Lens advice for new 30D user

[DanUK]

Hey guys, just joined here, seems a pretty helpful place so I hope you guys can help me out.

I'm about to buy a 30D but can't decide what lenses to get.

Basically I take photos of my gear (drums, guitars, bikes), and take my camera on bike trips with me. So most of my photos are riding photos and landscapes.

I want a decent lens that I can use the majority of the time, I was thinking something along the lines of the Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Mk2, opinions on this please? Will the f stops be ideal for my mostly outdoors stuff?Will it be much better than the kit lens? Or should I go with something better? I'm trying to avoid too big a lens, cause its gonna be in my bag whilst on my bike haha :D

I also want a fisheye lens for bike shots.. jumping etc.. but the Canon one at £600 seems a bit steep, any decent quality alternatives?

Possibly also looking at a decent quality macro lens , mainly for flowers and stuff, any recomendations for around £3 - 400?

Thanks, Dan

[Citizensmith]

The 28-105 3.5-4.5 mk2 you mentioned is a good lens. I had one for quite a while and was very happy with it. However, once you put it on a DSLR you get the 'crop factor' issue that turns it into a 45-170, which is pretty much a short telephoto. If you want a reasonably general use lens the 18-55 kit lens is pretty good. OK, there are a lot better out there but it is by no means a bad lens. If you want to spend a little more for some more quality the Sigma 17-70 would be my recommendation. A lens with a very useful range, reasonably fast, and close focus abilities that push it into the macro realm.

An alternative to the Canon (10-22 I assume youa re talking about) is the Sigma 10-20. A chunk cheaper and a very nice lens too.

[sleibrand]

Get thee to a camera shop!

IMO, the 24/28-xx lenses are not wide enough for normal use on a crop body but you may feel differently. What you describe (landscapes, environmental shots of a bike & surroundings) would normally point you towards a wide or even an ultra-wide lens.

In the camera shops, check out the 17-xx lenses (Tamron 17-50 is very good for the price) as well as the 10/12-xx lenses (Canon 10-22, Tokina 12-24).

Or just get the kit lens and use it for a while. After a couple of months, you'll have a better feel for whether you need wider or longer, etc.

[liquefied]

Start out with the kit lens and go from there. It will probably be perfect for you.

[Madweasel]

The Canon fish-eye lens is not really designed for the crop camera (like your 30D). The fish-eye effect is mostly at the edges of the frame which the crop camera doesn't record. There are plenty of fish-eye threads on here, but essentially your options are the manual Peleng 8mm (cheapest), Sigma 8mm (both of these will give black corners which you might want to crop out), and the best bet is the new Tokina 10-17mm fish-eye zoom. Most places sell it for £500, but you can find it for less if you look around.

As for a macro lens, the excellent Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro is within your price range. You can save around £100 by going for the smaller EF-S 60mm macro, which will be equally good for flowers, but not so good for insects as you have to go closer with it for the same sized image, which may frighten the little critters away. There are also Sigma alternatives with a good reputation. Another consideration in the choice between those Canon macro lenses could be size and weight, as that 100mm is quite a chunky lens.

[DanUK]

Thanks for the help so far guys..

What do you think of the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 ? Found a package with this lens along with the 30D body.

What do I need in terms of protecting my lens? I believe you get lens caps for the front and back of the lens? will these be included? I've also been told that a UV filter is a good idea and protects the lens glass while shooting, will any filter fit the lens?

Sorry for all the questions :rolleyes:

[pwm2]

The lens always comes with the caps.

You may manage without a UV filter. They protects the lens, but if you are careful you will not need it. If you do buy an UV filter, you must buy one with the specific diameter your lens uses - or buy an adapter, in case you have a larger filter. For a very wide-angle lens, you may not be able to use a filter - or may need to use an extra thin filter. The wide-angle view may be blocked by the filter, resulting in dark corners on the photo.

Some lenses are sold with a hood. Some require that you buy the hood separately. It is always a good idea to have one. It reduces glare in the lens, and protects the front lens.

[MaDProFF]

Remember 30D is a 1-6 crop, so the 28-105, will be a bit long on the bottom end, 45mm
you never really said budget, but I have a 30D, I think one of the best buys is 50mm F1-4 just for fun and indoor, and shallow DOF, if you intend to keep the body a long time the EF-s lens are good 17-55 is excellent, after that well,

It is really what you intend to shoot, but like most of us just getting a new camera best of intensions of what you planned to shoot generally goes out of the window, as you want to shoot anything that moves, and the annoyingly great quality of pictures you get, makes it worse, because you want to shoot more :(

[HoRnYTuRbO]

sigma 24-70 f/2.8

[MrChad]

My 17-40L lives on my 30D, that said I love my EF 24-85mm on my D30.

Else you may want to just buy the 17-85mm IS 30D kit, that's a nice combo let me tell you. If you have the money to burn go for the 17-55 EF-S.

Else ignore all other glass until you've had time to play with kit/combo lens for some time.

[mhall711]

I just got my 30d today with the 28-135 IS, and so far (<100 clicks!) its great!!!!

[DanUK]

Thanks for all the help guys, any more opinions would be greatly appreciated :D

[Madweasel]

I love my 17-40L as the walkaround lens on my 30D (wide angle to short telephoto, with a good close-focus too). The more recent EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS is well regarded by many on here (longer telephoto, faster aperture and Image Stabilisation too), though I never tried it.