers:

I shot with the original 1Ds for years doing weddings and in studio portrait work, so I have first hand knowledge of the camera. In it’s day, it really was top dog, but that does not mean it does not have issues.

Being used to using your 40D, the 1Ds is going to feel like a tank to you. It is BIG and HEAVY, especially when you put a big L lens on it. Also, there is no built in flash, so you also have to put a big, heavy flash unit on top. So you end up with one hell of a load to tote around.

Yes, it is a full frame camera, which is great, but if I remember correctly, the max ISO is only 1250. Problem is, the photos start looking really bad at even ISO 800. Even run of the mill entry level DSLR cameras now will far outperform the 1Ds when it comes to clean photos at high ISO.

The 1Ds used an earlier battery design that was larger and heavier than current batteries, but also, the battery will seldom last through for instance a full wedding and reception shoot. Better plan on buying a couple of spare batteries, which were over $100 apiece at the time, perhaps cheaper now.

The user interface of the 1Ds is absurd. Even after using mine for years, it was never intuitive. It requires asinine two handed button pushing and holding one or two buttons down while turing the command wheel etc.

Bottom line, I never liked the camera, even hated it at times. (I’ve since sold it). I used it because it was the ONLY full frame digital available for quite a while, and the 11 megapixel count was also far above anything else available. But frankly, the camera has truly been far surpassed now.

I suggest two other alternatives. One, the 1Ds Mark II. This was a mainstay of may pros for a long time. It made some serious improvements over the original 1Ds, as well as having 16 megapixels. However, many of the goofy user interface issues remain.

My best suggestion to you is to find a used original 5D. This camera is worlds apart better than the 1Ds in all aspects, (except perhaps in build strength, but few people NEED the build strength of the 1 series cameras). The 5D is still probably going to cost you more than the 1Ds, but there should be more 5D cameras becoming available as the 5D Mark II is now available.

The 5D would be a MAJOR step up from your 40D. The 1Ds, in my opinion, would soon be something you regretted spending money for.

Steve

rob answers:

The only hope is to just get on a waiting list at a major store.

BTW, that’s $8,000, not $5,000.

They are slowly trickling out, but it’ll take months before you can get your hands on one.

rob answers:

In this case the “s” does not stand for secondary. That’s what the III means.

Canon’s naming system is actually a bit of a mystery. I can tell you that the more numbers that are, i.e. 1D or 450D, the cheaper the camera is. 1D cameras are top of the line. 450D cameras are the Rebels, the “consumer” Canon DSLRs.

I have heard that the “s” means… “studio.” But that’s not definitive.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark III and the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III are actually in two completely different line-ups of Canon cameras.

The Canon EOS 1D Mark III is a 10.1 megapixel camera that has a “cropped sensor.”

The Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III is a 21.1 megapixel camera that is “full-frame.”

The Canon EOS 1D Mark III also is capable of more frames per second, making it a very useful camera for shooting sports.

They are both ‘top of the line’ professional Canon cameras, but one is the “full-frame” line-up and the other the “cropped sensor.”

There are actually many other differences in those two cameras, but that’s one of the biggest.

I’m not sure what the difference is between the Rebels, but I would guess that the one with the different letter is the newer, more advanced one. But again, that’s just a guess about the Rebel.

rob answers:

There are [only] two Digital SLRs at the moment that possess video recording capabilities: The Nikon D90, and canon 5D Mark II.

EDIT [6:14pm PST]: I must point out that Vicseo’s post is a bit misleading. The DMC-FZ28 is NOT a dSLR. It’s a “superzoom”, or point and shoot camera with a long zoom. What it lacks compared to the XT (or any other dSLR) is a big sensor, optical viewfinder, and ability to interchange lenses.

rob answers:

I’ll give you some criteria used in choosing a lens, and then suggest a few that I would use for this purpose.

1. Zoom or prime
Zoom lenses are lenses that cover multiple focal lengths. Prime lenses cover a single focal length. Zooms should NOT be confused with telephotos (lenses for shooting far away things), as telephotos can be either zoom or prime. Zooms give you greater flexibility, but primes offer superior image quality at a given price point. Primes are also available in larger apertures (see below).

2. Focal length
Remember that your DSLR is a “crop” sensor DSLR. This means that your sensor is significantly smaller than 35mm film, and only uses the center of the image circle created by a standard lens. The simplified result of this “crop effect” is that you need to multiply the focal length on the lens by 1.6 to get the effective length on your camera. (No, the lens doesn’t magically change, but the crop will make you move YOUR position, which will change the perspective rendered by the lens.)

