Help looking for a new lens for portrait/general use

Birty

Birty

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James
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I have only had my camera now for about 4 weeks and its a Canon 30D and it came with the Sigma 70-300mm DG Macro Lens which has been OK for me so far for the pictures I have been taking of the sons Ice Hockey games, but I want to have a bash at portraits and just pictures of everyday stuff and am finding that carrying around the 300mm lens is a bit painful ? I don't have a huge budget (wife sees to that !!) but have been looking at the Canon 18-55mm IS lens and they seem to go for between £50-£75 ish on here/ebay and just wanted to know if anyone recommends them or is there anything else out there that may be better or similar ?
 
50mm 1.8 has got to be the way to go for portraits. About the same sort of price as the zoom that you mentioned.
 
The lens you have is fine for portraits, if not ideal. Try iat at 70mm-ish

18-55 IS is the one to get for general stuff, and it's also okay for portraits at the long end. Kit lenses are invariably decent performers, very versatile, and unbeatable value - that Canon is no exception.

50 1.8 is also good for portraits, but it's main benefit (apart from price) is that it has a very low f/number, which is often favoured for portrait techniques with very shallow depth of field. It's a bit of a specialist lens in that respect, and tends to be a bit limited beyond that.
 
I`ve just bought a canon 1000d and am selling my ef-s18-55 lens if your interested , in case your wondering why , i want to do more wildlife/sports shooting and got a 300mm zoom ,
 
ruffdog64 said:
I`ve just bought a canon 1000d and am selling my ef-s18-55 lens if your interested , in case your wondering why , i want to do more wildlife/sports shooting and got a 300mm zoom ,
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Harvey mate, you'll get told off if you try to deal outside the for sale section ;)

To the OP, check that the 18-55 you buy is the newer IS version. It came out with the 450D but is also an option on the 1000D - some have the IS lens, some don't. The IS version is completely different optically and much better, as well as having the IS.
 
Thanks for the info, sounds like it is the 18-55 IS model that I need, will keep my eyes open in the sale sections
 
HoppyUK said:
50 1.8 is also good for portraits, but it's main benefit (apart from price) is that it has a very low f/number, which is often favoured for portrait techniques with very shallow depth of field. It's a bit of a specialist lens in that respect, and tends to be a bit limited beyond that.
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In fact the only REAL limitation of this great lens is likely to be the photographer.

Not only can it be used as a portrait lens but it is excellent for all kind of pics.

I used it a great deal on my crop cameras and even more now on my full frame 1Ds Mk II.

And coupled with extension tubes it makes a great macro lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20926615@N05/sets/72157625975281497/

.
 
HoppyUK said:
Harvey mate, you'll get told off if you try to deal outside the for sale section ;)

To the OP, check that the 18-55 you buy is the newer IS version. It came out with the 450D but is also an option on the 1000D - some have the IS lens, some don't. The IS version is completely different optically and much better, as well as having the IS.
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I did wonder , i understand the reason is to stop people joining just to sell ,but when i came across this thread i thought i`d ask if it was any use to him ,Harvey
 
petersmart said:
In fact the only REAL limitation of this great lens is likely to be the photographer.

Not only can it be used as a portrait lens but it is excellent for all kind of pics.

I used it a great deal on my crop cameras and even more now on my full frame 1Ds Mk II.

And coupled with extension tubes it makes a great macro lens:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20926615@N05/sets/72157625975281497/

.
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That's a point of view, but not many folks would agree with you. Even the best photogrtaphers cannot change the focal length and you can only foot-zoom so far. It's just too long on a crop camera for general use.
 
HoppyUK said:
That's a point of view, but not many folks would agree with you. Even the best photogrtaphers cannot change the focal length and you can only foot-zoom so far. It's just too long on a crop camera for general use.
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Well you certainly can't change the focal length but even when used on a crop camera it is only the equivalent of 80mm on full frame.

And don't forget that in the days of film the standard length was 50mm or 55mm for a 35mm camera (full frame) and most photographers (apart from pro togs covering sports events etc) learned to live quite happily with it.

Nowadays we have such a plethora of lenses covering all focal lengths that many people seem to forget that, as I said, "the only REAL limitation of this great lens is likely to be the photographer."

But THAT applies to any lens and any camera.

So to state that the Canon 50mm f1.8 is "a bit of a specialist lens in that respect, and tends to be a bit limited beyond that." really shows more about the photographer than the lens.

.
 
Well the OP, who has a crop format camera, has been forewarned that your view might not represent the majority ;)
 
The Canon 30d is a 'crop camera' in the essance that its sensor is smaller than a 35mm film. Becuase the sensor is smaller you have to apply a 1.6 factor to get the 'real' focal length, so a 50mm lens will actually more like 80mm (50mm x 1.6).

If you only have the 70-300mm lens go for the 18-55mm IS. I would anticipate that the 50mm lens would be limiting due to the crop factor, I struggle to use my 50mm indoors due to the focal length only allowing me headshots. The 18-55mm IS is a good lens and will be a good travel general use lens, it also very light.

I hope that helps
 
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I would also agree that a 50mm 1.8 lens is a great bit of kit to have when taking portrait photos.
 
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