ok sell me on your system

[jann1033]

if you read my rant against canon on poor Lyrics 2 ? thread, i was thinking of using what i can get for some of my stuff to upgrade..i can get a 40 for $729 so tell me what i can get with your brand ( ie not canon) for around that price but it would have to include a body comparable to a 40 d( ie not entry level) and a very good lens or two (since i wouldn't have any till i sold the rest of my canon gear .)

 

[wenrob]

Wow Jann, just read your post and I can't blame you one bit for wanting to "jump ship" so to speak. I wish I could sell you on my system but it's not in your price range. I went from a Nikon D40 to a D90 and skipped everything in between. I can say that the two times I called Nikon they answered with a live person right away and seemed to want to go out of their way to help me. Fortunately (*knocks wood*) I haven't had to have anything repaired but the experience I did have makes me feel confident that I wouldn't have any problems if I had to send something in.

 

[boBQuincy]

Wow!

Can't say I blame you for feeling that way after your experiences with Canon service! Although my experience with them has been better it has still been far from perfect. What has been even less perfect is my experience with almost any other manufacturer's service department. Afaik they all have the same people just circulating from one service dept to another, doing mostly poor work.

Pontiac, Chevrolet, Sony, Sears, Pioneer Electronics, Best Buy... you name it. Manufacturers figure they have your $$$, you are now on your own!

As for your original question, the best course may be to buy good lightly used equipment from someone you know and trust. Get a good deal and if it breaks, forget service. There are usually enough people following the 18 month upgrade path to find good stuff that is 1-2 generations old.

 

[jann1033]

you know bob that is what i have been thinking as well. that is why i was going with a 40d...hub put the kibosh on me jumping ship( that's why it's good i'm married to him, he calms me down while i blow a gasket, course after doing that for 34 yrs he's the one who's totally gray haired as well, probably due to me blowing gaskets)i figure i am just going to forget canon service. i like the canon equipment but with the others while there are bits and pieces of each system that i think are great there is always one thing holds me back be it cost or speed or something...but my nervous can't take any more canon service frustration

 

[Groucho]

Well, a K20D body can be had brand new for under $700 now and you could pick up a used kit lens (very nice, complete with proper focus ring, non-rotating front element, metal mount, and hood) for dirt cheap, that'd get you started. IMHO the K20D bests the 40D pretty easily in most categories, the only exceptions being continuous shooting speed and probably autofocus speed (but the K20D is no slouch, either.) Don't forget about image stabilization, too! And the weather sealing... hyper-program mode... etc, etc...

FWIW I've dealt with Pentax service a couple times. I sent in my K20D for some focus tweaking and mentioned some uneven sensor noise at very high ISOs. There was some screwup where the wrong name (but right address) got attached and when I got the camera back, there wasn't a record of what they did. I called to ask and they apologized profusely and asked me to send it back and I suspect they did exactly the same work to it again, but at least I got paperwork saying so. (New circuit board and focus tweaked - focus was perfect afterwards, no need to tweak it in Custom Menu as I had before.) It took 2-3 weeks ("waiting for parts") but it was OK. Since then, I sent in my 16-50mm F2.8 because once in a while the focus would be a little slow the first time I'd use it in a session then it'd speed up - like it was a tad sticky or something. They immediately shipped me a brand new lens.

As for sticking with Canon or not, IMHO there's no reason to if you're not happy with the service you're getting. Vote with your feet and if you've got the time, send them a letter and explain that your poor experiences have meant that you're jumped ship to N, P, O, or S. You've certainly had more than your fair share of headaches from them from what I've read of yours over the past few years. Besides, I don't really buy the idea that it's all that painful to switch systems, especially if you only have a small lens collection. Lots of people here have started with an entry-level DSLR and kit lens(es) then moved on to higher-line DSLRs and nicer lenses, selling or not using their older, cheaper gear. Good lenses generally retain their value, too, so you're not likely to get hosed too bad even if you do have a few good ones.

Good luck whichever way you end up going. Your luck can only get better.

 

[boBQuincy]

I know you mentioned "not entry level" but it may be a viable option. I am using a Canon Rebel Xsi and even though it is rated as an entry level camera the performance is anything but entry level. FPS is a little low and the RAW buffer is not very big but those have not been an issue for me. The lack of a top LCD has not been a problem either. This Rebel is not like the Rebels of old, it handles a lot like a xxD series.

With the introduction of the T1i there should be a lot of slightly used XSI models for sale, and they were only about $600 to begin with. Yes, mine front-focused and had to be sent to the dark forces (aka Canon service) but a good used one should have all that done already. And no, mine is not for sale!

