I have a question about a Canon ef 70-200 mm f/4 L USM zoom lens.

What do I do with it?

(Go ahead, chuckle your head off, everybody else does.)

Here¹s the deal. A few months ago a favorite uncle died. Long story
short ­ I inherited a Canon ef 70-200 mm f/4 L USM with Lens Case and
Lens Hood ­ that description from the box it came in. I take tons of
photos and take my camera everywhere - probably why I got it ­ but with
Digital mega-pixels, a Mac, and Photoshop, not film.

My intention is to purchase a camera that goes with that lens, but
don¹t want to be totally at the mercy of a salesman when I go camera
shopping.

Please, if you would, tell me what I¹m getting into, what I should be
looking for, and what I should be wary of in my search.

I realize it¹s a pretty broad open-ended request, but any light at all
anyone could shed will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
mikey

 

Your question is actually very easy to answer. You're looking for a
Canon digital SLR camera that this lens fits, so you're looking at:

- Canon EOS 300D (aka Digital Rebel)
- Canon EOS 10D

And I think there's a new digital SLR coming out to replace the 10D (someone
else can clarify on that). So, those are your choices - if you want to
spend less than $1000, get the Digital Rebel; if you're spending more than
$1000, get the 10D (or the new SLR). All the Canon digital SLRs are superb
cameras, so you won't go wrong choosing any of them.

One more option: sell the lens. It's highly regarded and would probably
fetch you a decent price. They sell for around $600 new.

Mike

 

Hi Mike,

Hey thank you! Yes I know Canon has fine cameras. My Canon G2 is what I
take almost all my photos with.. (I like to say Œalmost¹ because that
makes me sound like I have a choice ­ until you find out that my other
camera is a box Brownie ;-) )

Although that last sounds a bit flip, it does lead me into a follow up
question. I really don¹t think I need 2 cameras. If I were to trade in
my Canon G2 for a Digital Rebel, How much do you think I could expect
the camera store to give me in that trade?

Thank you again,

Mike

 

Not much. The best bet is to Ebay the camera. They seem to be going
for $250-300 used.

 

I honestly couldn't speak about a store's potential offer - my experience
with trade-ins is that you'll be horribly lowballed - but the G2s seem to be
going for around $300 on average on Ebay. That would probably be the best
way to get money out of it. I myself went from a G2 to the Digital Rebel,
and I just kept the G2 for my wife.

Mike