Help! Confused by Canon's DSLR Offerings

[Black&Tan]

Why? have you ever seen a broken plastic body. In the old days you'd buy an SLR body and expect to keep it for decades. No one keeps a DSLR that long. It's beter to buy two plastic body camera than one metal body camera and they don't break.

Go to the bank and look at the bullet proof windows. It's plastic. tough stuff really.

Whew...so many responses of late.

I went to the camera store this past weekend, absolutely packed! They didn't have a 30D in stock, so I didn't get to try it out. The last time we were there, my wife spent almost an hour looking at the few film point and shoots still available, and the salesman was very patient & helpful. I'll have to wait a few weeks and try again when things slow down a little...

Perhaps I need to explain about my plastic concerns. I can be somewhat tough on my gear. After I graduated college here in the US, I went to school in England for 9 months, and enjoyed a number of trips around England and Europe in general (when I travel, I bring the bare essentials, usually two lenses the camera body, and a tripod). I was like a kid in a candy store, so much architecture, so many incredible destinations, all practically within a stone's throw. I'm not generally a risk taker, but when I take pictures of tourist destinations (or anything for that matter), I try and approach the subject from an unusual angle. Something different from all the same old, same old. I'm not adverse to crawling on the ground, climbing trees, clambering over rocks, etc. just to get a different perspective. Sometimes, accidents happen. I dropped my AE-1P when a chain link fence gave way. In one case, I took a header in the mud near a lake (long story). Many times, I would be out in the rain, mist or night, taking photos. The AE-1P kept chugging along, no problem.

I know a digital wont be able to take the abuse that a film camera can, but I need a DSLR that will keep up with me. I personally like the Canons because of my history with the AE-1P and the D30 — plus it doesn't hurt that I'll be able to borrow lenses from work!

 

[sjl]

I'm not generally a risk taker, but when I take pictures of tourist destinations (or anything for that matter), I try and approach the subject from an unusual angle. Something different from all the same old, same old. I'm not adverse to crawling on the ground, climbing trees, clambering over rocks, etc. just to get a different perspective. Sometimes, accidents happen. I dropped my AE-1P when a chain link fence gave way. In one case, I took a header in the mud near a lake (long story). Many times, I would be out in the rain, mist or night, taking photos. The AE-1P kept chugging along, no problem.

I know a digital wont be able to take the abuse that a film camera can, but I need a DSLR that will keep up with me. I personally like the Canons because of my history with the AE-1P and the D30 — plus it doesn't hurt that I'll be able to borrow lenses from work!

You're verging on talking about a weather sealed body. That means the 1D or 1Ds series, which are very definitely not cheap. (Remember, too, that the sealing depends on the lens, which means you'd be looking at L series glass ...) The other option, depending on the glass you want to use, may be to look into an underwater housing - anything designed to stop water getting in at 40+ metres will do a decent job of keeping out dirt, as long as you clean it properly afterwards (which may be difficult - I'm handwaving away a lot of the problems here. ) Unfortunately for you, underwater housings don't take long telephoto lenses - underwater photography is about getting close to the subject to minimise the water between the lens and the subject.

It depends on just how much "abuse" you'll be subjecting the camera to, of course, and only you can judge that.