About to but Canon 550d - should I get the stock lens?

skdotcom

skdotcom

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Hello

I'm a complete DSLR newbie, and after looking at various reviews have decided that I want the Canon 550d.

I've seen conflicting views on whether to get "body only".

My question is, if I get body only, what starter lens should I get instead?

Thanks
 
If you're a complete 'newbie' I would suggest starting with the 18-55mm IS kit lens because it's very cheap when bought with the body and it's not a bad lens at all. Make sure it's the IS version though. Other options would be the 17-85mm or 15-85mm but they are a lot more expensive (but better quality). Try the kit lens and if you get more into it, you can always upgrade and not lose too much money on the kit lens.
 
Phall82 said:
If you're a complete 'newbie' I would suggest starting with the 18-55mm IS kit lens because it's very cheap when bought with the body and it's not a bad lens at all. Make sure it's the IS version though. Other options would be the 17-85mm or 15-85mm but they are a lot more expensive (but better quality). Try the kit lens and if you get more into it, you can always upgrade and not lose too much money on the kit lens.
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Thanks, that was my thinking too.
 
I soon added the Canon 50mm f1.8 and Canon 55-250mm IS f4-f5.6 to complement the kit lens. Good image quality for the money in my view!
 
As a newbie like yourself I decided to get the kit lens with my Canon body as it was such good value.

And as Andy has said you can always add more lenses. In fact I recently bough a Canon 50mm f1.8 and think it punched well above its price.
 
What sort of photography are you intending on doing?

If you are planning on photographing sports I would go straight for the 55-250mm rather than the kit lens which you will find too short.

Portraits I would go for the 50mm f1.8.

Landscapes and general photography/finding your style and preferred subjects, the kit lens will be fine.
 
As above think about what sort of things you are wanting to photograph before making a decision as this will affect the type of lens alot.

All the lens suggested above are available for little money and good to get started with.

spike
 
The tamron 17-50 2.8 non VC is always an excellent Alternative to the kit lens.
 
I bought the canon 600d with the 18mm to 55mm its fine for portrait but I am already looking to extend my lens range asap
 
Craikeybaby said:
What sort of photography are you intending on doing?

If you are planning on photographing sports I would go straight for the 55-250mm rather than the kit lens which you will find too short.

Portraits I would go for the 50mm f1.8.

Landscapes and general photography/finding your style and preferred subjects, the kit lens will be fine.
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I guess I will probably do a mixture of portrait shots and landscapes. to some extent it will be a case of playing around to find what I enjoy taking photos of.

The "Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens" is only £89.95 at Amazon, so I think i'll go with the kit lens and then buy this one in time.
 
skdotcom said:
I guess I will probably do a mixture of portrait shots and landscapes. to some extent it will be a case of playing around to find what I enjoy taking photos of.

The "Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens" is only £89.95 at Amazon, so I think i'll go with the kit lens and then buy this one in time.
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IMHO that would be the best course.
 
AndyB1976 said:
I soon added the Canon 50mm f1.8 and Canon 55-250mm IS f4-f5.6 to complement the kit lens. Good image quality for the money in my view!
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That's the lens line-up I have as well. I was taking some street shots yesterday and I found a few cramped situations where the Canon EF S 18/55 IS came into its' own.

At 18mm I find it quite useful and is a good starter lens to have IMO.
 
The good news is that I think everybody agrees generally that for a newbie the kit 18-55mm IS should be bought and the 55-250mm is the obvious extension if useful to you. I also have the 50mm f/1.8 and this takes the best quality image of all three. The only issue I find with the 50mm is that it isn't wide enough for some if the shots I want it for, but when in range it is fantastic, for most price ranges.

One other type of lens I'm looking to get is an 'ultra wide angle' lens for landscapes. The sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 seems best value if you were interested in a lens of this type. Canon is the best quality but it is very pricey.
 
I had the 18-55IS as a part of the kit when I bought my 450D and decided a few months later to get the 55-250IS. Since the subsequent purchase I have hardly used the 18-55, finding the longer lens more versatile, it also has better IQ, in my opinion.

This is a sample shot taken with the 55-250.



IMG_4345 by killwilly, on Flickr
 
skdotcom said:
Thanks for all the replies. In case anyone is interested, I bought the Canon 550d with stock lens kit from Dixons using the following deal.
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/can...dixons-30-canon-cashback/929069/#post11161058

£519 minus £30 canon cashback minus £26ish Quidco cashback = £463 for a brand new UK 550d!
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Damn, the 550d is out of stock now (unless you go for the 18-135 lens), and the code no longer applies as I tried the d3100 as an alternative. That'll teach me to be so slow!!

Hope you enjoy yours anyway.

Edit: Just sussed out it applies only to orders over 500.
 
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Steelfish said:
Damn, the 550d is out of stock now (unless you go for the 18-135 lens), and the code no longer applies as I tried the d3100 as an alternative. That'll teach me to be so slow!!

Hope you enjoy yours anyway.

Edit: Just sussed out it applies only to orders over 500.
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Blimey that didn't last long. It has now been reduced to £539 at Amazon though, and you get the £30 cashback on top of that as well, so £509 in total.
 
skdotcom said:
Blimey that didn't last long. It has now been reduced to £539 at Amazon though, and you get the £30 cashback on top of that as well, so £509 in total.
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And lo and behold it came back into stock. I have the body and 18-55 on its way to me for 519 - the cashback and - the quidco (hopefully)!

I should mention I got one from Amazon a couple of weeks back at just under 600 quid, and sent it back as the build quality was lacking for that kind of money. But for 480 ish it's a no brainer!

Thanks for the link, I'm a happy bunny :-)
 
Get the kit lens, i dont think you will need anything better for the first 6 months at least and other accessories might be needed rather than new glass.
 
Just had a call about my 550d order with Dixons, out of stock again. Aaargh. How difficult can this be?

So I've ordered a d3100 with 18-55vr kit lens instead with Amazon...lead time 2 months!! The sad events in Japan must be playing havoc with supply chains.
 
Well, I'm afraid you're about 8 posts [and however many days] shy of being able to hit the classifieds here :) but whichever you choose, remember two things..

firstly, don't beat yourself up about not having the top-o-the range... a gifted eye can produce Pullitzer images from a Box Brownie...

and don't think for a second that this is going to be cheap! Honestly, cocaine would be a cheaper habit... and so it starts....
 
danbroad said:
Well, I'm afraid you're about 8 posts [and however many days] shy of being able to hit the classifieds here :) but whichever you choose, remember two things..

firstly, don't beat yourself up about not having the top-o-the range... a gifted eye can produce Pullitzer images from a Box Brownie...

and don't think for a second that this is going to be cheap! Honestly, cocaine would be a cheaper habit... and so it starts....
Click to expand...

Hmm, my wife has been telling me this for the last six months (as soon as I started to get interested in photography)!!!

Still, at least the current long lead times for kit will help me push to get the best out of what I have.
 
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