New 20D Kit for Beginners

[colourstorm]

I’m planning on buying myself a digital SLR and kit for after my exams (don’t have time now), but am relatively new to the world of SLR’s (own Fuji s602). I think I understand about SLR focal lengths, filters, lens speeds, and accessories, but have got loads of questions:


Which manufacturer makes the best quality lenses for the Canon EOS system? Canon, Sigma, someone else?

What’s the difference between Canon EF lenses, EF-S lenses, and EX lenses?

What difference, in terms of taking photos and capturing subjects, does having a focal length below 18mm make?

What difference, in terms of taking photos and capturing subjects, does an f-stop difference of f0.5 faster make?

What brands of filters are professionally, considered the best quality. Is it best to go for your lens manufacturer (which will be canon in my case) or another brand. (please don’t be biased!)

What accessories do I need to do macro photography?

What effect does the 1.6x multiplier of the Canon EOS 20D have on focal lengths, lenses and pictures?

How many lens hoods do I need to buy, and what types? One for each lens? Or just one for anything?

Do you know of any photographic insurance plans for under 18’s available anywhere?


If people could answer me directly / point me to the right threads and topics that'd be great!

Thank you!
Joe

[tim]

1. Canon.
2. EF are full frame 35mm lenses. EF-S are for digital only, and they're for 21mm or so sensors. EX is a series of flashes AFAIK.
3. Below 18mm is a very wide angle lens.
4. The lower the F the "faster" the lens, the less time the shutter's open. This means less blur of the subject.
5. Hoya, B&W and the ones i've seen recommended.
6. A macro lens, some kind of lighting (ring light is best, EX series flash is fine and what I use), and a tripod.
7. 1.6X is a crop factor - it means you miss the edges of pictures, it has no effect on the magnification.
8. One for each lens.
9. Good luck - try adding it to your contents insurance.

Hope that helps - it's a little brief but i'm a little drunk... :)

[Andy_T]

Colourstorm,

welcome to the forum :lol:

Now ... you're new to the forum.
So you most likely don't know the search function yet that will point you to a lot of useful information and basically answer all your questions in a very short time.

So let's give it a try:

Which manufacturer makes the best quality lenses for the Canon EOS system? Canon, Sigma, someone else?
This can't be answered on a 'general' basis. Each lens has to be judged on its own.

In general, with few exceptions, Canon 'L' lenses are the best best lenses in their respective categories ... and also the most expensive :cry: .

There are very good third party lenses, e.g. the 300$ Tamron 28-75/2.8 or the 1800$ Sigma 120-300/2.8 or ... :rolleyes:
One thing you have to bear in mind, however, is that third party manufacturers do not have all the internals about the lens protocol, so if Canon brings a new camera to the market, it might happen that your old Sigma lenses do not work with it :rolleyes:

For more info, take a look at these threads:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56747
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25789
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34867

What’s the difference between Canon EF lenses, EF-S lenses, and EX lenses?
EF lenses work on all canon EF bodies.
EF-S lenses ONLY work on the 300D and 20D so far (they will work with possible future 'prosumer' models) but do not work on the 1D series or on film bodies.
There are no EX lenses, only EX flashes.
You can use EF and EF-S lenses on the 20D, and some older lenses with adapters (but then you lose autofocus, auto modes and so on)

What difference, in terms of taking photos and capturing subjects, does having a focal length below 18mm make?

You can take wide angle shots. With the 1.6x crop factor of the 20D, the 18 mm lens gives approximately the same picture as a 28 mm lens on a 'normal' 35 mm film camera.

What difference, in terms of taking photos and capturing subjects, does an f-stop difference of f0.5 faster make?

Full F-stops are 1.0 - 1.4 - 2.0 - 2.8 - 4.0 - 5.6 - 8.0 (multiply the previous full f-stop with 1.4). A difference in a full f-stop means that twice as much light hits the sensor in a given time. If you have enough light to take a photo with a 200/4.0 lens at 1/125 second, then a 200/2.8 lens will allow you a shutter speed of 1/250 second. Of course, you could also double the ISO sensitivity (e.g. 800 instead of 400) for the same effect, but this increases noise and is only possible up to ISO 3200.

What brands of filters are professionally, considered the best quality. Is it best to go for your lens manufacturer (which will be canon in my case) or another brand. (please don’t be biased!)

Take a look here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=55443&highlight=filter

What accessories do I need to do macro photography?


Either a macro lens, extension tubes, or a reversed normal lens.
Take a look here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=57272&highlight=macro
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=57460&highlight=macro

What effect does the 1.6x multiplier of the Canon EOS 20D have on focal lengths, lenses and pictures?
Spend the next 3 hours reading this :lol: :
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=45388

How many lens hoods do I need to buy, and what types? One for each lens? Or just one for anything?

Lens hoods normally do not fit on all lenses.
Some lenses have the lens hood included.
With canon lenses there are some standards that you can mount on more than one lens. This really has to be answered on a lens by lens basis.

Do you know of any photographic insurance plans for under 18’s available anywhere?

