abdul_salam Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 I'm thinking about getting my first SLR camera an EOS7 here in japan, I'm thinking about getting 50mm 1.4/f prime with it. I want to know is the cheap canon zoom lenses( compared to the 70- 200 2.8/f) are that bad like the 75-300, 90-300 and 100-300, I'm asking this cuz I cant spend that much money on my first buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 If you can't spend a lot of money then you should get the 50mm 1.8/f II and use the rest of your money on film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbc Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Well, the EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6 USM is pretty decent. It's well-built, it has metal construction, and it's of quite good quality. When stopped down to about f/8 or f/11 it's decently sharp from 100-200mm. It has full time manual focusing, so that if needs be, you can manually adjust focus after you've auto-focused. I think it's well worth the money. I don't own any of the others so I can't tell you about them. If you're on a tight budget, consider getting the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. It's cheap and plastic, but the optics aren't bad at all, better than any of my zooms. Also, for a zoom lens, you might want to consider the EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 USM - it's really good too. Personally I use mine pretty much all the time except when I'm using the 50mm f/1.8, and I hardly ever use the 100-300, but it depends on what type subject you want to photograph. The two zoom lenses I mentioned are fairly cheap so hopefully they will fit your budget - they're both about £150 (used) over here in England. The 50/1.8 is very very cheap at about £40 (used). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
german_e._vargas_y. Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 the 50mm 1.4 USM is about $300 didnt you meant the 50mm 1.8? If not I would sugest to go for the 28-90mm this lens is about half the price the 50mm 1.4 USM and will cover 95% of your shooting situations. As most cases there is a price: it is a F4-5.6 so you loose one F stop but there are wonderful ASA400 rolls out there to compensate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vsevolod_krishchenko Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Hey, I'd buy at least one good lens for $1500 body! ;) For example, 85/1.8, 70-200/2.8(4) L (old 80-200 non-USM L, sigma 70-200 EX and 200/2.8L prime are quite cheap) or other *sharp* lens.<br> Almost all canon consumers zooms are bad compared with any prime or L non-wide-zoom. Yes, they produces pictures and often they produces good picture but you've asked about quality :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdul_salam Posted June 26, 2003 Author Share Posted June 26, 2003 no I will get the 50mm 1.4/f cuz I want at least one good prime, maybe ill consider the 28-105. this is my first SLR so I want everything new no used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_chott Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Get yourself a 50mm f/1.8 and go out and use it. Shoot a lot of rolls of film. When you get to the point where you feel like you have a good feel for what you are shooting - that you are capturing what you want on film, THEN look at some other lenses. You have enough to learn with the whole "new to SLR" thing without dealing with changing lenses, zooms, lens compromises, etc. etc. etc. The 50mm f/1.8 lens is dirt cheap (should be under $70 USD for sure), and can often be had for $50 or so (USD) used. It is REMARKABLY sharp, especially for the money, and is a great way to learn photography. It also captures the world a bit closer to "how you see it" than wider or longer lenses (50mm is considered to be a "normal" lens). Hope this helps ya, -Joe Chott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phule Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 "no I will get the 50mm 1.4/f cuz I want at least one good prime" Which is exactly what the 50mm f/1.8 II is. :) If this is your first SLR, you need to spend your money on film, not lenses. All the "good prime" lenses in the world won't help you if you can't compose a decent shot :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbc Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 "<i>no I will get the 50mm 1.4/f cuz I want at least one good prime, maybe ill consider the 28-105.</i>" <br><br> Well the advice has been given and the choice is yours, but let me tell you, the 50/1.8 <b>is</b> one good prime. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's not good. And to be honest I don't see the point in buying the most expensive one if it's only your first SLR lens, and especially since you "<i>cant spend that much money on (your) first buy.</i>". But like I said, the choice is yours... <br><br> "<i>this is my first SLR so I want everything new no used.