 

[jann1033]

ended up going with a re-certified 40d from adorama, it has an adorama yr warranty and either is a demo from canon rep that has been refurbished( considering it would have been by canon service center but maybe it was the Irvine one, but anyway it gave me pause) or a new one from circuit city's demise ( got 2 different answers from 2 different people)
i really considered the k20 and the oly 520 / e30. i liked them both but didn't want to upset husband any more than i have already the biggest factor being the warranty from adorama and the speed of the canon...hopefully it will stop my serious problem of catching only the bird's behinds when i take the second photo of birds in flight
but thanks for the help

 

[AndrewWG]

Jann, I would jump ship if I could. Canon has shown me nothing that has truly impressed me since buying into their system. I like the 30D and the 70-200 f2.8 IS is fantastic I suppose but I see better pics on the Nikon thread MOST of the time. Also, the thought of using older lenses on other systems but not on Canons annoys me. I will jump ship eventually unless I am lucky enough to get money for a 5D MII.

 

[VVFF]

Jann, I would jump ship if I could. Canon has shown me nothing that has truly impressed me since buying into their system. I like the 30D and the 70-200 f2.8 IS is fantastic I suppose but I see better pics on the Nikon thread MOST of the time. Also, the thought of using older lenses on other systems but not on Canons annoys me. I will jump ship eventually unless I am lucky enough to get money for a 5D MII.

You really think that the "better" pictures in the Nikon thread are due to a better camera?

What exactly has not "truely impressed" you that you can guarantee would be fixed if you had bought the equivalent other brand camera at the time?

 

[bob100]

You really think that the "better" pictures in the Nikon thread are due to a better camera?

What exactly has not "truely impressed" you that you can guarantee would be fixed if you had bought the equivalent other brand camera at the time?

what's funny are the threads on the Canon forum where people "jump ship" from Nikon to Canon and their pictures are sooooo much better !
now, if I had a 5d and some "L" glass I know my photos would be truly impressive!

 

[jann1033]

Jann, I would jump ship if I could. Canon has shown me nothing that has truly impressed me since buying into their system. I like the 30D and the 70-200 f2.8 IS is fantastic I suppose but I see better pics on the Nikon thread MOST of the time. Also, the thought of using older lenses on other systems but not on Canons annoys me. I will jump ship eventually unless I am lucky enough to get money for a 5D MII.

yeah Andy, unfortunately it takes a hunk of change to switch unless all your stuff is really popular. I'll be interested to see if i notice a big difference with the 40 vs xt as far as focus goes. IMO my rebel has always been on the soft side, course that could be my cheaper lenses as well or maybe coming from film, i don't really know but it's rare for me to think i have a sharp photo..i don't always go to the nikon thread and i do see some good shots from canons but i think the ones that usually wow me are from the better cameras ...so we'll see... luminous landscape ( and others ) say the 40d iq is as good or better than the old 5ds,course i think they were using a $1500 lens which could affect iq some right now my working lens stable consists of a non-auto focusing 50mm f1.8, a 28-135 and a $100 phoenix macro... talk about "quality glass"

the thing about older lenses( i was just reading and didn't finish the article) is they were saying how they don't usually give you the best iq for digital so i don't know that is a real loss to me( i'm sure there are exceptions like in everything but they were generalizing) plus i wonder if technology hasn't progressed enough that in general newer lenses have improved as well...maybe not, that may just my brain working erratically.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

i really considered the k20 and the oly 520 / e30. i liked them both

I'm glad to see you were considering Olympus.

Congratulations on your purchase!

 

[jann1033]

I'm glad to see you were considering Olympus.

Congratulations on your purchase!

thanks looks like i will have to enjoy lightweight and artsy filters only in my dreams

 

[Groucho]

Also, the thought of using older lenses on other systems but not on Canons annoys me. I will jump ship eventually unless I am lucky enough to get money for a 5D MII.

Actually, Canons and Olympuses have the most ability to use older lenses via adapters (even though they can't use older lenses of their own brands!) There are a ton of different camera system lenses you can mount on them. That's the only thing that I really prefer about the Canon system. Still, I'm not complaining. Heck, I just started using another lens mount on my system - details in a new thread soon.

the thing about older lenses( i was just reading and didn't finish the article) is they were saying how they don't usually give you the best iq for digital so i don't know that is a real loss to me( i'm sure there are exceptions like in everything but they were generalizing) plus i wonder if technology hasn't progressed enough that in general newer lenses have improved as well...maybe not, that may just my brain working erratically.

Some say that but I don't agree, and I don't think people who use these lenses agree, either. Look at what Gdad has done with old film lenses lately, and I've been extremely pleased with some of my 30+ year old prime lenses. Many/most of them are sharper than most of the zooms of today and can give today's primes and better zooms a run for their money. The big issues are manual focus (of course), metering can sometimes be more challenging, and some (especially lenses that aren't Super or SMC Takumars) are more sensitive to flare. You'll also probably find a little more CA and purple fringing, but again, often no worse and often better than today's cheaper lenses.

