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02/12/2008 10:25:12 PM · #1 |
So i'm about to purchase my first DSLR..the XTI (body only). I was planning on getting a couple lenses for it. I'm interested in Macro and Landscapes. Looks like there are quite a few good lenses to choose from. I don't want to spend a lot so i was wondering if there are any macro and landscape lenses i should definitely STAY AWAY FROM. There are so many posts on her asking 'which is the best lens' it has kinda scrabbled my brain. So please just tell me what NOT to get. Thanks for helping a newbie.
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02/12/2008 10:31:17 PM · #2 |
| beats me which are bad, but I tel you right now, a wide angle lense will cost you. |
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02/12/2008 10:45:37 PM · #3 |
in general, you are going to get what you pay for
tell us what lenses you are interested in to get futher feedback |
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02/12/2008 11:52:24 PM · #4 |
We'd probably name more low dollar crappy lenses than low dollar good ones. Not that most are truly crap, but because they aren't awesome.
When on a budget:
Primes tend to be better than zooms in the same price range.
Quality used glass beats the hell out of crappy new glass.
Third party lenses (Tamron, Sigma.. etc.) tend to be cheaperfor decent glass than Canon.
Did I mention used?
FWIW, you'll likely hear lots of bad stuff about the kit lens. It's not all that bad. Yes, it's a tad slow and not tack sharp, but if you're not blowing up to 20x30 you might not ever know. N00bs were never so critical of lenses (hell some pros weren't) as they are with digital, because many never saw their pics at full size. 4x6 hides a lot.
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02/13/2008 12:14:32 AM · #5 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
FWIW, you'll likely hear lots of bad stuff about the kit lens. It's not all that bad. Yes, it's a tad slow and not tack sharp, but if you're not blowing up to 20x30 you might not ever know. N00bs were never so critical of lenses (hell some pros weren't) as they are with digital, because many never saw their pics at full size. 4x6 hides a lot. |
I agree, i had heard some pretty mean stuff about this kit lens (18-55mm) on how crappy it was, but i find it quite the learning experience. Learning is the best part of the whole photography business, and starting from the bottom only helps you achieve the most at the top.
Good luck with your lens choices. |
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02/14/2008 01:04:34 PM · #6 |
I am looking to upgrade my kit lens that came with my XT.(IT IS CRAP!!) I have done some research on this site //www.slrgear.comand They give the Canon ef-s 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS a very favourable review. Anyone have any thoughts on this lens. It is very affordable. If you get a chance click on the blur index for the lens. It looks like a graph. A seperate window will come up with sliders you can play with to see how the lens performs.
Compare it to the
17-85 USM IS f4-5.6
17-55 F2.8 IS USM
tamron 28-75 f2.8 XR DI
tamron 17-50 F2.8
It actually looks like it performs well compared to those lenses at that price range.
I just wanted to see if there were any real thoughts from people that have this lens.
Or If someone is willing to part with their ef-s 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS. I would like to scoop it up and give it a whirl
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02/14/2008 01:17:38 PM · #7 |
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
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02/14/2008 01:23:34 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
There's lots of us that love it. You can't get a better value for your lens buck than that one. It's not very wide and it's not very long, but it fills a decent working range nevertheless.
R. |
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02/14/2008 01:25:20 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
Check out this site //www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/49/cat/23
You will find reviews and a blur index which tells you how sharp the lens is.
Hope that helps
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02/14/2008 01:25:51 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
Hi, I just got the Tamron 28-75 and LOVE it. I did some tests and it was actually a bit sharper than my 50m 1.8 when both were at f2.8. It also has the best saturation and contrast of my lenses.
Some people say its not wide enough for indoors - for my shooting that's not an issue, but just be aware if you like wide-angle work, the 28-75 isn't a good choice. |
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02/14/2008 01:26:45 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
It's a fav around these parts.... Generally sharp & clear and great value for the $... It's not a sharp as a good prime or my 70-200L IMO but it's certainly a great lens. My only complaint: The focus is not instant... more like the consumer Canon versions a little buzzy.
Edit: See 3 replies of great before I finished typing :-)
Message edited by author 2008-02-14 13:28:10.
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02/14/2008 01:55:43 PM · #12 |
If you can manual focus... Go to ebay, get yourself a M42 adapter and start lens shopping! There are numerous fantastic quality lens with M42 mount easliy affordable.
Also, these older lens are much easier to manually focus then the newer lens designed for auto-focus. For wide angle and macro it should be very do-able (unless you are chassing bugs).
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02/14/2008 02:13:28 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by benee:
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
Hi, I just got the Tamron 28-75 and LOVE it. I did some tests and it was actually a bit sharper than my 50m 1.8 when both were at f2.8. It also has the best saturation and contrast of my lenses.
Some people say its not wide enough for indoors - for my shooting that's not an issue, but just be aware if you like wide-angle work, the 28-75 isn't a good choice. |
thanks everyone. i actually love wide angle work, but i have the 10-22mm Canon lens for that. had to have the 10mm wide end :)
28-75 is exactly the range i'm trying to fill. currently i have the sigma 18-125 in that range, but i find it to be slow and not very sharp.
is there anything else that's a little wider on the low end that'll provide similar quality to this tamron? |
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02/14/2008 02:29:29 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by banjoboy:
So i'm about to purchase my first DSLR..the XTI (body only). I was planning on getting a couple lenses for it. I'm interested in Macro and Landscapes. Looks like there are quite a few good lenses to choose from. I don't want to spend a lot so i was wondering if there are any macro and landscape lenses i should definitely STAY AWAY FROM. There are so many posts on her asking 'which is the best lens' it has kinda scrabbled my brain. So please just tell me what NOT to get. Thanks for helping a newbie. |
banjoboy,
sorry to jack your thread. i'd say stay away from the cheaper sigma lenses since i find that they are slow in focusing and have noisy motors. sharpness is not bad, but i think you could do better with a tamron.
one lens i would definitely recommend is the 50mm f/1.8. its a great little prime lens, good sharpness, quite fast, and at only about $75 its a must have for every canon owner (unless you have the f/1.4 :) ) |
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02/14/2008 02:35:15 PM · #15 |
Quantaray = run far far away.
