Starter Lens Help..

[somethingfunny]

I am about ready to buy the Rebel XT body from Canon, but I was planning on getting the Sigma Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm. Is this a good choice? What is that lens good or bad at? Thanks

[LightRules]

It's a good lens if you mean convenient and generally good optics. There are better and there are worse. It's fairly new and many seem to like it, though I don't think it surpasses it's sibling the 18-125 in image quality. If you want a good, convenient, fairly small lens for walking around and for use in mostly daylight and outdoors, it's a very good buy. Otherwise, you might want to invest in some "faster" lenses, such as the Canon 50 f1.8, 3rd party 24-70/28-75 lenses, and Canon 70-200 f4 or Sigma 70-200 f2.8. But your budget and type of use should really help decide all this. Best wishes.

[somethingfunny]

Do you think it might be a better idea to stay with the Canon 17-85mm lens it comes with?

[CorruptedPhotographer]

why would you get another 18-200 when you already have a 17-85.

What you would need is something from 75-200

So as fstopjojo mentioned, a 70-200 (canon or sigma) will help you avoid overlap.

[somethingfunny]

I don't have the lenses, i was trying to pick which one I should get..

[condyk]

Do you think it might be a better idea to stay with the Canon 17-85mm lens it comes with?

I'm confused ... do you currently own this lens or not?

If yes, then it will do you at least as well as the SIgma.

If no, then the Sigma's mentioned by fstop will be decent buys, or so would the 17-85mm IS.

Canon's normally come with the 18-55mm. Do you have this one?

I need to lie down :lol: :lol:

[LightRules]

I didn't know you had the 17-85IS. IMO, you should keep the 17-85 and add to it either the Canon 70-200 f4 or the Sigma 70-200 f2.8. If you wanted to go cheaper for a 70-xxx zoom, you could go with the new Sigma 70-300 APO DG, but image quality is not as good as the 70-200s. Another good lens is the Sigma 100-300 f4 EX.

[CorruptedPhotographer]

Sorry I got the impression you have the 17-85.

Well, seeing as you starting your lens buying process.

Think of it this way, what are you going to shoot? Landscape? Candid? Glamour? Sports? Wildlife? Maybe a little of everything? Ok, next question, whats your budget? Next question, seeing as most ppl dont have an unlimited budget (if u did, you woulnt be posting this thread), what are you itching to shoot ASAP?

If its landscape, then get a nice wide angle ( I am beggining to prefer primes over zoom )

If is portraits, get something in the 50-135mm range.

[Jon]

He hasn't bought it yet, and is wondering whether to get the kit 350D+17-85 or the 350D body only and a separate Sigma 18-200.

[somethingfunny]

Yuss! Jon knows where I'm coming from. I'm a starter and I don't understand lens very well so I don't know which lens to get... as you can see...

[CorruptedPhotographer]

somethingfunny, we are willing to help you

Answer my above questions so we can begin the session


Well, seeing as you starting your lens buying process.

Think of it this way, what are you going to shoot? Landscape? Candid? Glamour? Sports? Wildlife? Maybe a little of everything? Ok, next question, whats your budget? Next question, seeing as most ppl dont have an unlimited budget (if u did, you woulnt be posting this thread), what are you itching to shoot ASAP?

If its landscape, then get a nice wide angle ( I am beggining to prefer primes over zoom )

If is portraits, get something in the 50-135mm range.

[David1943]

Lenses can be expensive items and a collection of them can easily exceed the price of your camera.

As you're a beginner, my advice to you is to forget expensive lenses for the time being and make a start either with a Kit Lens or what you have already until you've gained sufficient knowledge to decide what focal lengths and maximum apertures will meet your individual needs and fit into your budget.

[Outdoor23]

we really need to know what you shoot as corruptedphotographer has stated above...if you are just learning and just shooting around get the 50mm 1.8 or 1.4. Once you know(learn) what you like to shoot, then start investing more moeny towards that lens.

Landscapes and wide - canon's 10-22
Normal walk-around - sigma 15-50 2.8 or canon 17-85
wildlife and more - canon 70-200L plus TC or Canon 100-300
Portrait - use the 50 1.4 or 1.8

[somethingfunny]

somethingfunny, we are willing to help you

Answer my above questions so we can begin the session

Ok, well for just starting out I'm not really going to focus on one way of shooting, I really like close-up but also I like nice sunsets and such. So I guess I'm an around around shooter for now. I can go for any lens $400-$600.
Hope That Helps..

[Outdoor23]

a good walk around is the sigma 18-50 2.8. i think its about $400. I dont have this lens, but I was fighting between this one and the canon 17-85 myself. from my research...many people prefer the sigma 18-50 because it has better picture quality, much cheaper and it is way much faster. But, since the canon 17-85 has an IS (I dont carry tripods) and covers more range...Im leaning towards that one instead. Buying lens is a big decision process...what do you must have and what you can do without. hopefully this will help you a bit!

[CorruptedPhotographer]

Another good walk around lens i the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8

This way you have an "around around" walk around lens with the ability to shoot in low light situations or create nice blurry backgrounds for focus.

Doo some research on the lenses others and myself have reccomended and let us know your thoughts and inquiries :D

[somethingfunny]

Outdoor which one should I get?

[Outdoor23]

i really cant make any decision for you...perhaps doing more research and read different types of feed back will help you along the way. lens reviews from www.fredmiranda.com is a good resource to look in to. Also bring your camera and go down to the local camera store and play around with the lens! Good Luck!!

