lenses - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

05/05/2006 10:13:07 AM · #1

I have just started and want to know from all you hot photografers what lenses you think I sould get or must get, please help

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 24-70 f2.8 L IS

05/05/2006 10:20:26 AM · #2

Hi Carl,
Here are a few questions; the answers to these questions will help others to help you choose the right lenses:
- Do you know hwat focal lengths you need?
- If not, what type of shooting do you do most, or what would you like to do the most?
- What's your immediate budget, and future budget?

LoudDog

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

05/05/2006 10:20:50 AM · #3

what do you want to shoot?

05/05/2006 11:12:49 AM · #4

also, what level of quality are you expecting?

If you are modestly funded, consider the following kit:

18-55 kit lens
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Sigma 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 APO Macro

That should set you back a hair under 400 dollars.

The 18-55 is a disposable lens. It will get you semi-wide and has a very average range, similar to the range of a P&S camera. You probably won't stick with this lens for a long time, but it's a great place to start with a low financial risk.

The 50mm is also somewhat disposable, but is going to give you a very affordable taste of real quality. I have personally found that this lens is better when used for taking pictures of people closer in. Also, this lens is VERY sharp, so make sure you aren't adding in-camera sharpening. If you get interested in shooting extreme macro, the 50mm can be combined with the 70-300 to get some interesting results.

The Sigma 70-300 is a tremendous bang for the buck type of lens. It will likely keep you happy for a VERY long time. Using the 20D's low noise advantage with this will help with certain shots. It also gets you a low level macro ability being capable of 1:2 ratio, which is pretty decent for taking nice close-ups of medium sized insects and flowers. It will also allow you to take said pictures at a decent distance from the subject which can really help when you don't want to disturb a skittish butterfly or something...

That's a VERY affordable starter bundle.

Once you pass that, there are two roads you can walk down.

One of them has your basic 'walk-around' lens in the 28-75 range, the other has the 18-50 or 18-70 (or even 18-125) range. If you go with the 28-75 range, you will NEED a lens just for wide angle shooting because 28mm works out to around 45mm which is NOT wide. If you go for the 18-70 range, you can probably get away without a dedicated ultra-wide, but if you want to go really wide, you might regret the overlap. Personally, I am leaning heavily towards the 28-75 range because I do intend to buy a dedicated ultra-wide lens at some point, and even if I don't, I have a friend who owns one I can borrow.

Choice #1 for a fair bit more money:
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 +alphabet soup Di LD ABC EFG HIJ...
Tokina 12-24mm f/4
Canon 50mm f/1.8
Canon 70-200 f/4L
Canon 1.4x TC (optional)

This kit will probably set you back around 1400-1600 dollars USD. It will yield some AWESOME results and is a serious prosumer blend.

Another option instead of the Tamron 28-75 that prof_fate will usually suggest (so I'll save him the time :) is the 24-135mm lens, but while it is really sharp and apparently handles really well, I'm a fan of constant aperture f/2.8 and recommend it to anyone who uses a 20D or higher model Canon camera who relies at least partially on Autofocus. There is a significant jump in focusing accuracy if the max aperture is wider than f/2.8 which can really make a difference, especially in low light. I have found this especially so as I have been editing a lot of pictures recently in PS. If you have your sharpness dead on, the picture will require less sharpening. If you can get away with less sharpening, you will have less reason to amplify noise, also noise is less prevalent in in-focus areas. I have noticed a number of my portraits that have had noise introduced to their faces because of slightly missed focus with shallow DOF. Please note that this may not be a major issue for everyone and it seems to have been a result of a faulty lens. The principle holds true. The more accurate the focus, the better your picture will ultimately look.

The Canon 70-200 f/4L is optional, but if you are going this route, you might as well go for quality. It's a serious peice of glass and will give you your first taste of L quality. It's only around 600 dollars or less depending on taxes and shipping etc...

Choice #3
Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-4.5 OR Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (coming within the month)
Canon 50mm f/1.8 (yeah, I recommend this one to everybody, as does anyone else who owns one... it's simply too nice and too cheap to not have. Photozone.de calls it one of the sharpest lenses that Canon makes, yet is is their cheapest lens too)
Sigma 70-300 APO (see above) OR Canon 70-200 f/4L

The Sigma 17-70 is reported as being arguably sharper than the Tamron 28-75. It provides a wider range than other lenses in the range and fills a gap that Canon has ignored. (Nikon has a nice 18-70mm lens, but Canon doesn't) It also gives you 17mm at f/2.8 with surprisingly good quality. Pretty cool! Another option here is the Sigma 18-125, but at this point, the 17-70 is probably a better bet. It has less overlap with other lenses too.

