Guidance Please

[jankmarshall]

Hi all, new to site and photography. Recently bought a second hand EOS350D to get me started and to see if I was any good before investing in anything more professional. Just want my photography to be purely a hobby and enjoy taking photos of all sorts from Motorsport to Wildlife to Stately Homes etc. getting there slowly and feel I'd like to improve my kit with a couple more lenses. I have a EF70-300mm IS lens and want to know what you'd advise to give me a full scope of lenses for all occasions. Obviously, the lens I have is no good for close up etc. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

:shrug:

 

[Flash In The Pan]

Firstly to TP

It would be worth giving an idea of the sort of budget you have to play with, otherwise you'll get recommendations for lenses that cost the same as a decent secondhand car

 

[jankmarshall]

Good Point. Well I'm not rothschilde (no where near!!). So my budget would be around £300-500 at this stage.

Thanks
Jan

 

[Shaza7322]

I know you will get some great advice from others but as a relative newbie myself I was recently in your position. Like you I started with a secondhand DSLR (450d) and a 70-300 lens.

My first addition to this was the Canon 100mm macro as I am interested in taking close up nature shots and after reading lots of threads this seemed to be "the one". I have just added a Sigma 17-70mm wide angle as a general walk about lens but also for taking landscapes (thanks to Trixster) and I love it. Ideally I would like to get an ultra wide lens for landscapes but this will have to wait.

It probably best to decide what you want it for before investing, then check out relevant threads to get some great advice from "those who know" but I hope this helps a bit - I'm still getting to grips with my kit but loving the learning curve.

Shaza

 

[odd jim]

Welcome to the site (and welcome to an expensive hobby, lol!!)

It depends what you want to photograph... You already have a telephoto and a kit lens, perhaps replace the kit lens with a decent walkabout lens (between 17 and 100mm) as I find the kit lens from my 400D (which is the same iirc) not too sharp or vibrant. Anything from Sigma or Tamron should fit the bill, Canon lenses of this type seem to be a lot more expensive.

Then you could consider wide angle for either landscapes or street scenery, though this could seriously eat your budget, especially if you went down the Canon route. I have the Canon 10-22 which cost me over £500 at the time, its even more expensive now but you can pick up a 2nd hand Sigma 10-20 which does exactly the same thing for about £250, though that would half your budget. Damn good lenses though!

Finally I would suggest the 50mm 1.8 (aka Nifty Fifty). I personally love this lens, and although some find the focal length a bit long (esp on crop sensors like the 350D) I love the depth of field you can achieve on this and its very very sharp. You can pick them up for about £50 brand new online. For a fixed 'prime' lens I find it surprisingly versatile as well, and as you have to physically move the camera to get the shot, rather than zooming, it can teach you a lot about framing etc (frustrating to start with) and might even improve your skills!

Enjoy!