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Best/safest 40d purchase, please advise

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faulcon

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Hi everyone, I live in Australia and i would like to buy a 40D Body. I have a 28-135 IS USM lens to attach. I may be thinking of a second lens with your help.

Here is the scenario my sister is getting married in July and thank fully they have a professional photographer. I would take my eos 30 but i cant afford to miss this opportunity on film and the cost of processing is crazy.

What i am looking for is the best price i can get for purchasing a 40D but also i dont want to go to cheap and find that the shop i buy it from doesnt support me if it goes wrong or the fact that if i buy it in Australia and try to claim the tax back at the airport, i dont want them not to be properly registered.

I am looking to buy a 580ex II as i am sure in the church i am going to need it, i have seen the chruch when we visited at christmas and it wasnt very well lit. I dont have alot of money, but i would consider other peoples advice on a 2nd lens or a new primary lens.

Thank you all for your time.

Regards
Andi

ps I was thinking of buying from the following, comments.

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
http://www.digitalrev.com
 
B&H is always a good company to deal with. I live very nearby the store and I have to say, it's a themepark for photographers and the people working there are extremely customer oriented. I have never heard a bad thing nor experienced a bad thing with them.

When I bought my 40D I actually bought it through Amazon as they are pretty reputable and there prices were the cheapest.

Good luck,
Paul.
--
Paul Hakimata
Web: http://www.hakimata.com
Stock portfolio: http://www.dreamstime.com/resp288114

Photography: The Art of Converting a 'split second' into 'eternity'.



 
Michael Eckstein said:
Can't Go Wrong With B & H. Good prices and best customer service.
Click to expand...
Not the best prices at all although not too bad. More importantly you risk to get a returned item sold as new.

I am not sure that other companies do not do that but half of my B&H purchases came obviously used. One expensive lens came covered in drops of toothpaste ?! in a box that was worn from too many opeings. No way that the B&H employee who handled that could miss that.
Yes B&H accepts returns but I decided that I do not want that hassle.

Now I buy most of my stuff locally. If I feel doubt I just ask a store employee at the time of purchase to bring me another unopened box.

I also do not have to bother about use tax. I you do your homework you'll find local deals that are not worse that online price
 
faulcon said:
Hi everyone, I live in Australia and i would like to buy a 40D Body.
I have a 28-135 IS USM lens to attach. I may be thinking of a second
lens with your help.

Here is the scenario my sister is getting married in July and thank
fully they have a professional photographer. I would take my eos 30
but i cant afford to miss this opportunity on film and the cost of
processing is crazy.

What i am looking for is the best price i can get for purchasing a
40D but also i dont want to go to cheap and find that the shop i buy
it from doesnt support me if it goes wrong or the fact that if i buy
it in Australia and try to claim the tax back at the airport, i dont
want them not to be properly registered.

I am looking to buy a 580ex II as i am sure in the church i am going
to need it, i have seen the chruch when we visited at christmas and
it wasnt very well lit. I dont have alot of money, but i would
consider other peoples advice on a 2nd lens or a new primary lens.

Thank you all for your time.

Regards
Andi

ps I was thinking of buying from the following, comments.

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
http://www.digitalrev.com
Click to expand...
Does the church allow flash photography? Many churches do not. If they do not then, 28-135 Is is a good lens but, may not be as fast as you need. I would suggest a nifty fifty, 85mm 1.8 or 100mm f2 Macro (the macro version is only 45 dollars more) These primes will allow you to shoot with less light and they dont weigh alot!

I also would agree with the others B&H is always going to come thru! Adorama overall in ratings is just as good if not better.

Happy Shooting!
 
faulcon said:
Hi everyone, I live in Australia and i would like to buy a 40D Body.
I have a 28-135 IS USM lens to attach. I may be thinking of a second
lens with your help.

Here is the scenario my sister is getting married in July and thank
fully they have a professional photographer. I would take my eos 30
but i cant afford to miss this opportunity on film and the cost of
processing is crazy.

What i am looking for is the best price i can get for purchasing a
40D but also i dont want to go to cheap and find that the shop i buy
it from doesnt support me if it goes wrong or the fact that if i buy
it in Australia and try to claim the tax back at the airport, i dont
want them not to be properly registered.

I am looking to buy a 580ex II as i am sure in the church i am going
to need it, i have seen the chruch when we visited at christmas and
it wasnt very well lit. I dont have alot of money, but i would
consider other peoples advice on a 2nd lens or a new primary lens.

Thank you all for your time.

Regards
Andi

ps I was thinking of buying from the following, comments.

http://www.d-d-photographics.com.au
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
http://www.digitalrev.com
Click to expand...
--

--- After 53 years of photography, I shoot for memories, not perfection. - Ron_M.
 
vadim_c said:
Michael Eckstein said:
Can't Go Wrong With B & H. Good prices and best customer service.
Click to expand...
Not the best prices at all although not too bad.
Click to expand...
Best price is not always the best deal.
vadim_c said:
More importantly you
risk to get a returned item sold as new.
I am not sure that other companies do not do that but half of my B&H
purchases came obviously used. One expensive lens came covered in
drops of toothpaste ?! in a box that was worn from too many opeings.
No way that the B&H employee who handled that could miss that.
Yes B&H accepts returns but I decided that I do not want that hassle.
Now I buy most of my stuff locally. If I feel doubt I just ask a
store employee at the time of purchase to bring me another unopened
box.
I also do not have to bother about use tax. I you do your homework
you'll find local deals that are not worse that online price
Click to expand...
--

--- After 53 years of photography, I shoot for memories, not perfection. - Ron_M.
 
