Official Canon 500D user Thread (part 2)

[yaneza]

Hi all
m new to this clubsnap and also new to the world of photography.before this m not really intrested in photography until i got myself a 500d!since then been taking alot of pics(need more improvement on it).hoping to learn a better experience frm u guys.my kits i only got 18-55mm and 50mm for a start.thinking of getting a couple more lens and also flash,tripod as m intrested in portrait(single/group),landscape,stillife and wedding photography.any recommendation/advise on which product model should i invest on?

 

[guozz]

What kinda screen protector doe u guys use on ur 500D? i'm interested in this GGS Professional Screen Protector for Canon 450D Digital Camera.

it's a piece of glass. Awesome price too~

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.13091

but i wonder if it will disable the anti reflective coating on the 500D lcd.

 

[zonal77]

Hi all,

Newbie here deciding on my first DSLR and lens that I should be going for.

500D is one of my choice but I can't really decide whether I should go for the Dual Lens or Kit II.

I understand the convenience of the 18-200mm and the hassle of having a dual lens but is that all the difference for having a all in one and dual lens? The choice seems too clear to be true.

Sorry I cannot really tell what kinda range I like to shoot at and what sort of picture I like to take but from the many pictures I see here in this forum, I seem to like bokeh shots and macro and I probably will zoom quite a bit..

Would like to hear some opinions from friendly CSers on the CONS of the above mentioned choice of lens and it will be great if you can share the reasons for choosing one over another.

Thank you in advance for your contributions everyone!

hmm.. if tat's e case, why not go for e kit 1 and then after use it for some time before deciding what kinda len(s) u need

Hi bro zealot,

Thanks for your reply.

However, I did mention that I would most likely want to have the full range, so it's really a dilema in whether to get the Dual Lens Combi or the all-in-one 18-200mm..not so much in testing to find my most desired range...

Would like to hear more opinions.

Thanks all CSers!

 

[ShaneKua]

Hi bro zealot,

Thanks for your reply.

However, I did mention that I would most likely want to have the full range, so it's really a dilema in whether to get the Dual Lens Combi or the all-in-one 18-200mm..not so much in testing to find my most desired range...

Would like to hear more opinions.

Thanks all CSers!

The 18-200 is a really convenient lens, and not having to change opens ALOT of opportunities.

However it’s IQ is a lil bit short of the other combo, because of more serious barrel distortion in the wide angle and quite alot of Chromatic Abberation in the Tele end.

BUT… the convenience of a single super zoom cannot be discounted.

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/400-canon_18200_3556is
Reviews of the 18-55 and 55-250 also on the site


My advice is go with just kit one. You might just be happy with it. Or save up to go with the slightly longer and much better IQ 15-85 in future. You might find that 85mm is all you need anyway.

 

[zarray]

speaking of the EF-S 15-85mm F3.5-5.6...any idea how that that compares with the EF-S 17-85mm F4-F5.6 in terms of IQ?

Was thinking of getting either one of those if not a tamron 17-50mm F2.8 as a replacement for the 18-55mm as walkabout lens.

I saw the B&S section and seems like the 2nd hand market price for the 17-85 is less than 50% of its original cost which is quite shocking.

 

[oreos]

i started off with the dual lens combo, 18-55 & 55-250. subsequently i realised i seldom really uses such a wide range, ended up I sold off my 55-250 and got a 15-85 instead. 15-85 is a very good walkabout lens. at the end of the day, is really up to each individual's usage and preferences on what lens to get

 

[zonal77]

The 18-200 is a really convenient lens, and not having to change opens ALOT of opportunities.

However it’s IQ is a lil bit short of the other combo, because of more serious barrel distortion in the wide angle and quite alot of Chromatic Abberation in the Tele end.

BUT… the convenience of a single super zoom cannot be discounted.

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/400-canon_18200_3556is
Reviews of the 18-55 and 55-250 also on the site


My advice is go with just kit one. You might just be happy with it. Or save up to go with the slightly longer and much better IQ 15-85 in future. You might find that 85mm is all you need anyway.

Hi bro,

Thanks for the advice!

So that means to say for the convenience I get with the 18-200mm, I might risk IQ as opposed to the Dual Lens Combi.

Is the IQ from the 18-55 and 55-250 significantly better than the 18-200? Frankly speaking, I can find quite a lot of information on the 18-200 (on pictures and user experience) but not so much on the 55-250.

So probably need more advice and opinions on this.

Thanks!

i started off with the dual lens combo, 18-55 & 55-250. subsequently i realised i seldom really uses such a wide range, ended up I sold off my 55-250 and got a 15-85 instead. 15-85 is a very good walkabout lens. at the end of the day, is really up to each individual's usage and preferences on what lens to get

Hi bro,

Thanks for sharing your experience!

