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Lens suggestions for Canon t3i
I have decided to go with the canon T3i (body only).
I want to photograph people at weddings, sports, and children. I have been reading about lenses and I would like suggestions about focal length and maximum aperture.
I am thinking that a 70-300mm zoom lens would give me the greatest range and flexibility. I can take portrait shots at 70mm and can zoom in really close for sport shots (please correct me if I am wrong). I am worried that the max aperture is f/4-5.6 on the zoom lens. How much will this limit me on portraits and natural light?
Someone else on another post suggested a 50 1.8 or a tamron 17-50 f/2.8 for my first lens. I am thinking a 50 1.8 is prime lens (can’t zoom?) and that it has a great aperture and would be great for portraits. The tamron can zoom and has a better max aperture at f/2.8 (I hope I know what I am talking about!)
I am still in the experimenting stage of photography and really don’t know what style or type of pictures I really want to shoot. I helped take pictures of my sisters wedding with a canon rebel Xsi (her lens is 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6) and I love catching moments of people without them posing or having them know I was there.
I know there is no perfect lens that will do it all. I assume photographers start out and upgrade lenses specific to their style. With my first lens I am probably most interested in fairly good lens that will allow me to experiment as much as possible!
these lenses I am looking at for my first lens
50 1.8
17-50mm f/2.8
70-300mm f/4.6-5.6
28-135mm f/3.5-5.6
if any one else has any other suggestions that would be great!
I want to photograph people at weddings, sports, and children. I have been reading about lenses and I would like suggestions about focal length and maximum aperture.
I am thinking that a 70-300mm zoom lens would give me the greatest range and flexibility. I can take portrait shots at 70mm and can zoom in really close for sport shots (please correct me if I am wrong). I am worried that the max aperture is f/4-5.6 on the zoom lens. How much will this limit me on portraits and natural light?
Someone else on another post suggested a 50 1.8 or a tamron 17-50 f/2.8 for my first lens. I am thinking a 50 1.8 is prime lens (can’t zoom?) and that it has a great aperture and would be great for portraits. The tamron can zoom and has a better max aperture at f/2.8 (I hope I know what I am talking about!)
I am still in the experimenting stage of photography and really don’t know what style or type of pictures I really want to shoot. I helped take pictures of my sisters wedding with a canon rebel Xsi (her lens is 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6) and I love catching moments of people without them posing or having them know I was there.
I know there is no perfect lens that will do it all. I assume photographers start out and upgrade lenses specific to their style. With my first lens I am probably most interested in fairly good lens that will allow me to experiment as much as possible!
these lenses I am looking at for my first lens
50 1.8
17-50mm f/2.8
70-300mm f/4.6-5.6
28-135mm f/3.5-5.6
if any one else has any other suggestions that would be great!
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Comments
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Since you're just starting and don't have much of a clue to what you want to do, I'd go with these:
http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_s_55_250mm_f_4_5_6_is_ii
http://usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_s_18_55mm_f_3_5_5_6_is_ii
And with the 50mm prime, it'll be 80mm on the crop camera... perfect for portraits.
It'd let you get a feel of what you like to shoot for a relatively low price. It will be difficult with low light and the zoom lenses. But that's what the prime is for
The 28-135mm is a nice choice, but, it costs as much as those 2 zooms combined, doesn't give quite as good of IQ as either of the other 2 lenses, and shortens your wide angle abilities by quite a bit. The difference between 17mm and 28mm is very big in terms of the viewing angle you can capture.
Definitely get the 50mm. I have one and it's GREAT for portraits. It's about the best value in the Canon lineup (the 200mm f2L IS, $5700, is a great value too
The Tamron 17-50 is a good choice. You're right about the f/2.8 aperture - it's better than the f/4-5.6 ones. I'd recommend it since it's good for about everything except sports. You can walk around with it all day. Whatever you decide to shoot (except sports), it'll work. It's even good for portraits, although the 50mm f/1.8 is better.
