Best smaller lens?

friesianfan69

friesianfan69

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Donna
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I have a canon 450D, what is the best lens for decent shots indoors and out?
Im getting the 7--200 mk 2 f /2.8 but want a decent smaller lens to .
 
The 40 2.8 is as small as it gets but guess you are after a smaller zoom rather than a small in size?
 
Hi Donna

A few questions that might aid recommendations...

What is your budget ?

Do you want a zoom or prime ?

Are you after a fixed F stop ?

A few options - the Canon 17-55IS, 24-105IS, 15-85IS, 50mm 1.8/1.4, 40mm pancake lens ...
 
I'm after a lens I can take nice indoor pics with, my lens at present blurs if my daughter moves quick when taking her pic .
Also that I can take photos of friends doing dressage in indoor school but obviously without the flash.
 
I use my 450d with a Canon 50mm f/1.4 for photographing my 4 year old. The lower the f-number, the wider the aperture, the harder it is to nail the focus (I've got hundreds of blurred shots from trying to shoot at f1.4)
There are a number of things that have helped me get better pics of my son. The best thing I did was to buy a 430EX ii flash. The camera focuses much faster in low light with the flash and being able to bounce the flash off the walls produces a much more natural image. The other thing was to just use the centre focus point in 'one shot' mode.

As regards to dressage, good glass that works well in low light costs. You could try a 50mm f1.4. Set the aperture nice and wide say around f2 and the the ISO high enough so that you can get a fast enough shutter speed (i'd take grain over blur any day of the week). I've taken shots at ISO 1600 with my 450d and they looked quite grainy but I managed to remove the grain with software (NeatImage). You want a shutter speed of around 1/100 or faster i'd say (with a 50mm lens on a cropped body).

When the kid or kids are in bed, get the camera out and experiment.
 
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You 70 - 200 at 2.8 should be part way there (although maybe not indoors it should be okay outdoors)
As Matt says, you can get a lens with aperture of F1.4 to allow higher shutter speeds but the low DoF causes problems in itself and higher ISO combined with not such extreme apertures may be a better way to obtain the higher shutter speed required.
 
friesianfan69 said:
I'm after a lens I can take nice indoor pics with, my lens at present blurs if my daughter moves quick when taking her pic .
Also that I can take photos of friends doing dressage in indoor school but obviously without the flash.
Click to expand...

Hi

As has been said, you ideally need a fast lens for the indoor shots, this would help for the indoor dressage, but how close you can get ?

The Canon 50mm 1.8 (great lens and cheap as chips) is worth a look at for the indoor use, but I not sure if it will be long enough for your indoor dressage (or a fast enough AF). There is also the 1.4 version.

I'd try with your 70-200 for the dressage initially and see what if anything are the limiting factors, is it too long - therefore you need under 70mm, is it not fast enough - you therefore need a quicker lens etc. This will help with your decision as to what you need to be looking at - ie very fast lens, shorter zoom, prime etc.
 
the tamron 17-50mm is constant f2.8 but very compact and light compared to canikons offerings. Its very sharp too.
 
If budget is tight and you want a smaller mid zoom to fill the hole of your 70-200 then Tamron 17-50 f2.8.

If you want to open it wider then 2.8 (i.e 1.8 etc) then you need to get a prime lens which i believe canon offers a cheap 50mm f1.8 and that will get the job done.
 
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