Need a little lense advice

Thanks for all the information, I'm currently thinking of cancelling my xt kit and to just get the body (why waste $75.00) maybe get a 50mm 1.8 as people state for the same money just to get me going? and then worry about better lenses later? Footballs' finished, soccer ends soon, then we go indoors for basketball which should be so much better with lighting. By the way..I'm the Dad, my kids go to high school

slyone wrote in post #2231065
Thanks for all the information, I'm currently thinking of cancelling my xt kit and to just get the body (why waste $75.00) maybe get a 50mm 1.8 as people state for the same money just to get me going? and then worry about better lenses later? Footballs' finished, soccer ends soon, then we go indoors for basketball which should be so much better with lighting. By the way..I'm the Dad, my kids go to high school

LOL! Got ya! You are the dad. For basketball... I would highly recommend 85 1.8. It is a much better lens. It will be about 135mm on a 1.6 crop body like the XT. A lot of basket ball shooters use this lens. I like it for outdoor portraits.

LOL! I actually will be photographing my daughter's cheerleading squad.

I know that Liza swears by the 85-f/1.8 for basketball coverage.

Groups or individuals? 50 for groups and 85 for individuals. Also go ahead and get the 50 1.4 insted of 50 1.8. It will hunt much less in AF. I would also get a SpeedLight. I have a 580 and LUV it. Gyms may not seem dark, but they are. Shoot in RAW as well. The lighting will look nasty green and can be fixed easily in RAW.

hmm. well for a group shot you should probably just hang onto the kit lens, unless you are prepared to drop some money on a better lens. a group shot with the 50 is going to require a lot of space. the kit lens isnt THAT bad, as long as you use it and realize its limitations, that said it would be horrible for action shots indoors, but outdoors, stopped down, it can do a fine enough job, especially for the price.

Just like anything I guess, the more you find out/ the harder it gets! so maybe I should just use the kit lens afterall and worry about a 135-200-? next spring?

slyone wrote in post #2231227
Just like anything I guess, the more you find out/ the harder it gets! so maybe I should just use the kit lens afterall and worry about a 135-200-? next spring?

That is the best. Use the kit and find out exactly what FL you want. If you stick with the kit... I would highly recommend getting a SpeedLight and a book on Understanding Exposure.

Thanks!

Be careful here....these guys won't hesitate to spend all your money for ya

jra wrote in post #2232109
Be careful here....these guys won't hesitate to spend all your money for ya

on the contrary, a good discussion with experienced users. I enjoy sharing opinions on the topic. and find their opinions to be invalueable. Look at the last entry "use the kit lens" no cost whatsoever

Why is it my 28mm x 200mm lens shows 50mm when fully zoomed in?

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slyone wrote in post #2233965
Why is it my 28mm x 200mm lens shows 50mm when fully zoomed in?

Just a guess, but it may be due to it being an older lens?

I guess either a prime 200L f2.8 or a 70-200 (L?) on an XT would be worth the cost/upgrade from my Pro1 28-200L f2.4-3.5 camera?
If yes, how valuable is the IS if I just use "the stick"

runninmann wrote in post #2231181
I know that Liza swears by the 85-f/1.8 for basketball coverage.

I use that one, the 100 f/2, and the 50mm f/1.8, actually. And I'd recommend the 20D or 30D over the XT. The 5fps makes a difference when shooting fast paced sporting events. I use both the 20D and the XT at our basketball games and prefer the 20D not only for the extra fps, but also the 3x faster autofocusing and the command dial for those on-the-fly adjustments.