A 70-300 or thereabouts will be good for sports. Unfortunately, there are a lot of cheap options in this range. This is a zoom range I used to use a lot, so I've used a lot of xx-300 lenses. The 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 is the DO version - pretty expensive ($1240). The 70-300 f/4-5.6 (max aperture is 4.0, not 4.5) is not the greatest lens, but it could work. It's $550. The 75-300 lenses are very cheap, stay away. After using some different zooms in this range, I'd recommend the 100-300 f/4.5-5.6 USM. It's really an excellent lens. It has ring USM with FTM focusing. In plain English, that means it's got the fast focusing motor of the expensive L lenses (ring USM), and you can manually focus AFTER you've achieved autofocus, without switching the lens to MF. It's really handy in practical use. I used it to shoot sports and it's great. If you used the 28-135, you know that the AF is pretty fast. It has this type of motor. The 70-300 f/4-5.6 ($550) does not have the fast focus motor, so the AF would probably be slower than on the 100-300. The 100-300 has good build and image quality as well. It's actually only $150-200, only available on the used market. Adorama.com has some of these.
Bag the 28-135. You don't need it. You've got the 17-50, the 50 1.8, and the 100-300 USM. That's what I'd do. Spend that extra money on a flash. A flash with your three lenses will give you much better results than a 28-135. You can make a modifier to diffuse or bounce the light. It makes a huge difference (snapshots vs professional-looking shots).
Use the flash when shooting weddings, portraits, children, etc. Use the 50mm for portraits. Use the 100-300 for sports, and wildlife if you do that. Use the 17-50 for weddings, children, portraits when you didn't bring your 50mm, and general walkaround stuff. You're covered.
Canon Wedding Lens Recommendations
Canon Outdoor Sports Lens Recommendations
Canon Indoor Sports Lens Recommendations
I am unwilling to recommend the entry level cameras from any manufacturer for serious ventures like wedding and sports, and photographing fast moving children can be just as challenging for the system as sports. If it's all you can afford, then a dRebel will get you some results, but as you progress you will definitely want for a more advanced body.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Most start out with the entry level lens that come with the camera - 18-55IS and 55-250IS and although not the best for low light they're pretty good. If you want a step up the Tamron 17-50 2.8 or Sigma 17-50 2.8 would be good choices but lens for sports can get much more expensive. Before spending big bucks on lens consider waiting and learning a little more about lens. Also consider buying an external flash, that will help in many photo situations like portraits
For sports especially the Canon xxD cameras have a number of features that make them a more suitable choice.
For starters they have a faster shooting rate, deeper shot buffer (they take more images than the Rebel series before slowing down) and they are more responsive (shorter image blackout times, faster cycling, shorter shutter lag, faster transfer to the memory card, etc.) The xxD series has a more advanced autofocus section and faster highest shutter speed. They have a more durable body construction (cast and machined magnesium or high-grade aluminum in the xxD bodies vs stamped and welded stainless-steel in the Rebel series.)
For wedding work the xxD series has a faster flash sync speed, allowing better control over ambient light vs the flash contribution (without resorting to a special HSS mode.)
Yes, those things are easily worth the extra cost for the type of shooting you intend.
Be sure to also budget for sports lenses, otherwise slow AF motor technology will not make use of the better AF speeds the xxD bodies offer. Typically you want the ring-USM available in the "L" series lenses and best primes.
For wedding work a couple of appropriate compact flashes are important, and a flash on the camera, but using an appropriate flash modifier is highly recommended. A flash with an AF assist light can make a tremendous difference in indoor AF speed.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
(I shoot the 135mm f2.0L on a full frame body. The 85mm f1.8 on a crop sensor has many of the same merits.)
Actually, I would suggest renting this lens for a weekend and shooting the daylights out of it to see if it works for you. Take a lot of people shots, and find out what it means to shoot wide open. Where I live, that's $30 for a Friday afternoon to Monday morning rental.
Here is an example:
You can get a new Canon T3i body from B&H in NYC for $669...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/753760-REG/Canon_5169B001_EOS_Rebel_T3i_Digital.html
For ten dollars more, $679, you can get a refurbished Canon 60D body from Canon...
http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_276387_-1
There might be a few more bucks difference considering shipping and state sales tax differences but, these two cameras are priced very closely when you are considering a new T3i and a refurbished 60D.
I have purchaed my first two DSLR cameras new and had to send each in for service during the first 90-days of ownership. I have never had any problems at all with the three subsequent DSLR cameras that I purchased as Canon Refurbished units. I have more faith in the quality control at a Canon Service Center than the Q.C. at the Canon Assembly Line....
NOTE: I am talking about Canon Factory Refurbished units which are identified on the box as such. I am not talking about a camera that was returned to a local dealer, given a quick once over, and proclaimed by that dealer to be a refurbished unit.
only if you shoot a lot of sports or actions shots, you can compare camera features here:
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/cameras