SLR advice

[Admiral Huddy]

I've taken the plunge to SLR and got myself a Canon 400D which I saw as being an ideal camera to get me started. A local guy runs a photography club which I intend to take full advantage off and the local college runs various courses throughout the year which I may partake. I'm a complete novice to this but would like some advice on building a decent kit, particular on lenses. I'm thinking maybe a decent Telephoto and Macro lenses to get me going. I've got no idea what budget I need to set myself but hoping some of you gurus on here can help.

Thanks

 

[chet84]

I'm by no means an expert (started just over a yet ago) but I would recommend a decent walkabout lens first before splashing out on macro lenses etc. This will give you enough equipment to learn the basics.

 

[JBuk]

Firstly You need to try and figure out what kind of photography you enjoy the most then buy lenses to suit you style, if you can afford it then it is worth building a kit of good glass from the off if you feel you will stick with photography but tbh if you bought 2nd hand then you won't lose too much if you don't.

Also bear in mind that some lenses can be very expensive but the next models down can cost a lot less but be nearly as good and even better in some aspects, so cost doesn't necessarily = best for you

 

[Phal]

One of the first lenses I bought was a decent macro lens as the ability to take decent macro shots was one of the main reasons behind getting a DSLR for me. I got myself a 100mm 2.8L lens quite early on and it's an awesome lens but not cheap.

I've recently joined the talk photography forums and people seem to have some decent results with a Raynox dcr250. The Raynox is an addon lens that allows you to use regular lenses for macro shots and the results look awesome when you factor in the price might be worth a look.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/r...aynox dcr250&tag=lpo_ixdpamusukengl_camera-21

Some pics from the Raynox group on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/groups/raynoxdcr250/

 

[Devrij]

Firstly You need to try and figure out what kind of photography you enjoy the most then buy lenses to suit you style, if you can afford it then it is worth building a kit of good glass from the off if you feel you will stick with photography but tbh if you bought 2nd hand then you won't lose too much if you don't.

Also bear in mind that some lenses can be very expensive but the next models down can cost a lot less but be nearly as good and even better in some aspects, so cost doesn't necessarily = best for you

This is the best advice^^^.

Have a walk around with the kit lens (which should be 18mm-55mm) and while you get to grips with the whole thing and learn about apertures, DOF, shutter speeds etc, ask yourself what things are bothering you about the kit lens:

Is the minimum focusing distance regularly too long for you to get close up to small objects? Do you find yourself not able to fit the whole landscape in? Are you always too far away to fill the frame with your subject? Do you want to have a creamier blurred background for your portrait shots to make the subject pop? Is your shutter speed always to slow to shoot handheld in the light you are using?

Once you identify which of these bugs you the most/most often, you'll know what you want from your next lens and the more experienced chaps on here can help you find one that is right for you.

One lens I can recommend for that body that is so cheap you should buy it regardless, is the canon 50mm f1.8. It ranges in price from £60-£90, but it is sharp at most apertures (it's a bit soft wide open though), fast, and gives you great control over depth of field. It makes a great portrait lens on a crop body like the 400D, so if you want to shoot your family/friends etc it's a great buy.

 

[King Damager]

As you're new, I'd say get hold of something that covers 18-300 (ish) as a range.

To be honest, I'd be looking at a reasonable walk about lens, (up to about85mm max - 55 will be fine though).

I'd then look at a 50mm 1.8 (these pop up on the MM every couple of weeks for about £50) and then I'd probably be looking at a cheap 70-300 macro lens (sigma and Tamrons both do one for about £100-150 new, less second hand) the benefit of second hand is you're unlikely to lose much if you sell it on because you upgrade in future.

That means you'll cover all photo ranges for relatively cheap. Quality won't be fantastic, but you'll be able to get an idea of what you like, and what you want to use, and be able to invest in the right areas at a later stage.

kd

 

[buzzlightweight]

buy the tamron 70-300 telephoto zoom & macro, my mate has it had raves about it,

It is also only £90 @ amazon!

best kit lens is the sigma 18-50mm f2.8, its fast and very crisp at 2.8!

£160 from digital rev but i found on on ebay for £140 new

 

[kickmaass]

One lens I can recommend for that body that is so cheap you should buy it regardless, is the canon 50mm f1.8. It ranges in price from £60-£90, but it is sharp at most apertures (it's a bit soft wide open though), fast, and gives you great control over depth of field. It makes a great portrait lens on a crop body like the 400D, so if you want to shoot your family/friends etc it's a great buy.

Agreed.
Also known as the plastic-fantastic