Hi,
I'm buying my first DSLR and looking for some advice. Am thinking of getting the Canon 550D + EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 lens (and possibly buying the average-quality EF-S 55-250mm lens in future). The other alternatives are: (a) getting the Nikon equivalent--would this be cheaper or more expensive?, (b) trying out Sony Alpha with some old Minolta lenses (from a film camera) which I have access to. My current cameras are the Canon S90 and the Kyocera/Yashica film SLR with 35-70mm + 70-210mm lenses. Although (b) is the cheapest option, most people seem to advise me against it as the Minolta lenses won't be very good and won't have IS. I've got at least 4 friends/family who shoot with Canon and 1 friend who shoots with Nikon, so I'm leaning more towards Canon (since I can share lenses) unless there's a strong reason to choose Nikon.
My choice is mainly because I'm a looking for a good portrait lens and want to shoot people (and I have a baby coming soon). Most of my travel shots would benefit from the wide end of the zoom. I've borrowed Canon 500D + EF-S 18-200mm lens a handful of times from someone I know and I really like the quality of the lens (although the image quality tends to suffer at the far end of the zoom range, also it's not a fast lens). Since I'll be able to exchange lenses with this person, most people advise not getting this lens (or even the EF-S 18-135mm kit lens from Canon). Three more alternatives I'm comparing against are the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (not as fast but has better zoom), the EF 24-70 f/2.8L (less on the wide angle, and probably a little heavy), and the EF 24-105 f/4L (as a cheaper option to the 24-70). Not having a wide angle might mean having to use my Canon S90 backup camera for such shots when traveling overseas. Pros of getting EF-S is that they are designed for the crop factor of the 550D, and they are both lighter cheaper. A friend of mine who has the 450D and 5D Mk II has both the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 and the EF 24-70 f/2.8L and recommends the EF-S for the lighter weight, lower cost and for the wider angle. On the other hand two people I know say Canon/Nikon/etc. are probably going to go full-frame-only eventually (I assume 5-15 years time) as the price of the full-frame cameras drop. That would make my EF-S lenses obsolete. I've also heard the stories from 2 Minolta users whose lenses are of little use now, hence my concern. On the other hand, maybe the entry-level 1.6 crop factor market is here to stay, given there's always a market due to the lighter weight and cheaper price? I could also get a full-frame now, but the 5D Mk II isn't really a good choice for a first DSLR, and the additional cost of the 24-70 f/2.8L would put the combo out of my budget. Also, I would expect lenses to last longer than the DSLR bodies. Of course with every choice there's a risk involved, but I would think I should be able to make an educated guess as to the best choice given current circumstances. Any thoughts? I know sometimes these choices tend to boil down to a matter of personal preference, but such opinions are welcome too.
I'm buying my first DSLR and looking for some advice. Am thinking of getting the Canon 550D + EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 lens (and possibly buying the average-quality EF-S 55-250mm lens in future). The other alternatives are: (a) getting the Nikon equivalent--would this be cheaper or more expensive?, (b) trying out Sony Alpha with some old Minolta lenses (from a film camera) which I have access to. My current cameras are the Canon S90 and the Kyocera/Yashica film SLR with 35-70mm + 70-210mm lenses. Although (b) is the cheapest option, most people seem to advise me against it as the Minolta lenses won't be very good and won't have IS. I've got at least 4 friends/family who shoot with Canon and 1 friend who shoots with Nikon, so I'm leaning more towards Canon (since I can share lenses) unless there's a strong reason to choose Nikon.
My choice is mainly because I'm a looking for a good portrait lens and want to shoot people (and I have a baby coming soon). Most of my travel shots would benefit from the wide end of the zoom. I've borrowed Canon 500D + EF-S 18-200mm lens a handful of times from someone I know and I really like the quality of the lens (although the image quality tends to suffer at the far end of the zoom range, also it's not a fast lens). Since I'll be able to exchange lenses with this person, most people advise not getting this lens (or even the EF-S 18-135mm kit lens from Canon). Three more alternatives I'm comparing against are the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (not as fast but has better zoom), the EF 24-70 f/2.8L (less on the wide angle, and probably a little heavy), and the EF 24-105 f/4L (as a cheaper option to the 24-70). Not having a wide angle might mean having to use my Canon S90 backup camera for such shots when traveling overseas. Pros of getting EF-S is that they are designed for the crop factor of the 550D, and they are both lighter cheaper. A friend of mine who has the 450D and 5D Mk II has both the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 and the EF 24-70 f/2.8L and recommends the EF-S for the lighter weight, lower cost and for the wider angle. On the other hand two people I know say Canon/Nikon/etc. are probably going to go full-frame-only eventually (I assume 5-15 years time) as the price of the full-frame cameras drop. That would make my EF-S lenses obsolete. I've also heard the stories from 2 Minolta users whose lenses are of little use now, hence my concern. On the other hand, maybe the entry-level 1.6 crop factor market is here to stay, given there's always a market due to the lighter weight and cheaper price? I could also get a full-frame now, but the 5D Mk II isn't really a good choice for a first DSLR, and the additional cost of the 24-70 f/2.8L would put the combo out of my budget. Also, I would expect lenses to last longer than the DSLR bodies. Of course with every choice there's a risk involved, but I would think I should be able to make an educated guess as to the best choice given current circumstances. Any thoughts? I know sometimes these choices tend to boil down to a matter of personal preference, but such opinions are welcome too.