Question: What lens to buy next ?

[Maher]

Hey again, sorry if I'm writing this thread in the wrong forum but I thought here would be the best forum to write my question.
Anyways I'm a beginner photographer I have Canon D700 that has a standard 18-55 I didn't like it that much it has a bad quality picture so I have searched in the web for a lens and every one suggested the 50mm I loved that lens! it's very good for portrait and satisfy my needs as a beginner and has also a very cheap price ! after 3 months I went to another country for tourism and found out in the hard way that this lens isn't that good for street photography nor for anything that requires a wide angel view including basic landscape ...etc.
so now I'm thinking of getting a new lens and I need a professional opinion.. basically what I shot the most is people and the 50mm does the job well also I travel often and I love street photography and I love tanking some landscape during my trips and out door photography in streets or touring places.
what do you think should I get ?
Is the 50mm good for indoor photography?
I might not have a specific field to work on But I wrote the most things I do take pictures of
I hope the price won't be that expensive as I can afford 400$ Maximum

Thanks !

 

[PaulWog]

If you like your 50mm but you want to zoom from 50mm to 17mm, then get the 17-50mm f2.8 OS (Sigma) lens.

If you want to move to full frame and know you'll have the budget to do so in a short period of time, then consider a 24-70 f2.8 such as the Tamron 24-70 f2.8 with optical stabilization.

If you just want a fixed lens, take a look at primes in the 28mm to 35mm focal range. That's just wide enough for city shots, but long enough to still provide some noticeable and fun bokeh.

Or, if you don't care about a fast aperture of f1.8, then look at something like an 18-140 or 18-200 (f3.5-f5.6 kit lenses -- better sharpness than your 18-55, longer zoom range, but that's it). That is, if you never really shoot between f1.8 and f4.

 

[tirediron]

How certain are you that the poor picture quality is the fault of the lens and not the fault of the way the lens is being used? Under average conditions, kit lenses will produce very good results, so before you rush out and spend money, only to be disappointed, make sure you're skills aren't a contributing factor.

 

[Derrel]

My guess is the issue is that you're a beginning photographer, and you wrote the 18-55mm lens off, then went looking for a quick fix. The internet is FILLED with noobs praising the f/1.8 EF series 50mm "iffy fifty" Canon lens as if it is the answer to all problems photographic...but, as you found out, lack of focal length flexibility means that on a 1.6x body, the 50mm fixed focal length lens is not always a help...it can often be a hindrance.

My suggestion is to dig the 18-55 kit zoom back out, and spend $40 on a couple of photography how-to books selected from Amazon. The beginning photographer almost always makes a LOT of mistakes and errors, which he often attributes to the lens or the camera, and the beginning photographer often thinks that "buying a new lens" will make his pictures better, instantly. Photography doesn't really work that way for the beginning shooter; instead, for the beginning shooter, using the camera and lens "well" and properly is most often the key missing component.

If you always got bad pictures from the 18-55, you were not using it properly.

 

[Bryston3bsst]

How certain are you that the poor picture quality is the fault of the lens and not the fault of the way the lens is being used? Under average conditions, kit lenses will produce very good results, so before you rush out and spend money, only to be disappointed, make sure you're skills aren't a contributing factor.

This is exactly right.

I have used the 18-55 and gotten excellent results with it. I've always gotten a kick out of the way 'kit lenses' are constantly bashed. Get started in photography, results aren't all that great, start spending money on new glass. Makes sense to me.

Save your money and become a better photographer. New glass is not going to make your pictures better. Learning and practicing will. You already own decent equipment, you just need to learn photography itself.

Your camera, with the 18-55 attached and in the hands of an accomplished shooter could turn out beautiful pictures.

It's not the camera that takes a great photo.

 

[nerwin]

Whats a Canon D700?

