Reader Question: Camera Equipment Recommendation

Question:

Tony,
Moved to Hilton Head SC, which allows for all types of pictures. I was 35mm guy for years. now I am looking at a Canon D30 with a 17-85 lens for walking around and an additional 75-300 for the long shots. do you think I’m on the right track. Used to work up in Cambridge for a few years great subjects, and I really like your pictures.
Regrds
Hank

Answer:

Heya, Hank. South Carolina is a beautiful place.

I’m a Canon guy, and I’d recommend the Canon 30D to anyone. I don’t actually have one, buy I use a Canon 5D as my main camera and a Canon 10D (the D30′s granddaddy) as my backup.

There’s one thing I’d recommend on the lenses: get image stabilization (what Canon calls “IS”). I see your 17-85 is available as with image stabilization, and that’s a good thing, but it’s actually more important on the telephoto lens. Trust me, it’s real hard to take a handheld picture that isn’t shaky at 300mm (almost 500mm with the D30′s cropping). If IS is pushing you over budget, I’d recommend downgrading to the Canon Digital Rebel with the 18-55mm lens so that you can get the telephoto with IS.