Here I go again which camera should I buy

[maryccc]

Would this be a good lens to have instead of the one that comes with it Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Autofocus Lens
I want to be able to take photos of my son from across the street and get a good closeup. I just don't t hink the lens that comes with the camera will do that.

[mtclimber]

Mary-

A typical lens setup to get the biggest bang for the buck in a Canon DSLR is the kit lens and the Canon 55-250mm IS lens.

The Canon 55-200mmIS lens is highly rated and sells for around $240.00. The Canon 28-105mm lens would NOT be effective for shooting your son across the street.

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

[JohnG]

To add on to Sarah's comment - not only is the 28-105 too short for the situation you stated, it also has the problem of not being very wide. If 28mm is your widest setting (effectively becoming 44.8mm on your camera) you can be restricted in other shots - primarily indoors and in tight quarters or if you want to do any landscape style shots.

Here's the tough thing about hands-on reviews of entry level DSLRs: and this goes for ANY system - not just Canon - when people get bad results they immediately blame the gear. When people move from digicam to DSLR there are 2 issues they immediately encounter:
1) DSLRs by default apply much less sharpening in-camera than digicams do. This can lead to the impression the images aren't sharp. Not the case, the lens and image sensor are actually recording better detail than the digicam does but just not processing it as heavily. By bumping up the in-camera sharpening you can get the same affect you do with a digicam. However, DSLRs don't default to heavy sharpening because there is an assumption the photographer wants that control to sharpen the photo on the computer.

2) Depth of field differences. Depth of field refers to how much of an image is in focus. Depth of field is affected by sensor size, physical focal distance of lens (not equivelent but actual physical focal distance of lens element from image sensor) and several other factors (aperture, distance to subject). The key here is that because DSLRs use larger physical lenses and have larger sensors that means images taken with them have shallower depth-of-field. So you may take shots of a group of people with a digicam and with a DSLR. The digicam photo may look better because everyone is in focus. The DSLR shot may NOT have everyone in focus. So an assumption is made the DSLR doesn't take sharp photos. NO, it's a different tool and has to be used differently.

2b) Because of the shallower-DOF, shots where the focus is off are more noticable. So when you take a photo with a digicam and DSLR of a person with a car behind them. If both cameras focus on the car instead of the person the digicam shot may look better because both are still in focus. Both cameras/photographers made the same mistake by focusing on the wrong subject but the error is more noticable in the DSLR shot.

So that's a problem when reading reviews from new DSLR owners.

Now, Canon used to have a very poor kit lens. It really wasn't up to the competition. The kit lens sold with the XSi, as TCAV pointed out is, in fact, of very good quality. So in prior versions it was good advice to maybe skip the kit lens. Now, there isn't a better lens for the money - it really is a good bargain. Is it as good as the 17-55 2.8? No, of course not - but that's a rather expensive lens. If you go with the XSi, get the kit lens. It's a great value.

[javacleve]

John G, I posted a question about the DOF in the xsi (now t1i) thread, if you wouldn't mind coming over there so I don't hijack this thread

[TCav]

Anything except the kit lens on an XSi will put you way over budget, btw.

But since your son is small, I understand your desire for a longer lens. The Tamron 55-200 sells for $175 and has a $40 rebate until the end of the year. It's good and very reasonably priced.

I still recommend you get the kit 18-55 lens, btw. If you really want to, get the Tamron 55-200 too.

[TCav]

Originally Posted by javacleve

John G, I posted a question about the DOF in the xsi (now t1i) thread, if you wouldn't mind coming over there so I don't hijack this thread

It's not unique to the XSi or the T1i; it applies to all cameras. The larger the image sensor, the shallower the depth of field. See http://www.dofmaster.com for more info.

[maryccc]

so should I just get the lens that comes with it and later get the 55-200mmIS and until I get the zoom lens I have to get close to my subject to take a good picture?

[TCav]

First, they're all zoom lenses. The decision you're struggling with is whether or not to buy a telephoto zoom lens.

Second, the Tamron 55-200 that I mentioned is not an IS lens. The Canon 55-250 lens that mtclimber mentioned is an IS lens. It's quite good, and reasonably priced, but it costs >$100 more than the Tamron.

Third, if you get only a telephoto zoom, you'll have trouble taking photos of your son while he's on your side of the street.

[maryccc]

Is the nikon 3000d comparable to the canon xsi

[TCav]

No. Its AF performance isn't as good for sports/action/wildlife (i.e.: keeping a 6 year old boy in focus while he's running around aross the street.)