Potential 30D owner. Kit lens/lenses or prime?

[Richard7481]

You have probably read similar threads before but here goes anyway.

I am about to buy my first DSLR, an EOS 30D, but simply don't know whether to opt for the 18-55 or 17-85 IS kits or just go with something like the 50 f/1.4, and use it as a base to learn, before dipping my toe into the world of telephoto lenses. The general web reviews of the aforementioned kit lenses hardly inspire confidence, yet the 50 seems to have an abundance of great reviews.

I am aware that the 1.6 crop factor will actually make it 80mm on the Canon, but I want to start out with street and portrait work and it seems like an ideal lens for that kind of photography.

Really the question is this......

Will I be overly limiting myself going down the prime route with the 50, or are the kit lenses a better, more flexible bet for a newcomer?

Thank you for your time.

:)

[grego]

Welcome to the forums Richard.

Well, if portraits are your foray, then the 50 is right up your alley. However, a lot won't consider the 50 a good walk around lens. It'll kick the 18-55's butt in quality though. Your lens will only be limiting if you use them for the wrong job.

If you are going to be doing portraits, you don't need any zooms. So starting out on the 50 is not a bad move.

[Nice Glass]

The 50mm 1.4 is my favorite lens. You can always zoom with your feet to some degree and find out if you tend to need a wider or longer range for your future purchases. It will always been a good lens to keep around for low light situations and DoF fun as well. To throw you off I also enjoy using my 17-85 IS :D

[peterdoomen]

The kit lens is not bad to learn something about photography, but people tend to outgrow it fairly quickly. Its main weakness is aperture: it's almost useless in bad light conditions. Therefore I advise people to buy the standard tammy (Tamron 28-75) or equivalent Sigma (24-70). They are both f/2.8 and have a nice reach.

Primes are an excellent option too, because they teach you how to compose. Well sort of.

P.

[motion_projekt]

Take a Dive...

24-70 f/2.8L USM

lol

[condyk]

If you really want to learn the craft of photography the very best education comes through using a single prime and learning to compose and expose on the streets. 50mm is nice for portraits but not that good for walkaround. Something around 30mm is better. The Sigma 30mm 1.4 is an option and so too is the Canon 35mm f2. You could possibly buy the latter and the cheaper kit lens or the 50mm 1.8 for the price of the 50mm 1.4 (going on UK pricing anyway!) The kit lens is decent for the money and opens up wider angles, so you can judge if you prefer that option or the 50mm 1.8 which will do very decent portraits for silly money. 30D is a great choice.

[Richard7481]

Thanks for the replies guys. Choice is such a wondeful thing!

Money is will not problem and I have been thinking about going with the 17-85 IS but I can get the 18-55 kit and the 50 for less than the price of the IS kit. The only off putting thing is the apparent build quality/peformance issues with the 18-55. :(

I must look into buying a Tamron or Sigma. Combined with the 50, it could be just what I need. And I am in Japan BTW.

[grego]

^^The Sigma or Tamron will both be faster than the 17-85 IS. Sigma also has an 18-50 2.8 which is worth considering for a zoom, as well.

[Diminished29]

^^The Sigma or Tamron will both be faster than the 17-85 IS. Sigma also has an 18-50 2.8 which is worth considering for a zoom, as well.

Exactly, GO FOR THE SIGMA! 18-50EX f/2.8 that is. It gets awesome reviews on fredmeranda.com and it'll be MUCH better than the 50mm f/1.4 IMO if you only have ONE lens to work with. It'll be far more versatile.

The Tamron 28-75mm and Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 are quite nice but they just aren't wide enough in most situations on a 1.6x crop camera.

So, again go ahead and get yourself a Sigma 18-50EX f/2.8 as it'll be MUCH better than both kit lens in low light and will also give you that wide angle versatility.

=====================================

As far as future purchases for you these would probably be some of your best canidates:

Canon 50mm f/1.4 (As you've already mention, again though get yourself a "walkaround" lens first instead though.)
Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 (Probably one of the BEST crop camera walkaround lens out there.)
Canon 70-200mm f/4 L (Only like $570 at bhphotovideo.com, but if you shoot sports get the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 )
Canon 100-400mm IS f/4.5-5.6 L (Best Wildlife lens out there IMO)

[Richard7481]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. After reading around regarding the various pros and cons, I reckon I will go with a 'normal' (considering the 1.6 crop) lens as a starter. Either Canon's own 28 f/1.8 or the Sigma 30 f/1.4 would seem to fit the bill, though my head says Canon due to the fact that, well, it's a Canon so has been specifically designed for use with their SLRs.The apparent focus issues with the Sigma are slightly worrying though I assume that they have been dialled out in QC by now.

