400D - Best combo?

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D_Aitchison

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Hello all,

I'm in the process of talking myself into buying a 400D, but i sometimes here noises that the standard 18-55mm lens is the limiting factor.

So, that in mind, am i better buying a body and a more versatile lens?

If so, what would the recommendation be for general photography, baby portraits, some outside photography etc.

Thanks,

David!
 
I guess it depends how much money you have to throw into it?
The kit lens is ok, but obviously not the greatest. If you can afford better then I'd definitely recommend it. Or if you rather spend the money on another type of lens e.g. a telephoto or a macro then you would have a standard lens and a telephoto/macro instead of just a good standard lens.
I used my 400D kit lens on the weekend, in good lighting its decent enough, although obviously I'd prefer a L lens :p
 
I was thinking of Sigma 70-300 APO?

Perhaps more than i'd like to spend, but if its for the greater good it's really only £50 out of my total budget.
 
What do you like photographing?

the kit lens has a slightly unfair reputation. Its a cheap, versatile lens aimed at the beginner.

I would recommend buying the 50mm f1.8 prime lens (£ 50 ish from Kerso), this would be excellent for baby portraits. Landscapes generally need a wider angle lens, the 18mm end of the kit lens could be used, if wider, then a Sigma 10-20 or Canon 10-22.

For distance I would recommend a Sigma 70-300 APO.

This gives you something that enables you to have a decent stab at most photographic needs. Then you can tailor your future needs over what you decide you particularly like photographing the most.

Until you can answer my first question, no-one can give you any specific guidance.
 
you can get the Sigma 70-300 APO second hand here for about £75, and it is quite highly recommend for a budget telephoto.
What sort of photos are you looking to take? Would you need that far of a reach? After using my 400D and kit lens I found out that I was not really interested in wildlife/bird photography or track days etc so did not need any reach at all. Instead found out I liked to take landscapes, people and macros. So I bought myself a macro lens, want to buy a wide angle one for landscapes.

If you are sure about what you like to take then invest the lens that will help you take those photos, if not then maybe get the kit lens, have a play then decide what to get?
 
Well i don't know what i like to photograph i suppose, as I am a complete beginner, and maybe i'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe i should stick with the kit lens and find out what i like.

I know that i enjoy looking at portraits, animals and macro. So i would like to replicate these.
 
D_Aitchison said:
So, that in mind, am i better buying a body and a more versatile lens?

If so, what would the recommendation be for general photography, baby portraits, some outside photography etc.

Thanks,

David!
Click to expand...

Hi David,

The 400D is a very capable body, and I would recommend investing in better glass.

One lens that you might want to consider is the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 in place of the kit lens.

Its a superb lens for the money and very capable and accompanied with the nifty fifty (50mm f1.8) would make a very good combination for portrait and outdoor work, as well as a walk-around-lens.
 
Thanks for that, can you just explain the above a little more?

When you say accompanied with the 'nifty fifty' do you mean the Tamron and the nifty fifty makes up one lens?

As a rough guide to price, the Sigma is around £150 new, how does the Tamron and Nifty fifty (great name) compare?
 
D_Aitchison said:
Well i don't know what i like to photograph i suppose, as I am a complete beginner, and maybe i'm getting ahead of myself. Maybe i should stick with the kit lens and find out what i like.

I know that i enjoy looking at portraits, animals and macro. So i would like to replicate these.
Click to expand...


Personally I think you've got it sussed. You're own response above is just about the best advice anyone could give you. The kit lens is not all bad and certainly adequate whilst you learn the pro and cons of photography. In time you'll find out what your preferences are and then it will be only a short step to knowing what lenses (and other equipment) you need.
 
nifty fifty is the Canon 50mm f1.8. Great optics and very simple means its cheap and one of the best value lenses you can buy.

if you like doing macro, maybe a set of extension tubes to fit to either a nifty fifty or your kit lens would be a good starting point.
 
D_Aitchison said:
Thanks for that, can you just explain the above a little more?

When you say accompanied with the 'nifty fifty' do you mean the Tamron and the nifty fifty makes up one lens?

As a rough guide to price, the Sigma is around £150 new, how does the Tamron and Nifty fifty (great name) compare?
Click to expand...

No problem to explain more. The Nifty Fifty is a great lens for portrait work. I started with that when I bought my 350D, and later upgraded to the 50mm 1.4.