May I know what kind of pictures you like to take? This will probably give me an idea of whether this lens suits me?

For wedding photography, is the 15-85 a good choice or the 18-200?

Sorry for the many questions but I'm trying to make the buy a good one and dun need to think so much on changing lens in future. And of course, hopefully I dun get the BBB virus haha...

Thanks thanks!

;p

 

[ShaneKua]

50mm more reach on the tele end, For wedding Photography, because its indoors , you’ll need a good flash above all things. And of course knowing how to use it. IF you can use flash you’ll need big aperture prime lens, or at very least a f2.8 zoom.

The 15-85mm IQ is the 2nd best of all EF-S lens, only slightly behind the very expensive 17-55. I highly recommend it. I almost jumped for it until decided to go for the 17-55’s f2.8. It is MUCH better than 17-85( which is soft in the corners, and has serious Barrel distortion). Of course it also costs more.

The IQ of the 18-200 is already quite good. Just that the 18-55 IS is slightly sharper (marginally so).
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=1&APIComp=2

The 55-250 is softer in the corners than 18-200 but has less Chromatic abberation than the 18-200. Again this is from resolution charts and you probably WON’T notice all this on prints

kit 1 + 55-250
Cheaper by alot
Better 18-55 range sharpness
Less CA above 135mm
50mm more range

Kit 2
Much more convenient (Huge factor)
Better sharpness above 135mm


I think the 18-200 is good if you know what you want and probably don’t want to upgrade ever.
But know that it’s expensive at the price of that lens you can get the superlative 15-85, which owns all these EF-S lens.

If you don’t know what you want, I strongly suggest just get a Kit 1 with only the 18-55 IS, then play around and see what you end up shooting alot. I only got my 55-250 because I want to shoot Church activities like camps which sometimes require me to have the reach.

There’s one last option. Buy a 500D body, and then buy a 15-85mm. If you do your homework well you can get that at almost the price of a Kit 2. But you’ll must be sure that that range is what you need. Personally i think for walkaround and for events, 85mm on a 1.6 crop (eq. to 136mm on full frame) is sweet enough.

 

[zonal77]

50mm more reach on the tele end, For wedding Photography, because its indoors , you’ll need a good flash above all things. And of course knowing how to use it. IF you can use flash you’ll need big aperture prime lens, or at very least a f2.8 zoom.

The 15-85mm IQ is the 2nd best of all EF-S lens, only slightly behind the very expensive 17-55. I highly recommend it. I almost jumped for it until decided to go for the 17-55’s f2.8. It is MUCH better than 17-85( which is soft in the corners, and has serious Barrel distortion). Of course it also costs more.

The IQ of the 18-200 is already quite good. Just that the 18-55 IS is slightly sharper (marginally so).
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=474&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=1&APIComp=2

The 55-250 is softer in the corners than 18-200 but has less Chromatic abberation than the 18-200. Again this is from resolution charts and you probably WON’T notice all this on prints

kit 1 + 55-250
Cheaper by alot
Better 18-55 range sharpness
Less CA above 135mm
50mm more range

Kit 2
Much more convenient (Huge factor)
Better sharpness above 135mm


I think the 18-200 is good if you know what you want and probably don’t want to upgrade ever.
But know that it’s expensive at the price of that lens you can get the superlative 15-85, which owns all these EF-S lens.

If you don’t know what you want, I strongly suggest just get a Kit 1 with only the 18-55 IS, then play around and see what you end up shooting alot. I only got my 55-250 because I want to shoot Church activities like camps which sometimes require me to have the reach.

There’s one last option. Buy a 500D body, and then buy a 15-85mm. If you do your homework well you can get that at almost the price of a Kit 2. But you’ll must be sure that that range is what you need. Personally i think for walkaround and for events, 85mm on a 1.6 crop (eq. to 136mm on full frame) is sweet enough.

Wow thanks a lot bro for your detailed comparison!

Seems like I need to know and decide which area to sacrifice. Hopefully I will make the correct choice.

The 15-85 seems to be one of the more interesting lens I should be looking at in future. If I find my shooting range to be within that, I will certainly go for it.

Thanks for sharing your recommendations and insights! Greatly appreciated!

:thumbsup:

 

[ShaneKua]

I really liked the 15-85 when I was looking at it versus the 17-55. It's a very handy range and the wide end is really nice.

What sealed it for me is because I tended to shoot more indoor, so I would appreciate the 17-55's f2.8

I guess if i have disposable income in future I would want to get it.

note there have been build quality complains about it thou. My take - you don't expect L lens quality build from non-L lens.

