On Mon, 9 Apr 2001 11:34:41 +0300, you wrote:
>Hi!
>
>I'm about to buy my first SLR - I've been using a 40 years old Edixa Prismat and
>Olympus 3040. I think that EOS 30 has everything I need for nature photography
>(birds mostly). I will be using negatives and print "normal" 10x15cm pictures.
>How good quality I can except from these lenses for my purpose: 28-90 "kit" USM
>and 75-300 USM? I don't need the latest innovations and the best quality. I need
>decent quality for decent price.
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Severi
Severi -
The 28-90 is surprisingly good quality. It's too new for there to be
photodo info on it, but I imagine it will rank alongside the older
28-105, which is a popular lens. I get positive comments from people
all the time on the 4x6's I produce with it (whoa, hey, nice camera,
when looking at snapshots, that sort of thing all the way to "grerat
DOF, color and sharpness from more discerning types), and I've
enlarged and framed a few shots successfully as gifts. Now, it's not
a "pro" lens, but that's not what you're asking for, right? Cons:
It gets a tiny bit soft on the long end, and there is some
predicatable barrel distortion at the 28mm end. For a normal zoom,
it's a bit slow at f/4-5.6. Pros: Light, accurate, quick AF, and I'm
pleased with it's overall quality. Better than decent. Many of the
photos on my web scrapbook were taken with it, if that tells you
anything. I'm upgrading to the 28-135 IF, buit mostly for other
reasons than image quality.
The 75-300 III is also surprisingly good for a "consumer zoom." Also
somewhat soft at the long end, but you can minimize this with good
technique, optimized f-stop range, film type, tripod, etc. I
occasionally get results that surprise the heck out of me. At 135mm,
photodo actually rates it *higher* than the 28-135 IS at that focal
length. Again - same comments as above - not a pro lens, but very
light and easy to handle. AF will hunt in low light for sure, but
then I often just switch to MF. Again a number of shots on my site
from it, and Jim Davis has some beautiful swan shots he took with it
recently on his site. I think he posted the URL a while back in a
message titled "Feedback please," so check it out. Nice "painterly"
work, Jim.
So from the way you've phrased your question, I think you will be
happy with the kit you mentioned. I personally DO want a sharper,
longer lens than the 75-300, but I'm not going to get rid of it when
am able to afford that 100-400 IS or whatever I finally settle on.
One final point, these two lenses are both 58mm filter threaded, so
you can save some serious money on filters, polarizers, etc. And
don't forget to order the lens hoods.
As to the Elan 30 (I have the 33, or non-ECF version), I love mine.
Just handles beautifully. It's a sensual pleasure every time i pick
it up, and seems to encourage exploring what it can do. Controls are
laid out great, with the possible exception of the advance rate
switch, and I think the DOF preview button could be a little bigger.
Maybe I just have big fingers.
The only feature that I find missing for the type of photography
you're talking about is spot metering. The Elan 7 has a 9.5% partial
mode, but I sometimes wish for a true spot. Interchangeable
viewfinder screens would be nice, too, but I don't in reality miss
that much. I eventually do want to do some document copying with it,
and for that matter I eventually will buy a second body with the above
features. I'd like to be able to switch films in the field anyway.
Oh, by the way, the Elan 7's midroll rewind function is one fo the
features I use a lot. You can set a Custom Function to prevent the
film from rewinding the leader all the way into the can, and then
reload later and resume where you left off. I do it so much that it
really does make sense to get a second body, but if you do it less,
it's a super feature.
HTH
Ken Durling
Website http://home.earthlink.net/~kdurling/
Alternate e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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