[navin]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim

@Navin: food for thought, I think I do might do well by going with the Kit lens and in future think of buying 70mm-300mm if and when funds permit or wait and see what my tastes are.

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

I will have a look at both. The problem is the Canon is not in stock

The Canon - Nikon debate is so old that many camera forums consider you a troll if you bring it up. So dont worry about the system. If you have a P&S check the EXIF data and see what focla ranges you used most. Then see which of the 2 camera systems have lenses that best suit your range. For example the Nikon 50/1.8 is considered to be better than the Canon 50/1.8 but Nikon does not have a 28/1.8 nor does it's 17-55/2.8 have IS. So lenses can make a difference.

Handling is another aspect. Many prefer Nikon's handling though I must say that Canon has closed the gap and is now quite equal.

Originally Posted by Torqueguru

Canon and Nikon, both are crappy, it is up to the user to make either of them extra-odinary

Actually we should look at it in reverse. Canon and Nikon (and for that matter Pentax, Olympus, Mamiya and Hassleblad) are both very good. It is up to us to make them look crappy.

BTW I finally found a P&S that allows me to leave my DSLR at home. The Canon S90. It is almost as good as everyone says it is!

[amoghchaphalkar]

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

The more reviews I read, the more confused I get. Some comparos declare the Canon a winner whereas some go with the Nikon. These 2 are really closely matched. One minute I feel like going for the Nikon and the next I want the Cannon.

How is this for an explanation to support Nikon ? (Disclaimer : I am not the one who has said this)

"See, Nikon does not have to make flat bed scanners and colour printers (like Canon) to make money. Nikon only makes cameras and lenses and they are mighty good at it"

I am getting a Nikon 5000D. Anyone out here using it already ?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Live To Jive

I haven't seen a Canon Shop in Goa. Need to check.

Man, why don't you go to the canon.co.in website?
From there you can go to this link
Sales Network - Canon India
Select your state as goa.
Guess what I found.
SHOP NO 5, MAHALAXMI CHAMBERS, 18TH JUNE ROAD, PANJIM, GOA-403001
GOA
GOA
Pin : 403001
Tel : +91-832-225930
Mobile : +91-9822130977
Email : narasimhapai@ymail.com
Contact Person : Mr. N N Pai

Originally Posted by phamilyman

@L2J - The D3000 felt awesome in my hand while holding and shooting it. Plus punchier nicer JPEGs. I wouldn't give a rat's rearside about liveview.

Ultimately u cant go wrong with either!

JPEG punchiness depends on which profile you chose in the camera. For example, you can set sharpness, saturation etc., modes in the camera to give you a punchier JPEG. However, atleast to canon shooters I recommend RAW. DPP is such a wonderful tool that it makes batch processing of images very very easy!

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I have a confusion to be cleared, Gurus, please throw some tips !
If I ask my friend to buy a lens from US and send it by UPS or any other courier marked as 'Gift', will I save on the duty ? If yes, whats to be kept in mind while shipping it ? Online retailers dont ship items to India as gift, therefore it gets duty here, but something coming here as an 'individually shipped' item might save that, thats the thought behind this doubt.

I think I wrote sometime back on this thread itself.
The rule is that you can import goods upto 5K rupees as online purchase duty free. Gift or no gift does not matter.

Unfortunately Indian Customs and Excise department has it's own notion of what should be the real market value of the product and they go by that as many importers under invoice declaring the value of the goods to be much lower then what they really are.

Lens , Camera and PCB , Target boards and any kind of precision equipments are unfortunately considered to be high value item in general and they will levy the duty as per market value if the invoice value looks lower to them. Of-course this is upon the judgment of individual officer and nothing concrete can be said about it.

PS : Source of information , Person responsible for clearing imports shipped by DHL / Blue dart for the project related equipments in my company.

[fatboyslim]

+1 to TSk

@live to jive

Canon is mighty efficient in response as well. I shot an email to the dealer/distributor in raipur (Found our the details from the canon website as TSK had mentioned) about 50D and lenses and petal hood yesterday evening.

Voila! I get a call today morning from the regional manager for MP& Chattisgarh followed by detail breakdown of the cost, warranty details etc, with the request to visit digital zone to experience the ergonomics. Boy, I surely am impressed.

@navin: Understood your views on the 50/1.8 from Nikon being better. Do you have any views on the following lenses:

1. Kit lens: Canon 17-85 vs Nikon 18-55
2. Kit lens: Canon 18-200 vs Nikon 18-105

Best,
Projjal

[amitk26]

Hi,

On my 500D / T1i there is a dedicated DOF button on the front side below lens mount , Can some one please explain how it should be used.

I tried pressing it and get Bokeh kind of image in the View finder with my kit lens. I was expecting that it would give me some sort of scale /indicator to indicate the depth of field or circle of confusion at particular focal length.

Please bear with me I am fairly new to Canon system and the user manual is fairly time consuming to be read fully and understood by a complete noob.

Regards
Amit

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by Samurai

This month I complete 4 years of my dSLR journey using Olympus E-system, and I am in a content state of dSLR ownership, a rare state to achieve..

My first serious camera was a P&S Olympus IS500 (film) and I felt superior among all my collegues who just had P&S cams of different brands. I loved every snap that came out of my cam. Now I realise the lens quality was too good. Its no more with me, was gifted to my in-law back in 2005, he still uses it as brand new.

