£2k to spend...

dakid

dakid

Suspended / Banned
Messages
561
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm not sure I do have £2k to spend, but I'm going to imagine that's the situation. Anyway, if you DID have that much to spend, would you buy this for sports and landscape photography, if you had zero/zilch/nada to start with?

40D
Spare Battery
Strap
17-40 f4 L
70-200 f4 L
Tripod ring for the above
Manfrotto 055XPROB
Shutter Release
Sun Compass
Hot-shoe spirit level
Couple of UV filters for the lenses
Crumpler Maxi 7500 bag

Anything missing? Anything wrong? Would you do it fundamentally differently?
 
If you are planning on doing sports photography you may want a 1.4x or a 2x converer to give you some extra length on the 70-200, that would drop the appeture as well though, so the 70-200 2.8 may be prefrably,

another useful item would be some ND grad filters and a poloriser for the landscape work, things like that son't have to be bought on day one and can be ideal xmas pressies.

Rob
 
But how does the 2.8 fit within a £2k budget?

Also, this is intended to be a "day one" list, so things that can be got away without having (like filters), I was going to postpone until later.
 
I'd definately have a 1.4x T/C in there...the 2x isn't such a good idea on the 70-200/4.

Bob
 
You can buy the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 for £500, somebody posted yesterday that they swapped from the Canon f4 to that one.
I've not seen any crumpler bags up close but they seem to me to be all looks and no practicality, I think you could get a lot more bag for your money buying a different make.

Buy the grip and 4 batteries (batteries £10 a pair in 7dayshop)

Sun Compass?, use your eyes ;). Hot-shoe spirit level, nice idea but unless you're totally anally retentive I reckon it will end up in the bottom of the bag gathering dust while you go take photos.
 
For sports go for f2.8 over f4 so second hand Sigma will mean you can sell it for little loss and upgrade to the Canon IS some time in the future.

My Crumpler bag is my most used and certainly the most practical with easy access. I need a bit more space so may soon buy the one you listed too. Not sure a 70-200 would fit.

So apart from the bag I agree with Steep :)

Does that tripod come with a head?
 
The only thing I do have is a secondhand head from a friend. I'm looking at buying now in about 2-3 months (gotta save up for all this!), but I'm hoping to know absolutely definitely for certain what I want by then :D
 
dakid said:
But how does the 2.8 fit within a £2k budget?

Also, this is intended to be a "day one" list, so things that can be got away without having (like filters), I was going to postpone until later.
Click to expand...

Go for the older 80-200 2.8 - which you can get for 1/3 the price
 
Actually - I don't know Canon equipment. Did they do this lens? I upgraded my Nikkor 80-200 2.8 to the 70-200VR 2.8

<-- Nikon man !!

:nikon:
 
Steep said:
Hot-shoe spirit level, nice idea but unless you're totally anally retentive I reckon it will end up in the bottom of the bag gathering dust while you go take photos.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to partially disagree with you there Steep.
I wouldn't pay the going rate of a tenner for one (got mine free with AP), but they are quite handy, especially at night when horizons etc can't be worked out easily. ;) Whenever I've used one though, its slowed me down and forced me to think more about the shot (which is a good thing for me :D)

As for the OP's list. You've forgotten memory :)
A polariser, a nifty fifty (nice to bridge the gap between the other two lenses).

I agree with Steep on the Crumpler bags though, unless you're going for an uber large one of course. They do seem to be quite undersized.
 
Yeah, memory was gonna get from play.com .... the rest of the list works out at £2k from warehouseexpress. Nifty-fifty and polariser adds a couple of hundred on top, so thought I could delay them.

Do I have any real alternatives for everything else? If you were going to kit up for £2k to do sports and landscape, what you put in your warehouseexpress basket? Different camera, maybe? I do like the 40D though (400D is a bit small for my hands).
 
I would give DigitalRev via ebay a try. I just spent £2700 there on a D200, D40x, 3 lenses, 2 flashes, memory, bags etc. The price elsewhere for the same kit was WELL over £3000. Also they give a 3% discount for bank transfers and will guarantee to pay any import duty on certain items. (My £2700 purchase was hit by import duty which came to £64! and they paid more than half of it back) Anyway I have been more than happy with them! Just try emailing them with your list...


ebay@digitalrev.com
 
Import duty suggests cameras from abroad, and I've heard tales about Canon's international warranty on camera bodies..........
 
Yes it is from Hong Kong BUT here are the standard prices (which they WILL drop for multiple purchases)

40D + spare battery + strap + hand strap + bag
£529.99+ £55 postage

17-40 f4 L
£334.99 + £42 postage (7 yr int warranty)

70-200 f4 L
£534.99 + £41 postage (import duty paid) (3yr int warranty)


As you can see this comes to about £1500 so you will have plenty left for a nifty fifty and all the other bits.

You can either use Canon's international warranty OR DigitalRev WILL pay postage both ways for a repair and the Lenses include 3 and 7 year warranties.

Import duty MAY be charged but the 70-200 is included in the repay import duty offer so that percentage of the import duty will be repaid ie. £1535 total (import duty at maybe £50) they will repay you 575/1535ths of that ie about £18 so you would pay about £32 ish IF it gets caught! Plus they give a 3% discount for paying by bank transfer.

Anyway its an option which I took. I have been more than happy with the service, the items are all just the same as the UK ones other than the D40x's manual was a photocopy (nikon sent me a UK one for £5 inc p&p) and I saved more than £500


Oh and the TC-80N3 remote is £45.99 + £17 postage too!
 
Oh and Manfrotto have a special deal on at the moment for christmas

190XDB + 390RC2 head £99

055XB + 804RC2 head + 102 strap £149 !


their phone number 0870 420 5113
 
Being a Nikon man, who is actually investing in Olympus too I would recommend one of them. I have used a pair of D200's over the last 13 months for wedding and commercial work with great success. The wireless Nikon CLS flash system is an absolute gem to work with.

For my aviation work I am investing in the Olympus E-3 and 50-200 f/2.8-3.5 SWD. I was fortunate enough to of been allowed to test it over the space of approx 4 hours with an Olympus rep. Unfortunately not in an aviation based environment. But first impressions is what counts and it blew me away. When we have moved house I will place my order.

What I am trying to get at is that there are other brands out there that deserve a look. I know this forum is predominately Canon based which influences a decision. If all my gear got nicked tomorrow I would buy into Olympus, undoubtedly. Look around, test them, check the results and see if the systems fits your way of working.

Its all well and good listing this and that and asking people to list £2500 worth of kit but at the end of the day YOU are the one using it and YOU need to make the choice.

And one big thing is that IT ISNT THE EQUIPMENT THAT MAKES GREAT PHOTOGRAPHS, ITS THE PERSON BEHIND THE VIEWFINDER.

King.
 
It's about making things easy for myself, as much as anything. Almost all my family and friends use Canon, and I have one friend with thousands of pounds worth of L glass that I might be able to borrow on occasions ... it certainly helps swing it.

I agree about the photographer not the camera being important, but if you want to capture sports photography, you're not going to be getting many good football shots with a 50mm, likewise 70mm won't cut it with Landscape.

I have handled a 40D, and liked it a lot ... the rest is generally recommendations, thoughts and comments I've been reading over the last month or so, in this forum. I'm sure I'll revise the list again, and present my latest choice here again just before I buy, but if you don't ask the questions of the right people, you don't get the right answer. I've found the right people ... just looking for the right questions ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top