Which lens for Canon EOS Rebel T3

grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,942 Major grins

I got some gift cards for Christmas. I do mostly travel photography (often from a moving vehicle) and for that I usually use the 18-55 mm lens that came with the camera which says 0.8 feet or a quarter of a meter (0.25m) If I am on a boat and taking photos of the shore from a distance (or for any other time when I can't physically get close to my subject - wildlife etc.), I have 75-300 zoom lens which works well for me. I'm not really interested in taking videos - I can never remember how to do that so I will default to my iPhone if I want a video.

I have always sort of wanted a macro lens although I do not know how much I would use it. Ditto the kind of lens which lets you take photos of buildings without them looking like they are falling on you. (Wide angle???).

When I look on the internet for a macro lens I can't tell from the description how close I can get (or how much I can magnify) the subject. It doesn't seem to be the millimeter number. What does that number tell you - just how physically long the lens is? Is a lens with only one mm number one that does not zoom? I assume the f-stop number indicates the amount of light setting.

So assuming that I have determined that the lens will fit my camera, what should I look for?

“"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”

Comments

  • denisegoldbergdenisegoldberg Administrators Posts: 14,220 moderator

    You may find this article helpful - https://www.outdoorphotographer.com/photography-gear/lenses/macro-lens-guide/.

    @grandmaR said:
    When I look on the internet for a macro lens I can't tell from the description how close I can get (or how much I can magnify) the subject. It doesn't seem to be the millimeter number.

    The minimum focus distance should be available if you look at the specifications for the lens. For example, when I look at the Canon EF-S 60mm macro on the B&H Photo site - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/371176-USA/Canon_0284B002_EF_S_60mm_f_2_8_Macro.html - the minimum focus distance shows both in the lens description and in the specs.

  • puzzledpaulpuzzledpaul Registered Users Posts: 1,621 Major grins

    Considering the situation / circumstances, I'd also suggest that investigating a set of extension tubes might be a idea.
    pp

  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,942 Major grins

    yes I have started there - thank you

    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited January 16, 2018

    @grandmaR said:
    Ditto the kind of lens which lets you take photos of buildings without them looking like they are falling on you. (Wide angle???).

    For that you need a perspective correction lens, also known as a tilt-shift lens. These are widely used by architectural photographers to solve exactly the problem you mentioned. They are more complex than a typical lens because of the tilt-shift mechanism, and that also makes tilt-shift lenses expensive. And you also have to learn how to work the mechanism. (I've never used one.) You can read an explanation with some Canon lenses mentioned, at Wikipedia:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt–shift_photography

    The other way to correct perspective is to use a lens you already have, and then correct it in software. Lightroom and Photoshop can both do this. But it works better with a higher-megapixel camera since doing it in software means stretching or squeezing the available pixels, resulting in some loss of detail.

    Using a tilt-shift lens is the best way that produces the most professional results, but it's obviously the complex and expensive way.

  • JonaBeth RussellJonaBeth Russell Registered Users Posts: 1,065 Major grins

    I dunno about the tilt-shift thing, but I use a couple of ultra-wide lenses to shoot architecture professionally. They are NOT tilt-shift lenses, but they are anti-fisheye lenses. One is a Canon 10-22mm and the other a Tokina 11-16.

    For a general walk-around lens that will shoot decently wide landscapes while giving plenty of zoom power for tighter shots, I totally recommend the Canon EF-S 18-135mm. It's designed for crop cameras and serves as a kit lens for the Canon 7D. I put this on my T3 and it suddenly became an entirely different camera, with a helluva boost in image quality.

  • grandmaRgrandmaR Registered Users Posts: 1,942 Major grins

    thank you

    “"..an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." G.K. Chesterton”
  • nisaardaninisaardani New member Posts: 12 Beginner grinner
    incredible
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