canon eos rebel gii

lathamemmons · Feb 9, 2005

Hello this is my first post here and i was wondering if i got a good camera for
a beginner.
I got a Canon EOS Rebel GII 35mm SLR Autofocus Camera Body. $114.95
and a Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-90mm f/4.0-5.6 II Autofocus Lens -$89.95

thank you very much and iny tips would be helpful.
all prices are bhphoto

sign Latham

Big Mike · Feb 9, 2005

Welcome to the forum. Yes, you got a very good camera for a beginner.

I would suggest that you also get a another lens. The Canon 50mm F1.8 is very inexpensive ($70 US) and it is a much better lens than the zoom that you have. There is nothing wrong with the lens you have but it's a slow lens that will limit your options when the lighting is not great.

A faster lens (like the 50mm F1.8 ) has a bigger maximum aperture (smaller F number) which will let in more light...which will allow you to use faster shutter speeds. That is important because you don't want to shoot hand held with a shutter speed lower than the focal length of your lens (to avoid blurry photos from camera shake).

For example, with your current lens, zoomed out to 90mm...you would not want to have a shutter speed slower than 1/90....which may be hard to do because the maximum aperture will be F5.6. With the 50mm lens, you could set the aperture to F1.8 and be able to get a much faster shutter speed in the same level of light. Sure it doesn't zoom but you could simply take a few steps forward or backward.

We look forward to seeing some of your photos.

lathamemmons · Feb 9, 2005

your info was very help ful i think ill be geting somthing like a 100 to 400
and a 18 to 50 so i wont be restricted to the one lens i will keep ure coments in mind
thx sign latham

lathamemmons · Feb 9, 2005

hows this
Quantaray - 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 High Speed Auto Focus Zoom for EOS Canon$169.95 or Quantaray - 100-300mm F4.5-6.7 zoom lens for Canon AF129.95
and whats up with thisQuantaray - 500mm/1000mm Preset Telephoto (T-mt.)
$129.95

srry i have many ?s

sign latham

MDowdey · Feb 9, 2005

sorry bro, but i wouldnt go with quantarray.i personally dont like those lenses.

md

Big Mike · Feb 9, 2005

If you are looking to save money by getting a non-Canon lens. Sigma & Tamron have the best lenses.

As a rule, you get what you pay for...even with Canon's own lenses. There are quality/price levels. The cheaper lenses don't have the best quality of glass and are usually slow (slow to auto focus and slow, as in small maximum apertures). Another big difference between good quality lenses & cheap lenses is the build quality and durability.

I'm not telling you to go out and buy some $1000 Canon lenses...but if you are looking at the lest expensive lenses, you are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

This is why I always recommend the 50mm F1.8...it is the least expensive Canon EF lens yet because of it's simple design, it is of higher optical quality than anything you will find for less than $500-$600.

I'd suggest that you stick with the lens you have now. Try it out in lots of different situations. Then you can decide what lens should be your next purchase. You might want a wider lens or a longer lens. You may find that you don't need a faster lens (landscape photography with a tripod, for example). You might find that you want other accessories than another lens...like a tripod, accessory flash etc.

lathamemmons · Feb 9, 2005

ive alredy been looking into a tripod and some filters

Digital Matt · Feb 9, 2005

I agree with Big Mike. Before you go overboard and buy a bunch of stuff that you don't know if you'll need or use, buy a 50mm and take some photos, and see what you like to photograph. You can always buy equipment down the road that is more suited to what you enjoy photographing. A 50mm lens is a lens that every photographer should have, and a great one to start with.