What to do next with my 350D/lenses

FreeStream · 27 Nov 2007 at 15:54

Ok now I've got my insurance sorted out i have a few quid about to spend on getting my setup sorted.

I really really REALLY want a 40D, but I don't have a decent set of lenses yet to take full advantage of it really. Nor do I *really* have the money for it.

Current setup:

350D @ 22k
2 x 2Gb Extreme IIIs

Sigma 10-20 F4.5-5.6
Canon 18-55 kit
Canon 70-300 USM IS F4-5.6

Im thinking about selling the sigma and getting the canon version for £370 + £55 back, so only spending £100 on a far better lens.. (im not convinced by the wide angle sharpness of the 10-20 tbh - Close ups <40cm its ok but >40cm focus is the **** lol)

Sell the 50mm F/1.8 *maybe* I got it for low light + portraits but at lower than F2.5 its sharpness plummets :eek:

So Canon 10-20 @ £370

Selling old lens nets me: £220-250 maybe, £55 cashback:

£70-100 out lay.

Or, I get something to fill my 20-80mm gap, any ideas?

17-40 @ £400 + £70 cashback = £330 but F/4 is pretty poor *shrug*.

Any ideas?

Cheers CR

iGiDK · 27 Nov 2007 at 16:21

You got any examples of the 10-20 where you're not happy with the sharpness?

Considered checking various avenues to see if you can get the 10-20 calibrated? IQ-wise I'd expect a good copy 10-20 to be more or less on par with a 10-22

How about selling the kit lens and going for a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di ?

Messiah Khan · 27 Nov 2007 at 16:45

I would say the Sigma 10-20mm and 50mm f1.8 are the two best lenses you have. I would looks at filling the 20mm->50mm or 50mm->70mm gaps you have, or even get a macro lens.(If that sort of thing floats your boat.)

FreeStream · 27 Nov 2007 at 16:51

Messiah Khan said:
I would say the Sigma 10-20mm and 50mm f1.8 are the two best lenses you have. I would looks at filling the 20mm->50mm or 50mm->70mm gaps you have, or even get a macro lens.(If that sort of thing floats your boat.)

I think my 70-300 USM IS is the best TBH.

I must have a decent copy because locked at F8 and above = sharpness at 300mm.

Thing is I rarely use the 18-55 now, its either wide or super zoom

*shrug*

I don't know :confused:

Edit: 10mm crop of my Concordes cockpit. It (the large original) was refused from airliners.net for not "being sharp enough". And not only that one, three others... *shrug* not like anyone else can get a 10mm in there.

robmiller · 27 Nov 2007 at 17:54

Concorde Rules said:
but at lower than F2.5 its sharpness plummets

wez130 · 27 Nov 2007 at 17:58

Concorde Rules said:
I think my 70-300 USM IS is the best TBH.

I must have a decent copy because locked at F8 and above = sharpness at 300mm.

Thing is I rarely use the 18-55 now, its either wide or super zoom

*shrug*

I don't know

Edit: 10mm crop of my Concordes cockpit. It (the large original) was refused from airliners.net for not "being sharp enough". And not only that one, three others... *shrug* not like anyone else can get a 10mm in there.

that does look very soft, and i thought my 10-20 was soft.

robmiller · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:13

wez130 said:
that does look very soft, and i thought my 10-20 was soft.

Probably because it's a half second exposure presumably hand-held.

FreeStream · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:16

robmiller said:
Probably because it's a half second exposure presumably hand-held.

nah, tripod with 10 second release.

However this sunday Ill try again with my remote release and a better tripod and F/16....

If its still carp then canon come to daddy!!

robmiller · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:29

Concorde Rules said:
nah, tripod with 10 second release.

However this sunday Ill try again with my remote release and a better tripod and F/16....

If its still carp then canon come to daddy!!

f/16 will probably get you a lot of diffraction softness, the sweet spot of most zoom lenses will be (certainly has been in my experience anyway) around f/8.