The Tamron is another capable lens, because of its range (28-75) and its ability in low light (f2.8). I've spent months with this as my only lens on my camera, except where I wanted to get a little more creative and opted for the nifty. Price? from memory you can pick up a 2nd hand Tamron for around £190. I'm not sure what they sell for these days, but its gives you a guideline.

The only thing lacking is the focal range (75mm being your max zoom), but as the saying goes.. you can always zoom with your feet.

I've had the 75-300 Sigma, and again its a capable lens, but I personally didn't have much luck with it indoors. I kept it primarily for outdoor shots in daylight.

Another point you may want to note. Having kids, I'm taking pics of them all the time. But as soon as you pick up your camera, they'll start running towards you. So a long range zoom (75-300) is the last thing you'll need. I feel if you're going to invest in a zoom like the Sigma, your best bet is to do it once you've worked out if it fits your style of shooting.
 
Thanks, some great information there.

All of this screams to me that i clearly need more education. Can someone explain the science of lenses to me in laymans terms or point me in the general directon of some good resources?

What i know, or think i know and i will use the standard 18-55mm lens as an example is:

The lowest number (18) is the width of the lens and the highest number (55) is the zoom?

But i'm stuck on f/2.8(i know that isn't a feature of the 400D kit lens). Is this the focus?

Thanks,

David
 
andrewc said:
prime lenses are fixed at one focal length - eg 50mm, 90mm, 300mm

zoom lenses can go between two extremes - 18-55 goes from 18mm to 55mm, 70-300 goes from 70mm to 300mm

ideal reading - http://bbs.scoobynet.com/photography-360/543761-understanding-photography.html
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Ah, scoobynet. I used to spend hours on that site. I'll have a read through that article.

WanderingMind said:
The kit lens is pretty good. The newer version might be a better buy though, it's been improved, it has IS and is a good price.

http://www.canon-europe.com/For_Hom...ion_Lenses/EF-S_18-55mm_f3_5-5_6_IS/index.asp
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If i buy a new camera though, wouldn't it come with the updated lens?
 
Just to throw my 2ps worth in, ive had my samsung gx1l for about 6 months now and had great fun with it i bought it as it was cheep and came with two lenses in the kit this allowed me to get out there and test what pics i liked to take. I have since found out i like motorsport and wildlife photography mainly and a bit of landscape so now im in the middle of upgrading my kit with good lenses and a 40d all to suit what i like to shot.In short i would just stick to the kit lens and see if you enjoy it before you spend ££££:thinking:
 
D_Aitchison said:
But i'm stuck on f/2.8(i know that isn't a feature of the 400D kit lens). Is this the focus?
Click to expand...
[Disclaimer: I don't own an SLR yet - they're taking ages to send it to me! Therefore, my knowledge is based on intensive reading of the internet and books for about a week now. But I think I can explain...]

f/2.8 is an example of a particular aperture setting - also called an f-stop. Aperture is the name given to the width of the opening in the lens (which can be varied). A larger number (eg. f/22) is a smaller aperture; the opening is smaller and less light is therefore let in. A smaller number (eg. f/2.8) is a larger aperture; the opening is bigger and more light is let in to the sensor.

Now when you're dealing with the aperture of a lens (often also called the "speed") you really want as low a number as possible because that will be the largest aperture possible with that lens. This allows greater versatility in the shots you take (eg. in low light you can lower the aperture number (wider opening) rather than setting a higher ISO (which can cause 'noise') or setting a slower shutter speed (which can cause blurring due to camera shake). You can also do clever things with depth of field with the aperture settings (lower f-numbers give shallower DOF, whereas at higher numbers you will have clarity throughout the image).

By all accounts the nifty-fifty performs pretty well at its maximum aperture (f/1.8). If you use it at higher apertures then the image will be even clearer. So to summarise, when you're looking at the speed of a lens, the lower the number the better and if it's a zoom lens you would ideally have the same aperture number across the range. A lot of cheaper zoom lenses have an aperture range (eg. the 'kit lens' for the 400D is f/3.5-5.6). That's fine, but if you can afford it get a single speed throughout.

Hope that helps!
 
I think you'd be better off sticking with the kit lens for a while, maybe alongside the 50mm, you are just starting out afterall.

When you get the hang of things you should then look into getting a better lens, that's what I did. :)
 
Thanks guys, i bought myself a 400D and have a friend who is 'savvy' with photography in general. He is going to show me the way!

Thanks again for all of your help.
 
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