Buying 3 lenses HELP!

[juju]

Hi,

ok i was thinking of getting some lenses for my Canon 400D and thought of the following but my lense knowledge sucks so shoot me down if necessary. me and the missus do all kinds of photo shoots so it is going to be handy to have a nice range even if their not top of the range so here goes.

1.http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/lenstech/canon/28f18usm.html

2. http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/lenstech/canon/60f28.html

3. http://www.warehouseexpress.com/photo/lenstech/canon/100f28macusm.html

we already have a 70-200mm lense and a 17-85. 18-55 and 70-300mm

 

[Big Mike]

Looks Ok to me, but do you really need two macro lenses?

 

[juju]

thats what i was hoping you would tell me. my lense knowledge is very poor. what would you recommend instead of one of the macros

 

[Don Simon]

Well... unless Canon have some kind of "Buy 2 Get One Free" deal, I would ask, why do you need to buy three lenses right now?

Generally, we buy new lenses to cover a particular need, when that need is not covered (or not covered adequately) by what we already have. But you already have four lenses going from 17 to 300mm. So the question is, what can't you do?

The 28mm f/1.8 would be great if you want a wide max aperture for low-light work, and 28mm would work out as a "normal" focal length (i.e. neither particularly wide or long). It could be a great all-round prime lens.

The macro lenses of course are good if you want to do really close-up work. If not, there may be better all-round lenses. If you do want a macro lens, then as Mike says, why do you need two? The 60mm could also double as a nice portrait lens, but for macro work it might not be long enough (requiring you to get very close to your subject); a 100mm or longer might be better for insects or other live subjects.

There are plenty of other options as well; for example if you want to expand your range of focal lengths then you might look at a super-wide angle (from around 10/12mm); or possible a standard zoom which has a wider max aperture than your current one, or any number of prime lenses. The options are almost endless, but working out your requirements and priorities will help you narrow down the choices.

 

[Big Mike]

It really depends on a)what you want and b)your budget.

Personally, I think that your line up may be lacking on the wide end. The widest you have is 17mm...which is wide, but not really wide (if you like that sort of thing). The Canon 10-22 is probably the best lens for that application but it's the most expensive as well. Check out the Sigma 10-20mm, the Tokina 12-24mm and the Tamron (11-18mm I think).

 

[juju]

i like the idea of the 10-22 but it says it designed for the eos 20D and 300D would that be a problem with my 400D ?

i was going for fixed focul lenses as i was told the image quality is much better, is this not the case cause if not i wont bother buying within the focul range that i already have and will probably just go for the 10-22 and the 60mm macro

 

[Big Mike]

The 10-22 is an EF-S lens, which works on all of Canon's Digital 'Rebels' 300D, 350D (XT), 400D (XTi)....plus the 20D, 30D and 40D. So yes, it would be OK for you.

Canon EF lenses work on any Canon EOS camera.

i was going for fixed focal lenses as i was told the image quality is much better, is this not the case cause if not i wont bother buying within the focal range that i already have and will probably just go for the 10-22 and the 60mm macro

That's more complicated than it seems. Fixed focal length lenses (I call them Prime lenses) are easier to design and build and on average, they are optically better than zoom lenses. However, each lens is different...some better than others. The EF 28mm F1.8, as far as I know...is a pretty good lens, but not outstanding. The EF 35mm F1.4 L, on the other hand, is mind blowing...but is several times more expensive.

Now with zoom lenses it gets even more complicated. Most zoom lenses are better or worse at different points in their range. Some are better when zoomed out, some zoomed in...many are best, somewhere in the middle. High quality zoom lenses are actually quite good and may be better than primes, at certain focal lengths. For example, the EF 24-70 F2.8 L...is probably better at 28mm than the EF 28mm F1.8.

Also, take note that most lenses perform best when stopped down a few stops (using an aperture that is a few steps smaller than the max). Again, top quality lenses are very good when wide open. For example, the 28mm has a large max aperture of F1.8...but it might not have great image quality at F1.8...and may need to be stopped down to F2.8 before it starts to be really good (I don't know, just an example).

So when considering lenses, you need to consider the quality of the lens. Yes, primes are usually a good bet for quality...but if you buy a high quality zoom lens, you might be better off.

The 10-22 is a very high quality zoom lens. It does have some minor problems at the wide end...but any lens that wide will have that.

 

[juju]

thanks for all the info guys i really appreciate it