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Digital cameras: lens advice
lens advice
by my2mckids - 6/26/06 9:39 AMI am purchasing the Canon 30D and see a lot of kits out there but have heard some unflattering things about the quality of the lenses included. First question, for an aspiring "prosumer" are the kit lenses decent or a waste of time? Second, the range of f stops have me a little confused. I get that there is essentially an inverse relationship between the F/stop number and the amount of light that lense lets in, but I don't have a clue which f/stop to look for in two situations (1) indoor action shots and (2) outdoor long range shots. Can anyone help the newbie??
My take when I bought the 20D was that the kit lense, which
by Kiddpeat - 6/26/06 10:29 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsadded about $100 to the price of the camera, was a waste. I bought it as body only, and purchased the lense seperately.
As far as what lense to get. I would stay with a USM Canon lense, at least for the first lense. The 17-85mm IS USM is fairly good, and moderately priced. The 24-70mm f2.8L is better, but costs considerably more. The bottom line: how much do you want to spend on a lense.
Indoor action shots want as wide an aperture as possible. That's where a 2.8, or better, lense is very useful by allowing a fast shutter speed.
Outdoor long range shots. What is long range?
Whew ....
by jump1127 - 6/26/06 11:22 PM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsLots to go on with my personal comment. Lense kit isn't that bad at all, I've seen many great shots done using the lense-kit. However, it's got some limits. For example, zoom range and aperture range. Consider zoom range, other lenses provided more zoom range such as 24-70,70-200, and so on.
Aperture value is the ability of lense allowing the light volume pass thru' to camera's sensor. Unlike the shutter speed which is the light timing allow onto the sensor, aperture value has to do with the depth of field. Most portrait or macro lenses are brighter than the regular zoom lenses, such as Canon EF 85 mm F1.2L II and 100 mm F2.8 Macro.
In your case, it's hard to determine what kind of lenses. It can go from 16 mm to 200 mm lenses depends upon how you shoot the picture. If it's a close encounter situation, wide-angle zoom, 16-35 F2.8L, is the preferable alternative. Otherwise, you'll need a mid-range or long-range zoom , such as 24-105 LIS and 70-200 F2.8L IS. For outdoor long range, I'd go for 100-400 L IS. However, these lenses are a bit expensive. To me , it worth investing for my long-term photographing.
If you want the best picture outcomes, go for the specific focal-length lenses, such as Canon EF50mm F1.4, 85mm F1.8, 100mm F2, 135F2L ( a must for portrait ), and 200 F2.8L. Visit www.canon.com or go to the nearby Canon dealers for more information. Good luck and enjoy shooting.
Thought of the Sigma 18-50mm?
by tastesminty - 6/27/06 7:41 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsI agree with the other posters that the Canon kit lens EF-S 18-55mm (if it's the same as with the Rebel/ XT) is not an especially good lens.
I replaced it with the (superficially similar) Sigma 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6, which is dirt cheap (<$100) but takes much sharper photos than Canon lens (I tested it). When fully open, the Canon is weak everywhere except the center.
I also have the fixed EF 50mm f/1.8, and EF 35mm f/2.0, both of which are highly recommended for low light work without flash.
I appreciate all the info I can get my hands on!
by my2mckids - 6/28/06 7:07 AM In reply to: Thought of the Sigma 18-50mm? by tastesmintyThank you so much - because there are so many options available, specific recommendations are extraordinarily useful to the "lens ignorant"! When I finally get the hang of it, hopefully I will be able to help another newbie!
From a guy started DSLR 2 yrs ago like you
by Maylara1097 - 6/30/06 3:40 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsHi, I started with 300D and I went through all kit lens to L lens.
To be honest. Yes, there is different between low end or kit lens to high end lens.
However, since you just start. Then I will recommend you to get a few 2nd hand kit lens from eBay first. Play around it for a few months. Like take a few thousand shots 1st. Get to know how to use the lens. Get to know how each lens is going to perform for you. Then after say 10 or 20 thousand shots, you will have a good idea of what you need.
Then you can start to research for more higher end lens that suits you.
If you just dive straigh into higher end lens. Then it might cost you a few dollars extra to figure out which one is you really want. And it is less likely to appriciate the extra performance and quality you are getting.
However, if you really want to dive straigh into it, then I will recommend you.
EF 17-40mm F4L
EF 28-135 F3.5-5.6
EF 70-200mm F4L
And don't forget, lighting is everything for indoor shooting. 580EX is a good flash you should consider.
I won't call myself a professional. HOwever, that's just from my experience.
Cheers and have a good day.
Lens for Canon 30D
by Jean Peterson - 6/30/06 6:41 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsI purchased the 17-85mm IS lens with my Rebel XT. I think it's a great all around lens which stays on my camera 90% of the time. The pictures are sharp and it has image stabilization, which I think is wonderful. Many people will never need or want an L lens (they are very big, heavy, and expensive). There's so much hype about them, but remember, there are many fine mid-priced lenses that will give you great pictures. If you are going to take lots of indoor pictures I would recommend a fixed length lens such as the 50mm f/1.8 (costs less than $100). The large aperture allows a lot of light into the camera when you are in low light situations. After you have used your camera for a while then you will have a better idea what other lenses you might like to buy. Here's a good web site on lenses: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/.
As far as aperture and shutter speed are concerned, there's an excellent book by Bryan Peterson titled, Understanding Exposure. It will answer all your questions and it's an interesting book with beautiful pictures. It was my introduction to non point and shoot photography and I learned a lot.
