Lens Madness!

[Schweppy]

I have spent far too long looking at different lenses, reading reviews, etc to the point that I just want to buy all of them now! lol

There are SO many lenses about that i'm so confused! I'm sure other beginners making the step from kit lens have the same problem.

Can someone please recommend me a few lenses for my 400d on a reasonable budget (between £100-£300 per lens) that I can use for the following -

a) Motorsport/Track Days - currently looking at the Sigma 70-300 APO
b) Car Stills - think i need a wide angle?
c) General walkabout lens to replace kit lens

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Jungle_Jim]

a) canon 70-300mm usm mk3
b) sigma 10-20mm
c) canon 28-135mm with image stabliser

 

[Schweppy]

a) canon 70-300mm usm mk3
b) sigma 10-20mm
c) canon 28-135mm with image stabliser

Cheers dude. Is the Canon 70-300 that much better than the Sigma?

 

[Jungle_Jim]

mm its tricky as there are actual several versions of the sigma 70-300mm APO i think the cheapest starting around the £120 mark

the best bet would be to go to jessops and test them (but dont buy from there)

i was quite impressed by the canon 70-300mm as the ultrasonic focusing seemed to be fairly quick which is important for motorsport stuff.

also have a look on www.dpreview.co.uk, for some reviews mate

 

[Schweppy]

mm its tricky as there are actual several versions of the sigma 70-300mm APO i think the cheapest starting around the £120 mark

the best bet would be to go to jessops and test them (but dont buy from there)

i was quite impressed by the canon 70-300mm as the ultrasonic focusing seemed to be fairly quick which is important for motorsport stuff.

also have a look on www.dpreview.co.uk

Cheers!

From what I have found there are only 2 versions. APO and non-APO. UKASKEW used the non-APO and said it was pretty good and the newer APO version is even better.

Good idea to go try them out though! Guess I can just take my cam in!

Oh and do you know best place for Canon batteries? lol

 

[Pettsi]

www.7dayshop.com for batteries... I havn't looked to see if they are any cheaper!...

I have just purchased the 50mm 1.8 lens - hopefully it will prove to be a good investment.

Do you need to go as far as 300mm? What about the 55-250mm? Is the quality reduced once you get to 300mm?

 

[Schweppy]

www.7dayshop.com for batteries... I havn't looked to see if they are any cheaper!...

I have just purchased the 50mm 1.8 lens - hopefully it will prove to be a good investment.

Do you need to go as far as 300mm? What about the 55-250mm? Is the quality reduced once you get to 300mm?

Heard lots about the nifty 50 LOL! Whats the point of it though? Seems a bit limited to me.

I just thought 300mm was a good range for when i'm at Silverstone, etc. Is the 55-250 any good?

 

[Jungle_Jim]

the 50mm 1.8 canon is a good lens but is actually 80mm for people without a full frame dslr, which is fine for portrait photography etc as its the same magnification as the human eye. it can sometimes be a little limiting, for example i struggle at car shows to fit cars in with the 28mm part of my 28-135 as when you x1.6 its 45mm which isnt very wide at all. i guess the perks are non full frame dslrs are cheaper and that a 300m lens is 480mm

 

[Andy.]

The 55-250 IS gets awesome reviews. It has IS which will help you greatly at 250mm too.

If you dont have an off camera flash (430EX) then it would be worth including that in your arsenal too. The difference it makes to the built in unit is huge.

 

[Jungle_Jim]

I just thought 300mm was a good range for when i'm at Silverstone, etc. Is the 55-250 any good?

yes mate you definately want a 300mm a silverstone as depending where you are on the course you may struggle. i went there last year to the time attack / d1 drift competition and the 300mm was about right as it gave you scope to get in a bit closer.
most of mine were shot under 300mm but the ability to zoom was useful i wouldnt want to be limited to less tbh.

the pics arent great as it was the first motorsport event i had shot

 

[Pettsi]

Great pics Jim! Were they taken with the Canon or the Sigma version of the 300mm?

 

[Schweppy]

The 55-250 IS gets awesome reviews. It has IS which will help you greatly at 250mm too.

If you dont have an off camera flash (430EX) then it would be worth including that in your arsenal too. The difference it makes to the built in unit is huge.

Yeh i did think about that too but for now the majority of my photography will be done at car shows, track days and of my own car so i guess flash is important for these??

I am going to New York in august and wanted to get the Sigma 10-20 for that but not sure if its worth buying it over there???

 

[Anim@l]

Schweppy, I didn't bother getting another Canon battery. I just got a hahnel (sp) one. Half the price and does the same job.

