T3i udgrade lens

don't want to take this too off track since it doesn't really have anything to do with the OP, so probably my last response on the topic

but here is the thread i was reading up on, in the end, it seems like it does affect DOF
https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=691​769&page=1

DreDaze wrote in post #17671111
don't want to take this too off track since it doesn't really have anything to do with the OP, so probably my last response on the topic

but here is the thread i was reading up on, in the end, it seems like it does affect DOF
https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=691​769&page=1

Agreed. I started a new thread: https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1437746

Glass before body all day long.

The 18-55 stm is a good lens when stopped down. Wide open it will be a little soft....but quite a lot of lenses are this way.

For what you'd sepnd on a 70d you could get a few very good lenses. The sigma 18-35mm f1.8 Art and canon 50mm f1.8 STM come to mind. Or canon EF-s 24mm f2.8, canon 40mm f2.8, canon 85mm f1.8. Or any number of other combos. All depends on what you shoot and what focal lengths you need.

But the end answer is get better glass before you get a newer body!

Thanks to all for your help, I knew I could count on you guys
With all the great information I received, I will be going for a better lens for the T3i, before I bought the camera someone told me to not buy the kit, but buy the camera body and then buy a better lens, but I didn't listen.

Well I'm back to thinking it is ME, and not the camera, I have a Canon 50mm EF 1.8 II that I bought about a year ago and still having the issue that I mentioned earlier, soft, OOF looking. I think I might be on to something, the other night I got to playing around with lightroom's HSL Luminance sliders, I noticed some of the colors were blown out which covered up some of the others colors I think it has helped but knowing there is a better lens than the kit lens, makes me want to give that a try.
I don't need a lens to cover sport teams from the nose bleed section of the stadium and I don't need a panoramic lens, all I want is a lens for portraits wide enough to get 4 or 5 people in the frame without having to back up to far, I would like for the lens to be able to reach out a little but I don't think I need a 250mm, am thinking in the range of 50mm to 135mm if they make one.
Now for my next headache is trying to find a lens around the $250.00 range. don't know if they make a better than kit lens in that price range, but look out Google here I come.
I will post some pictures, may take me a few days.
I want to Thank all of you for your help, it has taken a load off my pea brain

Thank You
Don

DigitalDon wrote in post #17671254
Now for my next headache is trying to find a lens around the $250.00 range. don't know if they make a better than kit lens in that price range, but look out Google here I come.

I'm curious, why the $250 budget when you were just looking to pick up a $1000 camera body?

Honestly in the $250 range your best bet is to stick with the kit lens. Like I said, it's a very good lens when stopped down

DigitalDon wrote in post #17671254
I don't need a lens to cover sport teams from the nose bleed section of the stadium and I don't need a panoramic lens, all I want is a lens for portraits wide enough to get 4 or 5 people in the frame without having to back up to far, I would like for the lens to be able to reach out a little but I don't think I need a 250mm, am thinking in the range of 50mm to 135mm if they make one.

There is the sigma 50-150mm OS. It's an awesome lens, but it's discontinued and will be well about your $250 limit.

The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens but again, it needs to be stopped down to get good sharpness.

gremlin75 wrote in post #17671327
I'm curious, why the $250 budget when you were just looking to pick up a $1000 camera body?

Honestly in the $250 range your best bet is to stick with the kit lens. Like I said, it's a very good lens when stopped down

There is the sigma 50-150mm OS. It's an awesome lens, but it's discontinued and will be well about your $250 limit.

The 50mm f1.8 is a good lens but again, it needs to be stopped down to get good sharpness.

The suggested camera body was for when I bought the T3i, I think I remember after buying the T3i kit for around 800 plus dollars the body was selling for around 600 hundred.

While I here I have a photo showing in DPP where I was focused and it's a good example of soft, dull etc. I tried to find the pictures EXIF data in Lightroom but I can't find it LR says it can't find the folder I will find it later and post EXIF data.

DigitalDon wrote in post #17671411
The suggested camera body was for when I bought the T3i, I think I remember after buying the T3i kit for around 800 plus dollars the body was selling for around 600 hundred.

While I here I have a photo showing in DPP where I was focused and it's a good example of soft, dull etc. I tried to find the pictures EXIF data in Lightroom but I can't find it LR says it can't find the folder I will find it later and post EXIF data.

Hosted photo: posted by DigitalDon in
./showthread.php?p=176​71411&i=i36617719
forum: Canon Lenses

Definitely a sharpness problem here. We need the EXIF.

There are three possibilities (at least): misfocusing, defective lens, or motion blur.

Have you noticed front- or back-focusing? I mean, you focus on something but something else ends up being in focus instead? Pictures with lots of stuff in front of and behind the subject at the right distances will show that.

The design of the kit lens is not at fault here, but it is possibly defective.

The EXIF data should be in the out-of-the-camera file, and LR should display that.

