I'm starting to get the hang of the new barter economy...I borrowed a backpacking tent for a camping trip from Joeframbach two weeks ago and lent a drywall square in return.
I'm looking to do the same again, only I need a Canon EF or EF-S lens this time. My 18-55 kit lens for my Canon 350D (digital rebel) is dead, and all I have left is a cheapo Quantaray 80-300.
I'm going back to the Netherlands for work next week, asuming I can make it past the Great Volcanic Ash Cloud of Doom. I've been meaning to take some pictures of the bikes and bike infrastructure there to share with the Bike Pittsburgh crowd, but my Quantaray lens is just too long.;
Does anyone have a shorter lens they could lend me for the trip? A fixed normal lens would be perfect (I'm thinking of the "nifty fifty"), but the regular kit lens or something wider would do as well. I promise to take lots of pictures and post them here for all to enjoy.
I've got nearly every home improvement tool imaginable to lend in return, as well as wrenches, sockets, and a decent bicycle toolbox.
If you've got a lens you could live without for a week, send a PM here, an email to reitzellm@gmail.com, or a text to 412-719-1055.
Matt
Hahaha no way. I have the 450D. I could only afford the stock lens, but I'm saving my pennies for a better lens, someday. I'm sure someone has a better lens than my stock 18-55, but if nobody offers up something better, I'd be willing to part with it for a week. I'd really like to see photos taken with a sweet lens, though.
I have a 50mm f/1.8 (w/hood) or the kit lens you are welcome to use for a week.
Buying a 50mm lens will be the best $100 or so you've ever spent. I shoot the vast majority of the time with a relatively cheap 50mm lens rather than some of the fancier glass I have around. Ex: I shot all of the NAHBS studio shots this year with a 50mm that I purchased for $90, 6 or 7 years ago.
Do it.
Depending on what you're hoping to achieve, you may want to look around for a 35mm or so prime to play with, as it'll give a similar field of view on your camera to what a 50mm gives with a full 35mm frame. That said, when I went "full-frame" for lack of a universal term I pretty quickly purchased an 85mm lens to get back the same field of view I had on my smaller sensor with the 50mm. I use the 85mm a lot, but I still use the 50mm for the majority of stuff.
I agree, the 50mm was the best $90 I ever spent on camera equipment. Once I got it, I threw the kit lens on my bag and I don't think its been on my camera since. I absolutely love it for indoor photography, parties, vacation snapshots, etc. I have a canon with a crop sensor. I'm not sure I'd like it quite so much on a full frame. Like Brad, I'd be upgrading to a longer prime pretty fast.
I'm sure if you borrow one for a week, you'd buy one once you got home.
Yep, I concur. After shooting with a 50 with work cameras I need one for my personal DSLR.
Check out the prices with the Canon lenses though.
50mm 1.8 ~$90
50mm 1.4 ~$1500!
I think you missed one 
The f/1.4 is about $400, which is worth it if you want to upgrade to USM focus.
The f/1.2 is $1500ish. I'm pretty sure at f/1.2, I wouldn't have a whole lot in focus. Even at f/1.4 I can take a photo of a face and when focused on the eye, their nose will be out of focus.
dwillen, you are right. I meant the 1.2
Andyway it seems like a case of diminishing returns to me.
And is it just me or is Pgh a Nikon town? Seems like all the craig's list deals are for Nikon, rarely for Canon.
Seems like all the craig's list deals are for Nikon, rarely for Canon.
That would tell me that Canons are worth keeping. There's gotta be a reason everyone's selling their Nikons.
Alright I'll bite...
I think it's pretty common to see more Nikon for one big reason. Nikon has used the same lens mount practically forever, Canon has changed theirs over the years... I can use a Nikon lens from the 70's on my D60 (if I really wanted to). Most of the stuff they list is older gear. I suspect it's because there's still a market for it.
*Disclaimer: I am a life-long Nikon user. *
I'd say the amount of people using lenses from the 70s is incredibly small - not nearly big enough to cause an off-set. The EF mount (canon) was introduced in 87, which is still even a stretch for the "making use of vintage lenses" crowd.
