My First Canon: Looking for my first lens!

[ERapczak]

Hello Everyone,
This is my first post on this forum, I joined last night as I'm about to take my first steps into world of DSLR. I've had limited 35mm experience and have been shooting digital for a number of years now but I just feel I'm not getting anything else out of it because I'm just way too limited by the hardware and fixed lens. At this point in my life I'd really like to start getting serious about photography and developing my skill so this is why I've moved to Canon and their fantastic DSLR line.

At this point I've decided to take on the 400D unless someone can convince me not too. Because of my limited experience with changable lenses I really have no idea what I should be looking for. I've been doing alot of research and familiarizing myself with everything but I still have plenty to learn. This summer I plan on doing alot of landscape and sports shots, skydiving in perticular but not Air to Air just yet :D Most of my shots are taken as jumpers are loading into the aircraft or are landing their chutes.

My current budget is something below $300, I know thats asking alot but I'm just strapped at the moment and if I can find something that will produce a sharp image and capture the action fairly well it would be great. Not looking for up close and personal telephoto just yet.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated or if you think I'm asking too much for too little feel free to knock me down a peg or two as well haha, like I said I have alot to learn yet. While on that note if anyone has any good links to sites where I could expand my knowledge so to speak, that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

[CountryBoy]

Skip the kit lens. Add the money saved to your $300 and get the the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8.

[Psychic1]

Welcome. You might go over to www.fredmiranda.com and look at the reviews and I suggest the EF28-105II - 3.5-4.5, it is a good all purpose lens.
BTW - this is where you want to be.
Enjoy!

[wizard13]

I second CountryBoy. Skipping the kit lens will save you a few bucks and add up to just under the price of the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. That lens is a great lens for the price. I have it and love the IQ and the flexibility it offers for the zoom and the fast f2.8.

[HighPlainsPhotographer]

Since you have limited experience with an SLR and a limited budget, I would start out with the kit lens. You can use it for awhile and decide what your next purchase is based on your likes/dislikes of this lens. In the mean time save your money so you are ready for your next lens purchase.......just my $.02

Shaun

[Eagle]

Since you have limited experience with an SLR and a limited budget, I would start out with the kit lens. You can use it for awhile and decide what your next purchase is based on your likes/dislikes of this lens. In the mean time save your money so you are ready for your next lens purchase.......just my $.02

Shaun

I agree. The kit lens will be great to start you out and you can't beat the price of it. Then after learning the camera you'll figure out if you want in the same zoom range, shorter, or longer and will have saved up a little more towards something else.

[crn3371]

I'm also going to jump on the kit lens bandwagon. It's cheap, and used properly, is capable of taking good pics. This gives you a cheap way to hone your skills, and see what kind of photography you like. By the time you start seeing the shortcomings of the kit lens, you will have hopefully learned a lot about your camera, and the iso/aperture/shutter speed dance. You'll then be able to make a more educated purchase for a lens that will truly suite your needs, not the one WE tell you to get. And by the way, welcome to the forum!

[WildWolf]

i disagree with most people here....do not get the kit lens. It is just not a sharp lens unless u stop it down to f8. If you are at f8 or smaller every time, u lose the ability to be creative with your shots (imho). I would go with a 17-50 or 17-70 lens. Just be sure to check for front/back focusing issues with these lenses. Good luck and post some pics

[CountryBoy]

i disagree with most people here....do not get the kit lens. It is just not a sharp lens unless u stop it down to f8. If you are at f8 or smaller every time, u lose the ability to be creative with your shots (imho).

I agree.Why start out with a lens that will limit you right off ? And one you will want to replace sooner than you think.

[tekkie]

I will give you my input, the XT was my first slr in dec, my friends told me to skip the kit lens and I did not listen but I wish I had because it would have saved me a few bucks, I have not used my kit lens at all since I ordered the sigma 17-70 which is a great lens. The kit lens will do ok for landscapes since you can use f8-11but for actions like skydiving its not going to be very good at all since you will need something fast.

However on the flip side I mean the kit lens is only like 60 bucks, you dont have many options in that area other than the nifty fifty which has af issues all the time, at least the kit lens does a decent job of that.

[ERapczak]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far guys although I'm not sure if I've made any headway haha but you've all given me something to think about for sure. Now if I did decide to choose the kit lense would it be better to skip and buy the USM version or is that now being included with the Rebel? As much as I know I'll be shooting landscapes this year, I also know I'll be spending alot of time at the dropzone and at a few key airshows as well. Capturing action has always been a major frustration for me with the standard digital and was another big reason in deciding to make the switch over but I do understand not much falls into my price range for the time being so if the general consensus is to get the kit lens then I'll most certainly take that advice .

