DSLR folks, lens advice?

[imported_Mike]

Im going to be getting the 350D at the end of this month or april depending on the deals available. My main question is do you think I need to upgrade the kit lens? Also, I know I want a telephoto lens and have my eyes on a nice deal locally for canon's EF 75-300mm USM with IS lens for $275. With a very low budget to spend on an extra lens or two do you think this lens is a good buy?

Is there another lens I should consider? For those with the drebel, which lenses do you have now?

Also, Im a little cautious about buying a used lens. Canon also might have their "Triple Play" rebates available with the 350d and I can save quite a bit on the camera itself.

75-300mm

 

[Anubis]

i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

 

[edro]

canon's EF 75-300mm USM with IS lens for $275
is a good buy?

Oh hell yes...

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

BTW, the kit lens is canon's EF-S 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: edro13
canon's EF 75-300mm USM with IS lens for $275
is a good buy?

Oh hell yes...

But its used, saw it on craigslist and emailed seller...havn't seen it in person yet.

 

[Wozster]

Don't forget the following:
Canon 50mm f/1.8 II (the plastic fantastic) $70
or
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM (the bokeh master) $320

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: Wozster
Don't forget the following:
Canon 50mm f/1.8 II (the plastic fantastic) $70

:thumbsup:

My favorite lens by far! PERFECT for portraits and random indoor photos.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

no i have the Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6 ED, the sigma is the next best choice thom and its macro ability is kinda nifty if your into that

is it better then the canon? i have no fvcking idea, however its pretty inexpensive and you wont have to buy it used


i will add this comment in tho, if you got a D70 you woudl save a few $$ and you would have a kick ass kit lens as well 😛

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

not totally true
i canm shoot mine at 300mm f/5.6 at 1/125 without shake

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

Not necessarily better, but they offer *nearly* L glass quality at anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a similar priced L lens.

I'd consider picking up a 50mm f1.8 or the new Sigma 24mm f1.4 (when it comes out) to add some low light, fast lenses to your bag for indoor shots. The 50mm prime from Canon can be bought for under $80 new.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

the canon woudl be teh same, it has the same apature range, USM might make it focus a lil faster/quiter but its not gonna give you any more light

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

no i have the Nikon 70-300 f/4-5.6 ED, the sigma is the next best choice thom and its macro ability is kinda nifty if your into that

is it better then the canon? i have no fvcking idea, however its pretty inexpensive and you wont have to buy it used


i will add this comment in tho, if you got a D70 you woudl save a few $$ and you would have a kick ass kit lens as well 😛

The D70 is an amazing camera but I think ive made up my mind on going with the 350.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

the canon woudl be teh same, it has the same apature range, USM might make it focus a lil faster/quiter but its not gonna give you any more light

I know that a lens isn't going to give you more light, but the photos won't be crisp? This is very discouraging.

 

[GTaudiophile]

You need something that will take care of the wide angle. Are you getting the kit lens with the 18-50mm lens? If so, it's decent for what it does for the money. If not, you'll need a wide angle lens. The EF-S 10-22 is the best one at the moment, but it'll set you back $700 or so.

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You need something that will take care of the wide angle. Are you getting the kit lens with the 18-50mm lens? If so, it's decent for what it does for the money. If not, you'll need a wide angle lens. The EF-S 10-22 is the best one at the moment, but it'll set you back $700 or so.

Unfortunetly I don't have $700 for a lense right now. I know you get what you pay for, but I just can't spend that much on a lens.

ED: ya, the kit lens is 18-55

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
You need something that will take care of the wide angle. Are you getting the kit lens with the 18-50mm lens? If so, it's decent for what it does for the money. If not, you'll need a wide angle lens. The EF-S 10-22 is the best one at the moment, but it'll set you back $700 or so.

For the $90 or so the kit lens adds to the cost, it's tough to beat for the 18mm that it can drop down to.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

the canon woudl be teh same, it has the same apature range, USM might make it focus a lil faster/quiter but its not gonna give you any more light

I know that a lens isn't going to give you more light, but the photos won't be crisp? This is very discouraging.

the reason he said the photos arnt chrisp is because of camera shake and the lens being a lil soft wide open at f/5.6

to shoot at 200mm+ idealy you want to keep the shutter speed at 1/lens length or greater so for a 200mm lens the min you woudl wanna handhold is 1/200 at 300mm its 1/300

a DSLR further complicates things because of its crop factor, in the 350Ds case thats 1.6x

so you would be shooting at like 1/400 of so, now in not bright lighting you woudl most likely have to shoot at f/5.6 @ 300mm to get enough light to pull that off, chances are that at 300mm f/5.6 it will stil be under exposed and seeing as you cant open up the ap anymore your gonna need to change the shutter speed, which gets you into camera shake issues

this is why f.2.8 zooms exists, so you can have a lot of light at a large zoom, mostly important in sports and wildlife photo, they however are not cheap