I would recommend picking up an M42 adapter (get one of the ones with focus confirmation which I think also gives you metering) and grab a couple cheap M42 lenses. There are countless fast 50s, many of which are better than today's "nifty fifties", and fast 135s are also very common and cheap.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I feel pretty safe with canon. Only because I know you have recieved every bad lens they have ever made...

Mikeeee

 

[jann1033]

I feel pretty safe with canon. Only because I know you have recieved every bad lens they have ever made...

Mikeeee

just saw this, yes every other canon user can rest easy knowing i attract all the lemons. guess that is the reason i'm here....
course i just saw on adorama they have the lens i sold them that they said is worth nothing at $74 and the tokina they said would sell $400 at $529 ( or a total of $150 more than they gave me and the camera isn't even online yet) ...i really need to find a way to remove that notation of "sucker' i seem to have printed in indelible ink on my forehead

 

[edolyne]

just saw this, yes every other canon user can rest easy knowing i attract all the lemons. guess that is the reason i'm here....
course i just saw on adorama they have the lens i sold them that they said is worth nothing at $74 and the tokina they said would sell $400 at $529 ( or a total of $150 more than they gave me and the camera isn't even online yet) ...i really need to find a way to remove that notation of "sucker' i seem to have printed in indelible ink on my forehead

I have sold quite a bit to them over the years, sorry to hear that you ended up getting the raw end of the deal on that one. The good news is that they probably paid you more than anyone else would have, atleast in the past when I priced out places they always paid more than a place like B&H or Camera Buyers.

 

[jann1033]

I have sold quite a bit to them over the years, sorry to hear that you ended up getting the raw end of the deal on that one. The good news is that they probably paid you more than anyone else would have, atleast in the past when I priced out places they always paid more than a place like B&H or Camera Buyers.

yeah i got a lower quote from b&h and the new tokinas aren't a whole lot more than they are asking for my used one so i figured they were giving me a decent quote. i am kind of surprised they did that although now i am wondering if the first guy who gave me the estimate meant i would get $400 which would be about 70% less than what they are selling it for. that was how i originally took it then the second guy who set up the actual deal for my trade in for the camera said no, that would be the price they would sell it for... oh well maybe it was an honest mistake, i'll take it that way cause i actually like dealing with adorama have you ever known them to do that?

 

[edolyne]

yeah i got a lower quote from b&h and the new tokinas aren't a whole lot more than they are asking for my used one so i figured they were giving me a decent quote. i am kind of surprised they did that although now i am wondering if the first guy who gave me the estimate meant i would get $400 which would be about 70% less than what they are selling it for. that was how i originally took it then the second guy who set up the actual deal for my trade in for the camera said no, that would be the price they would sell it for... oh well maybe it was an honest mistake, i'll take it that way cause i actually like dealing with adorama have you ever known them to do that?

I LOVE dealing with Adorama, they are an excellent store. I live within an hour of their store so I normally deal with Jack Gould from the used dept and Ari when I buy my new equipment. When I have spoken with people other than Jack for a quote I normally end up getting quoted more money than when I come into the store. What I have found is that the price that they quote over the phone is about the price that they can sell it for and then they give you 70% of that. They may try to sell it for more initially as I am sure that they factor in some amount incase they can't get top dollar for it and need to drop the price as time goes on. Over time I have found that the time and frustration that I save in selling it to Adorama rather than to another person or ebay is well worth taking less for my equipment.

 

[jann1033]

I LOVE dealing with Adorama, they are an excellent store. I live within an hour of their store so I normally deal with Jack Gould from the used dept and Ari when I buy my new equipment. When I have spoken with people other than Jack for a quote I normally end up getting quoted more money than when I come into the store. What I have found is that the price that they quote over the phone is about the price that they can sell it for and then they give you 70% of that. They may try to sell it for more initially as I am sure that they factor in some amount incase they can't get top dollar for it and need to drop the price as time goes on. Over time I have found that the time and frustration that I save in selling it to Adorama rather than to another person or ebay is well worth taking less for my equipment.

thanks now i really feel like it was either a mix up or i misunderstood something rather than me getting snookered
i dealt with Jack, he seemed on the up and up so that is why i was surprised to see it higher ..maybe there was just a mix up in communication somewhere, they were extremely busy due to being closed or memorial day then a jewish holiday or maybe they figure it will end up going for what they told me( which like i said was more in line with what i thought it would sell for) i'm happy with my trade in anyway,so water under the bridge.