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James Pascale

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I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
 
I believe USM stands for Ultra-Sound Motor. The 28-135mm IS appears to be very popular for an all purpose starter lense for D30.

Harry
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
 
Ultra Sonic Motor, fast and smooth, silent if your'e not a canine !

Lenses to buy for starters !, depends on the size of your piggy bank.

The Cannon 50mm F1.4 USM is one of the sharpest and fastest 'fixed' lenses to get the best from your D30. As far as Cannon zooms - the 28-70 F2.8L and the 70-200 F2.8L or F2.8L IS (Image Stabilisation) are a damn fine pair !

Maybe the 28-135 IS if you are broke after paying for your D30.......

Richard.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
 
RichardE said:
Lenses to buy for starters !, depends on the size of your piggy bank.

The Cannon 50mm F1.4 USM is one of the sharpest and fastest 'fixed'
lenses to get the best from your D30. As far as Cannon zooms - the
28-70 F2.8L and the 70-200 F2.8L or F2.8L IS (Image Stabilisation)
are a damn fine pair !

Maybe the 28-135 IS if you are broke after paying for your D30.......

Richard.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Thank you all for your kind responses JimP
 
Ultra sonic Motor,
they are the best and then fatstest and the quietest lenses.

Yes the 28-70 2.8l and the 70-200 2.8l or L IS are both great great lenses that I have owned since they originally came out years ago.
the 50 1.4 is great and I also add the 20 2.8 to that.

Althogh if you can get the 16-35 that shoud be available soon it should be one of the sharpest wides ever.
James Pascale said:
RichardE said:
Lenses to buy for starters !, depends on the size of your piggy bank.

The Cannon 50mm F1.4 USM is one of the sharpest and fastest 'fixed'
lenses to get the best from your D30. As far as Cannon zooms - the
28-70 F2.8L and the 70-200 F2.8L or F2.8L IS (Image Stabilisation)
are a damn fine pair !

Maybe the 28-135 IS if you are broke after paying for your D30.......

Richard.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Thank you all for your kind responses JimP
Click to expand...
 
James,

Yesterday, I made the plunge and invested in a D30 and a 28-70 Tokina lens. (I upgraded from a Nikon cp990; I've also used the cp995.) When I got home, I immediately set the battery in the charger and then read the manual.... 90 minutes later, I was shooting.

I read a lot about the D30 (on this site and else where), so I knew its shots could appear somewhat soft (to some people) before setting the camera's parameters (per Phil's review) and sharpening the pics in PS.

Using the D30/Tokina combo produced very soft pics. Even after re-setting the camera's sharpness parameters and then sharpening in PS, the shots still seemed lacked that special something that so many D30 users rave about in the Canon SLR forum.

I was pretty sure that my situation was a lense issue. Sooo, I went back to the camera shop and they let me upgrade to a Canon 28-70 L -- for a lot more money. The lens made a big difference. This morning's shots were much sharper -- with better color. I was hoping to get by with the Tokina (heard good things about it), but it just didn't work for me. I really think matching great class with a great camera makes sense. Put average glass on a great camera and you limit the camera's potetial. If you've got the money (which I really didn't until I saw the results of the Tokina -- ha, ha), go for a Canon L lens. Just my opinion.

Best of luck, Tom

By the way, my first print from the D30 really made me feel good about the whole purchase. Clean, sharp and good color!
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
 
For a lot less money you should try the 24-85mm USM lens. Not an L (though extremely close) and no IS (which is a waste below about 200mm anyway).

This lens is probably the best deal in Canon glass and why it is generally sold out at so many places all the time.

Peter
TomF said:
Yesterday, I made the plunge and invested in a D30 and a 28-70
Tokina lens. (I upgraded from a Nikon cp990; I've also used the
cp995.) When I got home, I immediately set the battery in the
charger and then read the manual.... 90 minutes later, I was
shooting.

I read a lot about the D30 (on this site and else where), so I knew
its shots could appear somewhat soft (to some people) before
setting the camera's parameters (per Phil's review) and sharpening
the pics in PS.

Using the D30/Tokina combo produced very soft pics. Even after
re-setting the camera's sharpness parameters and then sharpening in
PS, the shots still seemed lacked that special something that so
many D30 users rave about in the Canon SLR forum.

I was pretty sure that my situation was a lense issue. Sooo, I went
back to the camera shop and they let me upgrade to a Canon 28-70 L
-- for a lot more money. The lens made a big difference. This
morning's shots were much sharper -- with better color. I was
hoping to get by with the Tokina (heard good things about it), but
it just didn't work for me. I really think matching great class
with a great camera makes sense. Put average glass on a great
camera and you limit the camera's potetial. If you've got the money
(which I really didn't until I saw the results of the Tokina -- ha,
ha), go for a Canon L lens. Just my opinion.

Best of luck, Tom

By the way, my first print from the D30 really made me feel good
about the whole purchase. Clean, sharp and good color!
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I see a lot of recommendations for the 70-200 F2.8L. But if you don't mind giving up one f stop the 70-200 F4.0L weighs half as much and costs half as much. Why is the 2.8 so much more popular?
RichardE said:
Lenses to buy for starters !, depends on the size of your piggy bank.

The Cannon 50mm F1.4 USM is one of the sharpest and fastest 'fixed'
lenses to get the best from your D30. As far as Cannon zooms - the
28-70 F2.8L and the 70-200 F2.8L or F2.8L IS (Image Stabilisation)
are a damn fine pair !

Maybe the 28-135 IS if you are broke after paying for your D30.......