Lens for 30D, etc
by blackjack11691 - 6/30/06 10:44 AM In reply to: Lens for Canon 30D by Jean PetersonI have had for 2 years now and 7800 pictures a Digital Rebel, initially only with the 18-55mm stanard lens. I quickly added a EF 70-200mm. After some time and a lot of thought I paid the big bucks for the 70-300mm USM IS (image stbilized) and love it so much that I have ordered the 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS (more big bucks). The IS is a real gem, and the faster f-stop should help a lot with your indoor action photography.
And I am drooling over the 30D, but that will have to wait!
C
Lenses
by ralcat - 6/30/06 11:19 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsI just bought a Canon D30 after many years of using a Canon EOS 35mm. I skipped the kits because I already had some lenses I could use on the new camera and because my experience has been the kit lenses aren't that great a quality product. You've gotten great suggestions from other responders. Indoor action shots you'll want as much light as possible, lenses with low f-stop settings will allow higher shutter speeds. Also, with the D30 you can set the ISO at higher speeds like 600 or 800 so that you can use higher shutter speeds. Long range outdoors? I'm a wildlife artist and take my own photos and have gotten some good shots with a 75-300mm telephoto. However, when I purchased this camera I also got a 100-400mm L lens that is stabilized and the initial results are just awesome. I went to the local zoo and got shots of lions and egrets at 20-30 meters that were super crisp even though I was hand-holding the lens (on purpose to see how it did). I then went out and shot pictures of a bald eagle nest using this lens, a 2x extender, and a tripod. At about 500 meters in early evening light I got acceptable pictures of the juvenile on the nest by upping the ISO to 800. I'm about to spend a week up at Yellowstone Park and am definitely looking forward to it but already feel justified in the expense of the lens. Good lenses can make or break a shot. Figure out which lenses will cover the range of what you are shooting and then buy the best you can afford. Personally, for sports and animal shots I really like the versatility of a zoom lens even though you sacrifice a little light capability unless you've got really deep pockets and a strong back to lug the heavier lenses around.
Lens for 30D
by jimnaro - 6/30/06 2:10 PM In reply to: Lenses by ralcatEverybody is right and wrong at the same time (me included). you need to find what you can afford and find the lenses in that price range and then compare features .
if you can get a credit card from Ritz or Kits you can pay for a better lens over a bit of time , and that way you end up with glass you will be happier with .
i find , as have many of my photog friends , that you tend to leave one lens on the camera for most of your shooting . i recently got the Tamron 18-200mm zoom from Ritz , and am very happy with it .
as far as fast lenses go , you can always cheat your exposure with a software program ( Picasa from google and a bunch of others ), and you can take a way under exposed pic and make it look just fine - of course it is better to get the right exposure if at all possible .
check around at you're camera shops and ask a lot of other people before you get your lenses . it will get confusing , but it will teach you a lot .
good luck
Broad question
by NM_Bill - 7/1/06 2:26 AM In reply to: lens advice by my2mckidsOK, you're somewhat serious as you're getting the Canon 30D. Great! I'm no pro but have used cameras for business (but not the photo business) for 30 years. No absolute magic pill out there but I got onto Canon early on because of their range of lenses with quality.
Some posts here offer good ideas. My idea is, if you're spending this kind of money - gracious - don't get the kit lens. It's a hundred buck cheapie!
Every camera buyer faces the same lens dilemma. I'd love to have a 400 DO IS USM, but at 5 grand it'll never happen.
Some personal insight: A fantastic value is the 70-200 mm f/2.8 L IS USM at $550. For long range can be used with, say, the 1.4X extender @ $285(much handier than the 2.0X.)
The dream pair for it would be the 24-70 mm /2.8 L USM but it's $1100!
The versatile pairing would be with the 28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at $400, but for the convenience this traveling light lens is a compromise (although a nice one) as to image quality.
To avoid confusion (yours and mine) I won't delve farther. Please collect info - big time!
Hey, my hypothetical pairing isn't out of line. After all, if you're price comfortable with a $1200 camera, $1650 for two enviable lenses is appropriate. Overall, the total $2850 buys a lot of alternatives in life.
The decision will be yours. Do your homework, decide and enjoy.
Oh, I do advocate trying a real brick and mortar independent business camera shop of experience - meet at a slow time for them - lay your budget on the line along with description of how you would like to use it - and really listen to their words. Remember that's at an independent, not a chain store!
OK, use them then abuse them? They can't meet online pricing. One possible way to go - buy camera body from them (they don't have too much margin in it considering business overhead. Then get those lenses, if pricey online from a quality seller like B&H, Adorama or Beach. Use ResellerRatings.com to check merchant worthiness. There are many shyster sellers out there. Especially common in the camera selling area.
Worthwhile independent and experienced camera shops aren't really rare, their recommendations are worth much. After checking online prices, try dealing the camera/lens package with them.
You will be using their developing type services won't you? Instead of WalMart or the supermarket, aren't you? If you will get prints etc. from those guys - forget the 30D and go with consumer volume and price stuff - like even from WalMart. There are extremes that rule practicality, and your's is personal.
The 70-200 mm f/2.8 L IS USM at $550 is a fantastic value.
by Kiddpeat - 7/1/06 6:58 AM In reply to: Broad question by NM_BillWhere are you buying the lense at that price?
B&H, for example, prices that lense at $1,700.
Woops... sorry
by NM_Bill - 7/1/06 8:44 AM In reply to: The 70-200 mm f/2.8 L IS USM at $550 is a fantastic value. by KiddpeatThe cheap price is for the f4 version.
The f/2.8 is available from several sources at around $1050. Yes, B & H is the professional source, but others are very well rated at ResellerRatings. com and are selling for significantly less
The lowest price I see at resellerratings is $1,659.
by Kiddpeat - 7/1/06 9:27 AM In reply to: Woops... sorry by NM_BillWhat seller are you looking at which has it for $1,000?
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