beginner question. lens.

[shaylou]

I am interested in buying a new lens but don't know where to start. I shoot a lot of outdoors, animals, nature but I will be shooting vacation pics at the beach as well. I really dont like my 18×55 zoom (came with kit) because its not nearly long enough and I seem to have a hard time getting good focus when zoomed out over 27ish mm. I am a beginner so it could be me doing something wrong. I do know for a fact that I would really like an accurate zoom lens between 200-300mm. I read that the apiture changes as you zoom (like 18×55) but there are zooms that hold constant apiture. Also if I have to (because of price) I would sacrifice some of the zoom for a better lens/picture. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

[andyred]

Hi

What is your budget ?

What Camera system are you using as it's not under your username / initial post ?

Yes you can get fixed F4, F2.8 zoom and prime lenses, but they do tend to cost more.

If you let us know the above, hopefully can be of more help...

 

[gblades]

We really need to know your model of camera and your budget.
Constant aperture zooms are nice but check their size and weight as that could be a significant factor if you are taking photos quickly and not using a tripod or monopod.
See if you can have a go with a longer lens to see what you want. Most people taking photos of birds for example find they are always after a longer lens.
I have just ordered myself a sigma 150-500 which is a good zoom amount but small enough so it can be used handheld. The aperture is not great but it's 2kg in weight and just compare that to the 16kg for the constant f/2.8 version!

 

[shaylou]

Oops sorry about that. I'm using a Canon T3i or I think they call it 600D in other countries. My budget is up to 1500-1600 u.s. dollars. That is if I absolutely have to go that high. (It will take a wail to save that much). I would be really happy to find something of high quality around 600 u.s. that is why I said that I would substitute some of the zoom for a high quality lens that puts out high quality pics. I haven't got a full grasp of zoom distance yet but from what I see using the 18×55 kit lens it seems that its way way to short of a zoom for what I want. Tripling or more that distance (55) would put me at 200-300mm (I guess) so that's how I came up with that rate. Another reason I ask about the constant rate apiture is because it seems like with that kind of lens I would not have to spend as much time readjusting for shoots each time I changed the zoom. Correct me if I'm wrong about that. Also it seems that the lens of this sort would be much better in lower light situations because I could leave it wide open. Once again, correct me if I'm wrong. I want to point out that I'm a total beginner, I have one month experience in photography. Thank you very much for taking the time to help me, much appreciated.

 

[gblades]

Even a 300mm f2.8 zoom is going to weigh around 3kg which is getting a bit heavy to hand hold so you would need at least a monopod to support the weight which would probably slow you down. If you want to walk about and catch a good photo then you might be better off with something like the sigma 150-300 or even the 50-300 if you are willing to pay the extra.
You can get very good canon 300mm prime lenses but I don't know their prices or weight.