No idea.

Hope that helps....

Best regards,
Andy

[Andy_T]

7. 1.6X is a crop factor - it means you miss the edges of pictures, it has no effect on the magnification.


Tim, read the X factor thread again!
Don't have time to explain, but it has an effect on a lot of factors ... including the magnification
(needed only when you want to view or print the photo, of course ;) )

I find this short explanation very helpful: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/dslr-mag.shtml


Hope that helps - it's a little brief but i'm a little drunk... :)

Hope you had a nice evening :lol:

Best regards,
Andy

[mdr]

Either a macro lens, extension tubes, or a reversed normal lens.
For certain types of macro photography a right angle veiwfinder is an unmissable accessories. There are also close up filters, allowing 'macro' photography with ordinary lenses. For serious macro photography, you really need a dedicated macro lens with optional extension tubes, or ultimately the 1x to 5x life size Canon MP65 macro lens.

[chris.bailey]

Joe

Not much I can add to Tim and Andy's replies BUT reading others peoples answers to your questions is a whole different ballgame than have someone else demonstrate. Many many years ago I was a member of a local camera club and went to nightschool to learn the basic theories of photography. Both were really good forums in which you got your hands dirty (in the darkroom at that time). There really is no substitute for actaully trying different filters and an 18mm lens etc. Many photo clubs also get access to good deals on insurance.

[colourstorm]

thanks andy, i now finally understand what the 1.6x crop factor actually meant - my worst fears come true. If I buy a seemingly 'cheap' canon EF-S 18-85mm wide angle lens, it won't actually be 'super wide angle' at all. No cheap way in to wide angle DSLR photography is there!?

Using the 20D with 1.6x crop factor, what focal length would be required for achieving a 'super wide' effect (normally 18 to 24mm lenses)?

I still don't actually know the difference in terms of features and behavior between the EF and EF-s lens systems. Which is best for a DSLR? The EF-S's seem to be cheaper...

thanks for the idea chris.bailey! (i've seen you in DCMag before...) and thankyou to everyone else!
joe

[Fills]

10-22 EFS... but it isn't cheap!

[Andy_T]

Using the 20D with 1.6x crop factor, what focal length would be required for achieving a 'super wide' effect (normally 18 to 24mm lenses)?

Pretty easy. You just divide the focal length you want with 1.6. So what you want is a 11.25 lens.

There are at the moment 2 lenses existing that would cover this ... the Canon EF-S 10-22 and the Sigma 12-24 lens. Both would be upward from 700$, I guess.

There is also a Peleng 8 mm fisheye lens that can be mounted with an M42 adapter as all manual lens. This lens will be a lot cheaper (200$) but it's a fisheye that needs correction.
Look here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=40715&highlight=peleng
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=57194&highlight=peleng


I still don't actually know the difference in terms of features and behavior between the EF and EF-s lens systems. Which is best for a DSLR? The EF-S's seem to be cheaper...

EF-S lenses are built differently. They project a smaller image circle and protrude more into the camera. If you tried to mount an EF-S lens on a Canon film camera, the mirror might hit the rear element on the lens and damage the lens and the camera.
For this reason, Canon added an additional rim to the EF-S lenses so they can not be mounted on normal EF cameras, but only on the 300D and 20D that have a modified mount.

Because the camera only has to cover a smaller image circle, a wide angle lens can be built smaller (=cheaper) .

Hope that helps.

Best regards,
Andy

[colourstorm]

ah! i understand now exactly! oh well! looks like i won't be having i superwide lens for a while!

thanks andy!

joe

[dwildone]

Just to clarify a couple of the posts above- there are no Canon EX lenses, but Sigma's (which you mentioned in the original post) top line of lenses have the EX designation. Some of these lenses come very close to the quality of Canon, often for much less price. Check the "All the best links" sticky here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22081) for links to lens reviews and much much more. There are also links in that thread to online photography courses and many tutorials to get you started with many of your other questions.

Welcome, and have fun! :D

[Jon]

Just to clarify a couple of the posts above- there are no Canon EX lenses, but Sigma's (which you mentioned in the original post) top line of lenses have the EX designation. Some of these lenses come very close to the quality of Canon, often for much less price. Check the "All the best links" sticky here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22081) for links to lens reviews and much much more. There are also links in that thread to online photography courses and many tutorials to get you started with many of your other questions.

Welcome, and have fun! :D

Just to clarify the clarifications (and show my age) - actually Canon did have a series of EX lenses for the Canon EX cameras (http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/1955-1969/data/1969_exee.html), which were in production starting in 1969, and petering out in the early '70s. They had a fixed rear element and interchangable front elements giving you 35, 50, 95 and (later on) 125 mm focal lengths.

[Andy_T]

actually Canon did have a series of EX lenses for the Canon EX cameras (http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/camera/1955-1969/data/1969_exee.html), which were in production starting in 1969, and petering out in the early '70s.

Then I definitely have to amend my original (wrong) advice.

'There are Canon EX lenses. But they won't work on your camera :lol:'

Best regards,
Andy