Well at this point you might consider getting the body or 40D kit. I know it's the same lens, but how old is the one 28-135mm lens that you have now? for $180-$200 more you get a brand new lens with slightly more revised lens depending on how old the one you have. Then you can sell off the one 28-135mm lens that does not seem as sharp or as good. Since you don't have much money, get the 50mm F1.8 lens for low light situations and if you can afford the 580ex II. That should cover some of your basis. Have at least 2x 4gig cards. Shoot in RAW. Each 4gig card can hold up to a little over 300 photos in RAW on the 40D. So in all you can shoot 600photos. If you have a digital wallet, you can offload the photos while using the 2nd card. If the church you are going to be at is going to have high ceiling the flash won't help you much especially if you don't want to harsh flash look so there is no way of bouncing light off the ceilings. In that situation you're better off shooting with the 50mm F1.8. Don't be afraid to shoot at ISO 1600 or even ISO 3200 especially for the ceremony shoots. Portrait shots I going only as high as ISO 800 on the 40D with post processing. Anyway, you're better off using available light to shoot at a church than a flash especially in high ceiling situations.

Here's a sample wedding photo inside a church this past Feb 2008. Taken with a 40D using 50mm F1.4 @ F1.4 ISO 800 with some post processing.

 
Ron_M said:
--- After 53 years of photography, I shoot for memories, not
perfection. - Ron_M.
Click to expand...
Hey Ron thanks for responding in a manner that has no relevance to what i need, im glad you can share so much of that 53 years in one sentence, i didnt even ask for perfection! thanks for your input though ;)
 
YOUR A STAR ! Mate i wanna thank you so much, youve been a great help. I shall try and get the 50mm lens too, i guess if i am going the whole way i should get the 580 anyway ? What ya think? Youve been a great inspiration and i loved your photo thanks for sharing.
haykong said:
Well at this point you might consider getting the body or 40D kit. I
know it's the same lens, but how old is the one 28-135mm lens that
you have now? for $180-$200 more you get a brand new lens with
slightly more revised lens depending on how old the one you have.
Then you can sell off the one 28-135mm lens that does not seem as
sharp or as good. Since you don't have much money, get the 50mm F1.8
lens for low light situations and if you can afford the 580ex II.
That should cover some of your basis. Have at least 2x 4gig cards.
Shoot in RAW. Each 4gig card can hold up to a little over 300 photos
in RAW on the 40D. So in all you can shoot 600photos. If you have a
digital wallet, you can offload the photos while using the 2nd card.
If the church you are going to be at is going to have high ceiling
the flash won't help you much especially if you don't want to harsh
flash look so there is no way of bouncing light off the ceilings. In
that situation you're better off shooting with the 50mm F1.8. Don't
be afraid to shoot at ISO 1600 or even ISO 3200 especially for the
ceremony shoots. Portrait shots I going only as high as ISO 800 on
the 40D with post processing. Anyway, you're better off using
available light to shoot at a church than a flash especially in high
ceiling situations.

Here's a sample wedding photo inside a church this past Feb 2008.
Taken with a 40D using 50mm F1.4 @ F1.4 ISO 800 with some post
processing.

Click to expand...
 
I see the lense seems to only be basic before spending top dollar on a 1.2, is the 1.4 ok ? wedding photo looks good too.
 
i bought mine from discount digital photographics
easy to deal with, recommended
just google discount digital photographics

i've also dealt with (never bought anything from) an australian based company called quikshop

i work in a camera repair place they send their warranty claims and they seem very reasonable.

hoped that helped a bit
 
Yeah thanks man, i heard a nasty story about a importer in sydney that doesnt pay duty, i wasnt sure who, havent heard anything bad about d d, just wanted to check as i want to claim tax back.
skidmarks said:
i bought mine from discount digital photographics
easy to deal with, recommended
just google discount digital photographics

i've also dealt with (never bought anything from) an australian based
company called quikshop
i work in a camera repair place they send their warranty claims and
they seem very reasonable.

hoped that helped a bit
Click to expand...
 
faulcon said:
Yeah thanks man, i heard a nasty story about a importer in sydney
that doesnt pay duty, i wasnt sure who, havent heard anything bad
about d d, just wanted to check as i want to claim tax back.
Click to expand...
the thing i liked about DDP is they have a shop in north sydney where you can meet the people who run in face to face
and not just a faceless website who sends boxes in the mail
 
skidmarks said:
faulcon said:
Yeah thanks man, i heard a nasty story about a importer in sydney
that doesnt pay duty, i wasnt sure who, havent heard anything bad
about d d, just wanted to check as i want to claim tax back.
Click to expand...
the thing i liked about DDP is they have a shop in north sydney where
you can meet the people who run in face to face
and not just a faceless website who sends boxes in the mail
Click to expand...
I hear ya but, ive just done a quick shopping list on B&H and im saving over $400 including postage, and that includes any taxes i may get charged for importation. I wonder if they would price match lol
 
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