General begginer questions.

[jcmahal]

Just wondering what a good lense to keep on the camera? (Canon EOS 40D)
Currently I'm using a 28-80mm (tamron)

I was looking to pick up a 18-200mm (sigma or tamron) which will replace the Tamron lens.

Any advise on on possible other lenses that I should invest in for general shooting/photos?

Also I was told that it's better to keep the lense attached to the camera when its not in use. Is this good practice?

[EDIT more question] - Telephoto Lense (2x) is this literally giving you twice the zoon lets say from 200mm to a 400mm with the lense attached?

Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

As with just about everything...it's a compromise. A lens like an 18-200mm would be more convenient, but typically, the bigger the range, the lower the quality...especially at the extremes. So if you are willing to put up with some loss of quality, a wide range might be better for you.
That being said, some lenses are just better than others....price is usually an easy way to tell.

Also I was told that it's better to keep the lense attached to the camera when its not in use. Is this good practice?

As a rule of thumb...the less you take a lens on or off, the better. Dust can get into the camera and get onto your sensor...which may cause spots on your images. The camera may be a bit more vulnerable to damage (if dropped) with the lens on...but maybe not. And as long as it's in a good camera bag, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Emerana]

I really like to keep my 50mm f/1.8 prime on. Its small, light, not expensive (if it breaks) and has great quality so I can always crop if need be. I dont love my 70-300 at all...too much camera shake, heavy and if I want to snap something close, im out of luck

 

[BradUF]

About dust getting inside the cam and lens where and how much is it to have a camera cleaned?

 

[Big Mike]

About dust getting inside the cam and lens where and how much is it to have a camera cleaned?

You can do a simple test to see how much dust you have on your sensor. You will want a large, plain subject...blue sky is ideal...but a clear wall should also work.

Put the camera on a tripod or something and put it into Av (aperture priority mode) and set a very small aperture, high F number...(F22 or smaller). Take the photo then upload it and look at it on the computer screen.

Any dust spots should be easily visible.

You can take or send your camera in to be cleaned...but it's actually pretty easy to clean it yourself. It has been talked about many times before, so try a search of the forums.

 

[Fliphishermon]

I use the Canon 17-85mm on my 40D for all my "local" shots, meaning around the house, at work, etc. I have a couple of others for specialty shots (zoom, portraits) but the 17-85 is the workhorse. Don't normally do a lot of lens changing unless I'm on Safari or at one of the poles. (HA!) Real happy with it.

If I'm looking at the right tamron, it looks like any quality lens would be a good replacement.

Or are you looking to expand into a zoom or what?

 

[RyanLilly]

Just wondering what a good lense to keep on the camera? (Canon EOS 40D)
Currently I'm using a 28-80mm (tamron)

I was looking to pick up a 18-200mm (sigma or tamron) which will replace the Tamron lens.

I think Mike covered this well, now we'll just wait for JIP.

Any advise on on possible other lenses that I should invest in for general shooting/photos?

I think that a good wide Zoom is what most people like for a walkaround lens, Sigma and Tamron both make a 17-50ish, check B&H; use the link at the top right.

Also I was told that it's better to keep the lense attached to the camera when its not in use. Is this good practice?

Mike has this covered.

[EDIT more question] - Telephoto Lense (2x) is this literally giving you twice the zoon lets say from 200mm to a 400mm with the lense attached?

It is giving you twice the focal length, not twice the zoom, a 70-200, would be, 140-400. tele-converters are generally designed to work with very good lenses, because they also magnify the flaws of the lens.

 

[Mav]

[EDIT more question] - Telephoto Lense (2x) is this literally giving you twice the zoon lets say from 200mm to a 400mm with the lense attached?

I think you mean a 2x teleconverter here. Yeah, generally you need a very high quality and fast lens to get good results. You'll lose 2-stops of light with a 2x converter, and since most auto-focus systems aren't designed to work with effective apertures of less than f/5.6, that means you'd need a 200mm f/2.8 lens (f/2.8 --> f/4 --> f/5.6 = 2 stops) to still have reasonable performance and shutter speeds without needing a tripod or very high ISO.