faulknerwn 38 #1 April 27, 2008 I'm looking to replace my Canon 300d (I hate error 99!!!!) I'm looking at 400d's on ebay, and many of them have various choices of lenses. I'm probably just going to go with cheap lenses for a while, but they offer lots of choices... Some of them have Tamron 28-80 as the default, others the Canon 18-55 and others the Sigma 28-70. Any ideas which would be best for skydiving? (Tandem pics mainly) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #2 April 27, 2008 This very same question is being asked here at least once a week. Theres a lot of other similar threads here. Search is your friend. Maby compiling these threads here as sticky wouldnt be a bad idea either.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #3 April 27, 2008 Quote(I hate error 99!!!!) That can be because of the lens your using, not always though. what lens are you using when you get that code? (seen it with a card too) I have no EXP with the Sigma 28-70 or the tamron, I have not flown the kit 18-55, but know many who have, it seems to do just fine but is not friendly to abuse, so don;t drop it.you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 38 #4 April 27, 2008 I did extensive searches - only thing that actually talked about anything similar was whether the Canon one was any good :-) Couldn't find much useful about any other brands.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 38 #5 April 27, 2008 I have sent it back under warrenty twice now (this would be the 3rd time.) I'm using a stock Canon lens with it. Last time it was back they replaced the entire shutter assembly. Worked for a few hundred photos and now its dead as a doornail again. Tried a friend's lens last time, swapped batteries and CF cards with no luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #6 April 27, 2008 QuoteI did extensive searches - only thing that actually talked about anything similar was whether the Canon one was any good :-) Couldn't find much useful about any other brands.. heres a couple of threads posted within the last 30 days: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3172613 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3168468 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 38 #7 April 27, 2008 Thanks for the links. I think the reason they didn't show up is I searched on the actual types of lenses available on ebay in kits with the 400d and only the Canon kit lens is mentioned in those threads. I've googled and seen mixed reviews on the others. I'm leaning towards the kit lens over the other 2 but was just curious if anyone else had used those exact 2 for freefall. None of the other lenses mentioned in the threads are available by default. Another question - a lot of the stuff on ebay includes a wide-angle lens to attach to the outside of the 18-55. These any good? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMFin 0 #8 April 27, 2008 Quote Another question - a lot of the stuff on ebay includes a wide-angle lens to attach to the outside of the 18-55. These any good? A wideangle converter ? http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3115092 here you go... Search is your friend Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stratostar 5 #9 April 28, 2008 I see, sorry to hear that, yes time to move on to better. Sometime's you just get one that sucks, rare for canon, but it happends. Good luck in the future.you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 20 #10 April 28, 2008 Wendy, anything past 30-35mm is wasted for the most part in freefall unless you like flying 15-20 feet back and then you better havea good sight. On the ground having telephoto can be nice but its not the end of the world not to have the range out to 70 or what ever. The kit 18-50 is fine for tandems until you find the focal length that suits your flying style and dial in from there. I like to fly extremely close and found the 18 side to crop too much so I just got a 14mm lens, you might find something closer to 20 or 24mm to be right for how you fly. Forget the wide angle add ons, they are all optically junk compared to even the kit lens. They usually distort and chromatially alter the colors in the photos. If you are wanting to avoid the eBay hassle look at sites like Fredmiranda.com or Photography-on-the.net, both have a heavy Canon user base and they have classifieds that usually match the eBay prices if you watch for a few days.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quincy 0 #11 April 28, 2008 Err 99 Before you send it back ... try this link. Some good info. I just had to deal with it on a Rebel XT. Ended up sending it back to Canon. Hope this helps. Quincy... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 2 #12 April 28, 2008 The Canon kit lens is the only one remotely usable in freefall. Personally I think it is a pice of crap too although other here disagree I think you should use a fixed fast lens, like a canon 15mm f/2.8 it'll show in your pictures ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
