How do you decide what lens to buy!?!

MagicMarker

I will more than likely look into upgrading my lens (400D kit lens) in the near future, but i have no idea which to go for? By this i mean whether to go for a telephoto lens or a wide angle lens....

So far i'm mainly shooting landscapes etc so think a wide angle would be best, but then again i'd like to get into more kind of street photography and think a zoom lens would be handy... And then i think i'd like to get into portraits and gig photography soon and i should maybe stick with a standard lens like the 50mm 1.8....

Last night i spent hours going through reviews and checking prices but in the end i can't even narrow it down to what type of lens i want!!!

ThOnda

The 50/1.8 is so cheap, that you can buy it everytime without thinking.
There is question if you would like to stick to Canon lenses or not. The best thing is to browse some galler (e.g. flickr) and search for photos taken with the lenses you are considering.

MagicMarker

While the 50mm 1.8 does look great with a super cheap price tag, it just seems like it's not completely versatile with the fixed focal length... I don't really know too much about lenses but i can't get that part out of my mind:)

Creamy Goodness

i was at a birthday party last night with my 50mm f1.8.

i bought it on a whim, then casted it aside when i got my 70-200mm lens, how wrong i was to do that. i love the 50mm and should be a part of everyone's kit and at 50euros from hong kong why shouldn't it be.

i've done a lot of street photography in the last few weeks and i've stuck with my 18-55mm stock lens for most shots.

the following were all taken with the 18-55mm.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2857666121/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2858495678/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2858495070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2822535267/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2823369354/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2823368880/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ncremins/2820807833/

i've had my telephoto out with me when all of these shots were taken, didn't really find the need for it, but with that being said i didn't have my tripod with me so getting a good night time shot with my telephoto is hard without the tripod.

ThOnda

It is very fast lens and could help you to understand and learn few things. Like the best zoom are your legs :-)
I bet you know what Cappa said - "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough".

MagicMarker

Hmmmm... My first purchase should actually be a tripod:)

But i will think more on the 50mm, i guess for 50 squid it's more than worth it, even if you end up hating it.

Calina

A couple of things:

1) you will not find a one size fits all lens for your next step up. They just don't really exist.
2) there is no point in looking at lens reviews until you have some semblance of an idea what you want to use it for.

When I went expanding past my kit, the decision was based on "I want to shoot kitesurfers and 55mm isn't enough but oh look Canon have a comparatively cheap 70-300mm, that should do.". I wound up with the Sigma of the same range as it happens.

When I discovered that wasn't enough zoom, I went to see what else was available as a function of available finance. That turned out to be a 50-500mm zoom from Sigma again.

Next up I got bored of all that and decided that really I needed something that would get kite and board in photo and since 18mm wasn't enough it was a no-brainer to get the 10-20 Sigma.

What I am saying here is that each lens was bought for a purpose. If you don't know what lens you want, my opinion is that you are not using the 18-55 quite enough; you should know at this stage where it is limiting you.

As for the 50mm. it's a nice lens, I have it but unlike a lot of people here I don't see it as life changing. When your choice is off a pier into 4 metre deep water, suddenly the idea of foot zoom is a lot less attractive.

Creamy Goodness

Calina wrote: »

What I am saying here is that each lens was bought for a purpose. If you don't know what lens you want, my opinion is that you are not using the 18-55 quite enough; you should know at this stage where it is limiting you.

/thread.

MagicMarker

Calina wrote: »

What I am saying here is that each lens was bought for a purpose. If you don't know what lens you want, my opinion is that you are not using the 18-55 quite enough; you should know at this stage where it is limiting you.

You are absolutely right, i've only had the 400D for about 2 weeks, if that! So, i haven't used much at all really, it will probably take months to realize the specifics of what i want etc...

However, that doesn't mean i can't indulge myself, that's why i just bought the 50mm 1.8 off eBay, it should be waiting for me when i arrive home next week:D Really, well worth the risk for 70 euro, can't argue with that at all.

PixelTrawler

MagicMarker wrote: »

I will more than likely look into upgrading my lens (400D kit lens) in the near future, but i have no idea which to go for? By this i mean whether to go for a telephoto lens or a wide angle lens....

So far i'm mainly shooting landscapes etc so think a wide angle would be best, but then again i'd like to get into more kind of street photography and think a zoom lens would be handy... And then i think i'd like to get into portraits and gig photography soon and i should maybe stick with a standard lens like the 50mm 1.8....

Last night i spent hours going through reviews and checking prices but in the end i can't even narrow it down to what type of lens i want!!!

Get yourself a wide angle such as the sigma 10-20 which is a very nice lens, and a second lens with a medium zoom ability such as 17-85 or 70-200

Thats your street and landscapes covered (and you'll have a 50 soon which is also a great lens to have)

MagicMarker

Yeah, i saw some shots where a 10-20mm was used just the other day, which actually is the main reason why i started looking at getting a new lens, they were just fantastic!!

Unfortunately, the price tag on such a lens is further than i can afford to go right now, so for the time being i'm going to stick with the kit lens and 50mm:)