DigitalDon wrote in post #17670693
I was in Sam's Club the other day and saw a Canon 70D, I almost picked it up and put it in the shopping cart http://www.samsclub.co​m …rod14520076.ip?​navAction= but then got to thinking do I really need it or should I get a better lens for my T3i. I don't care about being a professional photographer BUT I would like to get past the amateur stage, all I really want is to be able to take SHARP IMAGES like goose bump on skin to stand out sharp as a tack, eyes that are sharp not cloudy, soft or what I call out of focus.
I am convinced that I have applied myself to learning something about photography, I have used a light meter for lighting, used gray card for white balance, all shot in RAW, Lightroom 4 and hundred's of edited pictures all with the same results, It is finally sinking in that it is not me, so it has to be the T3i or the kit lens that came with it.

If I decide to get a better camera 70D will I be stuck with KIT Lens just to find out later that I going to upgrade the lens to get past the soft, cloudy, out of focus looking 70d kit lens. Any opinions as to what I should do? Buy a new 70D or upgrade the T3i lens?

I appreciate any help I can get with helping me decide.

Thanks
Don

Don, I'm having the EXACT same problem with my T3i, although my kit only came with the 18-55mm lens. I'm anxious to see what your solution is so I can try the same.

For a budget of 250, you can get a Sigma 30mm non-art... This is one of my most favorite and very sharp lenses. I use a T3i and it's quite capable of sharp pictures. The nifty two-fifty is a very sharp lens as well. For about 100 bucks++ more you can get a 15-85 used.

Are you using the center point only for focusing? On a T3i, center point is the strongest.
Are you using One-Shot or AI Servo? The rule I follow is this... If it moves, use AI Servo.
Are you using back-button focusing? I find this extremely useful with AI Servo and trying to maintain focus tracking.

My biggest complaint about this camera are the FPS, small buffer and lack of truly useful high ISO capabilities.. That said I am digging into ETTR/HAMSTTR to overcome one of the them...

You've gotten some good advice from others and the only thing I would add might be to work on your shooting technique. It will help immensely...

Good luck...

how big of a crop is that picture? considering how small the focus point is on the boys face, i imagine it's quite a big crop of the original shot

Archibald wrote in post #17671027
Some questionable advice here. The 50/1.8 is a full frame lens and is too long for general photography on a crop like the T3i. Furthermore, it is not particularly sharp, nor is it known for its good autofocus.

I wasn't advising the OP to get the 50/1.8 STM as the replacement or upgrade to his 18-55mm, I was advising him to get it and use it for a while before spending significant money on better zooms. I think it's a wrong move to go all-in on zooms without ever having used a fast prime lens. It's a small amount of money for a very good, usable lens that will be a real eye opener for someone who has only ever known slow, consumer primes. And I haven't noticed any autofocus issues with this lens on either my 6D or 60D, it's much improved over the 50mm f/2.8 mk II, which certainly did have some accuracy and repeatability issues. And yes, 50mm is too long for a general purpose walk-around lens on crop, the 24 STM would be the better choice.

The latest 50mm f/1.8 STM (the new one) is crazy sharp at f/2.8 through f/5.6. For the money, it's ridiculously good. Can my 100/2.8L macro beat it for sharpness...yes, but not by as much as you might expect from the price differential. No non-L zoom lens is going to touch the sharpness of the 50/1.8 STM stopped down a bit. I compared the 50 STM and 40 STM to my 17-55mm f/2.8 standard zoom on the 60D, and for sharpness, both $125-$150 primes outperform the $900 zoom by a HUGE margin.

GeoKras1989 wrote in post #17671035
Certainly agree about the questionable advice. The 50 STM suffers from the same poor AF as the 50 1.8 II. Yes, it is too long for general use on a crop camera.

This is not my experience with these lenses. I hated the 50mm f/1.8 mk II, it had inconsistent, inaccurate focus and it was slow and noisy. My 50 STM is fast, quiet and I get a very high keeper rate, even using the 6D's non-cross-type outer AF points. If you really think these lenses have the "same poor AF", I can only believe that you haven't used one or the other of them, misread something, or are remembering your 50/1.8 II too fondly. Their AF systems couldn't be any less alike.

What few focus misses I get with the 50 STM are when I shoot it wide open with close subjects, which is totally expected for trying to use AF at f/1.8; phase detect AF just isn't accurate enough, and that's not the lens's fault. Canon also gave us more and rounder aperture blades, so even the bokeh is a bit better than the 50/1.8 II, though still not nice and smooth, and with some of the same ugly rendering of OOF highlights as it's predecessor.

DPP focus and Exif data

DreDaze wrote in post #17671680
how big of a crop is that picture? considering how small the focus point is on the boys face, i imagine it's quite a big crop of the original shot

I cropped it to better show the soft focus, it is the same softness as the original.
Most of these pool pics I shot from about 10 to 15 feet

One more since I found out how to get all the info from DPP