Canon Rebel 550D/T2i help

thunderx2000 · Oct 3, 2012

Okay so I bought this camera last year after doing years and years of research and following the progress of the EOS Rebel line. My history with Digital photography is long. I started out with an HP Digital Camera (back when HP made fairly decent DC), then had a Samsung Digital Camera that had 10 Megapixels (it failed after a year), Then upgraded to a Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd (I loved that camera), it was the reason why I started looking at the EOS Rebel line.

I bought the Canon EOS Rebel 550D/T2i last year. I was amazed at the clarity of the photos that were taken and the fact that it worked extremely well, without flash. The only time I looked at the manual was to figure out how to get every setup right. My point of view with this camera is (outside of figuring out how to set it up) avoid the manual. Mostly because I like to find out new features about the camera by accident. My favorite modes are A-DEP and Action. I really like A-DEP because it seems to adjust the settings just right for low to moderate lighting to get the perfect picture. 90% of the time it achieves just that. Though, there were times when there was a bright light off to the side and it wouldn't take the picture, not matter how many times I half-pressed the shutter button.

But my real reason to make this thread is. I am researching getting three more lenses and I really need help on the subject. If anyone has pictures of the different zoom types (minimal zoom, medium zoom and full zoom) could you upload a photo and/or give me some pointers on the lens selections.

I need help with:
Wide
Wide Zoom
Standard
Standard Zoom
Medium Telephoto
Telephoto
Telephoto Zoom
Super Telephoto

.SimO. · Oct 3, 2012

The 550 definitely is a stellar camera. Gauging from your post, it seems to me that you are an "explorer" type of photographer with your quick referencing to the manual and then personal findings. You love the separation of images from foreground to background so I would suggest getting the Canon 50mm 1.4. This is a prime or fixed lens which will make you move to your subject or surrounding area to compose a great image. You'll love the bokeh and it will definitely help assist in lower lit areas. Hope that helps.

I would suggest discussing what type of photography you are into. If all you are looking for are the best lenses canon offers, I would suggest a google search on "Canon Lens Reviews". GL

thunderx2000 · Oct 3, 2012

I'm into general (landscapes, subjects and HDR) photography.

Dao · Oct 3, 2012

OP, that's a lot of lenses to cover.

Maybe take a look at the following sites that has lens reviews.

photozone.de
slrgear.com
dpreview.com
fredmiranda.com

thunderx2000 · Oct 3, 2012

Will do.

thunderx2000 · Oct 3, 2012

How about wide, standard and telephoto zoom? Are those three within range? I really just looking for real world results, not website review controlled-subject reviews.The reason I say real world is because, if someone that does not work for a company gives me their opinion I can see their results with the lens and know they are showing me results based off of their experience. Not just throwing up some HA'd review that only get you traffic so that you can get paid from advertisers.

Dao · Oct 3, 2012

Here is what I'd recommend. Find out what you like to shoot and locate a lens (a tool) that can get the job done. If you have no idea at this point which is normal for a beginner, then just focus on the standard zoom lens which you may already have.

For lens purchase, you may first need to find out the limitation of your current setup. Once you know the limitation, a new lens may be the solution (of course, it could be something else)

For example, you love to take a photo of an insect, but every time when you take a photo of an insect, it is just too small in the photo. If that is the case, you may need an additional tool to get the job done. Which tool you need to get depends on your experience, budget and expectation. (i.e. Macro lens, macro diaptor, extension tube, reverse ring etc..)

Or you like to take a very wide field of view photo. With the current setup, it is not wide enough. So a ultra wide angle lens maybe the solution. (of course you can stitch few photos together to generate a wide view photo as well.)

As for the review sites, they do have some non bias technical results in which you can compare them once you know what you like to get. Let say you often go to the zoo and you find that your camera setup cannot reach far enough for the animal shots. So you determine that you need a telephoto lens with focal length around 200mm to 300mm.

Then you go find telephoto lenses (prime or zoom) that fall within your budget. Once you narrow down to few of them, you can take a look at the review sites and compare them. Of course you can also search the lens (i.e. Canon EF 85mm f/1.8) in flickr.com to see what that lens can do. From there, you can make your decision based on the technical performance data, real world results as well as cost.

From those review sites that also offer user reviews (i.e. slrgear and fredmiranda.com), you can also see what other users think of the lens you are planning to get. If 50% of the users post their lens die within a year, then that could be a factor you need to consider as well.

So find out what you need first.

imagemaker46 · Oct 3, 2012

All depends on how much you have to spend. I have been playing with a t2i and my 300 2.8 and it works really well, getting a super wide would also work well, and perhaps a 70-2002.8 , it all depends on how much you have to spend.