Home Forums Gear Photography Camera Question, NIKON D80 or D300 vs Canon 40D

"(that was my bit of sarcasm )"

We're all a bunch of sarcastic plics!

I forgot to say thank you for the kind words and praise

Start with the right gear, and pro quality images are very easy to achieve. I'm here to help if you need me.

Thanks in advance for the help I'll surely need!

Well I just added the canon 1.4 Extender as well, and will soon be adding a case for all this stuff. So the 2700 mark is soon approaching!

However,........the list of kit VTi shows also includes an additional battery, an additional a 12volt charger, and the Sandisk card reader, and an additional 2gb memory card for it. That is a lot of stuff, plenty to accomplish what I need for the near future.

By the way, there was such a very important and delightful benefit to this that I'm so pleased to report. I've had this camera almost 2 weeks now. I installed the battery after the initial charge. I have been using this same battery since then and I have fooled around with this camera endlessly. The battery guage shows it's still full! I think a fella could easily use this as much as he wanted over the course of a week. So with my two batteries now, I may have enough resource for close to a month of use now. With the 12VDC charger I bought, I can also keep one topped off while driving around the bush now as well.

The Documents with the camera say you can take 750 photo's with the battery fully charged and using the flash for 1/2 of them. I felt that was wishful thinking. Now I'm thinking it may have been conservative!

Buying the 30D rather then the XTi was worth it for the better power system alone! At least for the remote user as I am.

JJ you need to clean your PM box! Ambient temp will affect your battery life. Last night it was under ten degrees and I ran a battery down fast shooting the eclipse. The 100-400 isn't the best low light lens so extra AF hunting added to the consumption. Two batteries are a must. I've learned to keep one charger at home and one in my bag. Good choice on the TC. It's a quality piece of gear. If you need more batteries I highly suggest you google Sterlingtek. They are a fraction of the price and last even longer.

PM fixed, I get so many PM's it's always full it seems. I just deleted 5 pages so I'm Okay again. .........For a week!

Hmm, more slams.. Rodney Dangerfield has NOTHIN' on me..


Wanted to, but it's even more obvious that nothing's going to work out here..

What the perception that I'm getting is roughly the same attitude that I used to encounter at ATA events, elitism... At the ATA, if you're not carrying a Perazzi or Krieghoff, the brushoff is immediate and permanent.

It's ok. I'm a big boy.. But I won't be posting any pix on this site for others to pick apart, laugh at and say "told you to buy a Canon"..

JJ, I tried to send you a pm but your file's full... You and I go back a long ways, back to the old "shooters" days.. Maybe I'm getting a bit thin-skinned in my old age but I think you know more of who I am and am about than the others here. Hope you understand..

Best to you all,

Well, congratulations about your new camera.
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That said, now that I have a little experience with digital SLR cameras, this is how I will decide: lens first, camera body second. Why? I have been a long Nikon film camera user, and three years ago decided to buy a Canon Rebel XT. It has been a nice little camera, but since Canon upgrades its cameras just about every year, the body is second to the lens. Simple as that. In three years, the XT has been upgraded to the XTi, and now the XTi has been upgraded. While the body is upgraded, the lenses are forward compatible. Sooo, for a year or two, while I wait to upgrade to a 40D or 50D, I plan to buy a couple of L lenses. I will start with one without IS, the 200mm f/2.8L II USM, and a Kenko Pro 300 1.4x teleconverter. Both the lens and the teleconverter are black, and the lack of image stabilization on the lens brings the price down to $600.00, one third cheaper than a similar L lens with IS.

Also, in deciding which body to buy, I don't decide on how the camera feels in my hands, since what matters its what's inside the camera: components, and features.

Man Redneck, I'm sorry you took my comments as a "slam" on you. They certainly weren't meant to be. I gave you the same advice before buying your gear, and now posting my thoughts of a much better system for the same cash in case others are reading and doing their own research. I stand by the advice in that post, that's my honest opinion, and I can't see how that's a slam against you personally. You apparently think the D300/lens combo you bought is a better buy, and I applaud you for sticking to your guns.

Please also don't bring up elitism, that's seriously not the case here my friend. Nikon kits cost way more than Canon for equivalent gear in most cases, so if there is any elitism, it should be directed the other direction.

Again, I apologize to you for taking my comments as a slam, they certainly were not meant that way. I'm happy for you that you received a nice $4k kit this week. Heck, I wish I had some $4k toys delivered at my door too I love those days

I really would like to see some images. I would never say "you should have bought a Canon". Your learning curve will be much quicker if you allow others here, including myself, to give you a helping hand. Have your images critiqued, and improve upon them. That's the way it works, and we've all been through it.

Rob