Looking to buy a new lens

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BE Photography

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I am looking to buy a new lens. Was thinking that I might try to get one 2nd hand to get a better lens for less money.

I am looking for a portrait lens with a little bit of range to fit my Canon EOS 50D. I mainly use the 50mm 1.8 and photograph around f2.8 a lot as I do like a good dof and also because I also do low light indoor photography.

I can't post or view the wanted forum here but was wondering if anyone have seen a good deal here or on ebay to guide me in the right direction.

I really don't want to spend more than £250-300

If not I will just put some cash towards an external flash - again appreciate getting guided in the right direction.

Thanks
 
Not sure you'll get anything much better than the 50mm 1.8 for that money really. 50mm 1.4 is really nice for portraits but won't give you more reach. 70-200 F4L makes a lovely portrait lens for about £400 2nd hand last time I looked but doesn't go as wide as you want.

If you don't have an external flash I would definately get one of those first along with a couple of cactus triggers and a cheap softbox from flash in the pan in the for sale forum.

Canon 430 EX II will see you proud :)
 
85mm f/1.8 - Fantastic lens, especially for portraits and in the price range - Simples!

Phil
 
Or the sigma 50mm f1.4
 
BE Photography said:
I am looking to buy a new lens. Was thinking that I might try to get one 2nd hand to get a better lens for less money.

I am looking for a portrait lens with a little bit of range to fit my Canon EOS 50D. I mainly use the 50mm 1.8 and photograph around f2.8 a lot as I do like a good dof and also because I also do low light indoor photography.

I can't post or view the wanted forum here but was wondering if anyone have seen a good deal here or on ebay to guide me in the right direction.

I really don't want to spend more than £250-300

If not I will just put some cash towards an external flash - again appreciate getting guided in the right direction.

Thanks
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What do you feel your nifty fifty doesn't give you already? That's the most important thing to give you advice for a new lens! If you need a bit of extra length, and very nice background blur, then the 85mm f/1.8 is really nice. Or if you're wanting something faster, then the Sigma f/1.4 could be a better bet.

(And as an aside, a jolly nice guy is selling an 85mm f/1.8 in the classifieds and I can tell you first hand it's very nice to use on a 50D (y) :naughty:)
 
chris321 said:
What do you feel your nifty fifty doesn't give you already? That's the most important thing to give you advice for a new lens! If you need a bit of extra length, and very nice background blur, then the 85mm f/1.8 is really nice. Or if you're wanting something faster, then the Sigma f/1.4 could be a better bet.

(And as an aside, a jolly nice guy is selling an 85mm f/1.8 in the classifieds and I can tell you first hand it's very nice to use on a 50D (y) :naughty:)
Click to expand...

The nifty fifty is used 90% of the time. It does most of the things I want. I find that I would occasionally want to have a little range and possibly be able to be a little more wide angle. Because I often photograph portraits in small rooms I find that I sometime don't get enough distance with the 50mm. If I had the cash I would probably get the 24-70 or 16-35 with a 2.8. But I don't have the cash so I was wondering if there was similar Sigma lenses that I could get second hand that had good reviews.

If not I might spend the money on an external flash and portable backdrop and stand.
 
Thanks for all the great advice.

I purchased a lens on ebay today so hope it is in excellent condition as described.

I got the Sigma 24-70 2.8 EX DG for £290 which appear to be the average price it sells for. This include the Hoya filter and postage cost.

Next purchase will definately be the external flash and will then get the Speedlight 430 as recommended.
 
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