Originally Posted by robimahanta

you are referring to the 17-70 f/2.8-4.5..sure makes a lot of difference?.

Its Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 DC, Macro, OS, HSM. Typing 17-70 2.8 is normally understood as the lens in discussion. Is there any zoom lens that has a fixed aperture value like 2.8 throughout the range ? I doubt.

Originally Posted by amitk26

The rule is that you can import goods upto 5K rupees as online purchase duty free. Gift or no gift does not matter.

Means the only option left for me is either wait for it to be available here, or ask someone to carry from US. Thanks for the info. Nonavailability makes me consider many other alternatives now.

[navin]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim

@navin: Understood your views on the 50/1.8 from Nikon being better. Do you have any views on the following lenses:
1. Kit lens: Canon 17-85 vs Nikon 18-55
2. Kit lens: Canon 18-200 vs Nikon 18-105

1. I have not used all 4 of those lenses so I cannot offer a personal valuation of the same.
2. I am a novice photographer. My photography revolves around my family and my son's school activities. There are guys like Rudra with Magic in their hands. Their advice would be far more valuable.


With the above 2 disclaimers in mind...this is what I know.

1. 18-55 IS/VR Kit lenses from Nikon and Canon are pretty good VFM. To get significantly better IQ one has to consider lenses 4 times their price like the 15-85IS and 16-85VR.

2. Of the kit lenses you have listed I would lean towards the 18-105. The 18-200 is almost twice it's price and if you are going to get a long zoom later then the zoom end of this lens wold be redundant.

3. The Canon 17-85 and for that matter the Nikon 18-70 are older lenses I suspect wth DSLR technology still in the process of development (when these lenses were released) the newer lenses have better IS/VR mechanisims.

The reason I considered the 18-105 is becase it is a decent lens. Twice the price of the 18-55 but also twice the focal length. When you add a long zoom like the 70-300 the little overlap (70-105mm) will ensure you do not have to change lenses that often.

[tsk1979]

Actually, the canon 18-55 IS lens is very very good, and image quality is top notch
Here is the review
Canon EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS Lens Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by shajufx

My first serious camera was a P&S Olympus IS500 (film) and I felt superior among all my collegues who just had P&S cams of different brands. I loved every snap that came out of my cam. Now I realise the lens quality was too good. Its no more with me, was gifted to my in-law back in 2005, he still uses it as brand new.

Oh, if I have to consider film cameras, my relationship with Olympus goes back to 1993, when I bought Olympus IS-3 DLX. I had it till 2006 and then gave it to my brother. It was a fixed lens SLR with 35-180mm f4.5~5.6 lens. My experience with this camera hugely influenced me into staying with Olympus family.

Check the user ratings for that one: Olympus IS-3 DLX Reviews

[tsk1979]

New Delhi has a big Olympus dealer. Infact, the Asia Pacific head of Oly or some similar higher up was at the inaugural. but the funny thing is that except for the run of the mill lenses, you don't find anything with this guy. good luck finding even a 12-60!

[HellwratH]

Originally Posted by shajufx

Its Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4 DC, Macro, OS, HSM. Typing 17-70 2.8 is normally understood as the lens in discussion. Is there any zoom lens that has a fixed aperture value like 2.8 throughout the range ? I doubt.

Actually there are, and you might want to consider them for their very high IQ. You will lose about 20mm but gain in IQ. Three lenses that I am aware of,

(i) Tamron 17-50 2.8
(ii) Sigma 18-50 2.8
(iii) Tokina 16-50 2.8

You can read the comparison here,
Tamron 17-50 vs. Sigma 18-50 vs. Tokina 16-50 2.8 - DPChallenge Forums

[fatboyslim]

@ TSK: Thanks for the link. It helped a lot!

@ Thanks Navin, your suggestions are very structured and that helped. Well, your views helped a lot (Novice or not-I am sure you are not)

Actually, I thought of writing to Rudra da, but backed out as I thought these questions were a bit too simplistic for a person like him. Call it nervousness, call it awe!

Its like being in school, you tend not to ask the principal anything, until its absolutely critical. (Atleast in the schools I have been to!! )

[tsk1979]

@fatboyslim, Rudra is a Full Frame guy, so he does not dabble in EF-S lenses at all
As far as general queries about cameras and DSLRs are concerned, you can ask Rudra anything. He will reply!

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by amitk26

Hi,

On my 500D / T1i there is a dedicated DOF button on the front side below lens mount , Can some one please explain how it should be used.

I tried pressing it and get Bokeh kind of image in the View finder with my kit lens. I was expecting that it would give me some sort of scale /indicator to indicate the depth of field or circle of confusion at particular focal length.

Ok figured it out and posting here for benefit of others, Seems this is the least used feature in Canons but I now think it is pretty useful for macro and closeup.

The button is supposed to be kept pressed and it gives the view with Lens Aperture as per the setting but with shutter closed , Normally aperture setting comes in to picture only just before the shutter is activated so you will see the end result only after clicking the picture but this button is handy to check what exactly is in the Circle.

So the usage is

1. Compose the frame
2. Press DOF button to see how your image will look like
3. Adjust focus keeping the DOF button pressed
4. Click.