what lens should i start with? (part II)

[gremlinpdp]

what lens should i start with?

 

I wanted to thank everyone with the responses.. it really helped a

lot�. After looking at your recommendations.. I have narrowed down

to these possible lens�

 

Now the next questions is, which of these lens are actually quality

lens as opposed to the crap lens? Should I only stick with USM lens?

 

prime lens

 

EF 20mm f/2.8 USM approx $419

 

EF 28mm f/1.8 USM approx $170*

 

EF 28mm f/2.8 approx $152

 

EF 35mm f/2 approx $230

 

EF 50mm f/1.4 USM approx $300

 

EF 50mm f/1.8 II under $70 � bad AF

 

EF 85mm f/1.8 USM approx $320*

 

zoom lens

 

EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM $220

 

EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM $309

 

 

of these choices I was leaning towards my first purchase being:

 

EF 28mm f/1.8 USM(44.8mm) approx $170*

 

EF 50mm f/1.4 USM(80mm) approx $300

 

EF 85mm f/1.8 USM(136mm) approx $320*

 

Or should I replace EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM with

a EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM? Cuz its cheaper in price.

 

What do you guys think?

[the the]

I think you should start out with something simple.

 

Get the 28mm 1.8 if you are only going to buy one lens.

[NK Guy]

You should buy lenses of the focal length or focal length which matches the type of photography you do. The motor drive technology - USM or whatnot - does not affect optical quality. It only affects speed, noise level and convenience of focussing.

[canon man]

Although the 28mm 2.8 the 50mm 1.4 USM and the 85mm 1.8 are damn good lenses and on the 10D should work great for the situations you described in your intitial post. The 85mm should make a nie head and shoulders portrait lens wit hthe 1.6 crop factor and the 50mm should be a nice standard portrait length. while the 28mm will camo out to just below the normal length. In fact the 35mm would come out closer to the 50mm on a 35mm, but then again it will give you some decent full body shots anyway. Good luck. You really can't go wrong with theses lenses any way. They are sharp, contrasty, will provide great blur for the back ground in your portraiture.

[gareth_harper]

Go for the slower primes, they are cheaper, just as sharp, focus amazingly quick and most of all are very descrete.

Go for the fastest zooms you can afford.

[fj5]

The 50mm f/1.8 II doesn't have "bad" AF... it's just not as nice and quiet as the f/1.4 USM version. The bonuses of the 1.4 are the USM motor as well as the extra half stop. Of course, the 1.4 also has better build quality and has a metal lens mount. The focusing ring on the 1.4 is also designed better. Another difference between the two is that the filter thread of the 1.8 is 52mm while the 1.4 is the more common 58mm - easily solved by a step up ring. I've read some reviews which claim that the 1.4 produces more barrel distortion than the 1.8 (I guess the trade off of that extra half stop). Anyway, if I could afford the 1.4, I'd get it... but if your on a budget and want to buy more glass... then get the 1.8 as I did. Optically, I've read they're the same (some say the 1.8 is better).

 

As for what lenses to buy... I think you should really evaluate what you'd want to shoot first then decide accordingly. The 28mm or 50mm would be a good place to start. When you find you're lacking on either the wide or long end, then decide what to buy next. I started with a 28-90mm f/4-5.6 II USM, and 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III USM and not long, a 50mm f/1.8 II. I started with these becuase I wanted to have those focal lengths available to me for I still haven't found my preference yet. I soon upgraded the 28-90mm to a 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM for better build quality and optical quality. I'm happy with my current set and don't think I'll be buying more glass for the time being. I think I'll be getting an Elan 7e w/ BP-300 in a little bit, though, to upgrade from my Ti w/ BP-220. =p I'm ready for it (and also cuz I found a buyer for my Ti w/ BP-220 and 28-90mm! ;p)

 

Good luck!

[fj5]

Well... with that 10D's 1.6x cropping factor...

 

the 28mm will become a nice all-round lens (similar to how the 50mm is for film cameras) and the 50mm will become a nice portrait lens (which would really become 80mm in film cameras)...

 

If you want a fairly versatile zoom to use with your 10D while taking that 1.6x cropping factor in mind... I suggest the 24-85mm or 28-105mm or 28-135mm IS for starters. You can't really go much wider without spending much more.

[horst_santihanser]

Dear Jason, there are already many good answers and thoug

there´s not much I can tell you more. If you are a beginner first

you have to realize your own kind of seeing. But how to know

without trying? In my very early days I startet takinging photos

with an 50mm lens for more than 2 years. I was forced to

because in the age of 16 I always was short of money. Then I

bought a 70-200. Nice, but I used it al the time at about 100mm.

This was at the time of manual focus. Nowadays I use a 100mm

as my standard lens, even at the D30 or, I hope in a few days,

with the 10D. Thats my kind of seeing. I use a wideangel lens

only if there isn´t enough place to use the 100. And in my eyes,

even a 50mm is a wide angel lens.

To try out several lenses an to do this "cheap" would be the best

way to buy them at ebay. If you buy a used quality lens, there

would be a good chance to sell it without much loss. To try out

which lens angl is the right for you there´s no need to buy the

lenses with a big apperture. Ok, these lenses normaly gives you

the chance of sharper pictures and more room to do some

experiments with selected unsharpnes. So start with 28, 50 and

100 or 85 mm and find your way of seeing. If you cannot afford all

that lenses, start with a 50 - if you can afford with the 1,4/50. But

don´t worry if not: The 1,8/50 I will do a good job.

 

Just one more word related to the discussion about your first

question. Some guys talked about the 28-70 L or 24-70 L. There

is a special reason why Canon replaced the 28-70L. The reason

is called Canon 1Ds an all the following full fram DSLR´s. Chip

is different to film. The light should reach the chip in parallel light

beams. That isn´t a problem with not-wide-angle-lenses. That´s

the same reason why they replaced the 17-35 by the 16-35. The

new construction makes it possible, that light leaves the lens in

parallel beams.

But Jason, you have a lot of technical questions and I

understand, that like to avoid mistakes. Just go out and take

some photos. You can make pictures with each of the

numerless mentioned lenses. And go to the luminous

landscape to read an very interesting article about picture quality.

"Most lenses are better than the most photographer are!!!"

I hope, my English was good enough to give you some ideas.

You have to decide on your own.

Regards

Horst

Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany