UV Filter for 18-55mm lens

maggie1969

Hello all. I am the new proud owner of my first dslr, a canon 350d with the 18-55mm kit lens, and am still going through the manual trying to get to grips with it! But I'm enjoying the challenge! So as a new owner, please forgive the following questions if they seem stupid! At the moment I am struggling to get clear, sharp outdoor pictures (not that the weather has been very favourable to that). They seem washed out and not sharp (and dark too which is probably just me getting the exposure wrong). I know all the reviews show that this is not a very good lens, but then I look at photos on the flickr website taken with this lens and I think it definitely must be me!!

So ignore the fact that it could just be that I haven't yet mastered the ins and outs of the camera and the bad shots are my fault, what could I do to improve the performance of this lens? What are the best settings to use? (My main interests are landscape and nature), Would it be worth buying a UV filter for this lens to make the shots clearer? Would a filter work on this lens? Where is the best place to buy online? Is this a stupid question??!

Also has anybody bought the Canon lenses that are in the Argos catalogue? They are the Canon EF 90-300mm f/4.5-5.6 €204.99 and the Canon EF 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6 €219.99. Bearing in mind the money is an issue, would it be worth buying one of these at some stage as a replacement for the 18-55 or would I be better off saving to get something really good? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks so much!

311

Take some photos in automatic mode ,it's a green box.

Have a look at the image imformation of the automatic shots ,as far as I know it uses iso400 (sensitivity) all the time in automatic.
Iso 400 should give you a bit more speed when its cloudy outside.

Also I've heard because the 18-55 lens is so light ,it constantly moves when it's very windy outside .

thats just a couple of things I've picked up in the last 12 months.

DotOrg

maggie1969 wrote:

At the moment I am struggling to get clear, sharp outdoor pictures (not that the weather has been very favourable to that). They seem washed out and not sharp

with a dSLR you can get shots at night time in almost pitch black conditions. a dSLR allows you to adjust the amount of light hitting the sensor so you can let as little or as much in as is needed. read the manual with regard to shutter speed, aperture (the size of the hole in the lens) and iso (how sensitive the sensor is)

maggie1969 wrote:

I know all the reviews show that this is not a very good lens

it's not as good as more expensive lenses but one is still able to get amazing shots with the lens you have that are very sharp

maggie1969 wrote:

What are the best settings to use? (My main interests are landscape and nature)

to start, use the [p] setting and the lighting will be set by the camera so it's up to you to make sure the iso is sensitive enough to have a fast enough shutter speed so you won't see the shakes in holding the camera

maggie1969 wrote:

Would it be worth buying a UV filter for this lens to make the shots clearer?

it won't make the shots clearer, with your lens, i'd say don't bother, save your money

maggie1969 wrote:

Would a filter work on this lens?

yes, but no need till you need one and know exactly what it's going to do

maggie1969 wrote:

Where is the best place to buy online?

i use http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ but have a look in the stickied topic at the top of the forum for other advice

maggie1969 wrote:

would it be worth buying one of these at some stage as a replacement for the 18-55 or would I be better off saving to get something really good?

don't buy either until you are able to use the lens you have and are able to understand what you are lacking in that lens. i'd never buy a lens from argos and definitely not either of those lenses. save your money for a better lens and you won't know what a better lens will be till you test the limits of the lens you have

B0rG

people buy UV filters (costing around 20 - 70E) to protect the lens worth E500 - 3000. Not much point buying it for the kit.

Kit is really sharp at F8-F11. Colors kinda off, but nothing you can't fix in photoshop.

90-300 is crap so is 28-105. However if you're shooting for web only and the money is an issue then, they are ok. I'd be looking at 18-200 or 28-200 - they are good enuff everyday zoom that ain't too expensive.

L range is expensive though...
24-70 - ~E1000
24-105 - ~E1000
70-200 - ~E600 - E2000
17-40 - ~E600

Again, if you're new to it don't go more than 200mm for the next year or so - learn too look at things at wider angle, then go zooms.

blorg

In your post you mention outdoor shots and them looking "washed out." A UV filter won't do anything at all to help here but what I suspect you may be thinking of is a circular polariser, which really does give you a phenomenal difference with deep blue skies (dependent on your angle vis-a-vis the sun.) I have a Tiffen one on the kit 18-55 lens myself and it gives very good results.

maggie1969

Thanks everyone for your replies and good advise. It's really great to be able to come here and get everyone's opinions and the benefit of their experience.

Zillah

I'd hazard a guess that if you're new to this, then unclear photos are probably a result of too slow shutter speeds. If the shutter is open too long it means that the slightest movement of the camera will make it smear and look fuzzy.

Then again it might just be the colours, you're generally not gonna get very nice colours from an overcast sky.

Roen

Don't forget, cheap UV filter + cheap lens = flare city.