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02/14/2008 02:40:13 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by LVicari:
Originally posted by k4ffy:
i've been considering the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 myself.
does anyone here have an opinion on the sharpness and clarity of that lens?
seems like steal at under $400 |
Check out this site //www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/49/cat/23
You will find reviews and a blur index which tells you how sharp the lens is.
Hope that helps |
awesome website. just one question. on the interactive Blur Index graph, i can see the Z-axis represents "blurriness", but what does the x-y axis represent? (i.e. what does the floor of the surface represent?). for example, take a look at the graph for the 50mm f/1.8 lens at 1.8. what does that graph represent? |
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02/14/2008 02:43:41 PM · #17 |
| The X and Y axes show the location on the sensor. So, for example, the left side of the plot shows how sharp the left side of your image will be, the center of the plot shows sharpness in the center of the image etc. |
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02/14/2008 02:56:25 PM · #18 |
Originally posted by The_Dentist:
The X and Y axes show the location on the sensor. So, for example, the left side of the plot shows how sharp the left side of your image will be, the center of the plot shows sharpness in the center of the image etc. |
ah, gotcha. thanks. |
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02/27/2008 09:14:41 AM · #19 |
wow, thanks everyone. I went away for a couple weeks so sorry for not replying right away. Here's what i was considering since you asked.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
and maybe the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Someone said stay away from Sigma?? Why? Landscapes and macro are my main interests. I will probably only be able to afford one of these lenses a year, so i'll start off with the canon 100mm macro. Any suggestions/tips are much appreciated. I'm new the the whole DSLR thing. thanks everyone
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02/27/2008 01:32:04 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by banjoboy:
wow, thanks everyone. I went away for a couple weeks so sorry for not replying right away. Here's what i was considering since you asked.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
and maybe the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Someone said stay away from Sigma?? Why? Landscapes and macro are my main interests. I will probably only be able to afford one of these lenses a year, so i'll start off with the canon 100mm macro. Any suggestions/tips are much appreciated. I'm new the the whole DSLR thing. thanks everyone |
Sigma does not have a Canon license to produce Canon mount lenses so they reverse engineer the communications of the lens and the body to produce a "hacked" copy. So if Canon decides to change the communications of the body and the lens, you are screwed. The only way to fix it is to get the lens rechipped from Sigma which isn't always possible. The other manufacturers do have a license to make Canon mount lenses. This doesn't go to say that the Sigmas are bad, they are quite good in fact. Just my opinion but the Canon 10-22 is better with handling flare than the Sigma is and that could be a huge issue when shooting a landscape with the sun in the frame (or close to it).
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02/27/2008 01:55:32 PM · #21 |
Originally posted by SamDoe1:
Originally posted by banjoboy:
wow, thanks everyone. I went away for a couple weeks so sorry for not replying right away. Here's what i was considering since you asked.
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
and maybe the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Someone said stay away from Sigma?? Why? Landscapes and macro are my main interests. I will probably only be able to afford one of these lenses a year, so i'll start off with the canon 100mm macro. Any suggestions/tips are much appreciated. I'm new the the whole DSLR thing. thanks everyone |
Sigma does not have a Canon license to produce Canon mount lenses so they reverse engineer the communications of the lens and the body to produce a "hacked" copy. So if Canon decides to change the communications of the body and the lens, you are screwed. The only way to fix it is to get the lens rechipped from Sigma which isn't always possible. The other manufacturers do have a license to make Canon mount lenses. This doesn't go to say that the Sigmas are bad, they are quite good in fact. Just my opinion but the Canon 10-22 is better with handling flare than the Sigma is and that could be a huge issue when shooting a landscape with the sun in the frame (or close to it). |
hmm I didnt know about the licensing issue with Sigma and Canon, thats good to know and explains why I tried 2 lenses in the store on my 40D and got Error-99 :S weird.
AS for the ultra wide, I love my 10-22 Canon :D
-dave
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02/27/2008 06:31:42 PM · #22 |
I hadn't heard about the Sigma issue either - it's not something that's going to give you any grief on an xTi - presumably it's future Canon models that the lenses may have potential issues with?
I got the Sigma 70-300mm APO Macro for Christmas and have used it far more than I'd anticipated. Not a true 1:1 Macro lens like the 100mm Canon (which has an awesome reputation in these parts) but very versatile and surprisingly sharp for the very modest price tag.
I've had a play with the Sigma 10-20mm - it's a very good lens indeed (and according to some tests slightly sharper than the Canon 10-22mm) but with the cheaper price tag does come a tendency to flare in comparison to the Canon. |
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02/28/2008 01:56:29 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by figaro:
I hadn't heard about the Sigma issue either - it's not something that's going to give you any grief on an xTi - presumably it's future Canon models that the lenses may have potential issues with? |
It could really come at any time and for any body. All Canon would have to do is issue a firmware update that changes the communication protocol. Anything more technical than that is over my head at this point because I haven't really looked into it.
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02/28/2008 03:00:18 PM · #24 |
Originally posted by banjoboy:
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
and maybe the canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
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Primes are the cheap way to go and get good lenses. Why not keep along those lines and get the 24mm instead of the 10-20mm.
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