 Shawn Wilson |
Digital Rebel - lens questions I have a Canon Digital Rebel and I have heard a few things that have me worried about buying lenses. 1. I've heard some lenses may be suited for film cameras over digital. If so, then how do I know which to get for my camera? 2. I have the standard 18-55 lens and I had a thought to get something fixed in a 35 range, something fixed in the 200 range, and something maybe 55-300 to round it out. Good idea? Anyone have a better idea? 3. I plan on moving up to a 20D and further as my skill improves... do I need to think about that with my lens choice being that they are all EOS bodies? 4. I'd like suggestions for lenses for certain situations... like for a wedding you'd want this or that lens, for studio portraits you'd want such and such, etc... Any and all situations are welcome. 5. Any general suggestions are welcome... I want my lens choices to be good ones that I don't regret and need to sell extra lenses that I don't end up using. Thanks in advance!
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Jon Close |
Longish answer for (1): All Canon EF lenses for their film SLRs can be used with the 300D and other EOS digital SLRs. In addition, the 300D, 20D, and 350D can use the EF-S series of lenses, which are intended for the digital cameras only. Similar for EOS autofocus lenses made by Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, etc. . They all can be used on the digital SLRs, but some (mostly Sigma's designed/made prior to 2002) may need their ROM chip inside updated to restore compatibility. See this link. The digital image sensor of the 300D and many other digitial SLRs is smaller than the 35mm film frame. There are lenses designed for the "APS-C" or "1.6x" digitals that cannot/should not be used on the film cameras. These include "EF-S" from Canon, "DC" from Sigma, and "Di II" from Tamron. These lenses are a good option if you are only using the digital SLR, and if you upgrade path remains with the APS-C sized cameras, such as Canon's 300D/350D/20D (and their likely replacements). Because the "low-pass" filter and microlenses covering a digital sensor are more reflective than film, newer lens designs include additional coatings on the rearmost elements and a more perpendicular light path. While some lens makers tout these design features ("DG" for Sigma, "Di" for Tamron), others like Canon incorporate it without any special designation. If you are shopping for older out-of-production lenses, then you'll need to research whether other users of the particular lens you are looking at have had any issues (such as excessive chromatic aberration, aka CA) when used with a digital SLR.
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Shawn Wilson |
Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for. I think the APS-C lenses are my best bet. Since my upgrade path would be to the 20D and probably not further unless I crossed the line into actually making money with photography, I think that's what I'll plan on looking for. Now, you stopped at the 20D on your progression, but what about the 10D, or 1D? Do they use a larger sensor once you're at that level and you'd want new lenses at that point?
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Jon Close |
10D, and the earlier D60, D30,... also have APS-C sized sensor. They can use the Sigma/Tamron DC/Di II lenses for the smaller format. However, the EF-S lenses have a restricted mount that will not fit these earlier SLRs. The 1D and 1Ds models have larger sensors so these lenses would not be appropriate with them.
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Shawn Wilson |
Thanks... I can't imagine at this point actually getting to a point that a 1D would make sense for me, but 5 years ago I never would have thought I would have a use for a $10,000 network scanner either... *smile* (I'm a computer consultant / network engineer) Well, I think #1 is taken care of, but what about 2 - 5? Any takers?
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Christopher A. Vedros |
Most photographers will agree that a fixed-length lens will give you better results than a zoom. Zoom lenses are just so darned convenient, though! Maybe you could try this: Get the zoom lens first, then take note of which focal lengths you tend to use. The Digital Rebel records this info with each image. That might help you decide if any other fixed-length lenses would be right for you. For portraits, it helps to have a lens with a very wide aperture. This will separate your subject from a nicely blurred background. I use the Canon 85mm f1.8 lens. You might prefer a shorter lens. You should see what works best for you before you rush out and buy a bag of lenses.
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Shawn Wilson |
I agree that zooms are convienient. I tend to zoom in and out constantly at the moment but have already come upon a few situations where the packaged lens (18-55) just isn't 'fast' enough. That's how you say it, right, when I'm stuck with 3.5 as my largest aperture at 18mm and 5.7 at 55mm? That's pretty bad isn't it, compared to what's possible? Although I'm sure the price is the main thing there, huh?
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Christopher A. Vedros |
That's right, faster lenses are usually more expensive. In the normal to short tele range, it's not too bad, though. The 85mm f1.8 that I use is only $325 at B&H right now. The 50mm f1.4 is only $295. Long & fast is where the price really shoots up.
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Shawn Wilson |
If I really think about it, the times that I've hit problems with this lens it comes down to two situations: 1. Less than optimal light and 55mm isn't quite far enough and 5.7 isn't near fast enough. 2. Good light, but for DOF purposes 4 or 5 isn't good enough in the 35 - 55 range. For the first one, I'd imagine it would be pricy to get say a 55mm + zoom lens that is at least say 3.5 at 55. For the second one though, should it be too expensive to find a 35-55 zoom in the 2 range? I'm not familure with B&H, are they an online company that I can browse through? Any thoughts on ranking say a Canon lens vs Sigma? If it's a Ford vs Chevy issue then so be it, but if there are definate issues with each such as one is cheaper and faster, but the other has better color, etc... What about price vs quality... say I find a cheap fast zoom from canon for half of what the same Sigma costs... am I making a huge quality sacrifice? I know, it's probably a loaded question, but tips are what I'm expecting for me to then do my own thing from there. I don't expect to be a lens expert with a couple sentences from someone.
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Christopher A. Vedros |
You DEFINITELY should make yourself familiar with B&H! www.bhphotovideo.com Their prices are very reasonable, and they are very dependable (orders shipped on time, well-padded packaging, etc.) I haven't had to return anything to them yet, but I bet that would go smoothly as well. B&H is also very handy just to see what's available, because they sell just about everything. I have a Sigma 28-300mm f3.5-6.3 zoom lens and I like it. Sigma makes good lenses. The quality might not match Canon's higher-end L-series lenses, but I think they're better than Canon's low-end lenses. When comparing two lenses with similar features, Sigma would be less expensive than Canon.
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Shawn Wilson |
A quick search there isn't turning up very many lenses... Am I searching for something wrong? I went to photo, 35mm lenses, all brands, Canon Autofocus (EOS), All types and only get 6 results. Is the type I chose, Canon Autofocus, the problem? Maybe most good lenses are manual focus only? Or is it something else?
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Shawn Wilson |
Scratch that... I had gone to used equip. and thought I went back but didn't. Sorry.
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