lense recomendations?

[permaspooked]

Im looking to get a couple lense for my canon rebel xt. Im looking for lenses that will work well with photographing models and also urban exploring. Anyone have any good recomendations?

[NiteOwl]

What is your budget? I don't bring the same lenses out UE'ing that I do for shooting people, they are too expensive...

[permaspooked]

couple hundred a piece. They have to be under 400 each. I was also thinking possibly upgrading to the xsi instead but i was told to focus on lenses. Im using my tax money:D

[Aero]

I'd say get a 50mm, there cheap only like $90, super sharp, and at least for me it really helped with my composition. Out of everything I have thats still the lens I shoot with the most. On the opposite side, you might like a super wide angle for exploring, but those would be a bit above the price your wanting to spend, $500 - $600.

I don't know the exact differences between an XT and an XSI since I'm not a Canon user, but if your still shooting with the kit lens I defiantly think you'd be better off investing in lenses then a new body.

[MaDMaN]

if u get a 50 its not a true 50 cause the XT is a cropped sensor. i had the XT before i got my Xti and the Xsi is a step up from that. the only major difference is back screen size and megapixels. def go for the XT ans spend the xtra cash on a lens. i would go fo the wide angle cause its great for exploring and can be used on models. u can get a sigma 10-20 for under 500. although people say u cant shoot models with a wide angle it is possible. just got to shoot it right

[Hubert Cumberdale]

I think I paid $79 for the 50mm Canon lens when I picked it up. It's really a great lens. It's autofocus is a bit slow, but it is very sharp, and can do extremely shallow DOF. Mad's right about it not being a prime, for the 1.6 crop you'd actually need a 35mm lens, however for under $100, I'll accept the difference.

Are you currently using the 18-55mm kit lens? I like mad's suggestion of going with a wide angle lens, my next lens (however far off in the future that may be) will be one.

[permaspooked]

Yes my only lense is currently the stock kit lense. I was also considering finding a xti. Has a few of the features i would like including the self sensor cleaning and a couple more mega pixels. Sell my xt and get a new lense with that.

I also heard bad things about the canon 50mm lense. Things like its made of plastic and something in the autofocus breaks and can get in your camera and damage it.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

It's a plastic barrel, and has relatively simple lenses inside, which is why it's so cheap, but I've never had any issues with it in the 2 years I've had it. Just be gentle with it, and don't drop it or bang it into stuff and you should be fine. As far as parts breaking and going into the body, I don't see how that could really be too big of an issue if it even did happen. Assuming you knew when it broke, then pieces won't penetrate the curtains, the prism on top is solid.

[permaspooked]

Ok. only reason i said breaking the camera is i was looking at customer reviews on a few diffrent sites and quite of few stated the lense broke and a couple said it broke there camera.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

FYI, it's lens, not lense.

[permaspooked]

FYI, it's lens, not lense.

Sorry. Lense looks better has a extra letter in it. lol

[permaspooked]

Are these the specs on that 50mm? Canon EF 50mm F/1.8 II

[Hubert Cumberdale]

yea, the 1.8 is the one that's extremely cheap (in cost).

[permaspooked]

yea, the 1.8 is the one that's extremely cheap (in cost).

Thanks. I think im picking one up today. Still a little concerned about the bad reviews but i will give it a shot for myself. I pretty careful with my things so i dont think i will drop it or anything.

[permaspooked]

Just picked it up during my lunch break. Cant wait to put it on my camera.

[NiteOwl]

Unless you're printing 8x12 or larger you're not going to notice the difference posting your pictures on the web...

[permaspooked]

I want to pick up a couple filters for my 50mm what should i get. The store i bought the lens at doesnt seem to have any available for a 50mm acording to there site.

[NiteOwl]

You need to be more specific in the type of filters that you need... There's a ton of them out there...

[permaspooked]

Well i was told to get a UV one to protect the lens but i was also looking at ones that have the effect of brightining it or lightining it? Not to sure what its called. Could it be the white balance one. I know eastcoasthardcore had a few pics with a filter i liked.

[Andrew G.]

A UV filter is a waste of money in most cases, just use a hood instead to protect the lens. As for other filters, such as warming and cooling filters, they seem to have been replaced by adjusting the white balance in-camera or (God forbid)... post-processing. The two filters I've found most useful (so far) are the circular polarizer and the infrared (IR) filter, for these effects you can't really create in Photoshop.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

I disagree 100% about the UV filter. They're really protection filters, the UV stuff is BS. Yes a lens hood is generally a good thing to have, but there are plenty of cases where you don't want one (which is why you can flip them around and attach them backwards out of the way). I cringe when I see people with no filter on their lenses. I dropped my camera once, and shattered the UV filter on my telephoto. Then lens was fine though, so the filter did it's job. Also, especially in dusty UE environments, I like that extra piece of glass protecting my lens. It can get filthy, scratched, etc. and it's a $15 repair. Scratch up the end glass on your lens, and you're screwed.

