Lenses for Canon EOS 350D again

[Owl]

Just reading the query re a portrait lenses. I am also after a zoom ( suitable for medium distance moving targets - for horses at events up to 100 yds away)

My husband is telling me his brother has one lens for both jobs and is a wide angle as well as zoom. Waiting for brother-in-law to get back in country to check out spec of his lens but can't see anything adequately fulfilling both those roles.

Trying to check out full pricing before upgrading to this SLR. Can anyone help. I am useless on lenses as it is years since I had an SLR and a friend chose the lenses at the time.

Budget is a big issue and the pictures are just for me and scrapbooking if that helps.

[sarahmax]

Helen ,
i have found the canon eos 350d for about £459 with 18-55mm kit from comet online i think and that has been the cheapest so far. Jesssops the high street branch do a 110% difference if you can find it cheaper elsewhere on the high street OR online as long as the internet site has a uk phoneline and the cheaper camera is not on special or in a sale! Not a bad deal i dont think.

HTH
Sarah

[Owl]

Thanks Sarah, might be worth me getting camera here then. Was going to get my BIL to pick it up in US or Hong Kong on his next trip. Might get the zoom overseas though.

[ibecks]

Bear in mind that if you buy an electronic equipment overseas, you may have trouble claiming on the waranty should anything go wrong.

[Owl]

Thanks Becks, will check it out. Most of these companies do offer a worldwide warranty but as you say not all. Any help on the zoom? Just has an email from my BIL saying he has a sigma 18-200mm . That seems a huge range?

[dawnrogers]

Helen, moet of the camera mags tell you to be very wary of buying cameras abroad as the warrentys are usually specific to each country and you can have major problems with warrenty work.....

I have the 350D and the lense I probably use the most is a canon 35mm- 135mm its not to heavy and the zoom is a fair distance and its great for portraits...I have several others too, 20 - 35mm, 70-210mm, and 100-400mm they are all brilliant lenses but I was lucky enough to have had for several years as I previously have an EOS 1 .

[erisindevon]

I have the Tamron 28-300mm for my 350d. I've had this lens for years, and I use it all the time. I love having the very long lens because it allows me to blur out the bg when photographing my kids. I can also get good shots from a distance. However, it's quite a heavy lens and as I rarely use a tripod, I probably discard half my long shots due to camera shake. With my 35mm that used to really annoy me, but with a 1gb digi card, I just shoot loads and usually get enough photos that I'm really pleased with. It's a bit of a haphazard approach to photography, but with a toddler running round, I'm usally holding the camera in one hand and shooting, while making a grab for her with the other :lol: i hear that serious photographers 'compose' theri shots, but I've never had the opportunity to find out if that gives better results....

hth, Eris
xx

[Owl]

Yes, my BIL takes them back to the shop he bought them from if he has any problems. They have always been brilliant so he has no worries but would mean I would have to send any issues back via him. I agree wouldn't buy overseas if didn't have regular access to the shop. On the camera the difference is less significant, on a lens it is easily double here so that's the issue. Also lens comes in under customs limit, camera wouldn't.

[Owl]

Eris, interesting point you make about weight, better check that out as well. Need a tripod really anyway when using 300mm range, but if heavy when not using full range could be an issue.

[beckymischief]

i am new to photography and brought myself the canon 350 and then horrified to find the prices of lens I have had a look and saw all the diffferent filters you can get is it worth trying some of these first before investing lenses and what lenses do you most use?

[dawnrogers]

I use my 35-135mm a lot, love my new 100-400 Image stabiliser lense its fab for sports or wildlife as you can hand hold it.

I also use the wide angle a lot 20-35mm.....have to say I use and love all of my lenses.

[Owl]

What woudl I be gaining in having a zoom that is 18-200 as opposed to 35-135 in closeups. He says saves changing lenses but must be a compromise?

[dawnrogers]

You'd obviously have a longer zoom, when the lense is on a digital SLR the focal length is greater you times the length by 1.5 approx so your 200mm is 1 and half times longer in fact....your 18mm is much shorter than the 35mm so may be better for close ups.....it used to be true that standard lenses were considered better than zooms in quality...but the zoom lenses are so good now that the quality isn't an issue. Zooms give you much more flexability...I find the 35-135mm is fab for a whole bunch of stuff....
I'm no expert....but I'd recommend you take the camera body to the shop and try the lenses to see which you think you'll prefer..a good camera shop will be happy for you to do that!

[Owl]

Am going to the shop tomorrow but wanted a better idea of what I am looking for. Thanks. Haven't bought body yet and a few places seem to do cheaper packages with the lens at the same time and offer all the ones you have been talking about above. Not buying tomorrow just looking.

[ibecks]

i am new to photography and brought myself the canon 350 and then horrified to find the prices of lens I have had a look and saw all the diffferent filters you can get is it worth trying some of these first before investing lenses and what lenses do you most use?

With the exception of close-up filters/adapters, filters just enhance or alter the colour characteristics of the photo or add special effects, rather than providing a new focal length. IMHO, you only need a polarising filter and maybe an ND grad if you plan on doing a lot of landscapes. Both of these improve the captured image and the effects cannot be replicated in Photoshop without a fair bit of work. The other filters can be interesting but the same effects can be easily replicated either by changing the white balance setting on the camera or using Photoshop.

Your camera is only as good as the lens that's on it. Put a poor quality lens on a £5,000 camera and the shots will be poor quality, so it is worth investing in good lenses. The trick is to only buy the ones you'll really use.

The lenses I use most are my kit lens (18-70mm) and the Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro.


SavvyOwl wrote: What woudl I be gaining in having a zoom that is 18-200 as opposed to 35-135 in closeups. He says saves changing lenses but must be a compromise?

For one thing, you lose one aperture stop at the far end of the zoom, which means that when you're photographing horses in duller weather you may not be able to get the shutter speed you need.

Dawn wrote: it used to be true that standard lenses were considered better than zooms in quality...but the zoom lenses are so good now that the quality isn't an issue. Zooms give you much more flexability...I find the 35-135mm is fab for a whole bunch of stuff....


There is always a quality compromise when you compare a prime (fixed focal length) to a zoom. The prime only has to worry about being good at one focal length while the zoom wants to be good at everything. However, there's nowhere near as much of a compromise as there used to be and for most people, the flexibility does make up for any loss of quality.