What DSLR lens do I buy?

[courtney_farmer]

I am a beginner with the DSLR cameras. I have a Rebelxt, and I have the kit lens along with the Canon

50/1.4 lens. The kit lens is okay, but I don't really like it. I love the 50 mm lens for portraits. However, I

am looking for a more general lens that is pretty versatile and can take many different types of pictures,

mainly for taking pictures while traveling with my friends. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[eleta]

I just sold a 24-105 f4L. It was a greatgeneral purpose lens. Good focal range and good quality. I needed a faster lens as I do alot of indoor natural light photography but I thik it would be good to travle with as it isn't too big or heavy.

[leopoldstotch]

What is your budget? There are many options out there, but a little more info is needed. A good lens solution for you can range from about $300 to $1500, so we need to know how much you're willing to spend. Without knowing your budget, I'll suggest either a 17-40 f4L, a 17-85 f4-5.6 IS, 24-70 f2.8L, 24-105 f4l IS, or 17-55 f2.8 IS if you have money. Otherwise, a 24-85 f3.5-4.5 or a 28-105 f3.5-4.5 may suffice.

[mendonphoto]

The kit lens is a pretty "general lens". Do you want more range on the long end or short end? Do you need wider apertures? Do you want better image quality? What is your budget?

[gdanmitchell]

<p>Aaron asks some very important questions, the answers to which will help you figure

out the best way to go.

 

<p>Some Canon options include:

 

<ul>

<li>Keep the <b>kit lens</b> and see what you can get out of it. You didn't say where it

falls short for you. Are you running out of aperture? Are there sharpness issues that you

notice? Do you need a different focal length range?</li>

<li><b>EF 17-40mm f/4 L</b> - An excellent lens and one of Canon's least expensive L

zooms. The 17mm wide end is wide enough for many - but not all - on your crop sensor

camera. It goes from decently wide to slightly telephoto. It can be a very sharp lens. On

the downside its zoom range may seem a bit limited and you might want a larger

maximum aperture... or not.</li>

<li><b>EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS</b> - This is reportedly an excellent lens. It should be a

decent low light performer with both IS and f/2.8. It has a slightly wider zoom range than

the L lens mentioned above. Downsides include: price, only works on your crop sensor

camera (won't work on full frame) though that may not be an issue for you, better zoom

range but still may need an additional telephoto.</li>

<li><b>EF-S 17-85mm f/4-4.6 IS</b> - Greater zoom range makes this possibly a

better "one lens" solution for some users. IS lets you shoot in somewhat lower light than

you would think with these maximum apertures... as long as your subject isn't moving too

much. Can produce quite decent results, especially if you don't plan to print larger than

letter size. Downsides include: smaller maximum apertures, some optical issues that may

or not be an issue for you.</li>

<li><b>24-105mm f/4 IS L</b> - Great lens in many ways. L quality. IS. Could

complement your kit lens focal length range. Longer lens gives a bit more reach.

Downsides: price, wide end not wide enough for many people. (might still need another

wide angle).</li>

<li><B>24-70mm f/2.8 L</b> - Great lens in many ways. L quality. Excellent reputation

for optical quality. f/2.8 aperture give you a bit more action stopping ability in low light.

Downsides: very big, very expensive, not really wide enough for most users on crop

sensor camera, no IS.</li>

</ul>

 

<p>There are other options as well.

[winn]

I have a question along the same lines. I am a beginner and have a Canon Digital Rebel XTi,the 18-55mm kit lens and the 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens (for action shots from the bleachers). I am interested in taking portrait, candid portrait, and candid action shots of the family. I am trying to decide between the 17-55 f/4-5.6 IS USM and the 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. Any suggestions....a different lens? - I would like to stay under the $600 price range. (I've already spent more than I should have.)

[courtney_farmer]

I'm looking in the 300-500 range. I'm not quite sure what all the photography lingo means

yet. So, I'll try to describe what I am looking for to the best of my knowledge! The 50mm lens

has been really fun to shoot with, and the bokeh is beautiful. However, when I am taking

pictures of groups of people, I can't get it to focus on the whole group very well without

blurring someone's head. I'm looking for a lense that doesn't have as much background blur

and gets a little more outside detail. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for all the help!

[chinoloco93]

Brian,

You should go for the 17-85mm in your situation. Thats the right lens at the right price.

 

Courtney, your issue is a DOF issue, which means Depth of Field.

You will need to at least learn how to take a picture in AV or M mode to control this better. To get optimal results in a group shot, your aperture should be F/5.6 or F/8. Any wider, you get blur. This is because lens' aperture is wide open and your camera metering has a faster shutter speed. Since a slower shutter and proper exposure is needed for corner to corner sharpness, you can control the Aperture with AV priority, which is aperture priority. when the lens is wide open, light rushes through the lens and the shutter is open for a shorter amount of time which then produce bokeh or blur. By having a smaller aperture and a longer shutter light can fill in corner to corner equally so you have sharpess all the way around. Thats called depth of field. There is more to it, but thats the basic idea, smaller aperture (or smaller opening of the lens skirt) and longer shutter allows more focus for all 4 corners resulting in a sharper image. your blur is what photographers call oof subjects (out of focus) which is important for DOF (Depth of Field). Learn more about aperture and you will find yourself better able to control that blur. you can take great group shots with the 50mm F/1.4. You might want something wider focal wise though so you can fit more people in if you take a lot of group shots. Something like 17-40mm would be nice.

[yakim_peled1]

<p> <ul> <i> I'm looking in the 300-500 range.</i> </ul> </p>

<p> Good lenses in that range are heavy and expensive. Most are <b>very</b> heavy and <b>very</b> expensive. What is your budget? How much weight are you willing to carry? Do you have a good tripod?</p>

 

<p> Happy shooting, <br>

Yakim. </p>

[leopoldstotch]

<p><i>"However, when I am taking pictures of groups of people, I can't get it to focus on the whole group very well without blurring someone's head"</i></p>

<p>All you have to do to prevent that is stop down the lens. If thats the main reason for replacing it, then you're wasting your money with a new lens.</p>

[courtney_farmer]

Great, I will just read some more about aperture and the like! Thanks so much for your help

everyone!

[winn]

Thanks.....

[mountain]

I have just been through your same situation upgrading from a kit to more specific types of lenses for my needs. Do diligence and read much of the postings here, even in general converation you will learn tons about what you may ultimately want to do with your photographic pursuits. One thing that I can share from my research that has proven true, buy speed first and spend a little more than you are comfortable with. I have never heard anyone say, "Gee, I wish I would have bought the cheaper lens." Good luck.