</i>" <br><br> Again, the choice is yours. Do what you want, but let me just say I see no point in spending double the amount of money on brand new equipment when it's only your first SLR and you could get it all used for half the price, and especially since you "<i>cant spend that much money on (your) first buy.</i>". But like I said, the choice is yours... (...think of all the film you could buy with the money you could have saved...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissa_eiselein Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Another vote for the 50 f/1.8. If you want a better built 50mm, then get a used 50 f/1.8 mk I. Unless you need that extra half stop, I don't understand why you'd want to buy a 50 f/1.4. With the money you save, you can buy a 28-105 3.5-4.5 (not the 28-105 4-5.6) lens. It's not fast (doesn't have a large aperture), but the quality is decent for an inexpensive zoom. If you can afford it, get the 28-135 IS instead. I believe the added focal length and the image stabilization makes it worth the extra money. <p>I'm not familiar with a 90-300 lens. I own a 75-300 and have found it to be very soft at the 300mm end. Of the three, your best best bet is probably the 100-300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry_l Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Getting EOS7 with EF 28-135mm IS perfect for first start. I compared 28-135mm IS to my 70-200mm f/2.8 on D60, can't tell much difference, so i think no problems to beat 28-70mm f/2.8. 50mm is nice, but you can't do much with the 50mm focal length, only if you needed f/1.4. 28-135mm IS is the best all round zoom lens, money to spend for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdul_salam Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 I think you people are right about the 50/18 I think ill get it, but what about tamron lenses they are cheap and they have a new 28-70/2.8 lens is it any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_baird Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 The 50 1.8 was my first lens, and I don't regret it. (I ended up replacing it with a 1.4 after I dropped it - one disadvantage of the plastic) It's really a great lens. What I would question is going with an EOS7 as a first camera. When i first got into this maddening hobby I rushed out and got an Elan IIe, with all the modern bells and whistles. What followed was a long process of turning off the features, one by one, until at last (years later) I started to understand what making photographs was really about. Looking back, I think I would have saved myself a lot of time and money by getting a cheap used mechanical body, a sharp 50mm lens, and concentrating on photography rather than doodads. The advantage of film over digital is that cheap cameras with good lenses take photographs that are just as good as the ones from expensive cameras with good lenses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abdul_salam Posted June 27, 2003 Author Share Posted June 27, 2003 I have a coolpix5700 so I dont want to down grade I want something nice, and what about the tamron 28-75/2.8 is it any good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j._d._mcgee Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 The 50 f/1.8 II is certainly a good optical buy. Paying the extra money for the f/1.4 is not advisable unless you are really serious about background blur and construction which you certainly shouldn't be. I own the 1.8 and it stays on my Elan 7 most of the time, I love it and could never justify the cost of the 1.4 it really is just a waste unless you just really really like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bens Posted June 28, 2003 Share Posted June 28, 2003 I purchased the 50 1.8 first, then bought the Canon 28-135 IS; the Sigma 70-200 EX APO HSM 2.8; then traded the 28-135 IS for the Canon 35 2.0 and Canon 28 2.4. After all of this (and a year of shooting about 10,000 images, I realized the 50 1.8 is an excellent lens, close to if not equal to the other primes, which are very good (certainly better than the 28-135 in sharpness and detail) and better than the Sigma. So you cannot go wrong with the 50 1.8 for image quality -- and after shooting for awhile you will get a much better sense of what focal lengths work for the kinds of shots you take. Take your time and learn before investing big money, I agree. Don't be fooled by the price -- Canon lets us have the 1.8 to fool with at a cheap price so we get interested in the other lenses, i am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakim_peled1 Posted June 29, 2003 Share Posted June 29, 2003 >> "The 50 1.8 was my first lens, and I don't regret it". Mine too and me too. It was my only lens for about 5 years, later accompanied by a 100 macro. I seriously doubt if you will actually be able to see the difference between the f/1.4 and f/1.8. Happy shooting , Yakim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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