Lens question

[ihsmendez]

I just posted about some critique on my photo and that lead me to buy some ND and Graduated ND filters. But that also made me think, of the lens' that I have, what would be best for landscape photography?

To recap, I've got the Canon EOS Rebel T5 with the stock 16-55mm f/3.5 lens: Amazon.com Canon EF-S 18-55mm f 3.5-5.6 IS II SLR Lens CANON Camera Photo
and also
and also Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III lens: Amazon.com Canon EF 75-300mm f 4-5.6 III USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras Camera Lenses Camera Photo

I always thought that the 75-300mm lens looked sharper or better but I could be wrong.. I would think I should use the largest angle lens that I have, but it's the stock lens, is that even any good?? I am going to colorado soon so I want to be able to get some great pictures! (as I said above, I just bought some filters).

 

[tirediron]

The 18-55mm kit lens is indeed very good. Like any lens, even ones costing several thousand dollars, there are parameters at which they work better. In general, if you keep it between 22 and 50mm and your aperture around f8, you should turn out perfectly acceptable results. When you shoot wide-open, or at either end of the zoom range there may be noticeable softness and/or distortion. Of course better lens generally have less of these issues, however your lens should be just fine.

 

[ihsmendez]

The 18-55mm kit lens is indeed very good. Like any lens, even ones costing several thousand dollars, there are parameters at which they work better. In general, if you keep it between 22 and 50mm and your aperture around f8, you should turn out perfectly acceptable results. When you shoot wide-open, or at either end of the zoom range there may be noticeable softness and/or distortion. Of course better lens generally have less of these issues, however your lens should be just fine.

Thank you tirediron! I guess I never payed attention to that.. Thanks for the info! I'll definitely be keeping this in mind when I go to Colorado!

 

[creisinger]

Beware that any filters attached to your lens will degrade overall image quality. Especially low cost ND filters will have a quite noticeable effect regarding sharpness/contrast.

Even with expensive filters you can notice a difference compared to images taken without filters.

 

[jovince3000]

if you're getting a ND, I'd recommend getting the most expensive one your budget allow ( for reference, mine cost about 200 canadian $, but it was for a larger lens than the kit you got), in a specialized store. I had bad diffraction with a low cost ND filter bought on amazon a while back.
Also, I basically have the same lens kit as you ( rebel t3I user ). With the 18-55mm, you will want a variable density filter with a wheel instead of one that stack. As the 18-55mm can cause vignetting with some stacking ND filter when you're shooting wide open.

Here's the model I personally got : HOYA The Difference is Clear I'm very satisfied with it but you may want to test it directly in a store before buying.

 

[soufiej]

Have you considered the new 24 mm from Canon? The single focal length lens will be somewhat sharper than your zoom, particularly as most zooms have weaknesses at either extreme. Do a search for your kit lens and the 24 mm lens for comparison. 24 mm is not wide-wide by today's standards but not that long ago I considered that a fairly good landscape lens. You can pick up the 24 mm for about $150. One lens can be an interesting experiment in photography beyond just landscape work.

 

[weepete]

I prefer 100mm square ones. With the GNDs it gives you more flexibility than the round ones.

But your lens is ok and can produce some nice shots if you stop down and use it in decent light as tirediron advises. I found that even at 18mm you can get acceptable results with the 18-55mm as long as you stop down.

 

[jovince3000]

After a re-read, it seems I've completely missed the question.

Your lens cover a good variety of situation. There's definitely some place for improvement though. As your own skill improve, you may want to start to invest in some better quality lens. As someone who have the same kit, let met tell you a few observation I did with this kit :

Take note that these are my personal observation and they may or may not be a problem to you, take good care to decide if these are an issue to you before you do anything about it, when i offer suggestion, these are my own personal plan of actions, and you may chose another route altogether.

1: you have a gap in your focal length, the 56-74 length is non-existent, if you're looking to buy a new lens, that may be your first stop. I personally replaced my 18-55mm lens by a 24-105mm 4.5 IS USM lens that cover this issue. Canon EF 24-105mm f 4L IS USM

2: your 75-300mm ( if the same as mine ) does not have stabilization on it. if you're indoor, the Rebel may have problem with high ISO ( I personally find that over 800 the result is unacceptable) and you will have difficulty to get a good shutter speed that will result in crisp image. I did not address this issue as of yet but you may want to look for a 2.8 aperture lens with a decent stabilization on. As the other solution to that kind of problem is basically getting an higher ISO friendly camera body... which basically result in the same price range if you're picky.

There you go, sorry for the long post.

 

[beagle100]

Beware that any filters attached to your lens will degrade overall image quality. Especially low cost ND filters will have a quite noticeable effect regarding sharpness/contrast.

Even with expensive filters you can notice a difference compared to images taken without filters.

yes, filters definitely affect image quality and AF but for some situations filters are necessary