Low light lens or light meter?

[Cinka]

I'm making a little money from a recent gig and want to add to my equipment.

I'm considering buying a low light lens, but am not sure what to get. I have a Canon 40D and would use it for shooting concerts.

If I got a light meter, I could use it for just about everything - I do a lot of product and portrait work as well.

Problem is, I don't make money shooting concerts, but they're more fun. I make money shooting portraits and product, so the investment would aid my business.

*sigh*

What are some good, general purpose, low light lenses for Canon D-SLRs?

BTW, (this is a dumb question) can you use SLR lenses on DSLR cameras? I never thought about it until now.

 

[shed301]

BTW, (this is a dumb question) can you use SLR lenses on DSLR cameras? I never thought about it until now.

Not a dumb question at all.. i have 20 year old manual lenses that fit on my pentax no trouble at all.. not sure on the older canon lense's but i'm sure someone will give you the answer. but i'm asuming some canon lenses will fit

cheers
Grant

 

[Derrel]

Low-light lenses for Canon cameras....hmmm.well, there's the 50/1.4 EF, which will actually FOCUS with some reliability under difficult conditions--unlike the 50/1.8 EF-II which is a poor-focusing lens.

Canon's 85mm 1.8 EF is an *excellent* lens. f/1.8 speed, small, light,and a good focusing lens with high-quality optics. I own it,and have owned many other 85mm lenses over the last 25 years--this is a good value in a fast lens.

Canon's 100mm f/2 is vastly under-rated; a couple famous concert photographers really like the 100 f/2. I do not own it.

Canon's 135mm f/2 L is a good-focusing, sharp, moderately compact lens with very good optics. I own it,and like it.

Those four Canon prime lenses would probably serve you well for concerts and other low-light gigs. And YES, one can use many different lenses on Canon d-slr bodies with adapters. Canon bodies can use 9 different SLR lens system lenses,to my knowledge. The MOST-common would be Pentax screw thread or M-42 mount lenses, like the older Takumar and Super-Takumar series lenses, as well as many other M42 thread mount lenses. Nikon F-mount manual and AF lenses and AF-D lenses work well with adapters. Olympus lenses are also VERY useful, due to their stop-down button, which is much like that on Pentax-mount and other M42 mount lenses.

eBay adapters cost about $17 to $25, to adapt various lenses to Canon d-slr use. You lose autofocus and iris diaphragm automation. I like the look of Nikon and Pentax lenses shot on Canon CMOS sensor cameras.