 

[ShaneKua]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020806canoneos550d.asp

*sniff*

Not that i wanna buy or anything. Just the feeling of going obsolete that’s all

 

[zonal77]

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020806canoneos550d.asp

*sniff*

Not that i wanna buy or anything. Just the feeling of going obsolete that’s all

Dun worry about it bro, most importantly, you are already enjoying ur 500D...besides, improvements are only to the MP and maybe better video recording features tt's all..

Cheers!

 

[CryptXus]

Hi, juz got my 500D (Kit II) a few days ago and now playing with it and reading the manual.

Got one qns to ask the experts. I read in manual that the lens can be set to wide angle and telephoto. However i cannot find it on the lens to do the switching.

I only found that on the lens, u can zoom in and out.... slightly infront of the zooming circle thing, there is another smaller ring when u can turn also. i tried turning from left to right and right to left, i dun see a diff in the viewfinder and LCD. Is tat the thing to set telephoto or wide angle? if yes, can i know which direction is wide angle and which direction is telephoto. Thks

 

[dingaroo]

Hi, juz got my 500D (Kit II) a few days ago and now playing with it and reading the manual.

Got one qns to ask the experts. I read in manual that the lens can be set to wide angle and telephoto. However i cannot find it on the lens to do the switching.

I only found that on the lens, u can zoom in and out.... slightly infront of the zooming circle thing, there is another smaller ring when u can turn also. i tried turning from left to right and right to left, i dun see a diff in the viewfinder and LCD. Is tat the thing to set telephoto or wide angle? if yes, can i know which direction is wide angle and which direction is telephoto. Thks

Hi CryptXus,

Since you are having the 18-200mm lens, you have a very versatile lens, which, at the 18mm end, is the wide angle mode, and at the 200mm end, the telephoto range. This is done with the bigger ring, which when turned, would extend the lens to the telephoto range or wide angle range.

Picture from dpreview.com review of the above lens. It can be fouind at this link.

If you refer to the above picture, the one on the left is set to the wide angle range, and the one on the right is at the telephoto range. Since there are 2 rings, the bigger ring is the zoom ring, and the one above it is the focus ring. (Hope I got the terms correct, cos I'm on flu medication so I'm feeling doozie now).

HTH.

 

[CryptXus]

Hi CryptXus,

Since you are having the 18-200mm lens, you have a very versatile lens, which, at the 18mm end, is the wide angle mode, and at the 200mm end, the telephoto range. This is done with the bigger ring, which when turned, would extend the lens to the telephoto range or wide angle range.

Picture from dpreview.com review of the above lens. It can be fouind at this link.

If you refer to the above picture, the one on the left is set to the wide angle range, and the one on the right is at the telephoto range. Since there are 2 rings, the bigger ring is the zoom ring, and the one above it is the focus ring. (Hope I got the terms correct, cos I'm on flu medication so I'm feeling doozie now).

HTH.

thks bro... appreciate the explanation... i am very clear now

 

[takengo2003]

i am stunt when i see buy and sell forum is flooded with people selling 500D after knowing 550D is reaching out shore soon, the so call mini 7D with 18mp and similar video quality as 7D(500D full HD only at 20fps), 3.9fps(slower than 7D at 8fps, but faster than 500D).

 

[Ringwraiths]

i am stunt when i see buy and sell forum is flooded with people selling 500D after knowing 550D is reaching out shore soon, the so call mini 7D with 18mp and similar video quality as 7D(500D full HD only at 20fps), 3.9fps(slower than 7D at 8fps, but faster than 500D).

Well just treat it as like trading for a commodities. If there is a 600D to be push out beginning of year you will see the same old result again.

 

[Marcus]

i am stunt when i see buy and sell forum is flooded with people selling 500D after knowing 550D is reaching out shore soon, the so call mini 7D with 18mp and similar video quality as 7D(500D full HD only at 20fps), 3.9fps(slower than 7D at 8fps, but faster than 500D).

U won't b able to catch technology la... Each yr or less sure got new stuff come out~ y bother to change so often n get something new? exp leh.. I rather get good body n upgrade lens enough.. No matter wat cam u bought, It's still ur skill tat counts imo yeah~

 

[dingaroo]

Well just treat it as like trading for a commodities. If there is a 600D to be push out beginning of year you will see the same old result again.

No point catching up with new technology, enjoy and make the best of what you have <--- excuses given by people who can't afford to upgrade ... me included.

But I'm only eyeing the L lenses! The 28-300mm & 10-22 UWA ...

 

[yc2005]

No point catching up with new technology, enjoy and make the best of what you have <--- excuses given by people who can't afford to upgrade ... me included.

Its the same as cars, whenever a facelift/new model comes out everyone will change to the new one and dump the old. Or like why CNY alot of ppl change car also.. If you can afford it (new body or lens) why not right?