Suggestion on lens

[karthick_ganapathy]

Hi all,

 

I own a Eos 400 d with the kit lens and i am planning to add two more lenses and a flash.A prime lens and a

medium telephoto lens.

 

I am not a professional and i am a hobbyist. I am thinking of buying either of 85 mm 1.8 and 50 mm 1.8 prime

lens and a 55-250 mm IS.

 

I am not clear if my choice is right..please suggest me..

 

Check this link for the kinda pics that i have been taking http://picasaweb.google.com/photosbygk and suggest me

based on my pics..

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Cheers,

GK

[matthijs]

Dear GK,

 

Nice shooting!

 

The lenses you name are ranging from excellent (85/1.8) to good (50/1.8) to nice (55-250 IS).

Whether they are what you need depends on a number of issues:

 

1. What's your budget?

 

2. What do you miss most? (quality? range? macro? sturdiness?)

 

 

You say you need a prime and a medium telephoto.

 

I'd guess the prime is for lowlight work.

If you do lowlight what focal length would you want?

Nice options are: Sigma 30/1.4, Canon 50/1.8 (very cheap), Canon 85/1.8 or Canon 100/2 (both very good)

 

Medium telephoto's have a number of choices, I'll just name the Canons:

55-250 IS, pretty good, very affordable, 70-300 IS, good midpriced, 4 different 70-200's with high IQ, F4 or F2.8 and with or without IS ranging from $ 600 to $ 1700.

 

If I were you (and did not want to spend too much) I'd go for the 55-250 and the 50/1.8.

 

 

Kind regards, Matthijs.

[pankaj purohit]

Hi Karthick,

 

I would suggest you to buy only one 50-1.8 at first ( or any other prime-fixed focal). This would change your thinking about the optics. You will difinetly experience better with the primes and after using that you will be able to think in right direction that what you realy need next.

 

Zooms are also good and it becomes better some times with those when we don't have enough time to interchange the lenses and need different docal lenghts acording to our compostions. If budget is not the problem, than high quality zoom optics are also available, but some primes are best choice when we have limited budget.

 

I also have 28-80 and 70-300 for my Nikon film SLR. with recently added a 50-1.8, and now is search for a good prime wide angle lens because I got stuck with my 28-80 when shot landscaps or cityscapes. Its wide perspective is good my 35mm SLR, but it doesn't produce the acceptable landscaps. I found this lens good for close distance shootings.

 

Choice of the optics only depends on your own needs but here you will definetly find great suggestions as I also get and pleaased with those.

[peter_j2]

"A prime lens and a medium telephoto lens."

 

Based on your type of photos, may I recommend the following:

 

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM.

 

I own the former and have used the latter. Both are better at centre and (especially) edge sharpness. I can see

the differences on my EOS 5D when compared to my more expensive Canon L zooms.

[karthick_ganapathy]

Hi all,

 

Thanks for your suggestions, I forgot to mention the major factor..I am on budget.

I am not sure as which one would be an ideal prime lens for me..whether the 50mm 1.8 or the 85 mm 1.8?

 

50 mm 1.8 is ideal considering the fact it's inexpensive but i am wondering if i would be compromising something by not choosing the 85mm focal length.

 

Is there a major difference between these two lenses?

 

Cheers,

GK.

[karthick_ganapathy]

I am in need of a medium telephoto lens as i am more into street and candidphotography for which at times the 55mm focal lenght is not sufficient and if i try to crop but of no use..I can't afford the expensive L series lenses at the moment so i giving a shot at 55-250 mm..the reviews indicates its worth the money.

 

Please suggest me on the flash as well

[peter_j2]

"if i would be compromising something by not choosing the 85mm focal length."

 

I used to own the Nikon version. So, I can compare almost apples to apples with the EF 50/1.4 and the 85/1.8. The bokeh produced by the 85 will be slightly better for a given distance to subject. The 85 is better suited to candid street photography if you wish to keep a greater distance to the subject.

 

The less expensive Speedlite 430 EX should be good enough for now.

 

I have not used the EFS 55-250 but the review on www.photozone.de rates this lens well for an APS-C body. You cannot use this lens on a full-frame EOS body.

[arie_vandervelden1]

Hi Karthick, 55-250 IS is very good value for the money. I like mine.

 

What are you missing with the 50/1.8, compared to the more expensive 85/1.8 ? The 85/1.8 has better autofocus, better build quality, and allows much more selective focus and background blur. This is in addition to the narrower and more compressed field-of-view, of course.

 

Looking at your portfolio, you may want to consider a macro prime. I have a Tamron 90/2.8 macro and I like it a lot.

[bob_osullivan]

Karthick:

 

I think you are confusing "telephot" with "zoom". Many people do. Telephoto is any longer lens (above 50mm) and can be either a prime or a Zoom. Since you seem sure about the 55-250 I assume that is what you mean by Telephoto.

 

So, between the 50 1.8 and the 85 1.8 the focal lengths are quite different. To say would you be missing something is accurate because either way you'd be missing the other focal length. For your crop body xti 400 I think the 50mm range would be more useful. Especially since you are getting the 55-250. On your body the 50 is really an 80 anyway due to the 1.6 crop factor. Google that.

 

A fairer comparison would be with the canon 50 1.4 vs the 85 1.8. Between these the build quality is very close to the same. The 50 1.8 on the other hand has noticably cheaper build quality. But the good news is the image quality is excellent.

 

I think you'd be very happy with the 50 1.8 in this case.

[karthick_ganapathy]

@ Arie.

 

I am not quiet clear with prime macro? can that serve dual purpose? serving the role of a prime as well as macro? if that s the case..could you give more options please

[karthick_ganapathy]

Thanks all.

 

@ Bob, Yes i guess i would be more happy buying the 50 mm for the time being as i am investing on the flash as well as the 55-250mm.