 

[Jungle_Jim]

Great pics Jim! Were they taken with the Canon or the Sigma version of the 300mm?

on the canon mate i borrowed it off my mate, as at the time i didnt have a telephoto. i have actually now got a tamron 70-300 lens which is good quality rrp £200, but i got it for £100 when my mate bought his 30d. i havent had a chance to use it for motorsports yet though, i have found sometimes it 'hunts' a bit on the initial focus, but as often with motorsports you are stuck on one corner so i doubt this would be a problem.

the only pic i have using the tamron is of the dome shot at 300mm,

 

[Jungle_Jim]

Schweppy, I didn't bother getting another Canon battery. I just got a hahnel (sp) one. Half the price and does the same job.

oh talking about batteries i would definately recommend getting a battery grip, with 2 batteries it last for ages and it has the advantage of then having a button on the top for when you shoot portrait

 

[Schweppy]

Schweppy, I didn't bother getting another Canon battery. I just got a hahnel (sp) one. Half the price and does the same job.

oh talking about batteries i would definately recommend getting a battery grip, with 2 batteries it last for ages and it has the advantage of then having a button on the top for when you shoot portrait

LOL i already have that BUT i really dont see the point!! LOL. It takes 2 batteries so whats any different to just changing the battery over. Much easier and lighter/easier to carry!?!? haha

 

[Jungle_Jim]

^^ looks beefer lol

i do find it easier to hold for portraits. my tripod doesnt like it much lol

 

[Pettsi]

When you've got massive hands the battery grip is great!

 

[Schweppy]

OK so when I go to New York, whats the bets lens to take? Just a standard zoom?

 

[Jungle_Jim]

the 28-135mm is a great 'walkabout' lens, it covers you for most situations giving you a bit of wide angle and a bit of telephoto. if it was me though i would probably take more than the one lens and a small tripod

 

[Andy.]

The IS is also very handy to have.

 

[Brown.]

C) Canons 17- 85mm IS Usm is THE walkabout lens!!

 

[MaLicE]

go careful using non manufacturers batteries, i know nikon say it voids your warrentee... and on the pro nikon models the batteries have chips in them that tell u the health/amount of times used/remaining life etc... which the cheap copies dont...

 

[ukaskew]

I shot New York purely with a Sigma 10-20 and 50mm 1.8, that was more than enough to be honest. There are a million photos you could take there so you've got to limit yourself in some way.

IS is useful but if you are using the long lens exclusively for motorsport it's going to be a wasted expense imo, as soon as you do something remotely creative it will fall over.

Here are some shots with the Sigma 70-300: http://www.flickr.com/groups/67489753@N00/pool/, these are for the cheap non-APO one I had (around £90). I was properly impressed with it to be honest.

A few of mine:

I'm personally of the opinion that in your situation (where you've not got or used a long lens yet) you may as well go for something relatively cheap. Chances are you aren't going to reach the limits of the lens immediately, so even if you use a £90 lens for 6 months then decide to upgrade you aren't going to lose much. My Sigma 70-300 cost me about £20 in real terms once I had sold it and was absolutely invaluable in teaching me how to use a long lens on a DSLR. At the end of the day I've seen reasonable photographers with that £90 lens take photos 100 times better than someone loaded with super fast expensive lenses.

 

[Schweppy]

I shot New York purely with a Sigma 10-20 and 50mm 1.8, that was more than enough to be honest. There are a million photos you could take there so you've got to limit yourself in some way.

IS is useful but if you are using the long lens exclusively for motorsport it's going to be a wasted expense imo, as soon as you do something remotely creative it will fall over.

Here are some shots with the Sigma 70-300: http://www.flickr.com/groups/67489753@N00/pool/, these are for the cheap non-APO one I had (around £90). I was properly impressed with it to be honest.

A few of mine:

WOW! They are stunning Chris! Defo going to get the Sigma. Found the APO version for £116!

Dont think the non-APO is available anymore and cant find any second hand Sigmas.

 

[ukaskew]

WOW! They are stunning Chris! Defo going to get the Sigma. Found the APO version for £116!

Dont think the non-APO is available anymore and cant find any second hand Sigmas.

That's what I mean, even the boundaries of something cheap in the DSLR world (although to be fair that Sigma does review very well and punch above its weight) will be hard to reach, as long as it's reasonably good it's going to work brilliantly with a bit of practice. At the same time I could probably find you some shocking photos with £3ks worth of kit.

Practice, practice, practice Can't say anymore than that. That was the first time I used that lens but I struggled along with a P&S for about 2 years before I got that and learned absolutely everything I could with that level of equipment. The step up was easy then.