This third choice is considerably cheaper, but doesn't give you anything on the wide end. If you like shooting wide angle, it may not be wide enough. It also doesn't give you the fast glass of choice #3, which may cost you in focusing accuracy. This may not be an issue for you.

Choice #4: The big spender version...
Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 OR Canon 17-40 f/4.0L OR 24-70 f/2.8L
Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS (ok, some people opt without because this really is expensive)
Canon 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 USM
Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
Canon 1.4x TC
Assorted BIG primes OR Tamron 200-500 f/4.0-5.6 OR Canon 100-400L...

As you can see, as the money goes up, so does the choice.

My recommendation is to stick with the simple stuff until you know a bit better how you shoot and what you want to shoot.

Choice #1 is recommended by me for you!

Oh yeah, and you might want to consider other things to get for your shooting before going all out on lenses. There are plenty of other goodies that you might want to pick up such as a backpack, tripod, a head for the tripod, a remote control (check out the ADIDT wireless!), an angle viewfinder, a flash (Sigma 500DG Super is great for the money)....

Additionally, I found that I made a HUGE improvement immediately after getting my 30D simply because I had the impetus to get down and dirty and streamline my workflow.

I learned a TON about how to use PS 7.0. I read info, watched tutorials (check out Konador's free tutorials as well as Radiant Vista). I experimented with making my own actions, learned about layers, layer masks, curves... the whole shebang...

The next thing on the list is to learn how to use RAW.

If you get a good workflow, you will see improvement in not only your pictures as taken, but also your willingness to get on to editing them.

I used to balk at editing 15 pictures. Now I can take down 50 pictures an hour.

You are going to need to eliminate PP bottlenecks because shooting that 20D is going to push your quality:crap ratio up in a very good way.

I used to go out and take 500 pictures with around 50 good ones. Now I go out and take 300 pictures and come out with around 100 good ones... My definition of good might not be the same as everyones :)...

Message edited by author 2006-05-05 11:21:05.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

05/05/2006 11:27:40 AM · #5

eschelar, I'm sure you could secure a teaching position in the CJSOULOW. Ask ClubJuggle about it. ;)

MudHut

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

05/05/2006 11:34:31 AM · #6

eschelar, very well put. I got the Sigma 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 APO Macro about a month ago now and I love it !

05/05/2006 11:35:36 AM · #7

ROFL!

Thanks, I think...

Club Juggle School Of Undereducated Loudmouthed Obnoxious Weirdo's?

I think I'm in their hall of fame... :)

I read too much, talk too much and think too little :) or too much. Hard to say...

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

05/05/2006 11:37:48 AM · #8

Originally posted by eschelar:

Well, it was originally ClubJuggle School of Use Lots of Words but I kind of like your version better. :)

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super for Canon

05/05/2006 11:45:17 AM · #9

If the shoe fits.... :)

I'm a perfectionist too in case you didn't notice... Too bad I never actually acheive perfection!

Incidentally, I am actually an English Teacher... Used to be a health consultant/Natural foods department manager too who dealt with simplifying complicated health reports for various individuals.

I may come off as wordy at times, but you can believe that people who shopped my department came back because of strong confidence in the quality of produce there. No wholesaler would have the patience to listen to all I had to say if they got it wrong! ;)

Nusbaum

Fujifilm X-T1

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

05/05/2006 12:17:34 PM · #10

There are many possible paths to take with lenses. The first thing you need to do is decide what kind of images you want to take. If the answer is everying, then a slow consumer level zoom with a wide range will work. The zoom range will impress your friends and you don't have to think very hard to use it. On the other had, if you've thought about your photography and know where you want to focus your creative energies post your thoughts up and I'm sure DPCers can recommend the lenses to meet those needs. For example....
- If you like traditional B&W reportage style photography, a Canon 35mm f/2 is a great little lens.
- For portraiture, a 50mm f/1.4 and 85mm f/1.8 can produce amazing results.
The list of possibilities goes on, but there is no one right answer that is optimum for all situations.

Message edited by author 2006-05-05 12:18:20.

