Want to move up from the kit lens...

I'm a little unsure of where to direct my attention thought. I have a Canon Rebel XS and have been looking at some wide angle zooms (http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …e_Angle_Telepho​to_EF.html) but don't know if thats the right direction. Please let me know what you guys recommend as a suitable 2nd lens.

PS I find myself more often than not wishing I could get closer to the subject which led me to my choice of a zoom lens. Thanks!

In my not so humble opinion at this point you should be looking to supplement rather than to duplicate the lens you already have. While it is not wide you might consider the EFs 55-250

[http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …_55_250mm_f_4_5​_6_IS.html

Or if you find that your present kit lens is not wide enough perhaps an ultra wide zoom, however these are significantly more expensive than the lens you have been looking at.

Wayne

Well keep in mind your kit lens is the 18-55mm. So at the widest angle (zoomed out) it is 18mm. At max telephoto (zoomed in) it is 55mm. So if you want to be able to zoom "closer" to the subject, you would want something with a significantly longer telephoto end. The lens you linked to is not bad, but it goes to 105mm. That is only about 2x more zoom than you have now. I would recommend going to at least 200mm so you can feel like you have some significant zoom power available. Now depending on your budget, I would look at these lenses:

55-250mm IS - about $225, same quality as the 18-55 IS that came with your camera.
70-200 F4 L USM- about $600 entry level pro grade zoom lens. Slightly smaller range than the 55-250, but focuses very fast and built like a tank. A bit better optically than the other two.
70-300 IS USM - about $500. A little bit more reach than the 55-250 and built a bit better.

Does it make sense to spend more on the lens than the actual body? Those 5 and 6 hundred dollar lenses look great but how much better will they be than the $225 on an XS?

A couple of suggestions for the 55-250mm have been made, I agree with that, it is an excellent lens and at the price you won't find better.

Take a look at this thread on POTN and see what it is capable of.



https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=459569


John

Mike787 wrote in post #9309886
Does it make sense to spend more on the lens than the actual body? Those 5 and 6 hundred dollar lenses look great but how much better will they be than the $225 on an XS?

You will almost always get a better return on investment getting lenses vs a new body. I don't know what you plan to photograph, so I can't say which is a better buy for you. I do like my 55-250 IS, though.

Yes it does make sense to spend more on lenses than on a body, Even those PTON members with high-end professional camera bodies have more invested in lenses than in there camera bodies.

Wayne

wow j37r those are amazing Ill def look into that lens.

Mike787 wrote in post #9310369
wow j37r those are amazing Ill def look into that lens.

More images with the 55-250 are available here;

http://pixel-peeper.com/lenses/?len​s=13088

One nice thing about Pixel-peeper is the ability to search for photos with a camera and lens combination so here is a link to the Canon 1000C aka Rebel XS and the 55-250 lens;

http://pixel-peeper.com …ne&exp_max=none​&res=3&p=2

Wayne

Mike787 wrote in post #9309886
Does it make sense to spend more on the lens than the actual body? Those 5 and 6 hundred dollar lenses look great but how much better will they be than the $225 on an XS?

i guarantee you that there's more than a few people on here with lenses that were more expensive than the body.

will those other lenses be any better than the 55-250...that depends on you, really. some people won't need anything faster than that if they're just a casual shooter. some will find the speed limiting. i thought the lens was wonderful, but i never used it. i used it when i first received it, and then maybe twice after that. i just never needed the reach. you shoud probably go to a store and try it out to see if it fits you and your photography.

Lenses 101

1) Almost every lens manufacturer has three levels of lenses
2) The most inexpensive lenses includes most 'kit' lenses and and other introductory lenses such as the Canon EF 50 F1.8. While many of these lenses are rather good when stopped down a little they are many compromises in the construction to keep the price low, or comparatively low. Some of these lenses are not so good.
3) The next step up is the mid-range price point where image quality is more important but price is also a consideration. Here we will find some very good lenses at what I think are reasonable prices. And example would be the Canon EF 50 f1.4. There are also some very good zooms in this group thet will give almost as good of sharpmess as those in the highest price range.
3) the top professional grade lens here performance and durability is stressed over price and few compromises are made other than those necessary to achieve the optic perambulates for the lens. This would include comparatives necessary for the zoom range in a zoom lens. class of lens also tends to be somewhat faster than the midrange price lenses for example the 85 mm L. lens is an F1 .2 or as the corresponding 85 mm midrange is an F1 .8. If you're shooting in the dark this difference may become critical.

Let's go back to the differences between midrange versus professional grade lenses many of the compromises in a midrange versus its corresponding professional grade lens are in the sharpness and lack of vignetting in the corners of the image. A constant aperture is also sacrificed to keep the price less expensive. If you're using a crop sensor camera, such as the Digital rebel series you do not need to have the sharpness in the corners because you are not including those in the photographs being taken. I think about that for a minute you have a sensor which is smaller than the exposed area on a piece of 35mm film, so why do you need to have the extreme corners and edges a sharp as the center the image?

This means that in many cases you can achieve almost as good of image quality with a midrange priced lens as you can with an L. series lens without the cost.

I'm going to get flamed screamed at and yelled about that statement because many on this forum are in love with her L. lenses which are excellent quality. But in many cases the higher prices lenses may be overkill for a beginner, especially on an APS-c format camera. The 55-250 mm zoom lens is very good introductory price lens. It has image stabilization, it offers an excellent zoom range at a very affordable price.

This is an excellent place for them beginning photographers to start, I would be inclined to learn what I can with the EF-s 18-55 IS and the EF-s 55-250 IS lenses, and they consider what weaknesses you encounter in these two lenses. one of the big weaknesses that I found starting out was the lack of capability to take pictures in low-light situations without a flash. My solution was to purchase a 55 mm F1.4 prime lens and a 85 mm F1.8 prime lens which have proven to be excellent for low light photography, or at lest I think so. As I am a jeweler, I have also purchased a 100 mm
F2 .8 macro lens to use one of photograph items that I've made. These were my choices they might not be wise choices for someone else.

My latest addition to my lens collection is a Tamron 18-270mm Zoom which I will use when I do not want to carry a full camera bag around.

There are many people who will probably disagree with me,but this is my not so humble opinion on lenses.

Wayne

An inexperienced shooter with the most expensive lens and most expensive camera in the world will not shoot as good a photo as a pro with a point and shoot soooo don't worry about your body just being a XS, don't worry the 55-250 IS is a lower end lens, they CAN take good photos.

themadman wrote in post #9311061
An inexperienced shooter with the most expensive lens and most expensive camera in the world will not shoot as good a photo as a pro with a point and shoot soooo don't worry about your body just being a XS, don't worry the 55-250 IS is a lower end lens, they CAN take good photos.

Strangely you don't see many pros with P&S on the NFL sidelines, though

tkbslc wrote in post #9311871
Strangely you don't see many pros with P&S on the NFL sidelines, though

Nor do you see any novices except as runners for those same pros.

Wayne

I'd go for the 70-200 F4. I went from a kit lens 70-300 F4-5.6 to the 70-200 F4L and saw an immediate impact on my images. The IQ, contrast, color rendition made the images look like 3D when compared to my other images for the old lens. Definitely worth the upgrade.