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

the canon woudl be teh same, it has the same apature range, USM might make it focus a lil faster/quiter but its not gonna give you any more light

I know that a lens isn't going to give you more light, but the photos won't be crisp? This is very discouraging.

the reason he said the photos arnt chrisp is because of camera shake and the lens being a lil soft wide open at f/5.6

to shoot at 200mm+ idealy you want to keep the shutter speed at 1/lens length or greater so for a 200mm lens the min you woudl wanna handhold is 1/200 at 300mm its 1/300

a DSLR further complicates things because of its crop factor, in the 350Ds case thats 1.6x

so you would be shooting at like 1/400 of so, now in not bright lighting you woudl most likely have to shoot at f/5.6 @ 300mm to get enough light to pull that off, chances are that at 300mm f/5.6 it will stil be under exposed and seeing as you cant open up the ap anymore your gonna need to change the shutter speed, which gets you into camera shake issues

this is why f.2.8 zooms exists, so you can have a lot of light at a large zoom, mostly important in sports and wildlife photo, they however are not cheap

:thumbsup:

The main reason I got mine was for wildlife... There just simple isn't enough light in the woods to get a fast shutter speed with that lens. That is why they make the f2.8 series'... of course, those are $1000+

 

[vi edit]

The main reason I got mine was for wildlife... There just simple isn't enough light in the woods to get a fast shutter speed with that lens. That is why they make the f2.8 series'... of course, those are $1000+

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/show...t.php?product=102&sort=7&cat=37&page=1

I know it's not 300mm, but the Sigma f2.8 70-200mm is a fast zoom lens that you can pick up for under $700. With the crop of the Rebel it's very decent amount of zoom. Very nice lens to match to a DReb.

 

[Anubis]

:thumbsup:

The main reason I got mine was for wildlife... There just simple isn't enough light in the woods to get a fast shutter speed with that lens. That is why they make the f2.8 series'... of course, those are $1000+

the f/2.8 300mm and up primes are all 3000$ and up

if you shot Nikon you coudl toss down 5000$ for the 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR ;drool;

apperently you can shoot that fusker at 400mm at 1/125 f/4 with VR on and get tack sharp pics

if you take a lot of wild life shots you shoud look into getting a Monopod, they woudl help elim shake when light isnt good and such, they also double as a walking stick

 

[imported_Mike]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: edro13

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

I have the same lense for my Canon 300D. I haven't had much time to use it, but it seems ok. You MUST have a tripod and/or a sunny day to get crisp photos anything over 200mm.

with the sigma? meh, one of the main reasons for me getting a telephoto lens would be for when I go camping and where ill have neither of those.

the canon woudl be teh same, it has the same apature range, USM might make it focus a lil faster/quiter but its not gonna give you any more light

I know that a lens isn't going to give you more light, but the photos won't be crisp? This is very discouraging.

the reason he said the photos arnt chrisp is because of camera shake and the lens being a lil soft wide open at f/5.6

to shoot at 200mm+ idealy you want to keep the shutter speed at 1/lens length or greater so for a 200mm lens the min you woudl wanna handhold is 1/200 at 300mm its 1/300

a DSLR further complicates things because of its crop factor, in the 350Ds case thats 1.6x

so you would be shooting at like 1/400 of so, now in not bright lighting you woudl most likely have to shoot at f/5.6 @ 300mm to get enough light to pull that off, chances are that at 300mm f/5.6 it will stil be under exposed and seeing as you cant open up the ap anymore your gonna need to change the shutter speed, which gets you into camera shake issues

this is why f.2.8 zooms exists, so you can have a lot of light at a large zoom, mostly important in sports and wildlife photo, they however are not cheap

Ah, ty for the explaination. I really like the marco ability in the Sigma, maybe ill have to lug around a tripod with me on my vacation.

 

[imported_Mike]

if you take a lot of wild life shots you shoud look into getting a Monopod, they woudl help elim shake when light isnt good and such, they also double as a walking stick

lol, nice. :thumbsup:

 

[faenix]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: CheapArse

Originally posted by: Anubis
i cant comment on the kit lens but for a zoom id get the Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO Super macro II

Do you have this for your D70? It is pretty cheap in comparison to the Canon, does sigma make better lenses than canon?

Not necessarily better, but they offer *nearly* L glass quality at anywhere from 1/2 to 1/3 the price of a similar priced L lens.

I'd consider picking up a 50mm f1.8 or the new Sigma 24mm f1.4 (when it comes out) to add some low light, fast lenses to your bag for indoor shots. The 50mm prime from Canon can be bought for under $80 new.

You have to consider their resale value is horrible though.