 Amber Stephens |
HELP! What lenses do I need? I am a newby at all of this, so I need some help. I am getting ready to buy a Canon Digital Rebel XT. Here are my questions... 1.) It comes with a 18-55mm lens. For what is this lens best used for? 2.) I mainly want to do outdoor portraits. Is there a lens better suited for this? 3.) I enjoy nature, landscape, and macro photography. What lenses are recommended? My future business plans are to do outdoor photography (since I don't have a studio), and nature scenes, landscapes, travel, and macro photos to sell. I also want to be available for hire for concerts or other events. I've read so much, I have confused myself on what I need to buy. Please advise on what equipment, in addition to lenses, I will need. I'm afraid the salesmen just want my money.
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Andrew Laverghetta |
The 18-55 is an ok lens if you're not going to sell the pictures professionally. This is because many conditions where you might want to use ISO 100 for less digital noise may be too dark and flashes often add hard direct light. The kit lens (the one you're talking about) isn't as sharp or contrasty as a better, more expensive lens. If you really need the wider angle and you're in brighter light, this lens may be ok. I just recently bought a Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 lens and I love it on my Canon 20D. The f/2.8 part of that refers to how much light it lets through the lens. That Sigma lens can focus pretty close but it's not really a macro lens. For portraits, a popular lens might be the Canon EF 28-135mm IS. I'm not sure about those numbers but real photo stores would probably know what you were talking about if that's not correct. This is because it extends longer into the focal lengths (80~135) that people consider best for portraits. I think the Sigma or that Canon 28-135 would be pretty good for nature, or you could get a prime(fixed focal length) lens that is pretty sharp as well. For macro, you might want to check out bhphotovideo.com about a macro lens or some extension tubes. I have also bought some close-up filters that screw on to the front of the lens and are essentially magnifying glasses. The quality isn't the best but it works when you're starting. They usually come in sets of 3 although you can buy single ones. If you're going to do photography as a business, you're going to have to spend money. The reason why I bought the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8 instead of the real Canon brand was because of price. The Canon was about $1100 but the Sigma is basically the same but less than half the price at just over $400. Another good lens would be either Canon's EF 70-200mm f/2.8 for about $1100 or at Image Stabilizer for an extra $600. Sigma also has the 70-200mm f/2.8 for just over $800. Also, there are some variations like those lenses with f/4.0 (lets in less light than f/2.8) and those will cost less. Anyway, a lot of the price is going to be in the lenses. Also, you'd probably want to get a good flash like the Canon 420EX, 550EX, or 580EX. These lenses weigh a lot too so you would need to get a pretty strong tripod. The Rebel XT, while competant, is going to weigh a lot less than the lenses so the weight will probably be a little uneven but that's just a side comment. What's your budget? That's the big thing to ask. For now, the 18-55 will be good to learn the camera and then when you venture into different areas, you will be able to ask more specific questions about lenses and such. You can probably already find a lot by searching macro or portraits here on betterphoto.com's home page. One last thing about macro lenses, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=search&Q=&b=0&a=696_6146&a=700_6186&shs=&ci=8429&ac=&Submit.x=12&Submit.y=7 That should give you some examples. There's a macro lens there that only works on the two digital rebels and 20D so those might be a good option unless you'll want to use the lens on a film camera as well. There's also a 50mm compact macro lens that will give you life size images along with a Canon Life-Size converter EF. When you search for magnification ratios, 1:1 is life size meaning a bee on a flower (as an example) would look the same size on the 35mm negative as it is in real life. My Sigma lens that I mentioned is something like 1:3.8 which isn't as close but it's pretty good for a standard zoom lens. Sorry this is such a long response as I know somebody else will probably be able to sum this up and better in a paragraphy or two. Hope this helps!
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Amber Stephens |
Thank you so much, Andrew! You have no idea how much I appreciate your help. You gave me a lot of information, and let me in on many things I wasn't aware of. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. P.S. I enjoyed looking at your gallery!
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David Allen |
Hi Amber I was in your position a few months ago and asked a lot of questions in various forums. Unfortunately I got so many contradictory responses that I got totally confused. In the end I played 'safe'. All of the shots in my gallery were taken with a Canon 300D using the kit lens (my daughter has claimed this camera, which is why I needed another). Hope that this helps.
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Amber Stephens |
Thank you, David. Yes, it does help--a bunch! Thanks for taking the time to respond! I looked at your gallery and your photos are awesome.
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