The classic ranges for 35mm film are (give or take)
14-24mm = Ultra Wide Angle
24mm-35mm = Wide angle
40mm-70mm = Normal Perspective
70mm-135mm = Short Telephoto/Portrait
135mm-299mm = Telephoto
300mm + = Supertelephoto.

So take the lens’s focal length and multiply by 1.6 to figure out how the lens will work on YOUR camera.

Note that EF-S lenses are lenses designed for your reduced image circle. This doesn’t mean that you gain any optical benefits (quite the opposite in most cases), but some of these reduced-circle lenses represent great values, or at the wide end (EF-S 10-22) offer perspectives not available in full-frame lenses.

3. Maximum Aperture
When you see a number like f/2.8 or f/4-5.6 on the side of a lens, it tells you the maximum aperture that the lens is capable of achieving. Larger apertures give you a few capabilities. They allow you to shoot in lower light without flash (more light coming in = faster shutter speed). This is VITAL for sports photography, or any situation where the subject is apt to be moving. Larger apertures also allow you to shoot shallow depth-of-field shots, where the background and foreground are blurred to isolate the subject. A larger aperture lens can be stopped down for more depth-of-field or slower shutter, but a “slower” lens cannot be opened up. Larger apertures also offer faster auto-focus (with a few exceptions), as lenses slower than f/2.8 disable some of the AF sensors on your camera.

4. IS
Some Canon lenses offer IS. IS is a gyroscopic device that lives in the back of the lens and tries to correct for lens movement. This is extremely useful when you are shooting hand-held, but still can be useful on a tripod or monopod (although some older lenses require that you disable IS on a tripod). IS is great for shooting STATIC subjects in low light, as it will allow you to use a slower shutter speed than you would otherwise be able to. Some IS lenses offer “pan mode” which will stabilize the lens vertically, but allow you to pan the lens horizontally (think racecars with the background blurring as they move). IS is almost useless for most sports, as the key issue is not camera movement, but getting a shutter fast enough to stop the subject’s motion.

5. Little red rings
The Canon “L” series of lenses is the “L”uxury lineup of optics, and they all have a little red ring around the front. In reality, this designation has more to do with being designed for professionals than for use as a luxury item. The L series lenses are *typically* of higher optical quality AND build quality than their consumer grade cousins. For zooms in particular, there are VERY few offering really strong quality in the consumer lineup (EF-S 10-22, EF-S 17-50IS, 70-300IS being the most notable exceptions).

6. Third party lenses
Tamron, Sigma, Tokina…. People take sides on the “are third party lenses ok” debate as vehement as their stances on major political issues. In my experience, some third party lenses offer an excellent value for the money. That said, ALL lenses have a certain variation in quality between copies of identical lenses. Test 3 copies of a Canon 50mm 1.4 in the store, and you will likely see a difference in performance. This tends to be even more pronounced in 3rd party lenses! So I recommend that you only consider purchasing a 3rd party lens from one of the three manufacturers I listed, and only if you can test it in store, or if the store has a fair return policy.

There ARE other concerns when buying a lens, but this should be more than enough to get you started.

That said… For your stated purpose:
You need a focal length where you can shoot at a bit of a distance… So telephoto is where its at here. If it were me, I’d be looking at the EF85mm f/1.8 or EF100mm f/2 primes for a value option with this purpose. If you feel you need more reach, the EF200 f.2.8L is superb and value priced at about $500. If you decide that you need a zoom, the least expensive telezooms I recommend are the EF70-200 f/4L or the 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS. The non-IS 70-300 is not very well built and offers a different (and much inferior) optical design from its IS brother.

rob answers:

The XS is the next evolutionary step of the EOS Rebel lineup. It is a few years newer, it uses an upgraded sensor and processing engine, and it has in camera sensor cleaning (not a magic bullet but it’s better than nothing). The XS also takes SD cards and it has a higher fps rating with a higher sustained fps rating as well (even higher than the next step up, the XTi). It also comes with an image stabilized lens (when bought from a reputable dealer), the image quality is the same but you can shoot in slightly less light.

If you don’t find an XT for a bargain basement price I’d get the XS, but if you can find it really cheap you could use that extra cash to buy a different lens like the 75-300.

rob answers:

You can use your 75-300 mm at 300 mm. The exposure is 1/ISO at f/16 so you can hand hold the shot. Be sure to have your focus set at infinity. You may want to bracket a little. Depending upon where you are in the world, f/16 may give you too much exposure

At 300 mm the moon will still only fill about a fifth of the cameras frame, but if you shoot using RAW, you can crop a lot of the sky out later.

I bought an adapter so I can mount my camera on my telescope … That worked the best.

rob answers:

Go to Menu on the Camera, go to communication, change it to Print/Ptp OR PC conection- what ever one its on change it to the other one…. This SHOULD let you upload without any special programs.