Need Help Selecting A Lens

jporter

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Hi all,

I am posting because I need help selecting a lens. I am new to the pro photo world and am having trouble selecting a lens to suit my needs. I own a Canon T3i and have a variety of subject matter because I am a photojournalism student. I'm in the market for a wide angle lens and the lenses I'm looking at are the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM. I'm not sure which to get because by reading the specs, I can't tell which would be the most versatile. As I said, I'm relatively new to the scene so any assistance you all can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Well, I am pretty sure you own a kit lens (18-55mm). What do you think of that lens? Is it not wide enough? What are you using the lens for?
 
Those are two pretty different lenses. The 10-22 is a landscape lens and the 16-35 is more for portraits. I know a few wedding photographers that use it because of its versatility. We really need to know what you are shooting to help you. I'm thinking you want a walk around that's wide enough for landscapes. If that's the case take a look at the 17-55 2.8 canon. It's a fantastic crop sensor lens. I had it on the t3i and it rarely came off. I would still have it if I didn't go full frame. But once again what are you going to shot?
 
I would not consider the 16-35 a portrait lens at all…..

If you are in the market for a wide lens then get the widest lens you can get. The wide angle lens are typically used for landscape, city scape and interior photos and or getting interesting distorted views. They are very fun to use. I have owned two one for the crop sensor which was the 12-24 tokina for crop sensor and the 14-24 2.8 nikon for full frame.

with that canon you are looking at 10-22 is pretty wide angle that is like 15-33 full frame lens. If you want to be able to take people photos you would want to use it and 22 and keep your subjects in the center. Usually out towards the edges the lens distorts pretty bad with wide angle.


as far as that other lens 16-35 its not really a "WIDE" angle lens

so your question is kinda open ended…like Robin said what are you wanting to shoot?
 
At the moment I'm an assignment photojournalist so my subject matter varies. I'm primarily shooting sports where I would want a versatile lens that would allow for good portrait shots (right now covering mostly basketball sitting under basket) but also allow for a wide shot to capture the atmosphere while focusing on a player near half court. If that setup makes sense. They've also been talking about having me cover football next season so I would want a lens that would work well in that setting too. When I'm not working, I like to walk around town and shoot landscape and architecture. The 18-55 kit lens is good but I need something sharper since I'm shooting for print and web.
 
Looks like you need two lenses. Unless you want to go with like the 18-200 which in again is not really a wide angle and is not a fast lens for sports but, it does have a pretty big focal range….

If you want quality and speed you will need top quality glass and or some primes. With DSLR you need to have the lens for the job. To say you want one lens that does it all, not really going to happen the closest to that is the canon 18-200

found here
Amazon.com: Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras: CANON: Camera & Photo
 
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
I've got a 70-200mm telephoto that I use for the majority of the sports shooting. Like you said, got to have the right lens for the job with DSLR. I'm just looking for a lens that will allow me to shoot basically straight up at the hoop when players go up for rebounds, layups, etc. Given my close proximity the 70-200 becomes too long, but I'm wanting something sharper than the 18-55 kit lens.
 
Well, a couple things

1) I assume you already have a decent telephoto lens, since you say you shoot sports, and since 10-22mm for instance is obviously completely inappropriate for closeups of shooting people making baskets. So you have the long lens already, and you just want something that goes really wide to go with it, yes? If so, I suggest the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM. It's just as good as the canon version. Save yourself $150, and get something that goes significantly wider than your kit lens does. You'll probably be happier than with a 16-35 that is pretty much the same thing you already have but just nicer.

2) Kit lenses are perfectly fine for walking around town. Only in the most extraordinary cases is "sharpness" a real reason to dislike a kit lens. If you're consistently getting softness that is actually noticeable, then you probably either have a faulty kit lens, or you are using it at crazy extremes and expecting miracles. Yes, if you shoot your 18-55 kit lens at f/3.5 and 18mm all the time, your photos are going to be soft... Don't do that. If you're at the edges of the zoom range, stop it down more and it will be sharp again. Or if you must shoot wide open, do it at around 35mm, not at the edges. Etc.

Now, if your problem with the kit lens is that it doesn't have a wide enough range for walking around, then that's a different issue. In that case, I would suggest the 18-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS STM. But "sharpness" is a suspicious reason. I'd like to see some sample photos you find to be too soft, along with their EXIF data saying what you shot them at before endorsing major purchases to upgrade on that basis.
 

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