Richard.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You may want to consider the 70-200L IS. It is bigger but with the IS you can hand hold at much slower shutter speeds. I think it depends on what you will use the lens for and the budget you have. If you are going to do mostly outdoor shots in good light then you may not need the 2.8 and IS especially if it is out of budget. mark
Paul Johnson said:
RichardE said:
Lenses to buy for starters !, depends on the size of your piggy bank.

The Cannon 50mm F1.4 USM is one of the sharpest and fastest 'fixed'
lenses to get the best from your D30. As far as Cannon zooms - the
28-70 F2.8L and the 70-200 F2.8L or F2.8L IS (Image Stabilisation)
are a damn fine pair !

Maybe the 28-135 IS if you are broke after paying for your D30.......

Richard.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi Peter,

You are correct about the 24-85 USM being sold out. I ordered my D-30 from Canoga, via Greg Noble by the way, along with the 24-85 USM, the 50mm f/1.4, which he indicated was out of stock, and a 70-200 f/4L USM.

He called back about 2 hours later to inform me that apparently while he was taking my order another salesman had sold the last 24-85 USM but they would receive both leneses Thursday. Oh well, spelled with an "H".

By the way, I was extremely pleased with the treatment by Greg and the lengthy amount of time he spent with me on the phone. Thanks for the recommendation.

George
Peter Sills said:
For a lot less money you should try the 24-85mm USM lens. Not an L
(though extremely close) and no IS (which is a waste below about
200mm anyway).

This lens is probably the best deal in Canon glass and why it is
generally sold out at so many places all the time.

Peter
Click to expand...
 
I've got to follow this forum more often.

what do you think of the 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 and or the 20-35mm f2.8L ? thanks RD
George Reeves said:
You are correct about the 24-85 USM being sold out. I ordered my
D-30 from Canoga, via Greg Noble by the way, along with the 24-85
USM, the 50mm f/1.4, which he indicated was out of stock, and a
70-200 f/4L USM.
He called back about 2 hours later to inform me that apparently
while he was taking my order another salesman had sold the last
24-85 USM but they would receive both leneses Thursday. Oh well,
spelled with an "H".
By the way, I was extremely pleased with the treatment by Greg and
the lengthy amount of time he spent with me on the phone. Thanks
for the recommendation.

George
Peter Sills said:
For a lot less money you should try the 24-85mm USM lens. Not an L
(though extremely close) and no IS (which is a waste below about
200mm anyway).

This lens is probably the best deal in Canon glass and why it is
generally sold out at so many places all the time.

Peter
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I have the 24-85mm USM from Canon and am planning to get rid of it. I have also tried the 28-135 IS and the 75-300mm IS. The reason I am getting rid of the lens is not quality of the photos, but it's speed of the optics.

I have found that most of the D30's auto focusing problems can be traced to poor contrast at the focus point. This is only multiplied with slow optics or low light conditions. An f4.0 allows 2x less light in than an f2.8. An f5.6 is 4x less light.

Based on the 24-85 f3.5-4.5 and the 28-135's slow optics, I would not choose either of these as a first lens. Select a fast lens.

I am now using the Sigma 24-70 2.8 lens and the Sigma 70-200 2.8 lens and it's focusing capabilities are great. For extreem low light situations, the Canon 50mm f1.4 can not be beat and I am looking forward to Sigma's 20 f1.8.

Chris
Peter Sills said:
This lens is probably the best deal in Canon glass and why it is
generally sold out at so many places all the time.

Peter
TomF said:
Yesterday, I made the plunge and invested in a D30 and a 28-70
Tokina lens. (I upgraded from a Nikon cp990; I've also used the
cp995.) When I got home, I immediately set the battery in the
charger and then read the manual.... 90 minutes later, I was
shooting.

I read a lot about the D30 (on this site and else where), so I knew
its shots could appear somewhat soft (to some people) before
setting the camera's parameters (per Phil's review) and sharpening
the pics in PS.

Using the D30/Tokina combo produced very soft pics. Even after
re-setting the camera's sharpness parameters and then sharpening in
PS, the shots still seemed lacked that special something that so
many D30 users rave about in the Canon SLR forum.

I was pretty sure that my situation was a lense issue. Sooo, I went
back to the camera shop and they let me upgrade to a Canon 28-70 L
-- for a lot more money. The lens made a big difference. This
morning's shots were much sharper -- with better color. I was
hoping to get by with the Tokina (heard good things about it), but
it just didn't work for me. I really think matching great class
with a great camera makes sense. Put average glass on a great
camera and you limit the camera's potetial. If you've got the money
(which I really didn't until I saw the results of the Tokina -- ha,
ha), go for a Canon L lens. Just my opinion.

Best of luck, Tom

By the way, my first print from the D30 really made me feel good
about the whole purchase. Clean, sharp and good color!
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I have owned the 20-35 and the 24-85 and both are good lenses for their price

I ended up trading them in on a 17-35 and 28-70 which produce very sharp pictures but I was not unhappy with my previous lenses I had the spare money so i upgraded.

I would not recommend the 70-200 2.8 as you will need a camel to carry it around the f4 is as good if not better optically and is very light. The only advantage of the 2.8 is shooting things like indoor sports.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
 
And better AF in low light conditions:)
Richard M said:
I would not recommend the 70-200 2.8 as you will need a camel to
carry it around the f4 is as good if not better optically and is
very light. The only advantage of the 2.8 is shooting things like
indoor sports.
James Pascale said:
I am seriously thinking about moving up from a Nikon cp995 to a
d30. I was surfing some retail online stores and noticed that the
canon lenses use the nomenclature USM. What does this mean? Also
what would be the lenses to buy for starters?
Thanks in advance JimP
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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