my £850 lens budget for 400d. Really do not know what to do

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tobykeane

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Toby
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I'm looking to get some new glass for my 400d but really don't know what to do with 850 nicker.

I have been set on the 17 - 55 2.8 for a while now (under £700 from the US) but after thinking about it I've been thinking of getting something similar (eg sigma 17 - 50) for less and then also getting a nice prime (eg the canon 50mm 1.4).

I do alot of event and club photography so low light is an issue hence looking at the 50mm. I also do a fair bit of interior and archtectural photography as well. Do people think that its worth just going for the canon 17 - 55 or going for a similar alternative, negating the IS and therefore price and getting 1 zoom and possibly 1 or even 2 primes for more or less the same price?

I also will be needing to get a battery grip and new bag as well (im thinking about £100)

Any thoughts about this?

Thanks
 
tamron 17-50 (lined up for a later purchase for me) and a 30mmf1.4(sigma) / 50mmf1.4(sigma or canon) / 85mmf1.8(canon)

depends on focal length of choice....

whats your other glass if its just going to be the 17-50 I would say the 85mm but maybe look at your exif info from prev shots
 
tamron 2.8
sigma 10-20

get a fisheye for architectural work, they will think they have to rebuild everything
 
A battery grip is a waste of money imo if you're on a budget. I can shoot 8gb without changing the battery, and should I need to, I'll have a spare battery in my pocket.
 
The Canon 17-55mm is a great all rounder lens, with one of the best IS systems on the Canon lenses I believe. Use it most of the time for just about everything.

I have the 17-55mm, but I also have the 10-22mm which I generally use more often for architectural work (I am an architecture student). You really need the extra width particularly when in confined interior spaces I find, although it's difficult to avoid some distortion particularly when close to the subject at 10mm (verticals not vertical like below).

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One thing to bear in mind is the ISO performance of the 400D, which isn't great above 400. F2.8 is fine if you want a shallow depth of field, but a prime might be a better option for low light, say for example the Canon 50mm F1.8

So a Canon 10-22mm F3.5-4.5 (second hand perhaps), Tamron 17-50mm F2.8, Canon 50mm F1.8

or

Maybe at a stretch get the Canon 10-22mm and 17-55mm second hand which might work out around £900. Then get the 50mm F1.8 a little bit later for £70.

Just my thoughts.

:shrug:
 
The thing with the Tamron is that you can buy it for around £250 used, and sell it for around £250 used - it's a gem which by virtue of low price and good reputation holds its money well. You'll not see £500-worth of advantage from the 17-55 easily, methinks. It really is that good.
 
i would get one of the three

17 - 40 F4 L
24 - 105 F4 L
70 - 200 F2.8 L

i have the 17 - 40 and its pin sharp but if you dont have a walk round lens i would recommend reviewing the 24 - 105 F4 L as i have never used but get good news about it
 
If you're going for the 17-55, there's very little point in getting the 50mm f/1.4 as well. There's no point in overlapping focal lengths that much. In a club, you'll get tired of switching lenses all the time and probably end up using the 17-55 even though it's slower.

I do a lot of indoor candid portrait shots and love my fast primes. I use the 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/1.4 and I get some glorious shots with them. However, the thing that will help you out the most, by a long way, is a flash. It'll let you stop the aperture down a stop or two to increase the sharpness, reduce the ISO to avoid noisy photos, and open up a whole world of possibilities!

The DoF at f/1.4 will render everything in background as a blur. I have the lens myself but find that I can only really use f/1.4 when I can focus reliably (i.e. perfectly) and really want a razor thin DoF. If you do get it, stop it down to f/2 where the CA problems with the lens are mostly gone, the sharpness increases a fair bit, and your DoF isn't quite so shallow.

Personally, I'd go for a 430EXII, definitely the 35mm f/2, then a choice of a wider lens (probably a zoom) or a 50mm f/1.4 (maybe second-hand).

If you're doing a lot of indoor photography, definitely, definitely get the flash. It'll help you out more than any lens!

George.
 
richpips said:
A battery grip is a waste of money imo if you're on a budget. I can shoot 8gb without changing the battery, and should I need to, I'll have a spare battery in my pocket.
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I can understand that, but before my 40D, I had a 400D, and the battery grip made such a difference to the handling and comfort, and therefore confidence.

I bought a Phottix grip from ebay for my 40D a couple of months ago, for around half the cost of the Canon offering, and would recommend one.
 
richpips said:
A battery grip is a waste of money imo if you're on a budget. I can shoot 8gb without changing the battery, and should I need to, I'll have a spare battery in my pocket.
Click to expand...

Adding battery grip on the 400D is more than often used to improve handling rather than battery life.

