Newbie with a Canon 60D body. Is EF-S18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS e perfect lens to start?

[tecnica]

buy a good bag to contain everything.

 

[kingpin8]

buy a good bag to contain everything.

Ya ya, bag very impt!

 

[tecnica]

backpack - think tank streetwalker series
sling bag - think tank retrospective series/crumpler x-million dollar home series
feeling rich - billingham

 

[rhema83]

Buy one thing at a time, only when you are sure you need it and not because other people say you need it means you must have it.

E.g. people always say must buy UV filter, but I just don't need it on my lenses. Soon ppl might suggest things like polarising filter, ND-filter blah blah .... are you going to buy all without knowing what you are going to do exactly with them?

Some fundamental things you should have:
1) at least 1 spare batt
2) cleaning kit usually consists of a brush and cloth, blower is optional
3) spare memory cards since you might shoot a lot throughout your trip.
4) Charger
5) some kind of weather protection in case rain (zip lock bag).

Others are pretty much good to have but I see it as a bonus.

This is good advice!

Then again, whether a spare battery is necessary depends on your itinerary. If you are sure you will be able to charge the original battery daily at the hotel, then you might not need the spare. Trust me, the 60D battery can last very long if you don't use Live View or Video very often. It is in fact the same battery that powers the dual-processor 7D and full-frame 5D Mk II. I never ran out of battery during my trip to Sichuan and Jiuzhaigou (hundreds of shots a day, infrequent use of flash, liberal amount of reviewing and deleting). And of course, don't forget the charger and a travel plug adaptor.

I think blower is more essential than brush, but to each his own. I bought the Lenspen Pro kit for $20+ and find it very useful.

I brought >32GB worth of SD cards and still had to diligently review and delete many photos a day in order to last my 5-day trip. So if you are not bringing a laptop (a netbook won't do as its HDD is too small) make sure you have plenty of storage capacity. SD cards are cheap, buy a few 8GB or 16GB cards. I personally use SanDisk Extreme (Class 10, 30MB/s) cards. A 16GB card is less than $50. Especially for a honeymoon, you really don't want to tell your wife "sorry darling, we ran out of memory".

I used my 60D and 15-85 in light drizzle without issues. But other fellow forumers complained of 7D failing in the rain. So use in the elements at your own risk - especially in the beginning of the trip! Bring a spare compact camera as a backup and to bring to places where a DSLR is inconvenient. I will be bringing my S95 just in case.

That's about it!

 

[buso1984]

Wow. Can I like e replies from u all? Lol. Yeah.

E body I bought from IT includes e items below Liao.
1. Crumpler bag
2. 2 x 8gb SD card
3. K480 F&V flash (haven't test yet cause no AA batt)
4. Dry cabinet
5. Tripod which I will never use. Lol

Barangs I just purchased yesterday:
1. 15-85mm lens which includes a B+W filter
2. 50mm f1.8 lens without a filter( gotta get 1)
3. BG with 3rd party batt.

Pending purchases:
1. Cleaning kit with blower
2. Screen protectors
3. 10-12 AA batts for e flash n BG grip.
4. Cloth
5. Memory cards??

Anything i missed out? Hmm. Can't wait to shoot!

 

[Mythmaker]

You can always buy 3rd party batteries from ebay. Cost like $6 each with shipping, works half the power of a original batt so still not too bad.

 

[buso1984]

You can always buy 3rd party batteries from ebay. Cost like $6 each with shipping, works half the power of a original batt so still not too bad.

So cheap?? I bought my third party BG and batt at 70bucks. Thot it's ok Liao until ur post. Argh.

 

[buso1984]

I went on my honeymoon in Spain for 20+days (14days guided) n was glad tat I hv my BG with me. The 6nos. AA eneloop in BG lasted me 3-4 days b4 need recharge.( I kept the cam on since morning n only off in the nite) And the original was kept as spares. "lo batt" was nvr on my mind as I fired away ;p price to pay? Freaking heavy load...

Bring if u tk u might need it rather than complain later when smething arises

Question: does it mean I should not on and off my camera at times? Just leave it on will consume more batt isn't it? Does it mean that I will spoil e camera if I on and off it frequently? Haha

Anyway, I will think twice about e BG ba. Really quite heavy. Was thinking will just bring both e lenses and body plus e Crumpler bag that it...

 

[buso1984]

Buy one thing at a time, only when you are sure you need it and not because other people say you need it means you must have it.

E.g. people always say must buy UV filter, but I just don't need it on my lenses. Soon ppl might suggest things like polarising filter, ND-filter blah blah .... are you going to buy all without knowing what you are going to do exactly with them?

