I hope you guys will be able to give me some advice with your experience.
I have been photographing for over 10 years, but never before with a DSLR. I hope to buy my first DSLR within a few weeks though (so excited!) but am rather baffled by the choice of lenses to buy. I am totally familiar with manual controls and all, so no problems there, but these lenses offer so much choice!
Of course I will grow my collection as I go, but what lenses would you advise I start with?
Also, I am debating between a Canon 600D and the 60D... is the 60D worth the extra cash?
For reference, the photography I enjoy most is macro (insects and etc) and portraiture. I am also used to a major zoom lens (my current camera has a 720mm zoom!) but I realise that with a DSLR it will be a case of quality over length.
I am working on a budget, but do want quality. However, it is unlikely that I will be able to afford the ultra-pro lenses, so please do not recommend any lenses over $400 (preferably a bit less!) I will be paying in South African Rands, and just cannot afford the exchanges we have to pay!
Thanks so much for your time - I cannot wait to join the DSLR club!
Macro.... Canon's 100mm 2.8 (non IS). This is an awesome lens! I 2nd the 50mm 1.8 great lens for the money. It does make things a little tight indoors at times with the 1.6 crop factored in it's about 80mm. Good Luck!!!
Get a camera with its stock 18 to 55, body only is bad value. Then get the 1.8 fifty like everyone says. Then is get used to a Dslr for a while, and think about your options. You'll know what you need. The 70 to 300 is good I think. Dslr wise get the 600, or even the 550 which is the same camera without a flip screen.
The 60D and 600D have the same sensor, so the 60D will not offer any direct image quality improvements. You'll need to decide whether the indirect benefits of the 60D (faster framerate, slightly better autofocus system, more controls, better build quality, etc.) are worth the extra money.
If you do a lot of macro photography you really do need a proper macro lens like the Canon 100mm fixed lens suggested. Avoid zoom lenses which claim to do macro, as they generally do a pretty poor job (although they're fine for non-macro work).
If you can't afford the 100mm macro lens, consider the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro. This is a bit cheaper, and would also make a good portrait lens. If you're really on a budget you could get the 50mm f/1.8 lens and also get some extension tubes (very cheap) which can be used to convert a fixed length non-macro lens into a macro lens. They are fiddly to use though, and pretty unfeasible with any moving subject (insects, etc).
Thank you all very much for your responses - it is extremely helpful!
@godders I will certainly look into these lenses as well!
@chewyteeth I must have a flip screen - I am used to it and use it all the time! But I agree with getting just one or two lenses and then feeling out what I need.
@abirkill Your answer is so helpful - thank you! I think the 600D sounds great. If the image quality is the same, then I'd rather save on the camera body and put the extra money towards a proper macro lens. I do a lot of macro photography, so need a good macro lens. Would the 100mm fixed macro lens double up as a portrait lens as well?
I'm leaning towards getting the 600D (body only), 50mm f/1.8 and the 100mm 2.8 Macro lens for starters. What do you think?
I'm gonna miss my zoom though - as I said, I'm used to 720mm!
Try the 18-55mm lense first (My fave) it does not have a great zoom but you will be supprised what you can do with it and it is cheeper than most ...my advice get anything and have fun....
@victorypuzzle The 100mm macro lens will be a superb portrait lens, but you need to be aware that it's quite a long focal length. It's equivalent to 160mm on your current camera, so you'll need to be a fair distance from your subject for even a head and shoulders portrait, let alone a full-length portrait. If you can do that, it'll provide beautiful results.
Personally I would get the 600D, the kit lens (18-55mm IS), and the 100mm macro. The 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens, but I think that you will get more use out of the camera with a basic all-purpose zoom lens rather than two fixed lenses. The 18-55mm lens will do well for portraiture when you can't get very far back from the subject, and provide a lot more flexibility than the fixed 50mm lens.
Dominique, the 60D is the better camera and might last you longer before you feel the need to upgrade. Don't know how it fits in your budget but you might look at the the 7D. It has a better body and much improved features. I love my 60D but regret not going with the 7D at first.
