Hi guys, I'm looking at getting a new lens for my Canon EOS 400D as the one I have no makes my images to soft. I was just wondering if you had any recommendations, in the £100-£150 mark. All help appreciated, thanks, Gemma xx
I'd go with a mid range zoom. Tamron makes great "all-in-one" zooms. I've got my eye on their 18mm-270mm zoom lens. The bottom line, for you, is what type of photos do you take? I take landscapes, ALOT, so I have a good wide angle (10mm-24mm). Do you do portraiture? A prime lens is best for that. Wildlife? Telephoto zoom is best (somewhere around the 300mm-400mm max focal length). The best answer lies in what you like to photograph. :) I hope this helps, if not, I'm sure we can figure something out. :) Happy shopping!
get a relatively fast lens ( at least 2.8 and bigger ) that will give you a narrow depth of field. I know you have a low limit price wise but get a good quality glass it will so be worth the extra time to save up the amount of money it will cost. Dont know if you have any prime lenses or L lenses but once you use one of those you will see why it is worth it. You have some awesome pictures and your talent is worth investing in. At least go for lenses with appertures 2.8 and larger.
Also what @neda said—a lot of my pictures were coming out too soft, but I found that that was either because (a) I wasn't focusing the lens properly, (b) I had my aperture set too wide and parts that I wanted in focus were out-of-focus, or (c) a combination of the two. Double-check that your technique is right before spending money on a new lens.
I'm with the other recommendations for the 50 mm f/1.8 - was my main lens till I upgraded to the f/1.4 and my 60 mm f/2.8 macro ...
Also interested in what is making your photos "soft" ... had a quick look at your gallery and they don't appear to be ... as Stephany said, aperture setting could be what your issue is - especially if you aren't intended as much of your photo to be out of focus as is ...
Either way, the 50 mm is a good investment as a reliable, inexpensive prime lens ... takes some very nice shots :)
What types of things are you shooting most? I know a lot of people love the 50 because it's a nice, fast, and cheap lens, but depending on what you're shooting it could be too long being you're shooting a crop body camera. The reason 50mm is such a popular focal length is because that is very close to what the human eye sees, so when you're looking at a scene and shoot at 50mm you're capturing a pretty close field of view. But the problem is on a crop body with a 50mm lens you're really shooting at about 80mm.
I got rid of my 50 for that exact reason. Loved how compact and light it was and being 1.8, but trying to grab snapshots around the house with the kids and stuff I'd always have to back up or not have enough room as it was.
So, I instead picked up a used Canon 28mm f/1.8. Yeah, it costs more, but the effective focal length is much closer to the classic 50 at 45, and it's a bit sharper around the edge when wide open. I'm in love with it and it rarely comes off my camera.
The 50 is still great, especially for the price, but just keep in mind your typical shooting environment before deciding on a lens.
@marubozo Thanks Jeremy, I shoot lots fo things, that's the problem, I have a wedding to shoot in may, and the lens I have a the moment has a 18-55mm but it doesn't seem to fit much in to the picture without looking like I'm far away, I want a lens that will fit people in but still be quite close up, if that makes sense, does that mean I need a wider lens? It's all so confusing, because I also love close up macro shots for nature shoots, the lens I have now is really doing quite well for that with my macro attachments.
@gemgem24 Well, if you're looking for versatility, you're probably going to get the most bang for your buck with a zoom lens. This will give you a wide range of focal lengths that you can adjust to fit the situation.
The other problem you're experiencing is that the 18-55mm you have currently is I'm assuming an EF-S lens, which was designed DSLRs with a 1.6x crop factor. These lenses give you the true focal length stated on the lens, so in your case you really are shooting between 18-55mm. Now, if you were to buy a regular EF lens you'd have to multiply those numbers by 1.6 to get your effective focal length for your camera.
That being said, since you already have the wide angle covered with 18-55 your next best bet would be to get a zoom that gives you something longer without overlapping too much of what you can already cover. So, I'd probably first look to the 28-135mm zoom. So, remember, by multiplying your focal lengths, that means this lens is really 45-216mm. This gives you two distinct lenses for different situations. Your current lens is for anything wider than say 50mm, and the zoom lens would be for anything above roughly 50mm. So between the two lenses you'd have a lot of ground covered and it would be easy to pick one lens over the other in a situation based on the scene.
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What lens do you have that is making images soft??? Sure it's not the settings in the camera (ie menu >>picture style)
Also interested in what is making your photos "soft" ... had a quick look at your gallery and they don't appear to be ... as Stephany said, aperture setting could be what your issue is - especially if you aren't intended as much of your photo to be out of focus as is ...
Either way, the 50 mm is a good investment as a reliable, inexpensive prime lens ... takes some very nice shots :)
I got rid of my 50 for that exact reason. Loved how compact and light it was and being 1.8, but trying to grab snapshots around the house with the kids and stuff I'd always have to back up or not have enough room as it was.
So, I instead picked up a used Canon 28mm f/1.8. Yeah, it costs more, but the effective focal length is much closer to the classic 50 at 45, and it's a bit sharper around the edge when wide open. I'm in love with it and it rarely comes off my camera.
The 50 is still great, especially for the price, but just keep in mind your typical shooting environment before deciding on a lens.
The other problem you're experiencing is that the 18-55mm you have currently is I'm assuming an EF-S lens, which was designed DSLRs with a 1.6x crop factor. These lenses give you the true focal length stated on the lens, so in your case you really are shooting between 18-55mm. Now, if you were to buy a regular EF lens you'd have to multiply those numbers by 1.6 to get your effective focal length for your camera.
That being said, since you already have the wide angle covered with 18-55 your next best bet would be to get a zoom that gives you something longer without overlapping too much of what you can already cover. So, I'd probably first look to the 28-135mm zoom. So, remember, by multiplying your focal lengths, that means this lens is really 45-216mm. This gives you two distinct lenses for different situations. Your current lens is for anything wider than say 50mm, and the zoom lens would be for anything above roughly 50mm. So between the two lenses you'd have a lot of ground covered and it would be easy to pick one lens over the other in a situation based on the scene.