My first glass purchase

LuckySe7en

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Ok so I've recently acquired a Canon Rebel XS with the kit 18-55 lense. I really believe the potential for this camera is held back by this lense so I'm going to look for another glass option.
My question is, which is the ideal lense to get if I would like to upgrade from the kit lense? If this helps any, I'm looking for an "all purpose" lense. I wanna do portraits, I wanna catch action, and I wanna blur the hell out of the background! lol

any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.
 
There is no "One size fits all" solution. You can get something like an 18-200 or even 18-250 which gives you a great focal range, but it's relatively slow, and optically, probably mediocre at best. If you want to "blur the hell" out of things, you're going to need fast glass, 2.8 or faster. If you want action then you need fast and long; that means pricey. VERY pricey... Portraits are best done (IMO) with a prime lens; if you're shooting with an APS-C camera, then something in the 50-70mm range would work well.

Compare this purchase to buying a Swiss Army Knife vs. a bunch of separte tools. The Swiss Army knife is small, handy, light-weight and relatively inexpensive for what you get. On the other hand while it will cut, sciss, cork-screw, and ply, it doesn't do any of those things nearly as well as full size pair of scissors, a bartender's corkscrew or set of mechanic's pliers.

If you want convenience on a budget, the 18-2XX will do fine. If you want quality and/or performance, you're looking at several lenses and a shed-load of $$$

(Ps. If you get the 18-500, get the one with the wedding setting!)
 
The Canon 8-1200 mm f/0.9 Fisheye Aspherical IS USM VR L TS-E with sandwich generator is also a good choice.

No, really,
for your purposes you might like the 50mm prime lens. But it has no zoom (you didn't mention that you need that, but it suits everything else you want). Or 80mm if you have enough cash.

Good recommend above too ^^^
 
i was also going to suggest the 50 for a cheap introduction to tack sharp optics. :thumbup:
 
I just purchased this camera too, and have been wondering the same thing. I mostly take indoor photos of family and friends, and have been reading up on the 50mm and 35mm prime lenses. I realize it's kind of a newbie camera, but compared to everything else I have ever owned it is AWESOME! :thumbsup:
 
thanks for the responses. I'll look into everyone of the lenses listed. although I think some of you listed lenses that cost more than my life is worth but none the less i'll look into them lol
and to negative iso: yea this is an entry level camera but dont under estimate it's power. we didnt spend $500 on a camera for nothing. with the right glass and technique, you can take amazing shots. ;)
 
as im sure youll hear on here...
glass > body.

i cant get enough of my d1x with 50 1.8 combo. love it.
 
Ok so I've recently acquired a Canon Rebel XS with the kit 18-55 lense. I really believe the potential for this camera is held back by this lense so I'm going to look for another glass option.
My question is, which is the ideal lense to get if I would like to upgrade from the kit lense? If this helps any, I'm looking for an "all purpose" lense. I wanna do portraits, I wanna catch action, and I wanna blur the hell out of the background! lol

any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

This is the lense I would suggest: Canon Telephoto EF 300mm f/2.8L IS Image Stabilizer USM - B&H

This lense takes amazing portraits, this lense captures action, and this lense can blur the hell out of backgrounds. THis lense is the one I woukld get if I were upgrading from the kit lense.
 
I spent 700$ on an "allpurpose" tamron 18-270mm and it has a great range and in good light its got solid image quality. in low light it doesn't do that well but like everyone says, combining these qualities is rough and expensive.

I'll add a +1 to the 50mm f/1.8 its a must. With a crop sensor its equivalent to 80mm and you can do portraiture. with a max aperature @1.8 (or 1.4 more expensive version) you can blur the hell out of the background; 2/3 qualifications AND its excellent in low-light situations.

To capture motion you're more likely further away so I would say 70-300mm IS lens (there are cheaper non-IS versions, your call there).

Both together will run you about 650$ and will serve you well for a while. If I could could back I'd go with those two and I would've saved a few hundred bucks :)

Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
 
For serious though, the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is a great step up from a kit lens. Similar focal length range, fastest zoom available, and great for blurring the background. I got mine for under $400US.
 

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