To me, a $15 investment to protect my $500+ lens is a no-brainer.

Of course, you just take it off, and put whatever artistic lens you want on the barrel when you want to use a different filter. The end glass of my lenses have probably been exposed to the air less than the attachment side of my lenses have (and I do a very quick exchange, making sure to keep lenses not attached to the camera capped. Dust is a killer.

[Sean]

I do not use a UV filter. It's not much other than to protect it, which my lens cap does. And to quote someone from UER a while ago "I paid $5,000 for my lens, I'm not letting anything get in it's way!"

[permaspooked]

Hmm maybe the inflared one is the one im thinking of. On the site of the shop down the block from my work where i want to stop at doesnt list any filters for anything under a 55mm and i would like to purchase one for my new 50mm.

[Andrew G.]

I disagree 100% about the UV filter. They're really protection filters, the UV stuff is BS. Yes a lens hood is generally a good thing to have, but there are plenty of cases where you don't want one (which is why you can flip them around and attach them backwards out of the way). I cringe when I see people with no filter on their lenses. I dropped my camera once, and shattered the UV filter on my telephoto. Then lens was fine though, so the filter did it's job. Also, especially in dusty UE environments, I like that extra piece of glass protecting my lens. It can get filthy, scratched, etc. and it's a $15 repair. Scratch up the end glass on your lens, and you're screwed.
Yes, protection filters have their advantages and their drawbacks. If working in dirty, salty or wet environments, a UV filter is indeed a good idea. However, UV filters also increase the chances of flare and ghosting, which I find to be very VERY BAD. Increased flare and ghosting is the main reason why I don't use filters on MOST of my lenses (I only keep a UV filter on my tele-zoom because I seldom use it anyway). Also, a lot of lenses have recessed front elements, so using protective filters for them is completely and utterly pointless (unless you really can't stand a little dust).

[NiteOwl]

I can tell you from shooting at Long Beach with the wind going it's nice having a $100 UV filter standing between the salt spray and a $2,000 lens...

Useful filters to have are Polarizers, Neutral Density, Graduated Neutral Density and IR filters... You can also get those filters that make lights look like stars, I've never tried them...

No way in hell am I taking one of my good lenses UE'ing....

[Andrew G.]

You can also get those filters that make lights look like stars, I've never tried them...
These are only really useful if you either A.) have a lens with rounded diaphragm blades or B.) really cannot have slower shutter speeds due to stopping down the aperture of the lens.

Personally, I just stop down the aperture of the lens between f/8 and f/16 (gotta' love straight blades sometimes) in order to get those nice well-defined sunstars, so I find them pointless in most situations.

[Aero]

I used to always have UV filters cause I was paranoid. but lately I've been taking them all off and just being more careful. The most expensive lens I own can't even use one cause its to wide, so I just got used to it and I've been taking them off everything.

[NiteOwl]

These are only really useful if you either A.) have a lens with rounded diaphragm blades or B.) really cannot have slower shutter speeds due to stopping down the aperture of the lens.

Personally, I just stop down the aperture of the lens between f/8 and f/16 (gotta' love straight blades sometimes) in order to get those nice well-defined sunstars, so I find them pointless in most situations.

I like depth of field, I'm rarely shooting anywhere near f16 unless I'm shooting high key or outdoors mid day...

I'm going to be doing a lot of ND filters this year so I can shoot between 1.4 and 4.... I'm wondering how focusing is going to be through 5-6 stops of filters, lol...

[kruger]

I'm wondering how focusing is going to be through 5-6 stops of filters, lol...


Why would you even try :confused:, focus without filter & then switch to manual or manual all way and then put on filter.

[Andrew G.]

Why would you even try :confused:, focus without filter & then switch to manual or manual all way and then put on filter.
Yes, this method works in most cases.. except for infrared, for most lenses have a bit of focus shift with IR. Some AF lenses don't even have IR focus marks anymore (others don't even have distance scales). However, autofocusing with an IR filter on isn't impossible.

[NiteOwl]

Why would you even try :confused:, focus without filter & then switch to manual or manual all way and then put on filter.

sounds like a plan when you are on a tripod shooting a static subject... But when the point of 5 stops worth of ND filters and 3200 watt seconds worth of lighting is to have the ability to have a limed dof on a human subject on a bring sunny day, there's no focus first then put the filters on...

[permaspooked]

Over the weekend i picked up a tripod, wireless remote and a polarized filter for my 50mm lens. Just thought i would update.

[Jakew903]

Canon 10-22 EF-S f/4 For Exploring Useful I own one since yesterday.
Canon 85MM f/1.8 for model shoots.

Jake