The IS lenses are designed to work with the 1.6 sensors so 18mm is 18mm. The L series lenses are designed to work with the full frame sensor so 18mm on it is actually 29mm on your 1.6 sensor camera.
The reason I recommend the zoom is because you will want a good all around lens at first and then you can decide what specialty lens you want. You can probably pick up the 50mm 1.8 lens on Ebay at a reasonable price. The prime lenes are not very sophisticated and are generally less expensive because of this.
Also, don't overlook renting specialty lenses when needed. Here in the states, I can rent a 70-300 2.8 L series lens for $40 for a weekend. I can rent this quite a few times before I reach the $2500 it would cost me to buy the lens outright.
Also, you will probably be wanting other things such as a Tripod, a good speed light, remote triggers, camera bag, etc... so you might want to wait on a second lens as well.
Keep us informed about your decision. I'm excited for you.
Correction. IS stands for Image Stabilization. The EF-S lens is for the 1.6 sensor, the standard EF lens series is for the full frame sensor. Sorry for the typo.
ooh this is such a useful thread for me! I'm currently saving up for my first ever DSLR and had decided on the Canon 600D too!
after some research, i'd decided on the 18-55mm lens (which comes with the body) and then a 50mm 1.8. Think that's all i'll be able to afford for now, and it'll still be a hell of a lot better than what I currently own (a very old Sony Cybershot!)
let me know what you decide to go for and how you get on. such exciiting times! :)
@smevvy So we are in the same situation! :) I must follow you and we can compare notes.
I think I am going to go with the 600D instead of the 60D - I would rather use the extra money for some decent lenses. I am not fully decided yet, but I think I will get the fixed 50mm f/1.8 lens, and decent zoom lens (say 55-250mm for example) and then a very good macro lens. The macro lenses are very expensive, but I do macro photography a lot, so think it will be best for me to straight away get a great lens.
I think I will buy the camera body only, as then I can get only the lenses I want. I know the kits are good deals, but there isn't much point in it if you soon land up replacing the lens anyhow.
I will be giving this some more thought though. It's an expensive move and I want to be sure before I splurge.
@victorypuzzle i'm going to go against the grain here and say that if you're going to be shooting portraits, DO NOT get the 50mm 1.8.
Dont get me wrong, its sharp but I find that its noisy (forgivable), hunts way too much (slightly forgivable) and has a tendancy to focus on the subject's eye lashes / eye brows or flyaways rather than the actual eye itself. When you're shooting close and with shallow DoF, i find that the eye is silghtly hazy which is really not what you want. Maybe I just had a bad lens but I've since upgraded to a used 50mm 1.4 and I dont have this problem. The interesting thing though is the 1.4 seems as noisy and hunts the same amount as the 1.8 but it focuses on the eyeball every time as opposed to the lashes.
@hollandcrew Thank you for your recommendation! I am really into macro photography so I think I will splurge on this lens. I presume it will work on the 600D? Please excuse me if that's a silly question - I'm new to this! :)
@victorypuzzle Any current Canon lens will fit on either the 600D or 60D. Lenses marked as 'EF' will also work on full-frame cameras such as the 6D, 5D, and 1D series, should you upgrade to them in future. The macro lens you are looking at is an EF lens.
EF-S lenses such as the 55-250mm zoom you mentioned will only work on cameras with the smaller 'crop-frame' sensor size (which includes both the 600D and 60D). They will not physically fit on a full-frame camera. However, I wouldn't let that stop you buying one, as most people don't upgrade to full-frame for many years, if ever.
@jwlynn64's description was a bit misleading -- the apparent focal length of a lens has nothing to do with the designation (L or otherwise) or quality of the lens. Any 18mm lens will frame identically on any crop-frame camera, be it an 'L' lens or otherwise, or an EF-S lens or otherwise. However, again regardless of the lens type, it will appear equivalent to a 29mm lens would do on a 35mm camera.
The confusion arises because of the effect the smaller sensor has on the image. Cameras with a smaller sensor (like the 60D and 600D) effectively only look at the middle bit of the image, discarding the edges as they miss the sensor entirely. This means that, compared to a 35mm film camera (or full-frame digital camera), the effective focal length is being magnified -- in Canon's case, by 1.6x.
