Rebel T2 need help with upgrade......lens and flash

[brooklyn_hospital]

Hi folks. My wife gave me a Canon Rebel T2 2 years ago and a kit

lens the 28-90mm. I have been using it eversince like a point and

shoot and only recently I tried to be creative with it. I need your

advice on how can I upgrade the quality of pictures I am taking

right now. I want to know what's next lens would be a good for me. I

take pictures of my 7 month old daughter and I like taking nature

pictures. What flash would work good with my camera. Thanks in

advance.

[sheldonnalos]

Buy a 50mm f/1.8 for $75, and a 420EX flash for $175. Then learn technique - books, practice, reading here at photo.net, learn to use Av, Tv, M mode, etc.

 

You can spend a huge amount of money on this hobby, but a couple basic items can take you a long way.

 

Good luck!

 

Sheldon

[phoneguy]

I second the vote for the 50mm 1.8, It's a great, sharp lens. If you want a speedlite, the 420ex is you best bet if you can still find one.(I'm sure there out there, I haven't looked). What kind of budget are you working with?

 

Mike

[clifford_alton]

Hi, I'm in a similar situation to Brooklyn - I also have the same camera - at the risk of hijacking the thread - I was also thinking og buying the same 50mm f/1.8 lens, but was slightly put off because of its build (I have three young children, one of whom may grab at the camera!). I was thinking, instead, of buying the 85mm f1.8 - I know it's more money - but given that I'll be using the camera, mainly to take photos of the children in different out door situations - would you recommend this lens over the 50mm lens?

[mark u]

The 85mm is a great choice on a film camera for photographing children - especially very active ones, since it focusses extremely rapidly, and will allow you to be a little further back while still filling the frame. A 50mm f/1.8 is a good general purpose lens, and is probably worth having anyway. Put a UV filter and a lens hood on the front to minimise the risks from sticky fingers.

[mark u]

I should have added that if you use Fuji 800 film (better than Kodak's, despite the new formulation), you can get some nice pictures without using flash (or at least with minimal flash fill) using an f/1.8 lens close to wide open in Av mode even in typical indoor lighting.

[conraderb]

do some research w/ google on "exposure", "aperture", and "shutter speed". learn about how they all relate to each other, and then google "equivalent exposure". then "depth of field". that will get you off to a great start.

[david_barts1]

Getting a flash like 420EX will definitely pay off. The head tilts every which way so you can point it towards the ceiling (rather than straight at the baby). This way, you'll get nice, even illumination. It's called bounce flash, there's lots about it on the web.

 

Set exposure mode to M and dial the speed of about 1/30-1/45 and start with aperture 5.6 if you're doing face portraits (I find that with wider apertures it's hard to catch both eyes in focus).

 

I used to use 100 speed film but for the baby I find I often run out of light so have switched to ISO400.

 

I mostly use 50 and 85 mm but a wideangle is also nice especially when the baby starts moving about, I've got a few dynamic-looking shots with my 28mm!

 

Another trick I've discovered is letting the baby play with the camera to get used to it (turning it off first and making sure the lens cap is well attached of course) so when photography time comes she won't immediately go after the strange thing Daddy's holding.

[arthur_reyes1]

Previous responders have recommended primes (50 and 85mm). But I would suggest the 28-135 IS because if offers flexibility, great image quality and IS. Granted IS will not help with a crawling baby and soon to be toddler running around. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 month old and the zoom does offer flexibility; flexibility is the key with kids. Soon, you and your wife will be out and about with the little one and believe me, you won't have enough time to "zoom with your feet" in order to frame your shot using a prime lens. I have the 28-135 and have been extremely satisfied with it. The image quality is awesome. Its the lens that stays on my camera 95% of the time. The IS is great too. Sometimes you'll find yourself taking that quick shot in the point and shoot style and the IS is good for this. As for taking nature photos, this lens is great for that too. More often than not, the 28 is wide enough and the 135 suffices on the long end. Especially if you're just out on a hike or traveling. So yeah, I say go for the 28-135 IS

[arthur_reyes1]

Oh yeah, I would also reccomend either the 420ex or the 220ex as a flash. 420ex for nice tilt/swivel features and the 220ex for its a nice compact and lightweight flash. I have both. I use the 420 for indoor shots as it allows for bouncing the light and better control. I've noticed that sometimes when I use my on-board flash (camera is Elan IIe) with the 28-135, I do get a shadow sometimes at the bottom portion of the photo since the flash does not sit high enough and lens can get in the way of the flash coverage. So the 220ex is great to mitigate this risk. Its light weight, compact and is great as a fill flash and eliminates the shadow, since the flash sits higher over the camera. If I know I'll be in situations where I might need it, I'll bring it along. Its light and small enough where you could store it in your wife's purse or even the baby's diaper bag too. It attaches to the cameara quickly. Also, its so small that I've even kept it on for awhile if I know I'll need it and it doesn't bother me to have it on while walking around with the camera.