[tekkie]

for landscapes it does fine checkout this thread there are some amazing pictures in there

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=185522&highlight=kit+lens+pics

the only other one I know is the 17-55 2.8 IS USM but that one is around 900 dollars so thats obviously not included, and then there is the 4-5.6 one but again that ones 500 bucks

[rparchen]

My first lens (after the kit lens) was my Sigma 18-50mm F/2.8, which I really liked. It get good reviews over at FM and it has served me very well for almost a year.

[Indecent Exposure]

50mm F1.4 (~$340) with the kit lens. You'll have the zoom/freedom of the kit plus the added benefit of superior optics in lowlight and superior optics at a focal length that's good enough for most work (depending on your habits) in the 50mm.

As an added bonus, the 50mm F1.4 will stay in your bag to be used for the rest of your camera using career. You can't really say that about many ~$300 lenses.

[HighPixel]

Skip the kit lens. Add the money saved to your $300 and get the the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8.
VERY GOOD ADVICE!

[Pasukun]

1st of all.. Congratulation~! :)
Look into 50.8($80) as well. It is a fantastic lens for the price.
You just can not lose money with it..
When you are ready to make an upgrade.. you can always sell it back here for around $70.
Good luck.

[kumicho]

I agree.Why start out with a lens that will limit you right off ? And one you will want to replace sooner than you think.

I'm biased since I didn't start out with the kit lens, but I say if you're planning on replacing it anyway with something similar (in that focal length), skip it and put the $ towards something better. The only reason I'd see for getting the kit lens is if your next purchase would be something in the 70-200/300 range. Otherwise spend the money upfront for something good (also recommend the Tamron 17-50, constant 2.8 is a big plus), especially if you've already budgeted for it.

FYI, 400d body only is going for about $650 online, and the Tammy 17-50 is about $400.

:)

[tmonatr]

Sigma 17-70 DC Macro. This is an awesome lens. I currently own this and a 50 1.8 (which I just bought). I am not saying the 50 is not sharp, but is not as sharp as my 17-70. Also, with the Sigma you have VERY close focusing capabilities( you have to take the hood off) for some fun macro work. Just my opinion based on what I have.

[condyk]

In your situation I would go for the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 as it is a fast lens, with good reputation, covering the most used range for many people. The Sigma 17-70mm is also first class: it gives great range at the expense of aperture speed, but that is most often only an issue indoors. The kit lens can be decent but it will limit you significantly if you want good quality shots across the aperture range.

[JimAskew]

Welcome. You might go over to www.fredmiranda.com (http://www.fredmiranda.com) and look at the reviews and I suggest the EF28-105II - 3.5-4.5, it is a good all purpose lens.
BTW - this is where you want to be.
Enjoy!

I agree with Psychic1's suggestion of the 28-105 Mark II. It was the first lens I got after buying the dRebel XT w/the kit lens. I used it for a year to learn the ins and outs of DSLR photography and then last NOV I gave it to mydaughter along with a dRebel XT and kit lens so she could learn DSLR as I did.

[purelithium]

If you can scrape together $450m the Combination of the 50mm f1.8 and a Sigma 17-70 is FANTASTIC. I love the 50 for lower light shooting, and the 17-70 is a great lens for general purpose. I just need a lens to cover the 70+ focal lengths.

[_aravena]

I didn't get a new lens to replace the kit and you can see my night shots here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=205834&page=27

It's a good lens to learn on. Although, since it didn't come with the kit lens, I guess I'll say skip it and go ahead and get something you'll stick with for awhile.

[ERapczak]

Wow thanks for all the opinions guys, I guess I was hoping for more unified suggestion towards a specific lens but everyone has something different they prefer. I'm definatly looking into each of the lenses mentioned here so far but I made my purchase from B&H tonight and went ahead with the kit lens for the simple fact that I think it'll be a great way to learn the camera and the shortcomings which will inturn give me a better way to gauge what I need down the line. The price difference was minimal between the body and kit anyway so I'm happy with the purchase and feel I got a pretty good deal from B&H, they beat all other prices I looked at online or at least the ones I felt safe about.

Again thanks alot for all the suggestions, I have a feeling that the information I will learn from POTN will be invaluable to my work.

Eric

[noirb74]

Welcome to POTN. First, I would highly recommend getting a book by Bryan Peterson: "Understanding Exposure." Since you are pretty new to DSLR's, there is a lot of useful information in this book. Also, many here recommend this book.

But to answer the question, I would get the Sigma 17-70mm lens. I've been researching for the past week on this forum and just purchased one this past week. Here are some links I found about this lens:

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=186589

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=211401