[somethingfunny]

i was reading up on the sigma 18-50mm and saw that it had no full time manual focus... wat does that mean?

[somethingfunny]

i don't have enough money to buy the XT kit with the 17-85mm lens so what about the XT Kit with 18-55mm lens... is it really that bad?

[somethingfunny]

i want something like the Canon 17-85mm but cheaper... any ideas?

[pabloa3]

I recently picked up the 350D body only. I decided that I wanted a decent (ie, better then the kit) walk around lens. I decided on the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 EX. The quality has been very good...at least to me. It's reasonably prices - around $400. I've taken some close-ups that you can see at http://www.paulandsteph.com/gallery/dig_rebel?page=3
I haven't gotten for any good landscape/nature shots - that page above has a shot of a bird. But I'm just getting started and have a lot to learn.

The one issue with this lens is the size - it's relatively large. Plus the filter size is 82mm...I believe the larger filters carry a bigger price tag.

I plan on getting the sigma 10-22 for my wide angle work and then probably a 70-200 (or 300) for nature shots. In the end I'll have 3 good lens that cover what I'll need...for now.

Good luck with your decision...it's not easy...but after doing your research and reading these forums...you'll ultimately make the right choice for you.

Paul

[m3incorp]

Somethingfunny, you said that you don't have the money to buy the 17-85mm lens, but want that quality but cheaper. Well to be honest, to get near that quality it will cost. Your best bet will probably be to purchase your Rebel XT as the kit. The EFS 18-55mm lens is not a bad lens at all, and only adds $50-60 to the price of the Rebel when bought as the kit. For $50-$60 you won't find anything near as good except the EF 50mm f/1.8 and of course that is not a zoom. Buy the kit, and then save until you can afford the EFS 17-85 or another similiar lens. I suggest to anybody that isn't financially able to spend $300 or more on a lens to get the kit and then work your way up. At least you will be out taking pictures with a pretty darn good lens until you can get what you want.

[CorruptedPhotographer]

i was reading up on the sigma 18-50mm and saw that it had no full time manual focus... wat does that mean?


This means that when it is set to AF, and after its done focusing, you still can focus it (manually urself) and take the shot. You do not need to set it to MF if you ever want to manually focus. Its like fine tuning, sure your camera did a great job of AF'ing, but you want it to look a different way. You can do it in AF mode :D

[condyk]

18-50mm 2.8 Sigma will work perfectly as it is fast, goes usefully wide, very high quality, light to carry and operates on the smaller bodied 350Xt nicely and good resale value if you upgrade. I have the larger 24-70mm DG EX Macro which will allow some nice close up work, has superb optical ability, great balance in the hand and superb build. That will also do you. Either would do me too as long term buys.

The Tamron 28-75mm is a fine lens that is cheaper than the two Sigma's I mentioned first and as good, or close, optically. It is lighter than the 24-70.

The kit lens will do you if you learn to use it as it can be sh*te and it can be very decent. The 18-125 Sigma is a great all round lens which is not as good as the first two I mentioned by any stretch but in the right hands will get good enough results. Range is also very useful if you have a single lens. Expect to upgrade either if you really get into photography.

See here: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=682510#post682510

Canon 17-85 IS coves a great range but is overpriced for the quality because of the IS ... which I personally think is usually a waste of cash below 200mm. You just don't need it unless you have very shakey hands.

[Saudidave]

I was in exactly your position some 3 months ago. I bought the XT with the 18-55 kit lens and believe me it's not bad at all.

I then set about reading everything I could and comparing lenses on pbase. Once I had formulated some ideas of what I wanted I bought several second user Canon lenses off ebay (a 28-80, a 28-105 and a 75-300). I sussed that the 28-105 & 75-300 were the ones I used most, but rather fancied the 28-135IS for its IS and that little bit of extra reach. I sold the 28-80 & The 28-105 (made a £20 profit on the latter!) and bought a new 28-135IS as a walkabout lens. I am happy with the 75-300, not a bad piece of kit.

So there you have it. I tried a few out over a period of weeks and it didn't cost me anything at all. Much better than buying an expensive mistake. Canon lenses hold their value,they sell well and generally speaking photographers buying and selling this level of equipment are a reasonably honest bunch.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Here's a list of this forums top ten recomended starter lenses;
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56747

[somethingfunny]

I think I came to a final choice, the Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 28-135mm, or this a bad lens? Thanks Guys for all your help, I know how annoying this probably is.

[condyk]

There are better, faster lenses at cheaper prices ... and it's not a wide angle. Other than that, go for it. It has decent resale value and covers a useful range. A safe buy.

[somethingfunny]

what are some of the lenses you were talking about?

[condyk]

READ MY POST FELLA!!

It's about 8" above this one. Scroll up ...

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[somethingfunny]

my bad lol :lol:

[Darter]

not at all. given the difference in price between kit and non-kit, the kit lens is only $75-$100. You can't go wrong with such an inexpensive first lens. the kit does produce relatively nice shots in the f8-f11 range. I'd say just get that to start with and go from there after you've really worked it over and know what you're looking for in a lens. otoh, if you want a lens that you'll probably be satisified with in the long run but don't want to invest too much in just yet, get the 50mm 1.8. It'll take a little getting used to, but it will teach you more about your camera and allow you to focus more on composition rather than just zooming all the time.

btw, full time focusing just means you don't have to flip a switch to get into manual focus mode. with those that don't have full time focusing, you just slide a switch and you can still get manual focus. I wouldn't worry about this until you've mastered the camera and are readily spending $900 and more on lenses. :)