I've got the BG-E3 grip for the 400D and it improved the handling immensely. I havnt even bothered buying another battery for it, I just use the emergency cartridge that comes with it if I run out!

EDIT - as above, lol!
 
L glass is great, but I would look at variety first
the tamron is very good but wider might be helpful for your architecture.
getting a 28-105L or similar will NOT be wide enough on a cropped sensor.

the 30mm 1.4 sigma will be great for gig stuff, but as has been mentioned, a nice flash will get you a lot more versitility out of your camera
check grips...love them. I always buy OEM grips..haven't let me down yet.
 
Guys that info is invaluble...

Thankyou.

In regards to the flash I have already invested in a 430exII so flash is essentially top notch before the warehouse enlighening 580! The flash is so far the best add on I have made to my 400d. It makes such a difference, just make sure you invest in rechargeables + a good charger. I have got something awfull off ebay the 'EXTREAME'. If you are think of getting it dont. If you are serious (although i havnt got it yet) get the http://www.batterylogic.co.uk/technoline/technoline-BL700.asp or if you google it there are higher versions but if you got 40 quid to spare and rinse your batteries get this. Mines in the post. Its fully controlable (if you are a nasa scientist!) but essentally it will look after your batts and make them last for long time. YEH YEH LOVE YOU LONG TIME!
 
48thEagle said:
I can understand that, but before my 40D, I had a 400D, and the battery grip made such a difference to the handling and comfort, and therefore confidence.

I bought a Phottix grip from ebay for my 40D a couple of months ago, for around half the cost of the Canon offering, and would recommend one.
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That's the whole point. if you want to look the part (i know its pretty much superficial) then a battery grip and a hood makes you look the ****** to clients and at the moment for me that is very important regardless of the improvement to picture quality
 
As for lenses.. As long as you're not wanting to go Full Frame any time soon, then the 17-55 would be a very good choice. But it's a reasonable size, and quite heavy if you don't mind it..

I do however, see a lot of 'wide' shots coming from the club scene, with DJs and that biznets all requiring close up work, where 10mm comes into play.

As for battery grip on the 400d, get one. Makes the camera feel a whole lot better.

As for the 50mm, sure, get one. They're cheap enough, but if you're anything like me, you'll have a play of narrow DoF, and then it stays on the shelf gathering dust. 50mm is quite long on a 1.6x i found that it's usability was quite low due to the length of it.

But the two lenses i'd think of..

Canon 10-22 f3.5-4.5
Canon 17-55 F2.8 IS.

getting both however, will come over your budget, but either lens is within the budget.
 
Ant said:
As for lenses.. As long as you're not wanting to go Full Frame any time soon, then the 17-55 would be a very good choice. But it's a reasonable size, and quite heavy if you don't mind it..

I do however, see a lot of 'wide' shots coming from the club scene, with DJs and that biznets all requiring close up work, where 10mm comes into play.

As for battery grip on the 400d, get one. Makes the camera feel a whole lot better.

As for the 50mm, sure, get one. They're cheap enough, but if you're anything like me, you'll have a play of narrow DoF, and then it stays on the shelf gathering dust. 50mm is quite long on a 1.6x i found that it's usability was quite low due to the length of it.

But the two lenses i'd think of..

Canon 10-22 f3.5-4.5
Canon 17-55 F2.8 IS.

getting both however, will come over your budget, but either lens is within the budget.
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<RANT>
Not wanting to digress unduly but I do wish Canon made a FF 10-22. It pi**es me off that they only make it in EF-S.
</RANT>
 
zeugma said:
<RANT>
Not wanting to digress unduly but I do wish Canon made a FF 10-22. It pi**es me off that they only make it in EF-S.
</RANT>
Click to expand...

Well they do effectively. There's the EF 16-35mm F2.8 and the cheaper 17-40mm F4.0 which covers effectively the same focal lengths? (i.e. 10 x 1.6 = 16, 22 x 1.6 = 35). ;)
 
CraigyBoy86 said:
Well they do effectively. There's the EF 16-35mm F2.8 and the cheaper 17-40mm F4.0 which covers effectively the same focal lengths? (i.e. 10 x 1.6 = 16, 22 x 1.6 = 35). ;)
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I take your point, but...
With my 1D (which is what I'm referring to,) 16 x 1.3 = 20.8 (21mm.)
Whereas, 10 x 1.3 = 13mm.
I'd like a 13mm on the front.
 
what other glass do you have, what about the tamron 17-50 f2.8 (better rep than siggy) and a canon 85mm f1.8

also consider the 50mm f1.4 (I have one and am in love) would also maybe consider sigma 30mm f1.4 but won't add any new focal length
 
I'd go for a wide angle lens like the 10-22mm or 10-20mm (Sigma) if you don't want to spend that much.
 
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