[Ronald S. Jr.]

Try out a Canon 35 f/2. Very sharp. A bit noisy, but so is the kit lens. :-) It'll give you that great field of view, and a nice fast ap. 'Bout 200 bucks.

[Liphotoman]

Thanks for all of your suggestions. After reading around regarding the various pros and cons, I reckon I will go with a 'normal' (considering the 1.6 crop) lens as a starter. Either Canon's own 28 f/1.8 or the Sigma 30 f/1.4 would seem to fit the bill, though my head says Canon due to the fact that, well, it's a Canon so has been specifically designed for use with their SLRs.The apparent focus issues with the Sigma are slightly worrying though I assume that they have been dialled out in QC by now.

Not so sure that focus issue has been fixed.
Just picked up a 30D & instead of the EF-S 17 - 85 IS Canon lens, I thgouht I'd want a little more range, but I didn't want to spend too much, so I thought I'd try out the Tamron 28 - 135, or 18 - 200 Di II. But they weren't in stock, so I picked up the 18 - 125 Sigma DC lens.
SO far, have only taken about a dozen pics, all indoors at night, and not crazy about the focus. It seems I do better with Manual than AF.
I bought it at B & H, so I guess I can return it this week. Now to figure which to get?
We also picked up a 50 mm Canon Macro & that seems pretty good.

[KevC]

A normal prime is always an excellent way to learn photography. I'd consider the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 or Canon 35mm f/2.

[KevC]

A normal prime is an excellent way to learn photography. Sigma 30mm f/1.4 (if you have the money) or Canon 35mm f/2 would both be perfect on the 1.6x crop body.

[chief-m]

If you can afford 2 lenses i would suggest a fast prime like the canon 50mm f/1.8, its an excellent lens that w'ont cost much and its a good lernning tool. if you can spend some more then get one of the wider priems mentioned above (canon or sigma). as for the second lens i would suggest the sigma 24-70 f/2.8 or the tamron 28-75 f/2.8 , they are excellent lenses. as for the focusing problem you mentioned i have the sigma 24-70 and thus far had no problems.

[Andy_T]

I have both the Sigma 30/1.4 and the Canon 50/1.4, and while I like the 50/1.4 better for portraits, the 30/1.4 spends much more time on my camera because it is the more versatile focal length.

Both are great lenses (OK, the Sigma with the initial focus problem that required sending it in for re-calibration :rolleyes: ) that I would not part with. I also had the Canon 28/1.8 ... also very nice, but not as sharp/fast as the Sigma 30/1.4.

Best regards,
Andy

[Richard7481]

I am really not sure about Sigma, as the there are simply too many stories floating around the net about calibration issues on Canon bodies. Of course disgruntled owners are more likely to post negatives experiences, but still it worries me.

Part of the reason is that I am in Japan and can't really fight my corner if I have problems with it in the same way that I can in the UK.

[Andy_T]

I am really not sure about Sigma, as the there are simply too many stories floating around the net about calibration issues on Canon bodies.

Keep in mind that calibrating a lens is just finetuning the settings.

I agree that it should come calibrated perfectly the first time, but it is really a minor adjustment. IMO, the images I get from this lens (30/1.4) are well worth the trouble I went through (sending it to Sigma for calibration, re-sending the wrong lens they sent me back :rolleyes: ). Trouble for a months, great performance ever after. Do you have any Japanese friends/acquaintances that could help you?

As to your initial question, I also got the 18-55 kit lens initially and find it quite useful for the occasional wide angle shot. But, there's also the great Tokina 17/3.5 ATX Pro prime lens that certainly does a better job and is not that expensive.

Best regards,
Andy

[stupot]

well here's another vote for the sigma 30 1.4. its very sharp and im finding it doesnt leave my camera at the moment... the kit lens is just gathering dust. its a perfect focal length for a walk around and it's obviously very capable in low light. whatever lens you decide to get i think its important to get a fast prime, f/2.8 zooms aren't going to help much at night - they only give you a stop or so over the kit lens and you will still find yourself using flash when it gets dark. the 1.4 is a couple of stops faster - than a 2.8 - now thats a big difference, and its invaluable when you need that shot at night.

[Richard7481]

I am really leaning towards the Canon 28 USM and the Sigma 30, though which I will get I still don't know, but that's half the fun anyway.:lol:

I have decided against the kit lens as I would rather put that money towards something better, like the Sigma 17-70.

[condyk]

What's your budget because that could open up a number of alternatives?

[Richard7481]

Due to a house sale I am lucky in that I have an unlimited budget but realistically I want to keep it tight at first with just the body and and lens or two (not L) and take it from there.