Need lense for XT.. no clue
I have a Canon XT ... I'm wanting to start taking close up shots from afar.. and I really know nothing about lenses... what type of Macro lense should i be looking for for this type of camera? I'm wanting to take animal shots & children. As I missed so many shots of my boy that would have been so good if only I had a macro lense, not to mentioned wildlife.
I'm also wanting a WIDE lense as well... so please share your opinions if you will.
Thanks a lot
Lacey
I'm also wanting a WIDE lense as well... so please share your opinions if you will.
Thanks a lot
Lacey
~*~Fristles~*~
"Unexpected actions speak louder than words."
"Unexpected actions speak louder than words."
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Lacey,
Macro lenses are used to take close-ups of flowers and bugs and stuff. It sounds like you might want a "telephoto" lens, most likely a zoom telephoto. Telephoto lenses "bring things closer" by using longer focal lengths than standard or wide-angle lenses.
What situations are you hoping to capture? Indoors or outside? Distances? Any idea about budget?
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I think you may be mistaking macro with telephoto lens also.
Do you have any lenses in mind?
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
- Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
Hmmmm, not made of gold? I've heard good things about the following- Canon EF 70-200 f/4L
- Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 II EX DG APO Macro HSM AF
- Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical
- Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
The 70-200 lenses will get you close to the action (your son running in the back yard - for example). The Canon lenses are about the best there are in that focal length range and the f/4L is very reasonably priced.The 17-55 (17-50mm) lenses make a very good "walkikng around" lens and with a constant maximum f/2.8 aperture will make a good inside lens as well.
The 10-22 (or 10-20) is a quite wide angle lens and very fun to use/play with.
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if you know nothing about lenses, i suggest you use 18-55 kit lens.
doesnt make sense to spend thousand of dollars worth of glasses if you dont know what you are doing.
Budget, less then $600 if at all possible. I'd like for it to be as less as possible so I can get 2-3 lenses (macro, tele & wide) but I know the more you spend, the better it's going to be.
& for eyusuf... I'm learning as I go mainly because I have a kid, single "parently" and camera things are expenseive! I'm sure when you first started with the Dig. SLR you knew nothing about lenses either. If people stuck with what they know, there would be NOTHING in this world. No computers, no cameras, no cures for health problems, no digitals... the list goes on. So thank you, but I'm not sticking with the kit len. just because I don't know about lenses yet.
Thanks for the ones that have replied and not a rude one.
Lacey
"Unexpected actions speak louder than words."
What I think he was suggesting is that you experiment with the kit suggested lens for a while until you figure out what it can do and what it can not do and in what ways it limits you in your photography. Then, you will have a better idea of what you want, be more informed, and thus make a better buying decision. This is, for most people (myself included - I made a number of poor buying decisions when I first started), this kind of process usually results in a savings of money.
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You might look into telephoto zooms that have a close focus capability.
True macros are potentially more magnification and better quality, but they work best with static subects because they tend to have slower autofocus for more precision. I doubt that your son is very "static", because my three kids never were.
I suggest looking at the Sigma 70-300mm, f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro zoom lens. It can focus down to just over 3 feet and yields about 1/2 lifesize images, which will print at more than lifesize on a typical 4" x 6" print.
It's available for under $200USD. It's not the fastest to focus, and it's not a good interior lens, but for the money it can work pretty well outdoors.
Some samples from the lens:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma/70-300_4-56_dg_apo_macro
Another possibility is the Canon EF 70-200mm, f4L USM (non-IS). Much faster focus and better quality overall. It makes a pretty good close-focus lens with the addition of a Canon 500D close-focus diopter. There is no version of the 500D that will fit directly, so you would also need an adapter to mount the diopter onto the lens.
It's a bit more than your budget, but it has very good quality and is fairly good even in interior applications, especially used with a flash that has an autofocus assist lamp.
We had a DGrinner that used the 70-200L with a 500D, but I can't remember who just now. Anyway they posted pretty nice stuff with that combination.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
As for wide, if you really are on a budget, the kit lens (18mm) is reasonable. Of course, you can get really wide, like 10-20m, but those are going to be more expensive, regardless of brand. I recommend the Sigma 10-20 EX, or the Canon 10-20.
i sincerely apologize if you feel that i'm rude. i have no intention to be rude. just laying out the cards on the table.
i'm not suggesting you stick with kit lens forever. when i first started DSLR, i used the 18-55 for some time and learnt by doing. i then learnt about composition, aperture, exposure, etc with that lens for quite some time.
one thing you can ask for yourself is what do you feel the kit lens is lacking? is it slow? not enough zoom? etc..etc.
that's how i climbed up the ladders. i first felt that it was not fast enough, i.e. hard to shoot in dim light situation. and also it was not long enough that i could catch photos of butterflies or dragonflies. but it was much later after i completely understood the kit lens' limitation.
i think (but again, that's just the weird me) it doesnt make sense to spend thousand of dollars worth of lenses without even understanding why they are so expensive and what they are capable of. but that was just me..different people take different route to learn.
I'd say go with macro if you wanted like part of a nail on hand to fill the frame, but a whole hand, most lenses will do that.
Another option besides the 70-300mm Sigma is a Canon 55-250mm lens as it may focus faster and has an IS which may help in reducing shake with close focusing.
The kit lens... is lacking... zoom & fastness, more then anything. That's what I'm really needing and wanting.
I know what I want in my photos, but I'm just trying to learn the lenses. I want to take photos of wildlife, we all know wildlife does not "stay" long if you try to get closer to them so Telep. is a lens I need for that. Taking shots of bugs on flowers, such as Bee's and Butterflies. and Rain Drops, as well as Ice isles, I need a macro for that... and for a close up of my boy's hand(only) picking a flower (I'm guessing I need a macro for that as well? or do I need the tele. lens?)
and for wide areas such as landscaping/water/mountains... I need a wide lens for that...
Am I right? Please correct me if I am wrong.... I'm going to look up some things you all have mentioned to see.
Thanks a lot everyone,
Lacey
"Unexpected actions speak louder than words."
for landscape shots: your current 18-55 should be good since one does not need fast lens to shoot landscape.
macro: two kind of macros, still macros (flowers, stationary objects basically) or moving things like insects. for the first one you can get short macro lenses like 50mm or 60mm macro. for the latter, you need a good working distance which means longer macro lenses. sigma 150 macro is a good performer. and dont forget a tripod, or at least a monopod to avoid motion blur.
wildlife: the sigma 70-300 is a good one but it is slow. you need a lot of light to get decent shots. tripod will help. canon 70-200 f/4L is really a nice upgrade but it is certainly more expensive. for me, i'm using canon 200 2.8 coupled with 2x teleconverter for a distance-shot.