40D Lenses

zbo2408 · Jun 16, 2008

A few days ago I started a thread about which Canon DSLR to get. I am pretty much locked onto the 40D... which looks like it uses EF & EFS lenses.. I think.?

Now for lenses, I may not buy all these now, but could ya'll show me some lenses for :

Macro
Tele Photo / Zoom tele photo & (What is the difference between the two)?
Wide Angle Lens
Standard all purpose general lens if there is such a thing... I guess like an 18-75 or something....?

I am almost 100% ignorant about lenses, so plz explain everything you can, Thanks!!

Mav · Jun 16, 2008

If you click the FAQ link in my sig, there's a good link in there on Canon DSLRs and Lenses 101 that's definitely worth a read. There's also some huge index of threads with photo examples from just about every Canon lens ever made.

keith204 · Jun 17, 2008

What's your budget? Silly as it may seem, stick with the kit lens at first (the 28-135 IS). It's nothing real fancy - it has IS, and has a decent range, but it will get you started so you can find what more you desire.

You can get a 40D w/ 28-135 IS shipped from Newegg.com for only $1,129. B&H is the same price + shipping I believe.

Big Mike · Jun 17, 2008

I agree. Get the lens that comes packaged with the camera...which is usually the 28-135mm IS for the 40D. Or maybe look for a package with the 18-55mm IS lens.

Use that one lens for a while and then you will have a better idea of where to go next.

soylentgreen · Jun 17, 2008

Start out with a good general purpose lens. The better deal is the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. The 28-135 is too narrow and does not offer enough wide-angle, especially on a crop sensor like the 40D. It would equate to a 44-205mm. Use it for a bit and than decide what you need. It all really depends on that and your budget. If you like shooting flowers, than a tripod and macro lens is a good route. Like critters and birds, than the zoom is your need, etc, etc. Figure out your need than go from there.

Phazan · Jun 17, 2008

I second the 17-85mm kit. It's a better range IMO.

zbo2408 · Jun 17, 2008

With the 17-85mm f4-5.6

This means I could only use aperture settings of f4 & f5.6 correct?
If thats the case I do not want this lens because I do not want to be that limited on my aperture settings.

Also when a lens says autofocus lens, does that mean you have to use autofocus or can you manual focus as well?

My P&S is 3x Optical how does that equate to the mm description on regular lenses?

Also if ya'll could link me to a good macro lens and a good tele lens I woudl appreciate it and what is the diff between tele zoom & zoom? Is there a diff?

I'm probably around a month away from buying anything and my budget is sort of up in the air right now. The camera is around $1,200 with a kit lens, so I may not be buying anything more than that for a few months. But if ya'll could show me the lenses I asked around around 100-400 each that would be a good range.

Thanks

sultan · Jun 17, 2008

zbo2408 said:
With the 17-85mm f4-5.6

This means I could only use aperture settings of f4 & f5.6 correct?
If thats the case I do not want this lens because I do not want to be that limited on my aperture settings.

Also when a lens says autofocus lens, does that mean you have to use autofocus or can you manual focus as well?

My P&S is 3x Optical how does that equate to the mm description on regular lenses?

Also if ya'll could link me to a good macro lens and a good tele lens I woudl appreciate it and what is the diff between tele zoom & zoom? Is there a diff?

I'm probably around a month away from buying anything and my budget is sort of up in the air right now. The camera is around $1,200 with a kit lens, so I may not be buying anything more than that for a few months. But if ya'll could show me the lenses I asked around around 100-400 each that would be a good range.

Thanks

No no no, you've got it all wrong. f/4-5.6 are the widest apertures possible. You can stop down to f/11 or f/16 or even f/22 with that lens. Also, when it says autofocus, it means you can autofocus it too but manual focusing is always there as an option and most prefer it for unusual scenes.

Probably, your P&S will have a 35-105mm 35mm equiv, thats approximately like a 21-63mm on the 40d.

