My apologies - I thought they were closer in price than that. Still, make sure you check http://camerapricebuster.com before buying to ensure you've got the best deal!

Thanks for the link. Very useful.

I order all my main camera gear from a chap who usually quotes 10-15% below anything that camerapricebuster can find. He's very reputable to the point I will not use anybody else. I'm not sure it will mean the difference between a 50D and 7D but you never know.

Al

Do they deliver? Have a website?

Yeah, who? Who?

+1

OK - it's a chap called Ian Kerr (Kerso). He has an ebay site called Flash Camera LINKY but if you e-mail him direct, he will quote you a price which obviously excludes fees etc. His stuff does come from the US but with the UK receipt he includes you can claim any cashback and waranty is honoured. Stock is sent from sunny Arbroath and my mate has just picked up a Canon 5D MkII for £1,500. I can feel his smile from here.

Everybody I know in the aviation photography world uses him and loads of the birding peeps too. Just G...oogle 'Kerso' and read the praise...

Al

I should have the money I was expecting in February so I've been homing in on what I'm going to get.
I'm aiming for an EOS 50D and, aiming for the best optics I can afford, one of the following lenses:

Slower lens with IS - clickey
or
Faster lens without IS - clickey
or
Fast EF-S Lens with IS - clickey

Unless another windfall occurs any time soon I won't be upgrading to a full frame body for quite some time (years, if ever). So, would either of the two full frame lenses be worth the extra cost and compromise over the EF-S.
I've never done much action photography in the past and I will also be getting a decent tripod + head and a remote release to go with the rest of the kit so I'm not sure exactly how much the loss of IS would affect me.

Opinions?

I always err towards the faster lens if you can afford it. Brighter glass will tend to offset the need for IS, though it appears Canon are beginning to add IS to most of the new lenses by default.

I'd also err towards the full-frame lenses. Remember, good glass stays with you while the camera bodies may change. There's the advantage of the 1.6x enlargement factor, too, meaning the 24-105 effectively becomes a 40-170.

There are many tripod recommendations, but it depends on your budget and requirements. I have a Giottos tripod (MT9242, which may have been superseded now) mated with a ball head. The tripod came in under £100, and the ball head was about £40. I can't recommend the Giottos stuff highly enough - good value, plenty of extras like case, straps, and toolkit, and design and build quality that far outstrips the cost, IMHO. I blogged about it a while back.

A decision that takes some thought, and then a little bit more. What I would be interested in knowing is how sensors will develop over the next few of years, the likely minimum timeframe of using the cropped body I have. Obviously there are Laws of Physics that can't be changed, but surely there could be improvement
in other areas that would allow cropped users to stick to that format and so the benefits it has to offer. Well depending on the choices made during purchase.

Well, another plus point using lenses designed for the full-frame sensor cameras is effectively you'd be using the centre of the optics where things should be sweeter.

Although it's highly likely my next body won't be the EOS 5D MkII but the EOS 7D, I'm still going to continue purchasing EF lenses over EF-S lenses from now on. It's my own preference, and something I decided on after some thought - particularly with the view that such lenses may well outlive my camera bodies.

Chuck Norris begs to differ.

Ooooo - that's interesting Ms K Been monitoring the camera forums and although the jury is still out, there does seem to be more favour for the 5D II than the 7D, mainly due to the stunning IQ when strapped to the better 'L' lenses. On balance the 5D II seems to have less going for it than the 7D so it makes me wonder if the £550 price difference is worth it? Unfortunately, I'm one of these 'I want' people...

Al

It's the price difference that's swinging it for me right now.

The 7D is a pro-level camera body with all the features (and some more) the 5D has save the 35mm sensor. On balance, I don't need the 35mm sensor. The 7D will work nicely with my existing EF-S lenses, too.

Apparently, the 7D is amazingly good at the HD video, something I really want to include in my portfolio again. I know some Nikon-touting pro photogs who've bought 7D bodies and Canon glass just to make video.

Of course, the 5D MkIII may swing it back the other way, but if saving the best part of six hungered squids nets me an excellent pro-level body, I'm in there.

PM me when you're ready for the new toy and I'll give you Ian's e-mail address. He has them in stock usually and can deliver within the week. Remember that he will knock some money off the ebay advertised price too

I get to play with my mates 5D MkII next week - imagine that linked to a 300mm F2.8. Yummy.

Al