What lenses should I get/Nature photographing

[nanaman]

At last I think I'm getting myself a camera. I think I'm going for the Canon EOS40D as it seems to be a great camera. Now the question is what lens I should get? I can only afford one lens at most at the moment so I want something that will suit for photographing pictures of nature. So what kind of zoom do you recommend for me to get? One question, what is the purpose of having many different lenses, like a 15-55 and a 35-100 and a 75-200 instead of having like a 15-200? I don't know much about lenses really, so any help would be appreciated :mrgreen:

And well, is there some tips you could give me in particular taking pictures of nature?

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, 'nature' is a pretty broad subject...you will have to be more specific. And even then, you can use about any lens to take photos of just about anything.

Why so many different lenses? Well, typically the more specific a lens is, the better job it can do. If a lens is made to do a whole lot of different things, it won't do any of them partially well. If your quality standards are not high, then an all-around lens might be OK...but for many, an 18-300 zoom lens just doesn't have good enough performance.

I suggest just starting with 'kit' lens and then making your decision after you have played around with the first one for a while.

Try the EF-S 17-85 IS or the EF 28-135 IS.

 

[nanaman]

Well, I love watching the sky in all it's different colours so that's something I'm gonna take alot of pictures on... And then I like taking pictures of landscapes and trees and various stuff like that... Don't know how to narrow it down more than that, I like taking pictures of alot of things (not being much helpful here I guess)

Oh and yeah, I think someone told me sometime before that I needed a polariser filter, what is that and why would I need it? Judging from the name, does it have something do to with taking pictures against the sun or something?

 

[Big Mike]

A polarizing filter would certainly be a good investment. You would use it when shooting outdoors in sunlight.

Again, I suggest you just get a 'normal' range lens and shoot with that for a while. Look for something that starts around 17mm and goes to 50 or 85mm.

 

[jstuedle]

As Mike mentioned, nature is a B-I-G subject. Most nature shooters are into animals in there natural environment. This often requires long telephoto lenses with big maximum apertures. This equates to lots of money and heavy camera bags. Others are into macro shots of flowers, bugs and other small subjects. Here you would work toward a good macro lens and maybe a specialized flash called a ring flash. Sky and environmental photography is usually called landscape photography and a good prime lens, often a wide angle works for most shooters. As Mike said, after you get your camera, get used to it by shooting it often with the kit lens. Then do your research and decide what path you wish to take first. The photographic road has many twists and turns and sometimes that road brings you right back to the beginning. Good Luck.

 

[soylentgreen]

If you are just getting started and do not know what you really need yet; I will second the advice to get the stock 17-85 or 28-135, use it for a while until you narrow down your interests than open up your wallet for more.