Basic Kit

[Abstract]

I am a totall newbie to this (but majorly addicted!!) so what I'm asking is whats your basic set up? My camera is a canon 350D and I have the kit lens but am borrowing a friends 100mm sigma lens but that has to go back soon. I know I'll be needing a new lens the first I'd like to buy is a good all-rounder so if you have any suggestions as to what is best for someone just now learning the basics that'd be fab. But what other basic stuff do you carry? Camera bag, tripod etc any good brands, models etc? sorry for such newbie questions but weall gotta learn some how

Thank you in advance for your help :hail:

 

[woodsac]

What do you shoot most often? Landscapes, portraites, abstract, macro? That will help with the lens selection. But no matter what you shoot, you can't go wrong with a 50mm f/1.8...good rounded lens to always have handy.

 

[Abstract]

at the moment my main interests are animal portraiture, wildlife and macro I know what macro lens I fancy I just can't afford it decisions decisions!!!

 

[thebeginning]

there really isnt an all-around lens that can do all those things with excellence. there may be some sharp ones, but they have slower autofocus and larger max apertures. it seems like you'd want something on the longer side of things, so a wide zoom isnt necessary. Faster lenses are worth investing in though, as they will get you both the shutter speeds and the shallow depth of field you may want. As far as overall stuff, I'd suggest the tamron 28-75 2.8 lens. it's quite good, many photogs i know of actually sold their 24-70L and bought this one to use in it's place. That lens will work great for the animal portraits part of your shooting. unfortunately, there arent any lenses that are all inclusive with your types of shooting that are very good. you could buy an 28-200 or so range lens, but you'd lose shutter speed because they usually need to be stopped down one or two stops to get good sharpness. also, wildlife and macro usually require specific lenses (USUALLY). if you want true macro, you'll have to buy a 1:1 macro lens, and if you want to get close enough to the 'action' in wildlife shots, you'll need a long lens, and most likely a prime, because it is much cheaper to get a fast sharp prime than a fast sharp zoom. just a couple things to think about.

there is one lens that i could think of that roughly meets all of these (although not macro specifically) requirements, and that's sigma's 50-500 f4-6.3 . From what I've heard it's a great lens. I believe some of the users here have them actually. they run for around $900 i think. It's faster, sharper little brother, the 100-300 f4 is also a terrific one. that ones you can get for about $800 depending on where you look.


if you want shallow depth of field also, consider the 50mm 1.8. you can get it for around 80 bucks (!) and it's a great little lens.

this stuff really adds up, i know (sure is a shame, huh? )
a budget alternative is something in the 28-200 range. just make sure to look at reviews before you buy. check fredmiranda.com and photographyreview.com for reviews.

 

[Abstract]

Thanks!! I think my biggest problem is I want to do everything all at once LOL I know which macro lens I'm after but I need to save some pennies or rob a bank not sure which one I'm going to try yet a lot of people have suggested the 50mm lens and seeing what it can do I'm quite liking it. I think I need to have a good read up though because I basically haven't a clue really but I do know I'm going to try and find a tripod to purchase this weekend so if you know of a decent brand to recommend that'd be fab cheers for your help and sorry I make no sense

 

[thebeginning]

hah, i understand what you're saying. tripods are something that you wont want to go light on, especially if you do macro. You'll have to do a little research on that as well, so you know what models will allow the head to be modified for macro stuff - which can get a bit pricey. Manfrotto and Bogen make wonderful heads and legs (you'll most likely want to buy them seperately, but you dont have to), so i'd check out their models.