All lenses are expressed in 35mm equivalent focal lengths, as it's the common standard. The benefit of this is that your 55-250mm lens will have a 35mm equivalent of 88-400mm -- so it's getting closer to the 720mm of your current camera. Plus, having used the HS20EXR as a second camera, I'm pretty confident that you'll actually get about the same detail from the 250mm lens when used correctly, even though the focal length is much less, due to the reduced noise, increased resolution, and increased lens sharpness of the DSLR/lens.
@abirkill I am really grateful for your detailed reply - thank you!
Finally I understand the lens measurements and the 35mm equivalent quota... it has been puzzling me for quite some time!
Ok, I am more or less decided on the 600D with the double kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm). Then I will also splurge on the 100mm Macro lens mentioned above in this thread.
Thank you so much everyone who responded to this thread. Your help is so much appreciated! I cannot wait to get started with my very first DSLR!
@jwlynn64 Thanks so much for your response John! Unfortunately the 7D is above my price range, so I have settled on the 600D and am rather throwing my extra money at getting a really decent macro lens.
@victorypuzzle everyone is recomending the 50mm 1.8. If possible try and get the Mk1 and not the Mk2. The difference between them is build quality. Mk1 has a metal mount were as the Mk2 has plastic. I have the metal one which I got second hand off ebay. WIll be slightly more expensive but worth it if you can get one.
Works great for doing portraits indoors. Takes great shots of flowers etc. I also use it with a 10x close up filter to allow closer shots. Found that the 50mm doesnt work great with this filter but the 35mm is fantastic.
Obviously the stock 18mm - 55mm standard zoom is a good starting point too which will cover a fair range at good light levels. Also one worth considering as a starter is 55mm - 200mm zoom. The two of these will provide a good range of zoom capability at a fairly low price.
I have all of these at the moment but find I do not use the 55mm - 200mm becasue most of the shots I take are close ups, portraits or landcsapes.
Thank you very much to all you responded to this thread - it helped me *enormously*!
After due deliberation, I made my decision and have already bought my camera and lenses. I went with the 600D double kit lens (17-55mm and 55-250mm) and then also bought the 100mm 2.8 USM Macro lens.
I still want a fixed 50mm (I'm leaning towards the f/1.4) but this will have to wait till later.
My camera and kit lenses should arrive on Thursday/Friday, and the macro lens in about 2 weeks time. I am super excited and cannot wait to get shooting.
I think that you made a wise decision to buy two zoom lenses that will cover the most focal range.
If you find that you need a lower f stop lens for taking photos at low light events, just rent what you need for the day. Also, if you want to try some fish eye shots, rent that for a weekend and just cram all the shots you want to take in on those days.
I'm still waiting for you guys to post some city shots of the new stadium that was built for the last World Cup!
@victorypuzzle Congrats! I am sure you are so impatient! By the way these are the three lenses I have, the body is different only - 450D. Anyway you will love the 100mm 2.8!!! For life:)
@velina Thanks so much! To know that your amazing shots have been taken with the same lenses I am getting is so awesome. I really admire your work so much, and can only hope to achieve half of what you do. :)
My camera and kits lenses arrive tomorrow, but the 100mm 2.8 will take about 2 weeks before it comes. That lens is the one I am most looking forward to - I have read great reviews on it.
@victorypuzzle Thank you for your appreciation, I am really grateful and your words made me smile :) Looking forward to your pictures with the new stuff!
@toast sorry should have qualified this. Not ideal for head shots but full body shots works great imo. Does an ok job at landscape but excels for plants and flowers. Has the ability to focus alot closer than the 50mm too.
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http://www.amazon.com/Canon-100mm-Macro-Lens-Cameras/dp/B00004XOM3/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352655050&sr=1-1&keywords=Canon+EF+100mm+f%2F2.8
It's pricey!
If you do a lot of macro photography you really do need a proper macro lens like the Canon 100mm fixed lens suggested. Avoid zoom lenses which claim to do macro, as they generally do a pretty poor job (although they're fine for non-macro work).