Tele zoom means it is a zoom for small & far away objects. Ordinary zooms are for ordinary photography; the 17-85 is one. Ultra-wide zooms are for wide angle shots.

zbo2408 · Jun 17, 2008

sultan said:
No no no, you've got it all wrong. f/4-5.6 are the widest apertures possible. You can stop down to f/11 or f/16 or even f/22 with that lens.

so what does the f/4-5.6 mean?

I want to be able to take it all the way from 2.8 or even lower if possible all the way to f/22.

sultan said:
Tele zoom means it is a zoom for small & far away objects. Ordinary zooms are for ordinary photography; the 17-85 is one. Ultra-wide zooms are for wide angle shots.

Could you elaborate just a little more here for me?

soylentgreen · Jun 18, 2008

The larger the aperature (smaller f/stop) the more light a lens can let in. The more light, the faster the shutterspeed you can attain. Highly preferable for low-light situations, sporting events, wlidlife photog where a high shutterspeed is needed. Smaller aperature, f/4 and higher, are good all around lenses where there is decent light. You can use them in less than ideal light, but the shutterspeed will be slow if you do not use flash or higher ISO settings. If you want a f/2.8 in that range, you are looking at the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS or 24-70 f/2.8L. Both $1K+ lenses. Large aperature lenses cost $$$. There are third party lenses by Tamron and Sigma that are cheaper, but sacrifice a bit of image quality.

Zoom lenses are just that. Lenses that can zoom within the designated focal length. 17mm-85mm, 70mm - 200mm. etc. Prime lenses do not zoom. They have a fixed focal length 50mm, 300mm etc.

zbo2408 · Jun 18, 2008

I understand aperture, shutter speed, ISO, Depth of Field... etc etc...

My main question is...
When a lens says it is a f4 f5.6 lens... does that mean I can only use those apertures? Or can I use what ever aperture I want???

Tiberius47 · Jun 18, 2008

The Tamron 17-50mm lens is good. It has a constant widest aperture of f2.8 all through the focal range. I have one and it lives on my camera.

When a camera says f4-f5.6, it means they are the widest apertures you can use. The first number is the widest aperture you can have when the lens is zoomed out, and the second is the widest aperture you can have when the lens is zoomed all the way in. So in this case, if the lens is on the widest szoom setting, you have a widest aperture of f4. If you zoom all the way in, the widest aperture you can get is f5.6. The aperture narrows down to around f22 or so, and even further sometimes.

zbo2408 · Jun 19, 2008

Tiberius thanks for clearing that up I understand it now.
The lens you recomended the Tamron 17-50mm... when you say it has a constant widest aperture of 2.8, that means I can still close it down to f22 or so and at any zoom range I can have it at 2.8?
Can you link me to it? Do they make it for the Canon 40D?

Tiberius47 · Jun 19, 2008

If you get the Tammy with a Canon mount it will work on the 40D. I have a 40D that mine lives on.

And yes, the lens opens up to f2.8 at any focal length. You can have 17mm at f2.8, and you can have 50mm at f2.8. It closes down to f22 along the entire zoom range as well. Here's the link.

optic79 · Jun 20, 2008

Tiberius47 said:
If you get the Tammy with a Canon mount it will work on the 40D. I have a 40D that mine lives on.

And yes, the lens opens up to f2.8 at any focal length. You can have 17mm at f2.8, and you can have 50mm at f2.8. It closes down to f22 along the entire zoom range as well. Here's the link.

If it were me I would try to purchase just the Canon 40D body only, and than buy a lens separately. Although the 28-135 IS kit lens is a good value I do not think it has a wide enough range for a general purpose lens. But i really like landscape photography.

As a starting out lens I also HIGHLY recommend the Tamron 17-50 F/2.8. An alternative lens that I would consider since you are into macro photography is the Sigma 17-70 http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06011802sigma17-70.asp This lens does not have the constant 2.8 aperture like the Tamron but it does have a minimum focus distance of 7.9'', a magnification ratio of 1:2.8. The Tamron has min focus distance of 10.6", a magnification ratio of 1:4.5. In macro photography having a magnification ratio of 1:1 is ideal.