I am not a Canon user, or even an autofocus user, but I am in the unenviable position of having to help a relative outfit herself for an African vacation. She wishes to spend a "few hundred dollars" and get something with autofocus that will allow her to take pictures of the wildlife, etc.

A few hundred dollars to me means I'll probably recommend a 75-300 IS, a Rebel 2k, and a consumer normal-range zoom. As it is it'll stretch her budget, so better bodies and lenses are probably out. I'm mainly concerned about the Rebel/75-300 combination. Is the lens a battery hog? Can reasonably sharp images be made at 300mm and f/5.6 with the IS on? (I assume she'll want some 5x7s and perhaps 8x10s from her Africa pictures.) Is there anything else I should know about this combination that's likely to be problematic?

I'll try to convince her to go to the zoo before she leaves to learn how to use all of this new stuff, and then I'll have to figure out a color print film for her -- having not shot any color myself for years...

-- John O'Connell (boywonderiloveyou@hotmail.com), June 18, 2001

Answers

That sounds like a good simple set-up to me. The IS lenses, of course, always will use more power than non-image-stabilized ones. I've never used the 75-300, but I would expect that it wouldn't eat batteries so quickly as to be inconvenient. Bring extra batteries. If you're going with the 75-300, I would question the need for another zoom lens at all, unless you are sure you're going to need wide angle capability. If you are, maybe a canon or third party prime wide angle? 75-300 is a BIG range and it seems like overkill to buy another 28-80 or 28-100something and end up duplicating focal lengths. For print film, I'd recommend Fuji Superia 800 when you're out at 300mm. Maybe get some Fuji Reala too for when you have real good light.

-- peter bg (pbg333@hotmail.com), June 18, 2001.

The IS lenses do eat some additional battery power, but unless you are sitting there for a long time with your finger pressing the shutter waiting for some animal to move, you won't really notice it much. Of course safari's are just the place for sitting around waiting with your finger on the button, so maybe she will.

The Rebel 2000 uses two very small batteries that don't last that long anyway, so be sure to tell here to take extras. I would think a used Rebel G would be a better choice due to lower cost and bigger batteries.

The 75-300 USM IS will give adequately sharp images at 300mm even hand held. It's certainly sharper at 200mm though. In any case the IS really does work for hand held pictures even at 300mm.

I would think she would want a wider lens, so a 28-80 or something should be taken as well.

If she was a serious photographer who was very discriminating about sharpness and construction quality, We all would recommend other lenses and even another camera, but considering the financial constraints, you probably couldn't do better in an AF SLR.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), June 19, 2001.

I think the Rebel 2K is the only choice on such a budget - it actually has a very decent metering system. I would highly recommend the BP-200 If your friend can afford the extra $40- or so - for two reasons: (1) It will allow the use of four AA batteries that will last longer and are easier to obtain than the ones the camera normally uses (I don't recall the designation). (2) The Rebel 2K is a very small camera body and will be difficult to handle (depending on the size of your friends hands), especially with a large lense attached. My wife's Rebel 2K has a Sigma 28-300 permenantly attached and the extra gripping area is a must.

I have no opinion about the Canon 70-300 IS as I have never used one. Does your freind plan to shoot scenics? If not, I would skip the second lense.

Derrick

-- Derrick L. Morin (morin@fttr.navy.mil), June 19, 2001.

I have been on two African Safaris with my Canon 100-300mm and a 28-105. I took ASA 200 and 400 speed film and got beautiful 16x20 enlargements from them with no grain. The trick I learned from a safari pro is to buy or make a bean bag and get low in the vehicle. That's easy to do cause everyone else will have the instinct to go up thru the roof hatch to shoot leaving the windows free for some great vantage points. Plop that old sock filled with rice or a professional beanbag on the open jeep window frame and she will get herself some great photos!

-- marcy katz (marcyk@hawaii.rr.com), June 20, 2001.