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05/30/2010 03:21:48 AM · #1 |
Hi everyone,
I am new to photography and I have been told that a Cannon 7D would be a great camera for me as I plan on taking action shots of my husband on the race track in the car and on the motorbike. The problem I have is I am not to sure what lenses I should begin with. I was thinking a 50mm 1.8 II is a start but would also like to get another lense but I have no idea what to get. Any advice would be good, or if you could suggest a different body, I have about 5K to spend and would like to get good quality gear. I love taking photos of everything from my puppy and cats, flowers, landscapes, my nephews and as I mentioned there would be a lot of action shots so I need a camera that can cope with that.
Help please! |
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05/30/2010 03:45:16 AM · #2 |
The 7D is indeed a great versatile body to purchase. But really, what needs do you believe necessitate the 7d over the 50D? Yes, there are advantages, but what is pushing you towards the 7D? There's no point in spending more on a body than you intend to use. Do you have any knowledge of DSLR function, and what is your experience in photography? I ask because the learning curve may be steep. Your needs for lenses, however, are very diverse and may not be met by one lens. Firstly, we will need to know what sort of racing your husband is partaking in... what time of day, what size of venue, how far will you be from the track? Also, what sort of racing are we talking? Drag or circuit?
The answers to these questions will dictate what lenses we will suggest.
Generally speaking, the 50mm 1.8 is too short for motorsports, however. I would assume you'd be looking at LEAST into the 70-200mm 2.8 lens, distance wise. This lens would suit you well for portraits, but not necessarily so good for catching the moment in family gatherings, as you have a lot of length to accomodate. The 50mm 1.8 would be better for this, but there are other options as well. For landscapes, you'll need something wider, perhaps the 17-40L. Flowers and whatnot are difficult to separate, because it depends if you want true macro photos of them or not.
Regardless, though, you'll be focusing on faster lenses (which means bigger aperture (which means a smaller number) to enable action shots with a reasonable shutter speed.
Obviously, as a Nikon user, I would be amiss if I didn't propose the various Nikon options, like the D90. There are advantages and disadvantages to either company, which ultimately need to be evaluated by you, but the impact of each will be dictated by your intended usage. |
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05/30/2010 09:14:51 AM · #3 |
Brooke, a good kit that should start you off without weighing you down too much.
Canon T2i - good reviews. $1,100.
Canon 70-200 F4L IS - $1,130.
Canon 10-22 for wide angle- $720
Canon 50 F1.4 better build than the 1.8 $350.
Leaves enough for a good lightweight tripod, extra batteries, memory cards, and camera bag. |
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05/30/2010 09:57:56 AM · #4 |
Assuming you have the money and it's not a problem, the 7D has a significant advantage over the T2i for motorsports: it has more than double the burst rate for continuous shooting, nearly 8 frames per second. It's also generally a more robust camera body. Personally, between T2i and 7D, also, I don't see the learning curve as an issue, since they are equally complex cameras and they have the same automatic functions if you choose to use them.
The 7D would be my clear choice unless money was a serious issue pushing me towards the less-expensive body.
R.
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05/30/2010 11:46:43 AM · #5 |
50D or 7D are both great choices, if you have the $$ go for the 7D.
As for the lens.. No doubt, I'd drop the $2500 on a 70-200 f/2.8L - IS II - This is pretty much THE lens you'll want. Or at least it is THE lens under $5000 that you want.. :)
Remember that a lens with regular IS isn't good... You need a lens with 2-mode IS.. That way you can catch those super cool panning shots, while still being able to rely on the IS.
Message edited by author 2010-05-30 11:47:49. |
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05/31/2010 11:27:54 PM · #6 |
thanks for all your suggestions, I ended up purchasing a Cannon 7D with a 17-40mm, 50 1.8 II lense. I am so excited to actually start taking photos and learning everything about photoshop.
I did have another question regarding fish eye lenses, I have 2 cats and a puppy that I would love to get photos of them, and I thought a fisheye would be a good way of doing it but it is a lot of money to spend on a lense for a photo of big nose! Does anyone have suggestions of how to get this effect of a cheaper lense that will work with a 7D? |
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06/01/2010 12:50:04 AM · #7 |
If you just want shots of your pets with a fisheye, then you might be ok with the add on fisheye lenses, which fit on the filter threads on your normal or wide lens. They are relatively inexpensive, and for non critical work, they do work ok.
If you just want to see if you like a fisheye, then you may want to rent one for a week or so before making the plunge and buying one.
Message edited by author 2010-06-01 00:51:17.
