Some queries about my new Canon 350D!

Rose · Jan 18, 2006

First of all i am so pleased i got this camera!:mrgreen: Finally! i did a lot of research on the net and got a lot of good advice from people here, thank you:hail: . im happy i went for the 350D instead of the 20D as i would rather spend the leftover cash on a better lens one day as im not entirly happy with the kit lens 18-55mm. but it will do for now...:blushing:

So i have a few questoins about the camera, things that i couldnt figure out when reading the info booklet:

I noticed very quickly that setting eg. aperture 8 on the lens is not the same as aperture 8 on my slr film camera, in other words the depth of field is much smaller/shorter. i also noticed that is goes up to aperture 32 (which at first i couldnt beleive and thought it was a great lens..:lmao: ) but then realised its the equiv to say aperture 16 or 22. So i find this difficult to get used to, is there some sort of chart available for conversion?

Also i was really surprised not to find a cable release 'hole'...

. why is that and how can i attach one?

Also the Cd "Raw Image Task" that came with it, is that any good or would people recommend to download/buy another convertor. I heard ps CS can read Raw files automatically (so there is a plug in for it already within ps) that can be renewed at www.adobe.com ? Any ideas, havnt tried it as yet.

Another (probably) stupid question. I am really confused about wihch lenses fit which camera so i was wondering if my 80-200mm Zoom MC A-Danubia fits the canon 350d? looked at the mount of my pentax where the lens fits and it looks similar to the canon however i am too scared to try it. its only manual focus i know, but better than nothin'!

Well thats it for now - i am sure other people have questoins also , i feel so stupid- please keep this thread going!:blushing:

Digital Matt · Jan 18, 2006

Digital SLRs with aps-c sized sensors will have greater depth of field at any given aperture than a 35mm slr, not less.

You can buy a remote switch I believe, that will plug into the side where your usb port is.

I recommend that you try Raw Shooter Essentials for editing raw. It's good, and free.

Any Canon EF mount lens will fit the camera, and only Canon EF mount. Sigma and Tamron make lenses with this mount in addition to Canon.

Rose · Jan 24, 2006

maybe i wasnt that clear, i realise that as the lens goes up to F 32, there is a great depth of field available, however F 3.5 is smaller than F 3.5 on a film camera....the lens on the 350D goes from 3.5 -32 (or somewhere around that) so there is a large sprektrum of depth of fields, however its not the equiv to my film slr camera.

eg: if one is used to F8 and its depth of field, they would need to choose F11 or even F22 on the canon 350D go get the same depth of field/focus as with the film camera.

i hope that makes sense and maybe anyone can explain to me why it is. (maybe because the chip is smaller than the film?)
Also is there a chart that someone knows about for conversion between digital and film f stops?

thanx

Digital Matt · Jan 24, 2006

f/8 on a film camera will have less things in focus than f/8 with your kit lens on your 350D. The film camera will give a "shallower" depth of field at any given aperture. The reason being that the size of the sensor in your 350D is not as big as a 35mm negative. This is why your lenses behave differently, and only show a "crop" of what they would show on a 35mm film camera. The depth of field is similarly affected.

Rob · Jan 24, 2006

This doesn't mention a huge amount about depth of field, but it is, I think, quite interesting for someone in your situation:

http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/pdfs/transition_from_film.pdf

Rob

markc · Jan 24, 2006

The DOF is only affected if you physically move to frame the photo the same. This is because to fit the same frame in the digital camera, you are stepping back and putting more distance between you and your subject. If you take a 50mm lens set at f1.8 and swap them between cameras while standing in the same spot, the only difference will be that the digital camera will give you an image that's cropped. Otherwise it will be the same as the film camera.

DOF based on aperture also varies based on focal length. f2.8 at 35mm will give you more DOF than f2.8 at 300mm. Aperture is a ratio, not a set number. At 35mm, a f2.8 aperture is 12.5mm. At 300mm, it's 107mm. This is one of the reasons why a large aperture telephoto is so expensive. That's a fat lens. That's also why zooms often have a variable max aperture. The size is the same, but the ratio changes.