Seeking advice on Canon lenses

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gingerdazza@yahoo.com - 28 Nov 2005 12:29 GMT

Hi.

I have a new Canon EOS 350D. The only lense I have is standard
come-with job (18mm-55mm).

I want to get a good zoom lense

I was thinking about getting the 70-200 L F/4 USM. This looks cool - I
would get the F/2.8 but it's outoo much dosh for me.

I was thinking about getting the x2 extender to give me some extra zoom
as I am worried that the 200mm won't be enough.

How do you guys rate these extenders? Are they good? Will it give me
effective 400mm use with the 200mm? Is there less quality to 200mm + x2
entender than there is with a 400mm?

Thanks

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Bill Hilton - 28 Nov 2005 12:59 GMT

> I want to get a good zoom lense
> I was thinking about getting the 70-200 L F/4 USM

Good choice.

>I was thinking about getting the x2 extender to give me some extra zoom.
>How do you guys rate these extenders? Are they good?

Tests I've seen indicate you lose about 10% optically (contrast,
resolution) with the 1.4x and about 25% with the 2x. You won't notice
10% with this lens, and even with the 2x it's OK, but the problem with
your 350D is that you lose autofocus with the Canon 2x. So I'd
recommend getting the 1.4x (my wife has this lens and uses both
converters with it but she can AF with the 2x because of her camera).

>Will it give me effective 400mm use with the 200mm?

Yes, but at f/8 min aperture and no AF.

>Is there less quality to 200mm + x2
>entender than there is with a 400mm?

Yes, here's a typical test showing this ...
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/400v400.shtml

>I am worried that the 200mm won't be enough

Buy a longer lens to start with then ...

Bill

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Skip M - 28 Nov 2005 13:05 GMT

> Hi.
>
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Thanks

There is a quality drop in the lens with an extender, you are adding more
glass, so that is expected. If you use a Canon 2x with the 70-200 f4, you
will lose AF with your 350D, since it won't AF with apertures smaller than
f5.6. An extender decreases aperture by the same proportion that it extends
the reach, i.e. a 1.4x makes an f4 an f5.6 (still useable) a 2x makes an f4
into an f8. The way around this is that aftermarket extenders like the
Kenko don't report the correct aperture to the camera, so the body thinks
you still have an f4 mounted when you have that 70-200 f4 on a 2x.
Sorry if I didn't express this well, its 5 am, and the caffeine hasn't
kicked in yet...

Signature

Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

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piperut - 28 Nov 2005 14:42 GMT

> > Hi.
> >
[quoted text clipped - 29 lines]
> Skip Middleton
> http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com

I have the Canon EF 75-300mm f4.0-5.6III USM. It is selling right now
for $229.
It is a fairly nice lens for the money. There is a nicer 70-300mm
lens from Canon for a little over $600, but I could not afford that
one.

You also might consider the after market lenses. I purchased a Tamron
lens that I am really pleased with. I was not sure about using the
after market lenses on the EOS mount cameras after reading some of the
comments about the lenses not working when the EOS mounts first came
out. However, I have not had a problem with the after market lenses.

Tamron does have a 70-300 lens that is around $170 depending on where
you purchase it.
You may want to take a look at that lens if you can find a Tamron
dealer. There may be some other brands of lenses to consider?

I think most everyone on here has a favorite brand of lens. I really
don't mean to start a flame war with this about the differences between
lenses.

roland

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Eatmorepies - 28 Nov 2005 17:49 GMT

> I have a new Canon EOS 350D. The only lense I have is standard
> come-with job (18mm-55mm).
> I want to get a good zoom lense
>
> I was thinking about getting the 70-200 L F/4 USM. This looks cool - I
> would get the F/2.8 but it's outoo much dosh for me.

I have the f2.8 version - I rarely use it on f2.8. It's also significantly
bigger than the f4 - go for the f4 one at around half the price.

> I was thinking about getting the x2 extender to give me some extra zoom
> as I am worried that the 200mm won't be enough.

Buy the 1.4x - I use on my 70-200mm where it gives me the equivalent field
of view of a 450mm lens on a 35mm camera - that's a long lens.

The 2x is not advised for the reasons other have given you.

John

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Tim Hobbs - 30 Nov 2005 20:50 GMT

>> I have a new Canon EOS 350D. The only lense I have is standard
>> come-with job (18mm-55mm).
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
>John

I have the f2.8 as well, and it's great. I don't use the 1.4x with it
much though.

If the OP is often going to need to use the extender then the 100-400
would probably be a better option.

The new 70-300mm zoom is getting good reviews as well, and may be well
worth considering. I don't believe the Canon extenders will
physically fit that lens though.

Signature

Tim Hobbs

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