For instance, in nearly any photog school in the country that teaches film, the Canon AE-1 is the go-to body. If the pull of vintage Nikon was so strong, I'd say this wouldn't be true.
I'd venture to guess that Nikon has a bigger place on CL because they generally cost more - bodies and lenses, than canons. So you'll see folks trying to offset the cost of an upgrade, or trying to make buck on old gear.
Oh, and I'll tack on another recommendation for the nifty fifty.
Funny how even a bicycle message board can break down into Canon v. Nikon. I had to log in just to add my two cents. I went Nikon in college because I had a shooter from Venezuela on my staff at the college paper. I was looking for my first body and he told me that news photographers in Venezuela shot Nikon because the police wore riot helmets and if you needed to defend yourself from the police, a Nikon F3 could take a beating better than any other camera. Whether that's entirely true or not is debatable, but since then, I've used every pro body they've produced from the F4 to my D3 and my only complaint is that there are three D series cameras collecting dust here due to their becoming obsolete. Lame.
i have a 75-300, a 50 1.8, a 28-80, and a 20-35 i'd be willing to lend... i also have a 60 macro and a 10-22 but not so willing to lend those.
Thanks for all of the offers. Dwillen sent me an email that I saw before I checked back on the thread...I've got his nifty fifty and 18 - 55 kit lens packed for my trip. I'm really looking forward to trying out the 50/1.8.
Joe, I'll save that trade for the next time you decide to build something 
I promise to take and share a ton of pictures...the bike infrastructure over there is truly amazing.
BradQ, I've been meaning to pick up that 50/1.8 for a long time...just haven't gotten to it yet.
I mostly shoot film now with an old Konica T4 Autoreflex that I picked up from Craigslist for $50 a couple of years ago (with four nearly pristine lenses). I added a 40/1.4 for $26 from Ebay last year...it's the lens I use 90% of the time.
And to wade into the Canon vs. Nikon debate:
If I ever decide to buy another DSLR, I'll probably go with Nikon. I much prefer to shoot with film...it limits the number of pictures I can take, forcing me to slow down and really think about the shot. My pictures have gotten much better as a result. Still, there are a million situations where I'd love the flexibility of digital and the convenience of metering and autofocus. Ideal for me would be the option to use the same set of lenses on both cameras. Nikon has that option, Canon doesn't.
sorry to burst your bubble, but there are tons of canon EOS film cameras that accept any lens made today (and any lens made since 1987)... i do it often... here's the list:
EOS-1 (1989) • EOS-1N (1994) • EOS-1N RS (1995) • EOS-1v (2001)
EOS 650 (1987) • EOS 620 (1987) • EOS 750QD (1988) • EOS 850QD (1988) • EOS 630QD (1989) • EOS RT (1989) • EOS 700QD (1989) • EOS 10sQD (1990) • EOS 1000F (1990) • EOS 100 (1991) • EF-M (1991) • EOS 5/5QD/A2/A2e (1992) • EOS 1000FN (1992) • EOS 500 (1993) • EOS 888 (1993) • EOS 50 (1995) • EOS 500N (1996) • EOS-3 (1998) • EOS 88 (1999) • EOS 300 (1999) • EOS 30 (2000) • EOS 3000N (2002) • EOS 300V (2002) • EOS 3000V (2003) • EOS 30V (2004) • EOS 300X (2004)
True, but how many of those are fully manual? I guess I should have been more specific.
I love shooting with my Konica precisely because it has no automatic controls (it does have an exposure meter, but the batteries for it are long extinct). I like the feel of older lenses that were designed for manual focus, advancing the film with my thumb, and the mechanical click when I press the shutter release.
I'm not a purist by any means...it's just how I like to take pictures.
My dream would be to have one set of lenses to use on both an old manual film and a digital SLR body. Canon's great old cameras all use the older F mount. Only the Pentax and Nikon DSLRs are compatible with their older, manual lenses.
