help get me set up - Canon Rebel & accessories

[Hannah2]

I've had a Canon Digital Rebel XT for a while, and I'm just beginning to use all the settings - totally love it! We may be handing it down and getting a new one soon. I probably have about $1200 to spend on body & lenses (that's pushing it).

I do mostly face shots indoor. I need wide aperture (both for shallow DOF and low light), good bokeh, and fast AF.

My main question, if you don't have time to read the rest, is whether the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens is compatible with the T1i. ??

If you have time for the rest, I'd love input!

- Body -
My husband wants to stick with a Rebel. I'm considering the T1i, because the T2i seems like overkill. If I got that good, wouldn't I want to upgrade to a professional camera anyway? I can't see how I'd ever need more than 15 MP, and I'd use the video minimally. But maybe there's something I'll wish I had. It's only $100 more...

- Kit Lens -
I currently have the 18-55mm lens that came with the Rebel XT. I'll hand that down with the camera. I'll probably go with another 18-55mm again, unless I'm talked out of it.

- Portrait Lens -
After looking at lots of example photos, I'm considering the 85mm f/1.8. Everyone says how far back you have to stand, but then they say 6 ft. *shrug* Is it really inconvenient to use indoors? I'd go with the 50mm f/1.4, but I consistently like the 85mm shots. And I don't think I'd use anything wider than f/2.0.

- External Flash (to buy later) -
I have no idea what I want, so I'm all ears. If I go with something cheap, I might be able to buy it now, in time for Christmas shots. But if more expensive is better, I'll save for a few months. (Have to negotiate with hubby.) I'm mostly doing indoor face shots.

- Extension Tube (to buy later) -
Eventually I just want to experiment with macro. Cheap is good, as long as it's effective.

Thanks for the help! Mostly it's the compatibility that gets me confused.

 

[bentcountershaft]

All Canon EF and EF-S lenses will fit your current or any newer rebel. The EF-S designates that it fits the smaller crop sensor cameras like the Rebels and 40d/50d/60d/7d only. All of those models can use the EF designated lenses as well. The larger sensor cameras like the 1d/1ds/5d series can only fit the EF designated lenses.

The 85 1.8 is a nice lens but it's hard to make it work indoors. From 6 feet away you won't even get a full face. I'll post a shot in a minute as an example.

 

[bentcountershaft]

No one else is home so I took a shot of my hat from 6 feet away to give you an idea.

 

[Blake.Oney]

I think the T1i and T2i are pretty similar except for video performance. Megapixels do not determine what level the camera is. The T1/2i are the top rebel cameras for Canon. Then you get into xxD bodies like the 50D or 60D which have more controls among other things. The 85mm f1.8 would be rough to use indoors because the camera you will be using is a crop sensor camera the focal length will effectively be 136mm. The 50mm f1.4 will effectively be an 80mm focal length. I would go with the 50 if you're wanting to do indoor portraits unless you have a large space.

 

[Hannah2]

Nice hat! Thanks for the example - very helpful. I still really like that lens, even though it would be nice to get a full face at 6'. Do you mostly use it outdoors, then?

I wonder if the Tamron 60mm f/2.0 might be better. Or still too long?

What really convinced me on the longer focal length was this site (you have to scroll halfway down to "The Effect of Focal Length"):
Bernie’s Better Guide to Depth of Field for Geeks Who Want to be Digital Artists | Bernie Sumption :: Photography

And then seeing random sample photos here (85mm):
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Lens Sample Photos and Specifications
versus here (50mm):
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens Sample Photos and Specifications

I really want an aperture wider than the kit lens, and a focal length as long as workably possible for portraits. I'd ditch the kit lens for one great zoom lens, but I think the zoom lenses with wider apertures are out of my price range ($600-ish tops for a lens, if I go with the T1i body).

Thanks again for the example.

 

[Hannah2]

I would go with the 50 if you're wanting to do indoor portraits unless you have a large space.

I do have space right now, but we're moving within the year - don't know what my new setup will be yet. And I wouldn't necessarily always be shooting here anyway.

 

[Hannah2]

I think the T1i and T2i are pretty similar except for video performance.

And thanks, this is helpful. I think I'll stick with the T1i.

And maybe the 50mm. Erg. Can't decide.

 

[bentcountershaft]

I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, as I literally had to move my 50mm out of the way to grab the 85 so here's this for comparison. This is the EF50 1.8. It's a real cheap lens (around $100) but it has decent image quality. It's slow to focus though.

I use the 85 for outside stuff pretty much exclusively. It would be good for some indoor sports though, like basketball or swim meets if you have kids.

A cheap but good zoom is the Tamron 17-50 2.8. You can get the original version (non IS) for a hair over 400 and it has pretty good image quality. It would be a significant step up from the kit lens. The newer version which has an image stabilization system is around $600.

 

[enzodm]

I


- Kit Lens -
I currently have the 18-55mm lens that came with the Rebel XT. I'll hand that down with the camera. I'll probably go with another 18-55mm again, unless I'm talked out of it.

if you kit lens is the non-IS version, go with the IS version. In addition to stabilization, optical quality is better (for not much more).

Regarding the flash, I recently bought a cheap Yongnuo, compatible with Canon TTL.

 

[Hannah2]

Thanks - I'll go with the IS kit lens.

And thanks for the photo with the 50mm - really helps to see what I'd get at 6'.

Still can't decide about the lens, though. I know the 50mm makes sense for what I need, but the photos with the 85mm are impressive. I'm wondering about something in between 50-85.

Alternately, I could skip the kit lens & get a f/2.8 zoom lens (like Tamron's 17-50mm). And then start investing in lighting props.

 

[lyonsroar]

I have the 50mm and the image sharpness and overall quality is fabulous for the $100 price I paid...

 

[Hannah2]

Ok - I've decided on the 50mm f/1.4.

I just read that the Nikon version may have faster AF, though. I started a new thread on that.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[Robin Usagani]

? If you are buying canon.. forget about NIkon version.

Your options for 50mm are probably :
Canon f/1.8
Canon f/1.4
Sigma f/1.4
Zeiss f/1.4

 

[Hannah2]

? If you are buying canon.. forget about NIkon version.

Sorry - I explained in my new thread that I'm wondering if I should try to talk my husband into buying a Nikon body with Nikon lenses. The AF on our Rebel XT is frustrating.

New thread here: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...0-af-performance-nikon-3100-vs-canon-t1i.html
I don't care where people reply, but I thought this thread might have too many separate topics in it...

 

[KenC]

Under what conditions is the AF frustrating? I have an XTi, which seems to focus very easily even in poor light. Of course, the lenses I use in low light are f1.7 and f2.8, so if low-light focusing is your problem, either the 50/1.4 or the 85/1.8 should solve that. I don't know if AF is really much different on the T series Rebels. The main advantage of those over the XT/XTi is better high-ISO performance, but if you don't intend to hand-hold in low light with the slow kit lens, then this isn't much of an advantage for the $600-800 price.