New - Canon 7D lens question

Shelly1204 · Dec 12, 2009

keith foster said:
Those will be great lenses and way more flexibility and quality than most of us had to start out. Not a big mistake at all. Have fun with the new hobby. Have you checked for photography classes at a local community college. Around here our community colleges offer some adult education classes for beginners in digital photo that meet a couple of Saturdays and the classes are usually around $100 for the 16 hours pf class.

Yeah, I checked, and the two local colleges either offer courses on 35mm only with heavy emphasis on darkroom techniques, or you have to be a matriculated student with prerequisites under your belt to take the fun classes. Nothing in the middle.

I just invested in "understanding exposure" and a ton of other books, and I'm gonna bury my head in them and the manual for the next couple of months. In the meantime I'll still keep my eyes out for an affordable tutor.

GeneralBenson · Dec 12, 2009

Shelly1204 said:
Thanks for the help guys. :hug::

I'm doing lots of research, and trying to learn as much as I can. Looks like I'll go with 3 lenses. the kit lens (28-135mm IS) might as well since it's so cheap with the body; a 17-40 F4 L (was torn between this and a Sigma 10-50mm f2.8); and an 85mm f1.8. I'll save up, and when the weather gets nicer, I'll pick up a 70-200 F4 L.

...unless one of you thinks I'm making a big mistake. :lmao:

I would sub out the 85/1.8 for the 50/1.8 or 1.4. They way you listed it you kind of have a hole in the middle. Sure you've got the kit lens, but let's just ignore that. I think that 17-40, 50, 70-200 would be a really nice range to have. I would also still take a closer look at the Tamron 17-55/2.8 instead of the 17-40/4. I would say screw the kit lens and just start off with the better stuff. As soon as you have 17-??, 70-200 and a prime, you'll never want to use the kit lens anyways.

chip · Dec 12, 2009

I know that Canon bundles their 28-135mm lens with their 7D and 50D, but that is really not a good match for the camera. For these 1.6x crop frame cameras, what you are really getting is a 45mm-216mm lens. This is like a normal to a moderate telephoto lens. You will keep wishing you could zoom out more but couldn't and be frustrated with the lens. Is there any wonder it is an EF (full frame) lens and not EF-S (crop frame) lens? I would not buy the 7D with the kit lens at all. Instead I would buy the 7D body only and add a EF-S 15-85mm lens. This lens is a perfect match for the 7D camera.

GeneralBenson · Dec 13, 2009

The bottom line is that, most likely, none of the kit or lower end lenses will be ableto make the most of the pixel density the 7D has to offer. If you're going to get the 7D, do it justice, and put some decent glass on it.

iolair · Dec 13, 2009

rufus5150 said:
I would say that the 50mm focal length on 1.6x cameras, like the 7D, is a bit too narrow for most indoor shooting situations in homes; it's great as a short telephoto at a basketball game, but a 50mm is awfully narrow in a living room or at close distances.

Click to expand...

That's all I used for indoor shooting for a long time. I suppose if you live in a teeeeny tiny house...

I have a 20D, also with the 1.6 crop, and similarly my 50mm rarely leaves the camera. If you want to group shots or fit in the whole room, that's another matter, but for general life and for portraits, it's great.

My 50mm is the Canon 1.8, but if you can afford it, I think the Sigma 1.4 is the one to go for.

Terry W · Dec 13, 2009

Shelly1204 said:
I'm new to photography, hoping to make it a new and relaxing hobby. I'm picking up a Canon 7D next week (currently using an Alpha 100). It comes with a 28-135mm IS Lens. What other lens should be my next purchase? I'll mostly be using it indoors, low light to shoot family and to learn on. I'll probably also be using it for video as well. Should I just spend the money on a good flash to use off camera instead? What would you suggest for both?

Thanks for your help!

p.s.- waiting for a "spend the money on a good photographer" comment in 3...2...1.... :lmao:

Consider buying the 7d with the EFS 18-135 IS kit lens and waiting until you have a better feel for its limitations for the kind of shooting you are doing before you buy the spendy ones. 18 mm instead of 28 at the wide end is really helpful with the crop sensor Canons. I recently bought that combination, but I have the EFS-18-55 f2.8 lens, and the 50mm 1.8 lens, and the 70-200 IS f2.8 lens. The lens that I had and miss most is the 24-105 f4 L lens.

icassell · Dec 13, 2009

Terry W said:
Shelly1204 said:

I'm new to photography, hoping to make it a new and relaxing hobby. I'm picking up a Canon 7D next week (currently using an Alpha 100). It comes with a 28-135mm IS Lens. What other lens should be my next purchase? I'll mostly be using it indoors, low light to shoot family and to learn on. I'll probably also be using it for video as well. Should I just spend the money on a good flash to use off camera instead? What would you suggest for both?

Thanks for your help!

p.s.- waiting for a "spend the money on a good photographer" comment in 3...2...1.... :lmao:

Click to expand...

Consider buying the 7d with the EFS 18-135 IS kit lens and waiting until you have a better feel for its limitations for the kind of shooting you are doing before you buy the spendy ones. 18 mm instead of 28 at the wide end is really helpful with the crop sensor Canons. I recently bought that combination, but I have the EFS-18-55 f2.8 lens, and the 50mm 1.8 lens, and the 70-200 IS f2.8 lens. The lens that I had and miss most is the 24-105 f4 L lens.

The 18-135 is actually the kit that Canon sells with the 7D in Europe. I don't know why they do it there and not here.

Inst!nct · Dec 14, 2009

/jealous

sinjans · Dec 14, 2009

GeneralBenson said:
The bottom line is that, most likely, none of the kit or lower end lenses will be ableto make the most of the pixel density the 7D has to offer. If you're going to get the 7D, do it justice, and put some decent glass on it.

I agree Benson

Get some good glass or you'll regret it. I certainly do.

If you insist i will sell you my canon 18-200IS, which is decent at everything but not great at anything

Shelly1204 · Dec 19, 2009

Well, I wound up getting the 18-135 7D kit, since that's what my local store had in stock, and they gave me a great price. I also picked up a 17-40 f4 L, a 50mm f1.4, and a speedlite 580ex II. I'll consider getting some sort of 70-200 lens in the spring when I get comfortable with the glass and camera I already have.

I'm spending some coin on education as well. Picked up "understanding exposure" and a ton of other books I came across as recommended in old posts on this forum, and some DVDs (strobist lighting seminar, Joey Lawrence's sessions and behind the scenes, Onelight DVD, etc.). I'm looking forward to learning what the hell I just bought and how to use it. :lmao:

By the way, thanks to everyone who responded to this post and helped me out. I'm a partner in a law firm in New York, and I do a lot of copyright defense litigation. If you ever have any legal questions, feel free to PM me.