 

[beagle100]

Hey again, sorry if I'm writing this thread in the wrong forum but I thought here would be the best forum to write my question.
Anyways I'm a beginner photographer I have Canon D700 that has a standard 18-55 I didn't like it that much it has a bad quality picture so I have searched in the web for a lens and every one suggested the 50mm I loved that lens! it's very good for portrait and satisfy my needs as a beginner and has also a very cheap price ! after 3 months I went to another country for tourism and found out in the hard way that this lens isn't that good for street photography nor for anything that requires a wide angel view including basic landscape ...etc.
so now I'm thinking of getting a new lens and I need a professional opinion.. basically what I shot the most is people and the 50mm does the job well also I travel often and I love street photography and I love tanking some landscape during my trips and out door photography in streets or touring places.
what do you think should I get ?
Is the 50mm good for indoor photography?
I might not have a specific field to work on But I wrote the most things I do take pictures of
I hope the price won't be that expensive as I can afford 400$ Maximum

Thanks !

like others have indicated, the 18-55IS can actually produce quality pics but sure, spend $60 (used) for a 50mm 1.8 MKII - a large aperture prime is useful for many situations

 

[spiralout462]

I have the same camera. I use the 18-55mm kit lens and a 55-250 STM. Lack of sharpness has not been my problem.

 

[Solarflare]

Actually, IMHO good lenses can cause a HUGE change in your photography.

I started with my first DSLR, a Nikon D5100, and the AF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 VR DX zoom. Days later my AF-S 35mm f1.8 DX arrived.

Whats the difference between those two pieces of glas ? Well the 18-55mm needs to be stopped down to f/8 for best performance. The 35mm on the other hand is so good, even wide open at f1.8 is still very tolerable, at least my sample and in respect to sharpness, I never managed to see the difference between f/1.8 or, say, f/2.8, or f/4.0, even with pixelpeeping.

So thats f/8 vs f/1.8 = a whooping 4 1/3 stops of light ! Guess which lens was basically glued to my D5100 ever since, and guess what lens I barely ever used at all !

 

[Maher]

How certain are you that the poor picture quality is the fault of the lens and not the fault of the way the lens is being used? Under average conditions, kit lenses will produce very good results, so before you rush out and spend money, only to be disappointed, make sure you're skills aren't a contributing factor.

Many friends told me that the kit lens is a waste of time although I have used it for a few weeks I found out that it produces pictures that lack sharpens and not it's not ideal a when it comes to the low lighting conditions. the kit lens as I read on the internet usually is made of low quality materials. I'm really trying to learn and develop and never said that the lens is everything and I will be a great photographer with an expensive one, I just found that the 50mm pretty good and the only problem was with the focal length.

 

[Maher]

My guess is the issue is that you're a beginning photographer, and you wrote the 18-55mm lens off, then went looking for a quick fix. The internet is FILLED with noobs praising the f/1.8 EF series 50mm "iffy fifty" Canon lens as if it is the answer to all problems photographic...but, as you found out, lack of focal length flexibility means that on a 1.6x body, the 50mm fixed focal length lens is not always a help...it can often be a hindrance.

My suggestion is to dig the 18-55 kit zoom back out, and spend $40 on a couple of photography how-to books selected from Amazon. The beginning photographer almost always makes a LOT of mistakes and errors, which he often attributes to the lens or the camera, and the beginning photographer often thinks that "buying a new lens" will make his pictures better, instantly. Photography doesn't really work that way for the beginning shooter; instead, for the beginning shooter, using the camera and lens "well" and properly is most often the key missing component.

If you always got bad pictures from the 18-55, you were not using it properly.

Thanks for what you said I will work on it.

 

[Maher]

I have the same camera. I use the 18-55mm kit lens and a 55-250 STM. Lack of sharpness has not been my problem.

true, kit-lenses lack sharpens beside the big f/8 that doesn't help much in low lighting conditions

 

[Maher]

My guess is the issue is that you're a beginning photographer, and you wrote the 18-55mm lens off, then went looking for a quick fix. The internet is FILLED with noobs praising the f/1.8 EF series 50mm "iffy fifty" Canon lens as if it is the answer to all problems photographic...but, as you found out, lack of focal length flexibility means that on a 1.6x body, the 50mm fixed focal length lens is not always a help...it can often be a hindrance.

My suggestion is to dig the 18-55 kit zoom back out, and spend $40 on a couple of photography how-to books selected from Amazon. The beginning photographer almost always makes a LOT of mistakes and errors, which he often attributes to the lens or the camera, and the beginning photographer often thinks that "buying a new lens" will make his pictures better, instantly. Photography doesn't really work that way for the beginning shooter; instead, for the beginning shooter, using the camera and lens "well" and properly is most often the key missing component.

If you always got bad pictures from the 18-55, you were not using it properly.

And I didn't mean to say that i get bad pictures because of the lens.. I wanted to say that I'mm using the 50mm and it's a good lens except the narrow focal flied that's what I want help with to decide something to buy that has a better focal length but suits my needs at the same time ..