When to upgrade your lens

shemwhistler

Hi all,

I've had my Canon EOS 1000D with kit 18 - 55mm lens for nearly three months now.

At what point do you start thinking about new lenses?

I've had some folks tell me to stick with the lens until you find it constrains me, but how do I know when that is?

The only thing I've found recently is that I've not been able to get as close in some distance shots e.g. the airshow at the weekend, I would have loved to have been able to get more closeup detail.

So something with more 'zoom' would be nice I guess, but other than that, I'm not sure.

Any thoughts will be gratefully received.

Thanks
Matt

Gregor Samsa

The time to get a new lens is when you realize that you have a need for it, and what you've got at the moment isn't doing the job.

Lenses are tools - each lens is designed to do a certain job. You wouldn't tell a carpenter not to buy a saw until he's outgrown a hammer. Same with lenses - one often complements the others, not replaces them. Now, if you were looking to get an 18-55 2.8 constant aperture lens, it might be fair to say to outgrow the one you have first, since it basically does the same thing as what you have now, just with better low light performance, and a narrower depth of field, but I'd see nothing wrong with adding a telephoto zoom to your kit - especially since you're noticing that your 18-55 isn't suitable for some of the kinds of shots you'd like to take - like at the air show. Some people say "zoom with your feet", but that's not really practical when you want a close-up of a an airplane flying 500 feet above your head.

As for what to get - I can't advise, as I have a Sony, and don't know much about what's specifically available for Canon. But given that you're looking for a telephoto, I'd be thinking something like a 70-300 of some sort. Some examples at various price (and quality) points here:

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/r/canon-70-300?srcid=391&mctag=uk_16067&gclid=COi-r9GPjKsCFQmDDgodCzulwA

Another option would be a "Superzoom", like the Tamron 18-270 or Sigma 18-250. I have a Tamron 18-270 for my Sony, and it's available for other mounts too. Some people don't like to use 3rd party lenses, but depending on the lens, there's nothing wrong with using them, and Tamron and Sigma make some excellent lenses. Anyway, since Sony own a good chunk of Tamron, it's technically not third party for me ;-)

Superzooms are a bit of a compromise (image quality is going to suffer a bit at some point, packing so much into one lens - but they are often better than kit lenses), but they can be really handy for traveling light or as walkabout lenses, and I think they have a place in any lens collection. Just a thought.

Tigger

read up on prime lenses

real game changers

I agree that you should only really upgrade lens when you find the weaknesses in your current gear.

That said, from reading your post, you don't want an upgrade, but instead seem to just want an additional lens.

Quick scan of adverts shows two lenses worth looking at, perhaps?

€150

http://www.adverts.ie/lenses/sigma-70-300-mm-f-4-5-6-macro-dg-for-canon/455277


€400

http://www.adverts.ie/lenses/sigma-100-300-f-4-canon-mount/712038



I probably wouldn't bother with the €400 one at your stage (probably better off finding fault or issue with a cheaper lens and then figuring out if it's worth upgrading, rather than just buying a more expensive one straight away).

Both of those lenses are Sigma, and as has been said above, some people are iffy about using third party brands, so it's a personal choice and up to yourself really (personally I shoot with a Canon 7D; I have four lenses that see a bit of use, and three of those are Sigma, and I'm very fond of them all, so it really is personal preference).

shemwhistler

Thanks folks.

The watch word definitely seems to be, when you realise you're being limited, then it's time to add/upgrade. (great point KKV, upgrade is totally the wrong word that I used)

The only limitation I've encountered is the lack of 'zoom' (still not sure if that's the right term, it's a carry over from my compact days)

Thanks for the links KKV, I don't think that I'm particularly precious about sticking to Canon only lenses, I've heard more positive reports on these forums, than negative about some of the third party gear.

Right, I'm off to google prime lenses.