FreeStream · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:48

robmiller said:
f/16 will probably get you a lot of diffraction softness, the sweet spot of most zoom lenses will be (certainly has been in my experience anyway) around f/8.

Ah dam, *grrr*

I think I will ebay it and get the canon, its faster too.

Messiah Khan · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:49

Concorde Rules said:
nah, tripod with 10 second release.

However this sunday Ill try again with my remote release and a better tripod and F/16....

If its still carp then canon come to daddy!!

That with mirror lockup? I would try and test the lens in good light, tripod, remote shutter, mirror lockup etc before jumping and getting the Canon. Pointless spending all that money if the results are down to technique rather than the lenses fault. Also if that sotness is down to the lens then having it recalibrated is likely to cost less than a new lens altogether.

Messiah Khan · 27 Nov 2007 at 18:53

Concorde Rules said:
Ah dam, *grrr*

I think I will ebay it and get the canon, its faster too.

If it really is that soft, your going to have to sell it as damaged and not get much money for it. Id seriously consider having it sent to Sigma for servicing.

FreeStream · 27 Nov 2007 at 20:37

Messiah Khan said:
If it really is that soft, your going to have to sell it as damaged and not get much money for it. Id seriously consider having it sent to Sigma for servicing.

How much is that going to cost?

(only a few months old)

Will it make a big difference?

Messiah Khan · 27 Nov 2007 at 20:40

Concorde Rules said:
How much is that going to cost?

(only a few months old)

Will it make a big difference?

Should be covered under the warranty then if you have the warranty card etc. (Even if you don't you might be lucky). Suppose it depends on what is causing the problem, but it could make a huge difference. My 10-20mm is nowhere near that soft. Before sending it off though I would try and do a controlled experiment in good light.

FreeStream · 28 Nov 2007 at 14:11

Messiah Khan said:
Should be covered under the warranty then if you have the warranty card etc. (Even if you don't you might be lucky). Suppose it depends on what is causing the problem, but it could make a huge difference. My 10-20mm is nowhere near that soft. Before sending it off though I would try and do a controlled experiment in good light.

Well surely that proves that is a carp lens in un favorable conditions?

Ill go and do a test now on a tripod.

CR.

FreeStream · 28 Nov 2007 at 14:28

*shrug*

Seems really really soft to me (no sharpening at all btw)

iGiDK · 28 Nov 2007 at 14:43

Is that a 100% crop? It does look on the soft side, but I am wondering if the IQ has degraded because it was shot at ISO-800??

Did you use AF or MF?

Mirror Lockup? Timer/Remote Shutter Release?

Messiah Khan · 28 Nov 2007 at 14:52

Concorde Rules said:
Well surely that proves that is a carp lens in un favorable conditions?

Ill go and do a test now on a tripod.

CR.

No, it just determines if its technique or the lens thats the problem. Looking at the shots above and I agree, it looks very soft. However I would suggest getting some newspaper and pinning it to the wall inside, getting some good light on it, shooting ISO 100, mounted to a tripod with shutter release and mirror lockup, at a range of aperture settings. Might also be worth shooting the newspaper at a 45 degree angle and focus on a certain word to see if its back/front focusing at all. Basically take all variables out of the equation.

robmiller · 28 Nov 2007 at 15:25

It'll be free to send back. I returned my 30mm f/1.4 because it was noisy at focusing, and alexisonfire returned his 24-70mm f/2.8 because it had some strange flaring issues, and both of us received prompt replacements that fixed the issues.

Totality · 28 Nov 2007 at 15:31

iGiDK said:
Is that a 100% crop? It does look on the soft side, but I am wondering if the IQ has degraded because it was shot at ISO-800??

Just what I was thinking. And why did you use a 10 second shutter on the first photo? Do you use the mirror lockup feature? Even though you're using a tripod you'll be amazed at the difference. I was taking a spider photo and the difference with lockup and a remote shutter and just using a normal tripod with a timer and no mirror lockup was amazing. Totally different I found. The slight vibration of the mirror going off made more difference than I realised it could.