Whats my next lens to buy?

Kowboy33

I have been using a Canon 30D for about a year, greta camera. Now that I am starting to get a lot more into photography I am wondering what lens would be the next to purchase.

I have the Standard Lens that came with the Canon 30D.
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
Also
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

I originally got the camera to take pictures for my graphite renderings that I do. And found out that I also love photography, so i got hobbies ouot og it. Anyway, I'm just looking for suggestions on a lens or two that would be the next progression to take.

I shoot all types of stuff. I mainly got the 70-200 lens to shoot rodeos and such. I do mostly western artwork. But I like the outdoors so I'm looking for somehting to use there as well. And I go to a lot of farms and shoot pictures of farm life, mostly horses.

Maybe a couple of suggestions would be good, with a description what each would be good for, or even examples. I'm new to this, so not sure on my next steps. Thanks for any help.

Here's my smug mug page
http://wrangler33.smugmug.com/

and my website if interested in seeing a few drawings.
http://www.longranch.com/Default.aspx?page=artworks

ziggy53

There are all sorts of ways you could go:

You could upgrade your "kit" lens for a faster or (potentially) sharper lens.

You could purchase a "super-wide" lens for vista landscapes.

You could purchase a longer zoom and/or longer telephoto prime to capture wildlife.

You could purchase a tilt-shift lens for perspective control of landscapes and/or stitched panoramas.

You could purchase a macro lens to capture the diminutive subjects that are a part of farm life.

From your gallery i would suggest upgrading the "kit" lens first to an f2.8 lens of similar range, to give better control of DOF, and then add a super-wide zoom (10-22mm-ish) for vista landscapes.

Kowboy33

ziggy53 wrote:

There are all sorts of ways you could go:
From your gallery i would suggest upgrading the "kit" lens first to an f2.8 lens of similar range, to give better control of DOF, and then add a super-wide zoom (10-22mm-ish) for vista landscapes.

Thanks for the suggestions. Now from another post I'm looking at the
17-55 2.8 Which I think would be a good replacement for the "kit" lens I have.

Also thinking about the 10-22 and curious about the 17-85.

Is there any forum here that could explain what kind of DOF i should be going for, I guess it depends on what your shooting?

What about the
Canon Telephoto EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Autofocus Lens?

ziggy53

Kowboy33 wrote:

Thanks for the suggestions. Now from another post I'm looking at the
17-55 2.8 Which I think would be a good replacement for the "kit" lens I have.

Also thinking about the 10-22 and curious about the 17-85.

Is there any forum here that could explain what kind of DOF i should be going for, I guess it depends on what your shooting?

I am not a big fan of the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 USM IS. It is a little slow and soft for my taste.

The Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM is, by comparison, a very nice lens and seems to compare pretty well with Canon "L" lenses in optical quality. Unfortunately, it's kinda pricey and construction is not "L" quality. Still highly recommended.

Also consider:

Tamron SP AF 17 - 50mm f/2.8 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF)
Sigma 18mm - 50mm f/2.8 EX DC Macro

For the superwide also look at:

Sigma 10mm - 20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Tokina 12mm - 24mm f/4 PRO DX
Tamron 11 - 18mm f/4.5-5.6 XR DI-II LD Aspherical (IF)

The reference I made to DOF is just that faster lenses, f2.8 and faster, tend to have more control over DOF than slower lenses. It's not that you can ever have too much control, but there are practical limits. DOF variability and good "bokeh" are desirable properties in any case.

Tango

i would get a 12mm-24 again....
maybe a fisheye...

or a 400mm:D

Tee Why

If you are looking to expand your photography, consider an ultrawide to get super wide landscape shots.
I like Canon 10-22 and Sigma 10-20. Both are great lens, but Canon is a bit more expensive. Tokina 12-24 is nice as well, but if you're getting an ultrawide, why not go as wide as possible.

If you are looking to improve the possibilities with the range of the kit lens, consider getting the new Canon 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 with IS, Tamron 17-50, Sigma 18-50 f2.8 macro, Sigma 17-70mm, Tokina 16-50, or the Canon 17-55mm IS. All are very good.

If you are looking to do a lot of macro, then a dedicated macro lens may be good, if not, getting a close focusing lens like the two sigmas above may be a versatile option to shoot more variety.

Good luck.

Sprout Crumble

Yeh, I'd get a better standard zoom such as the EFS 17-55/2.8 IS or, at a much lower cost, Tamrons bargain 17-50/2.8 as well as the EFS 10-22/3.5.

On the macro front, Sigmas 70/2.8 is a peach.

rpcrowe

I would invest in a top-line mid-range zoom
Everyone has different needs since we all tend to shoot differently. However, I primarily use my mid-range zooms for most of my shooting. Since this is my most used focal range, I want the best quality imagery possible from that range.

The 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens is a sweetheart and gives great IQ as well as the several stop advantage of the IS capability. If you are shooting with (and expect to continue to use) a 1.6x camera; this might be the best lens possible. It is, however, expensive and since it is restricted to later model (300D and more recent) 1.6x DSLR bodies; it would restrict you to that format.

I also have the 24-70mm f/2.8L lens and this also gives me great imagery. I love this lens but, realize that it is heavy and that the 24mm limitation might be restrictive for users of 1.6x bodies. When I use the 24-70L, I also use a 12-24mm Tokina on a second body. This gives me a continuous 12mm to 70mm range with great imagery. However, the 12-24mm also pretty well restricts me to the continued use of the 1.6x format.

I recently carried a single camera and one lens on a trip to Branson, MO. While, I did miss the 12-17mm range of my Tokina, the 17-55mm worked out just fine. I was surprised not to have missed the 55-70mm range of my L lens.

All-in-all; I would recommend the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS lens as a great pair-up with your 70-200mm tele zoom. It gives great imagery and the IS allows some pretty awesome available light shots.

Kowboy33

Thanks for all the help
Thanks to everyone for there advice, definitely helped out.

Going to save up and get the 17-55 and then the 10-22.

Keep posting if you think there is a better choice.

claudermilk

Well, since you asked. I'll pitch the Tokina 12-24 as an option to look at against the 10-22. Both great lenses, but I personally prefer the Tokina.

Rhuarc

claudermilk wrote:

Well, since you asked. I'll pitch the Tokina 12-24 as an option to look at against the 10-22. Both great lenses, but I personally prefer the Tokina.

Keep in mind that on a crop body the 12-24 won't be super wide. I'm holding out for a 10mm wide angle because ofthe crop factor.

claudermilk

Effective 16mm vs 19mm. That is one of the major debate points between the two lenses. IMHO it's plenty wide enough 99.5% of the time. I can live with that. He asked for suggestions if anyone thought there was a better choice--I think the two lenses are both good choices & both ought to be looked at before laying money on the counter.

Manfr3d

I smell christmas

If you dont like switching lenses often and usualy shoot during
daylight checkout the Canon 100-400mm/4.5-5.6 L IS.

I 2nd the recommendation of the Canon 17-55mm/2.8 IS EF-S
for wider angle indoor/outdoor action and still stuff.

Maybe you'd like to try some ultra wide angle? Checkout the
Canon 10-22mm/3.5-4.5 EF-S.

If you need more reach get yourself a 1.4x Extender for
your 70-200 lens. If you want top notch image quality
and longer reach, take a look at the 400mm lenses
from Canon (5.6 L, 4.0 DO IS ...).

A fisheye can be fun too such as the 15mm/2.8.

... you knew it: the possibilities are endless. And yes
I'm also writing Santa a letter at this moment