If you can't afford the 100mm macro lens, consider the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro. This is a bit cheaper, and would also make a good portrait lens. If you're really on a budget you could get the 50mm f/1.8 lens and also get some extension tubes (very cheap) which can be used to convert a fixed length non-macro lens into a macro lens. They are fiddly to use though, and pretty unfeasible with any moving subject (insects, etc).
@godders I will certainly look into these lenses as well!
@chewyteeth I must have a flip screen - I am used to it and use it all the time! But I agree with getting just one or two lenses and then feeling out what I need.
@abirkill Your answer is so helpful - thank you! I think the 600D sounds great. If the image quality is the same, then I'd rather save on the camera body and put the extra money towards a proper macro lens. I do a lot of macro photography, so need a good macro lens. Would the 100mm fixed macro lens double up as a portrait lens as well?
I'm leaning towards getting the 600D (body only), 50mm f/1.8 and the 100mm 2.8 Macro lens for starters. What do you think?
I'm gonna miss my zoom though - as I said, I'm used to 720mm!
Personally I would get the 600D, the kit lens (18-55mm IS), and the 100mm macro. The 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens, but I think that you will get more use out of the camera with a basic all-purpose zoom lens rather than two fixed lenses. The 18-55mm lens will do well for portraiture when you can't get very far back from the subject, and provide a lot more flexibility than the fixed 50mm lens.
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/3402776750322768200?q=canon%20lenses&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=LIj&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=7ac3dfbb7266931&bpcl=38093640&biw=1280&bih=642&tch=1&ech=1&psi=FUSgULXyPKa0igLK_4CADA.1352680471053.5&sa=X&ei=UUSgUPvaF6bmiwKjpoGgBw&ved=0CNABEPMCMAY
And buy tubes for doing Macro.
https://www.google.com/shopping/product/4010610627679742728?hl=en&q=extension%20tubes.&btnG=&sa=X&ei=LEWgUMfNH4fuiQL_k4GAAw&ved=0CH4Q8wIwAQ
For my first lens, I would look at the 18-200 Zoom that comes in some kits with the 60D. http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_s_18_200mm_f_3_5_5_6_is
The IS lenses are designed to work with the 1.6 sensors so 18mm is 18mm. The L series lenses are designed to work with the full frame sensor so 18mm on it is actually 29mm on your 1.6 sensor camera.
The reason I recommend the zoom is because you will want a good all around lens at first and then you can decide what specialty lens you want. You can probably pick up the 50mm 1.8 lens on Ebay at a reasonable price. The prime lenes are not very sophisticated and are generally less expensive because of this.
Also, don't overlook renting specialty lenses when needed. Here in the states, I can rent a 70-300 2.8 L series lens for $40 for a weekend. I can rent this quite a few times before I reach the $2500 it would cost me to buy the lens outright.
Also, you will probably be wanting other things such as a Tripod, a good speed light, remote triggers, camera bag, etc... so you might want to wait on a second lens as well.
Keep us informed about your decision. I'm excited for you.
after some research, i'd decided on the 18-55mm lens (which comes with the body) and then a 50mm 1.8. Think that's all i'll be able to afford for now, and it'll still be a hell of a lot better than what I currently own (a very old Sony Cybershot!)
let me know what you decide to go for and how you get on. such exciiting times! :)
I think I am going to go with the 600D instead of the 60D - I would rather use the extra money for some decent lenses. I am not fully decided yet, but I think I will get the fixed 50mm f/1.8 lens, and decent zoom lens (say 55-250mm for example) and then a very good macro lens. The macro lenses are very expensive, but I do macro photography a lot, so think it will be best for me to straight away get a great lens.
I think I will buy the camera body only, as then I can get only the lenses I want. I know the kits are good deals, but there isn't much point in it if you soon land up replacing the lens anyhow.
I will be giving this some more thought though. It's an expensive move and I want to be sure before I splurge.
