Sounds very practical to me.

Sounds like a reasonable compromise. Try to get the 17-85 IS as a better investment than the kit lens, though.

John

I'll add a thumbs up. In keeping with your thoughts and John's recommendation, I'll second (third?) the objective of getting the best glass you can afford.

That was my motivation in my deliberate transition phase for my photography where by I've been retiring my old Canon FD gear and transitioning to Canon's EF series lenses. Four so far, including L glass whenever possible. I continue to dither over which digital bodies to get. The 1ds body is too expensive and soon to be replaced. The 30d will be replaced soon, too. I sish the 5d was weather sealed and had dust control, and 1d Mark III still isn't available. Sooo, in the meantime, I took to Africa two EOS 3 film bodies which I had bought quite inexpensively on Ebay. They've worked out quite nicely. Even though the serious wildlife shooting was with the SLR's, the p&s was invaluable.
Jim

Shame you don't have a friend visiting the states soon, you can get the 400D kit and the 100-400 L for under 1000 pounds here.

The 100-400L IS is around a 1000 on its own here. That IS a fantastic price. I might fly down to NY for a weekend if thats the case. Might still work out cheaper.

Are you serious????

At B&H Photo, the biggest camera store in New York, the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS is currently $1310 USD. The 400D is around $660 USD without the kit lens, and $738 with the kit lens; and $1179 with the 17-85 IS. The 70-300 f4-5.6 USM III is under $200 USD.

So, you could get the kit you're proposing - 400D, 17-85, 70-300 for under $1500 USD, which leaves you $500 USD for a weekend trip to New York. You'd have to avoid custom duties for it to be worthwile.

amolkarnik,
One requirement that has not been mentioned is the need to post process images taken with a SLR. In contrast to the point and shoots, the SLR's offer very little in camera processing. With an SLR many people find they are better off shooting RAW or fine JPEG with all of the processing parameters dialed way back. The images are later processed using photoshop or some other software for the best images. Are you prepared for this investment in learning, time and additional cost. I'm always happy to see a digital SLR convert (I think it's a great medium), but I know some who have been very discouraged once the entire process was undertaken. These are just my thoughts, not to discourage you but rather to inform you. Please disregard if you already were aware of these requirements.

Right now on Amazon.com the 100-400 IS is $1310 with an instant $100 rebate so you pay $1210. Silver 400D (XTi over here) kit with 18-55mm lens is $753. That's $1963 which was a little under 1000 pounds the last time I looked (and if it isn't now, it will be by the time you arrive given the performance of the dollar lately). You could have them shipped to a hotel to be held for you (or a friend) and pick it up on arrival.

How exactly do you get the 100 rebate? I can't get any sort of rebate to show up. That would make a great safari kit.

From the Amazon site

"$100 Instant Rebate: Purchase this product from Amazon.com and save $100 instantly. Price includes manufacturer's instant rebate."

The $1,310 already includes the $100 instant rebate.

Thanks Bobcaat,
I was about to email a friend who had been considering this lens but I doubt the small savings over the normal New York internet store listings will be enough to entice him to buy. Still a good price on a fine lens.

No, I added to checkout cart this afternoon and then the rebate appears. The price will be $1210. Here is a cut and paste from my cart:

Items: $1,310.00
Shipping & Handling: $0.00
Promotion Applied: -$100.00

Total Before Tax: $1,210.00
Estimated Tax: $0.00

Order Total: $1,210.00


Please check things before posting.

Tukeg, I have forwarded the reference to my friend. Thanks

I did check this out before posting and would not post without doing a little research. The reason for the difference is that Amazon sells this directly but also sells this through a number for their vendor partners. Amazon does not necessarily come up as the first vendor on the Amazon site. If you buy from Amazon the instant rebate is applied; if you buy from an Amazon affliate the instant rebate is not applied. Amazon is backordered for this item.

I didn't mention Amazon Associates, I stated that the Amazon price was $1210, which it is. When I posted it was in stock. The reason it is backordered is because this is such a good deal. Your post quoted the description on the Amazon page (not the Associates page) about a purchase from Amazon.com and mis-stated what the net price would be. Now I'll admit that the description of the instant rebate is not very clear.

These instant rebates are always a chore. Thanks to both of you for working things out.

I've got myself the 400D with the 18-55 kit lens.

Its a wonderful piece of kit and the lens isnt too bad for casual photography. Its only on blowing up the pictures that the shortcomings make their presence felt.

Thanks to all those who chipped in.

Any advice on sensor cleaning. I might have got a speck of dust on the sensor.

If you do a search you will see several of us talking about dust cleaning. I use the Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly, which is a special brush made for sensor cleaning -- I got mine at B&H and I think it cost about $75. It is very easy to use and works very well, and also has the advantage of being very easy to carry and use while traveling. I think some other photographers on this forum use some other techniques -- if you do a search you can see what their favorite method is.

Congratulations on the new camera -- I am sure you will enjoy it!

Chris

Congrats on buying the 400D kit. I bought one last week in Dublin and am very impressed with the results I'm getting already - and I'm still shooting on auto settings mostly.