I like the Canon SL1 camera well enough that I purchased the Sigma 17 – 70mm (f/2.8 – 4) zoom lens for it.  I am still checking it out under various conditions but so far I like the features for the cost.  I took the above picture with it at the 70 mm end of the zoom while I was out with my first walk with it.

I have also taken some indoor pictures of people with it and it performed OK.  The Canon exposures and white balance of all pictures are a lot more pleasing than I get with my much heavier and more expensive Pentax K-3 camera.  As of now, I plan to switch and photograph with the Canon SL1 and the Sigma lens for a while to see how well I adapt to it.  So far the reduced weight and easier carrying of this system outweighs the few advantages of the too-heavy K-3 and longer lenses and it should work for most of my projects at Homewood.

The Canon SL1 with the 24 mm prime lens and the 17 – 70 mm Sigma lens are working out to be a very good, inexpensive setup for most of my photography.  The two major issues facing me are longer focal lengths and photographing close to people.  I need to figure out if I can have an adequate amount of fun photographing with the 70 mm limitation.  If I miss the longer focal lengths I will have to decide what to do about it.  The other issue is about photographing in and among people.  The combination of the Canon shutter noise and DSLR form factor are not ideal among people.  I need to decide if the Ricoh GR focal length works well enough for that kind of photography.