I am goin to buy my 1st DSLR
for body i m goin for canon 40D
but here comes the problem.

shall i go fo the 17-85 IS kit
-or-
i go for body only+sigma 18-200 OS
-or-
other lens?

is OS/IS very important for a first timer of DSLR?

wow.. 1st DSLR and you're getting 40D

18-200 is a good all-rounder lens if ur on tight budget...sigma with OS now only around 1.7k wad

Go for the 17-85 IS kit ... it best compliments the EOS 40D and having IS would be of good assist for you first timer having to hold a heavy camera.

Man you're getting 40d for your first dslr?????? I salute you man....

is the IQ of 17-85IS much more better than 18-200OS?

fuuyoh...1st DSLR already goin for 40D. *Salute*

Sigma 18-200 shd be quite a moderate weighted lens.

So if mounted on 40D, (excl. batt grip) would be quite heavy.

Until you are comfortable with the whole set and the type of shooting and the conditions you are in, IS DOES HELP A LOT! Unless you don't mind lugging a tripod along all the time.

Aiyo, Maybe TS experienced with SLRs but now getting the 1st DSLR leh!!!!

Money obvious not a factor in his case,

I'm not surprise if so.

40D for 1st time DSLR is not too bad..

Imagine if someone comes along and say he wants an EOS 1D Mark III for 1st time DSLR, then we all can really 'pengsan'...

This post has been edited by nivac: Oct 6 2007, 01:27 PM

mine first DSLR is D80

I would say get a 18-200mm lens. A good lens to start with. For you to experiment with different styles of shooting.

Good for travelling too.

Start with a Canon Lens.
Then later u'll realise how slow the non-USMs are.

40D for ur first dslr.. u sure r rich..
get the kitlens.. its not of a good quality.. but it does the job..
later on upgrade the lens..

Hey Wakaka

I suggest you start off with the 17-55mm.. It is a very good lens to start off with

If you get the 18-200mm, yes you can cover more.. But also need more time to master it.. To find which points it isn't good at and stuff like that..
Also considering that it has a big range from 18-200mm means that it is not very sharp.. Only some 18-200mms are sharp.

The 17-55mm feels much better than the 18-200mm also.. It has a large aperture value of f/2.8 from 17-55mm and also has IS motor and USM..

The TS is asking for lens below RM2k (EFS 17-85 & Sigma 18-200 OS), then you go & recommend a lens which double in price.
Nice suggestion.

guys, please refrain from posting useless stuff like this.

you're not even contributing to the question at hand.

and stop assuming that 1st time DSLR getting 40D as a big thing, some people may already have experience in using SLRs and so on so forth. no biggie la ok? RM 2.8k for first camera, RM 4.5k for first camera - not that big a differences isn't it? 1 month salary.

anyway TS,

AFAIK you can stick to the kit lens of the 40D which comes with the IS system, AFAIK the kit vs body only price diff is RM 300 only so might as well get the one with the kit and add the 18-200mm OS when you think there's a need for it.

I totally agree with Goldfries here. When getting a new camera, do toy around with the kit lens first and use it to it's fullest. Until then, you never know what is it that you might want to venture into and maybe after getting the 18-200mm lens you might just regret in the future for not saving the cash for another lens or perhaps even a flash gun.

You'll use the wide to near focal ranges more often, so the kitlens still comes in handy. Unless you absolutely know what kind of photography you'll be doing, stick to the kit lens. So the 17-85 IS is a good bet in this case.