 

[Clart]

another vote for the 70-300mm sigma here (mines the APO version)

 

[Schweppy]

C) Canons 17- 85mm IS Usm is THE walkabout lens!!

What about the 28-135?

17-85 only goes down to f4.

 

[Andy.]

28mm is not that wide on a crop camera. The 17mm lenses are the newer versions of a walkabout for canon. as they offer the same range as the 28-135 did on a 35mm film SLR. (The XXXD, XXD have a crop factor of 1.6x)


17mm x 1.6 = 27.2mm
85mm x 1.6 = 136mm.

It depends if you use the wide end of your existing lens more than the 28mm +.

You said that you wanted to spend 100-300 per lens for three lenses. If you use one lens for "b" & "c" the car stills and walkabout you can stretch to the 17-55mm f2.8 IS. That would do both tasks perfectly and is an awesome lens.

 

[Schweppy]

28mm is not that wide on a crop camera. The 17mm lenses are the newer versions of a walkabout for canon. as they offer the same range as the 28-135 did on a 35mm film SLR. (The XXXD, XXD have a crop factor of 1.6x)


17mm x 1.6 = 27.2mm
85mm x 1.6 = 136mm.

It depends if you use the wide end of your existing lens more than the 28mm +.

You said that you wanted to spend 100-300 per lens for three lenses. If you use one lens for "b" & "c" the car stills and walkabout you can stretch to the 17-55mm f2.8 IS. That would do both tasks perfectly and is an awesome lens.

Ah ok. Well i won't be spending it all at once LOL. I just wanted some idea of what I should be looking at getting.

I'm borrowing my mates Canon 10-22mm at the moment and really like the wide angle at 10mm.

I'm getting a 70-300 first and using my kit lens as a walkabout lens for now. Then i'll either go for a wide angle or an upgrade to walkabout.

I was thinking about getting the 17-85 Canon and maybe 10-20 Sigma???

That way all 3 lenses overlap each other and I have the whole range covered.

 

[theduck]

Non apo version available here
http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/Lense...a_70-300mm_f/4-5.6_DG_Macro/product_info.html

Speak to Stuart Boston, and tell him Stuart Thomas recomended him

 

[Schweppy]

Non apo version available here
http://www.digitaldepot.co.uk/Lense...a_70-300mm_f/4-5.6_DG_Macro/product_info.html

Speak to Stuart Boston, and tell him Stuart Thomas recomended him

So whats the difference then? What is APO? I have found the APO version for £116 so guess i may as well go for that? lol

 

[theduck]

not a clue mate. Am sure Mr. Boston will look after you, me and my dad(mainly my dad) have put a lot of business his way both personally and referals

 

[ukaskew]

The APO version has an extra coating on the lens which gives you slightly higher quality photos. If you can get that one at a good price it's probably worth paying the bit extra for it.

 

[Clart]

apo is the coating on the glass - minimizes colour aberration

 

[Schweppy]

The APO version has an extra coating on the lens which gives you slightly higher quality photos. If you can get that one at a good price it's probably worth paying the bit extra for it.

apo is the coating on the glass - minimizes colour aberration

Cool thanks guys. Will be ordering the APO next week from onestopdigital!

 

[Jungle_Jim]

i think the APO is something to do with the glass having a coating on it to reduce glare, could be wrong though

 

[Jungle_Jim]

damn you guys are too quick lol

the offical definition from sigma

Apochromatic lenses are telephoto and telezoom type lenses which use special optical designs and optical materials (SLD or ELD glass) to improve their performance. The result is images which have greater contrast, sharpness and color definition than a comparable non-APO type lens . All Sigma apochromatic lenses are identified by the APO designation in their descriptions. Please see the Lens Chart for this and other specific lens information.

 

[UncleGrumpy]

Schweppy, I didn't bother getting another Canon battery. I just got a hahnel (sp) one. Half the price and does the same job.

I did the same, they are now both in the bin as they wont hold charge, false economy im afraid, the original battery from a 300D is now in a battery grip on a 30D with the battery from that camera and still working fine, the Hahnels were in a grip on the 300, didnt last 18 months.

 

[Schweppy]

Schweppy, I didn't bother getting another Canon battery. I just got a hahnel (sp) one. Half the price and does the same job.

I did the same, they are now both in the bin as they wont hold charge, false economy im afraid, the original battery from a 300D is now in a battery grip on a 30D with the battery from that camera and still working fine, the Hahnels were in a grip on the 300, didnt last 18 months.

Cool, so wheres best place to buy original batteries from?