First add on lens/ tripod

[Noobinitup]

Hey y'all My t2i is here tomorrow with the customary kit lens 18-55.I am going to buy a three pack of filters for it, but in addition I am going to purchase one additional lens.The two I am deciding between are the 75-300 and "nifty 50"(50/1.8)Which one would y'all recommend to go with? On amazon the 75-300 is only 25 dollars more than the 50mm 1.8I will/like to shoot landscapes, portraits, wildlife.In addition I know to even start getting in the ballpark of tack sharp photos I need a tripod. Looking to spend under 175.00 for base and head. Was thinking of trying to eBay a manfrotto or bogen, anything anyone would recommend in particular?As always your expertise is greatly appreciated

 

[Kerbouchard]

For the tripod, manfrotto/bogen is a good choice for a beginner who doesn't mind the extra weight. They are relatively sturdy, and will hold your camera steady. The problem arises with the head. A good head will exceed your tripod and head budget put together, but is almost essential if you are shooting anything that might not hold steady for more than two minutes. It is such a pain in the...behind, to try to position a traditional tripod head. A ball head will stop you from going insane, but a ball head that will stop where you want it pretty much blows your budget.

In any case, all things being equal, if you are on a budget, buy the heaviest tripod you can...generally, it goes the same as everything else. Pick two...cheap, stable, light...You can get cheap and stable but it will be heavy. You can get cheap and light but it will be crappy. You can get stable and light, but it will be expensive.

As far as your lenses, the 50mm 1.8 is the better lens, but won't really add much to your kit lens. I would say go with the zoom of less quality for now, and find out where you want to concentrate your budget to improve. If you are interested in landscapes and wildlife, the 50mm 1.8 doesn't really get you anything that your kit lens or your budget zoom wouldn't get you.

It is a lens you should eventually pick up, but you would probably be better off with something that will get you a few more options so that you can figure out what you really want to shoot and what you should spend your money on.

 

[T3HeavyShop]

The 75-300 will give you more use, and you should be quite happy with it. Just be aware that the image quality at max zoom can seriously degrade on many budget lenses, regardless of the manufacturer.

For your tripod, load capacity should be were you concentrate. Raw camera weight, effective weight from a long lens, and you manipulating the camera all add to the load. For my gear (D60, 70-200 L), the 12.8 lb load cap on my tripod and is a touch low to completely eliminate camera shake with me in the equation.

 

[tyler_h]

The nifty fifty is a great cheap portrait lens; stop it down a little and its plenty sharp. Some will complain about the pentagonal bokeh but you get what you pay for.

At all comes down to what you want to shoot most; 50 for portraits, 75-300 for wildlife.

Manfrotto tripod owner here; can't fault it. You might need to increase your budget though; consider it as a long term investment.

 

[Ginu]

Bogen/Manfrotto tripods will get you started without any fuss. I suggest spending a little more on the head/tripod though so you wont have to upgrade later.

In terms of lenses... I would cut the 50mm 1.8 and spend the money from that + a little more and get a really good telephoto lens. Keep in mind good lens will go a long way and they also retain the value quite well (try to use craigs and get a discount on a used lens this way. photographers take good care of their equipment and make sure to buy local in order to test and see before buying).

The reason to skip the 50mm is because you already have the kit lens so unless you're looking to shoot in low light conditions I don't really see a point in duplicating the range, not to mention the octogon bokeh is very annoying. Also picking up a flash instead of the nifty fifty is another option which will give you more options than the 50mm. Personally, I tend to use my 18-200+ the flash more than my 50 mm as it gives me way more options. If you plan on doing lots of portraits or dont really care for 100$, then get the 50...

 

[Noobinitup]

As usual TPF comes through with the info! Think I will disregard purchasing the nifty 50 for now and focus more on a telephoto zoomvstyle lens. 75-300 I hear is a good starter, but with so many photogs in my area craigslist is pretty filled with options...is there a more well rounded lens I should be after, may be willing to spend a little more now to save in the long run?Any good advice based on what I want to shoot so I can try and implement a purchase decision and get stRted What head should I be looking at in manfrotto? Anyone got some suggestionS, I guess if the head is my budget I an live with that and focus on upgrading the base in a bit when I got more cash.Thanks!

 

[tyler_h]

Head is a bit of personal preference; some like ball heads, others (like me) do not. Any brick and mortar stores near by with a decent range of stock? I went and played around with a few to make my decision.