Some fundamental things you should have:
1) at least 1 spare batt
2) cleaning kit usually consists of a brush and cloth, blower is optional
3) spare memory cards since you might shoot a lot throughout your trip.
4) Charger
5) some kind of weather protection in case rain (zip lock bag).

Others are pretty much good to have but I see it as a bonus.

I realised I have e tendency to hear say and buy. Lol. Happily shopping away... Kao.

Is there any place that sells weather protection stuff? Maybe I should visit ms colour to buy e cloth, cleaning kit, screen protector and stuff. Or maybe Funan...

 

[SkyStrike]

Question: does it mean I should not on and off my camera at times? Just leave it on will consume more batt isn't it? Does it mean that I will spoil e camera if I on and off it frequently? Haha

Anyway, I will think twice about e BG ba. Really quite heavy. Was thinking will just bring both e lenses and body plus e Crumpler bag that it...

Quite the opp for me. I seldom off the camera when I am in the move. But will if it when I make sure that I am not going to shoot anymore. E.g. rest breaks. Just 1/2 press shutter and it will wake up again.

Anyway the power consumption to on and off don't drain so much power like the pns. Mainly because of the live view.

 

[rhema83]

Quite the opp for me. I seldom off the camera when I am in the move. But will if it when I make sure that I am not going to shoot anymore. E.g. rest breaks. Just 1/2 press shutter and it will wake up again.

Anyway the power consumption to on and off don't drain so much power like the pns. Mainly because of the live view.

Same here. I keep the Live View (and Q screen) off most of the time. The camera consumes very little power but is able to take a shot immediately when an interesting subject appears. Keep the lens cap off and hood on to be "ever ready".

 

[tecnica]

I don't off my camera either when on the move. Sometimes I even forget to off it when keeping back into dry cabinet, one week later take out still can use.

 

[buso1984]

Okok noted. Will not keep switching if off and on then. Have been reading e 60d guide book during my train rides finding out more about e functions.

Brought my camera tgt with 15-85 to e ROM centre today to try out. I like how it captures flowers. Blurry background using e M mode.

Btw, how do I create e same blurring background portrait photos using my 15-85? Seems like I only know how to do it using e 50mm f/1.8. Hmmm. Anyone??

 

[MechaEd]

Btw, how do I create e same blurring background portrait photos using my 15-85? Seems like I only know how to do it using e 50mm f/1.8. Hmmm. Anyone??

That's the big aperture (small F number) at work with the 50 1.8. With smaller aperture lenses (like your 15-85), you need to make sure there's a bigger distance between the background and subject.

Basically the smaller the aperture, the harder you'll have to work to get the blurry background.

Smaller F number = Shallower depth of field = more blurry background

 

[rhema83]

Okok noted. Will not keep switching if off and on then. Have been reading e 60d guide book during my train rides finding out more about e functions.

Brought my camera tgt with 15-85 to e ROM centre today to try out. I like how it captures flowers. Blurry background using e M mode.

Btw, how do I create e same blurring background portrait photos using my 15-85? Seems like I only know how to do it using e 50mm f/1.8. Hmmm. Anyone??

With the 15-85 it is not hard to create a blur background for flowers because it can focus quite close. But for human subject, it is going to be quite difficult even if you use 85mm f/5.6, because you will have to be quite far from your subject for anything other than a head shot.

Like what the previous posters said, you are better off using the 50mm f/1.8 for that purpose.

 

[bobski]

15-85 is a vastly improved version of 17-85. I have it and used it for all my travels. It is lightweight, high-quality and very versatile, and should be on top of your list.

+1 to 15-85

 

[buso1984]

Ohhh. Ya. Blur shots of Flowers can but human beings cannot. Hmm. Looks like I have to bring both lenses out frequently to test them out.

Anyone knows if there is a difference if I use e 15-85 or 50mm to take video. Which one is likely to be better in terms of quality?

 

[MechaEd]

Ohhh. Ya. Blur shots of Flowers can but human beings cannot. Hmm. Looks like I have to bring both lenses out frequently to test them out.

Anyone knows if there is a difference if I use e 15-85 or 50mm to take video. Which one is likely to be better in terms of quality?

That would be the 15-85 since it has IS.

 

[Mythmaker]

If you want bokeh you should had gone full frame... bokeh is 1.6 stops better on a FF than on a crop lol.

 

[buso1984]

If you want bokeh you should had gone full frame... bokeh is 1.6 stops better on a FF than on a crop lol.

Haha. 60d n e two lens already made me super broke man. Anymore I will be slaughtered. But anyway, e bokeh I'm getting from 50mm f1.8 is pretty awesome Liao. Enjoying every snap right now!