Dont get me wrong, its sharp but I find that its noisy (forgivable), hunts way too much (slightly forgivable) and has a tendancy to focus on the subject's eye lashes / eye brows or flyaways rather than the actual eye itself. When you're shooting close and with shallow DoF, i find that the eye is silghtly hazy which is really not what you want. Maybe I just had a bad lens but I've since upgraded to a used 50mm 1.4 and I dont have this problem. The interesting thing though is the 1.4 seems as noisy and hunts the same amount as the 1.8 but it focuses on the eyeball every time as opposed to the lashes.
EF-S lenses such as the 55-250mm zoom you mentioned will only work on cameras with the smaller 'crop-frame' sensor size (which includes both the 600D and 60D). They will not physically fit on a full-frame camera. However, I wouldn't let that stop you buying one, as most people don't upgrade to full-frame for many years, if ever.
@jwlynn64's description was a bit misleading -- the apparent focal length of a lens has nothing to do with the designation (L or otherwise) or quality of the lens. Any 18mm lens will frame identically on any crop-frame camera, be it an 'L' lens or otherwise, or an EF-S lens or otherwise. However, again regardless of the lens type, it will appear equivalent to a 29mm lens would do on a 35mm camera.
The confusion arises because of the effect the smaller sensor has on the image. Cameras with a smaller sensor (like the 60D and 600D) effectively only look at the middle bit of the image, discarding the edges as they miss the sensor entirely. This means that, compared to a 35mm film camera (or full-frame digital camera), the effective focal length is being magnified -- in Canon's case, by 1.6x.
All lenses are expressed in 35mm equivalent focal lengths, as it's the common standard. The benefit of this is that your 55-250mm lens will have a 35mm equivalent of 88-400mm -- so it's getting closer to the 720mm of your current camera. Plus, having used the HS20EXR as a second camera, I'm pretty confident that you'll actually get about the same detail from the 250mm lens when used correctly, even though the focal length is much less, due to the reduced noise, increased resolution, and increased lens sharpness of the DSLR/lens.
Finally I understand the lens measurements and the 35mm equivalent quota... it has been puzzling me for quite some time!
Ok, I am more or less decided on the 600D with the double kit lenses (18-55mm and 55-250mm). Then I will also splurge on the 100mm Macro lens mentioned above in this thread.
Thank you so much everyone who responded to this thread. Your help is so much appreciated! I cannot wait to get started with my very first DSLR!
So excited!
Another lens I could recomend is the 35mm f2 ( http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/products/canon/ef-35mm-f2-0-lens-12888/show.html)
Works great for doing portraits indoors. Takes great shots of flowers etc. I also use it with a 10x close up filter to allow closer shots. Found that the 50mm doesnt work great with this filter but the 35mm is fantastic.
Obviously the stock 18mm - 55mm standard zoom is a good starting point too which will cover a fair range at good light levels. Also one worth considering as a starter is 55mm - 200mm zoom. The two of these will provide a good range of zoom capability at a fairly low price.
I have all of these at the moment but find I do not use the 55mm - 200mm becasue most of the shots I take are close ups, portraits or landcsapes.
Hope this helps.
Thank you very much to all you responded to this thread - it helped me *enormously*!
After due deliberation, I made my decision and have already bought my camera and lenses. I went with the 600D double kit lens (17-55mm and 55-250mm) and then also bought the 100mm 2.8 USM Macro lens.
I still want a fixed 50mm (I'm leaning towards the f/1.4) but this will have to wait till later.
My camera and kit lenses should arrive on Thursday/Friday, and the macro lens in about 2 weeks time. I am super excited and cannot wait to get shooting.
can't wait to see your new pics!
:-)
If you find that you need a lower f stop lens for taking photos at low light events, just rent what you need for the day. Also, if you want to try some fish eye shots, rent that for a weekend and just cram all the shots you want to take in on those days.
I'm still waiting for you guys to post some city shots of the new stadium that was built for the last World Cup!
RE lenses for portrait, this may be worth a watch
http://fstoppers.com/how-lens-focal-length-shapes-the-face
My camera and kits lenses arrive tomorrow, but the 100mm 2.8 will take about 2 weeks before it comes. That lens is the one I am most looking forward to - I have read great reviews on it.