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06/01/2010 04:49:42 AM · #8 |
Originally posted by brookecoltz:
thanks for all your suggestions, I ended up purchasing a Cannon 7D with a 17-40mm, 50 1.8 II lense. I am so excited to actually start taking photos and learning everything about photoshop.
I did have another question regarding fish eye lenses, I have 2 cats and a puppy that I would love to get photos of them, and I thought a fisheye would be a good way of doing it but it is a lot of money to spend on a lense for a photo of big nose! Does anyone have suggestions of how to get this effect of a cheaper lense that will work with a 7D? |
Fisheye lenses are super fun and very cool to use, but you can get a lot of the same effect by using a cheaper super wide zoom. Canon makes an excellent 10-22 3.5-4.5 ($720 @ Adorama), and a lot of people (including myself) really like the Sigma 10-20 4-5.6 ($479 @ Adorama). Sigma also recently came out with the 10-20 3.5 ($649 @ Adorama), but honestly, with a wideangle, your depth of field is a lot bigger anyway wide open. The minimum focusing distance on these lenses is pretty short, and completely zoomed out, at close focal distance, these lenses all have a good deal of barrel distortion that will come close to your fisheye, but also be more flexible.
Here's what I mean-  Up close, zoomed out
You can see from my other photos of myself that my chin isn't nearly so gargantuan, so you can get a lot of that effect easily without quite so much cost. |
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06/01/2010 07:31:28 AM · #9 |
An even better deal is the Tokina 11-16 Æ’2.8 for around $600.
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Originally posted by brookecoltz:
thanks for all your suggestions, I ended up purchasing a Cannon 7D with a 17-40mm, 50 1.8 II lense. I am so excited to actually start taking photos and learning everything about photoshop.
I did have another question regarding fish eye lenses, I have 2 cats and a puppy that I would love to get photos of them, and I thought a fisheye would be a good way of doing it but it is a lot of money to spend on a lense for a photo of big nose! Does anyone have suggestions of how to get this effect of a cheaper lense that will work with a 7D? |
Fisheye lenses are super fun and very cool to use, but you can get a lot of the same effect by using a cheaper super wide zoom. Canon makes an excellent 10-22 3.5-4.5 ($720 @ Adorama), and a lot of people (including myself) really like the Sigma 10-20 4-5.6 ($479 @ Adorama). Sigma also recently came out with the 10-20 3.5 ($649 @ Adorama), but honestly, with a wideangle, your depth of field is a lot bigger anyway wide open. The minimum focusing distance on these lenses is pretty short, and completely zoomed out, at close focal distance, these lenses all have a good deal of barrel distortion that will come close to your fisheye, but also be more flexible.
Here's what I mean- Up close, zoomed out
You can see from my other photos of myself that my chin isn't nearly so gargantuan, so you can get a lot of that effect easily without quite so much cost. |
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06/01/2010 09:11:39 AM · #10 |
The Tamron 10-24 is about $500 new. I'm very happy with it.
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06/02/2010 05:28:20 PM · #11 |
Hey everyone,
I picked up my Cannon EOS 7D yesterday, I have been blown away how clear the photos are, it is a big change to the compact camera I have been using! I am so excited to take it out on the weekend and see what it can really do.
I ended up getting a 17-40mm and a 50mm lense. |
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06/02/2010 05:53:22 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by brookecoltz:
Hey everyone,
I picked up my Cannon EOS 7D yesterday, I have been blown away how clear the photos are, it is a big change to the compact camera I have been using! I am so excited to take it out on the weekend and see what it can really do.
I ended up getting a 17-40mm and a 50mm lense. |
Welcome to the SLR world... You too can now learn hundreds of new settings that can mess up your photographs.. :)
No really...
But. Once you get past that bit, your results will become more consistent, and a hit with an SLR is almost always better than (if not --at first-- more likely than) a hit from a P&S..
Enjoy, and welcome to the full on madness. :) |
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06/02/2010 06:26:04 PM · #13 |
The 17-40 is one of my favorite and most used lenses. I really enjoy urban landscape :) Actually 4 of my top 5 pictures are taken with it :P My up and coming new favorite lens is the 70-200 MKII, also used to take one of my top 5 images!
Congrats on the 7D! Great camera! Make sure you update your profile with your new hardware!
Originally posted by brookecoltz:
Hey everyone,
I picked up my Cannon EOS 7D yesterday, I have been blown away how clear the photos are, it is a big change to the compact camera I have been using! I am so excited to take it out on the weekend and see what it can really do.
I ended up getting a 17-40mm and a 50mm lense. |
Message edited by author 2010-06-02 18:26:36. |
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