Prof_Fate

05/05/2006 12:38:46 PM · #11

eschelar gave pretty good suggestions.

three grades of glass - consumer, pro and a those that fall in between.

Canons pro lenses are the L glass, Tamrons are SP, tokina are Pro and Sigma are EX. Most any of these are pretty good, but some are better than other and in canon's line no EF-S lens is an L but are as good as L glass (the 10-22 being a good example)

I shoot weddings and some protraits (HS seniors) and do general walk around for fun.

Sigma 18-50 2.8 EX - wide angle (mostly), constant aperture. Today I'd look athe the new Tamron coming out than Es mentioned.
Tamron 70-210 2.8 SP LD - no longer made but I got it used. Great focal length, add a 1.4x TC and you've a 300 f4 lens. Check teh Sigma 70-200 2.8 for around $800 as it's very good.
canon 50 1.8. the 1.4 is better but lots more money.
Tamron 24-135 SP - fantastic lens for walkaround and studio use. Affordable too.

I have 18-50 and 70-210 coverd at f2.8, a 1.8 lens in the middle. For the days i want one lens only the tamron 24-135, and it does macro too.

These I want to get:
Tokina 12-24 F4 Pro - wonderful lens, very good value.
Canon 100 2.8 macro - you want to do macro, this is the lens. tamron and sigma make very good lenses that compete with this, but the price difference is small enough you might as well get the Canon.

nemesise1977

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

05/05/2006 12:40:18 PM · #12

I highly recommend going to a local photography shop and checking them out. Most good shops will let you try the lense in the shop and see what you think. Also see if they carry Promaster stuff, they are a decent brand of equipment for good prices to get started with. I will also say look for fast glass lenses that have a f/2.8 are nice for low lighting situations :) Im currently looking at getting a second hand sigma 70-200 /f2.8 HSM for about $500 (usually $900)its a big heavy lense but should be worth it.

Dont forget about a couple of filters, a lense hood and stuff. The IR remotes for canons are great, Use mine to help get shots with long exposures to reduce shake. Also tripods are very handy and backpack camera bags are great if you like to go walking. check out //www.amvona.com/ for bags and stuff. They are cheap and usually well made, I picked up one of their tripods cheap and am very happy with it. It is a bit heavy but came with a pistol grip ball head...cool!

notonline

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/05/2006 01:12:14 PM · #13

the first lens I'd start with is the 24-70L 2.8 (IS or non-IS) and build from there. All in all I'd have to say its the best walk around lens.

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Macro Super for Canon

05/05/2006 01:28:58 PM · #14

Just a word of note on Nemesis's comment.

The 20D/30D do not have the ability to natively use an IR or other wireless remote (grrrr). I use the ADIDT version which is similar to the Canon wired remote, but features a wireless controller as well.

I used it the first night I owned it and I really like it. The wireless transmitter is a bit chintzy and could be better or cooler looking, but it's a great peice of kit.

nemesise1977

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

05/05/2006 02:04:11 PM · #15

Originally posted by eschelar:

Sorry about that I just thought the 20/30d would have it if the 300d did. thanks for the clarifaction :)

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

05/05/2006 02:32:05 PM · #16

they must think that with the more expensive cameras it's better to be tethered to a cable so as not to lose your camera. where as with the consumer grades - they figure it's not much of a loss - so they offer a wireless remote for those... ;}

Originally posted by nemesise1977:

Sorry about that I just thought the 20/30d would have it if the 300d did. thanks for the clarifaction :)

Message edited by author 2006-05-05 14:32:29.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

05/05/2006 09:13:03 PM · #17

Yeah, I don't know their reasoning, but I have trouble believing that it would have been really difficult to include it. It's weird how cheap cameras don't have remotes, more expensive ones do, but more expensive ones yet don't...

Weird curve.

Anyhow, the ADIDT runs on FM signal, which is a major advantage if you don't want to suffer from Line of Sight issues. The remote could be in your pocket. The specs on the ADIDT say up to 30m too!

spitfirelas

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

05/05/2006 09:30:18 PM · #18

Earlier it was mentioned "If you get interested in shooting extreme macro, the 50mm can be combined with the 70-300 to get some interesting results."... Please explain how this is done, do you use rings?
I'd like to try this as I have both lenses. Thanks!

soup

Canon EOS-30D

05/06/2006 02:57:00 PM · #19

you need a lens coupler. you can find one at bhphoto.

//www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=102220&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation