New to forum - Lens questions. Upgraded from Sony A230 to Canon T3

Kaczman

TPF Noob!
Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hello all,

Long time lurker here, first time poster. I used this forum to first purchase a Sony A230 DSLR last year, and it provided tons of helpful information. There was a deal on ebay yesterday for a Canon EOS Rebel T3, so I picked that up. After doing some researching, I have some questions however.

I primarily use the camera to photograph cars. For this reason, I bought a Prime Sigma 24mm f/2.8 Super Wide II Macro Lens. I enjoyed the sharpness over the kit lens. 24mm was not bad for the $150 I paid for it - although it was hard to get interior shots.

My question is if there are any 18mm to 24mm FIXED prime lens out there for around $150 for the rebel? I'm just an amateur photographer and dont have $500 to drop on an expensive pro lens.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again to everyone on this forum for helping me out last year.
 
For the budget you mention the only option I can think of is to buy an older lens with an adapter and manually meter and focus. A hanimex 21mm prime with an m42 mount and adapter is one example that might suit you
 
Thanks. Im not that good with cameras yet do be doing this.

How much does a wide angle prime autofocus usually run, used?
 
Wide angle lenses are usually where stuff gets expensive unfortunately... kudos to Sigma for making that 24 at $150 actually! And, when you talk "wide angle expensive" specifically, $500 isn't even much and only buys one "pro" lens that I can think of, the Canon 17-40mm f/4L. (which is a great lens and a good bargain p.s.)

There are a couple prime lenses wider than 24, but they're all quite pricey, and actually not that many of them are even autofocus... Generally when looking for an ultrawide lens on a crop sensor body, you're better off going with an EF-S mount zoom lens, especially on a budget. The cheapest of these that I'd consider is the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6. Even still, this lens is likely $300 used, and also likely not as sharp as your 24. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, and Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 are nice sharp ultrawides, but again, both above $500.

There are a couple 20mm primes available, one from Canon and one from Sigma, but they both suffer from lack of sharpness at the edge of the frame, and again, both are around $500. High quality wide primes that are sharp across the frame include the Zeiss 18mm 3.5 and 21mm 2.8 Distagons, the Canon 17mm TS-E, Canon 14mm 2.8L.... these are all in the $1500-$2500 range.

So, if you can't swing the $300 or $400 for a used Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6, I have to agree with jaomul, that an old, fully manual lens adapted to your camera will have the best price/performance balance.
 
Do you need it to be a prime. A regular kit lens would be an option until you can afford better. you may even find you don't need better. kit lenses are very under rated in my opinion
 
I like the sharpness the Primes provide - that is my main concern.
 
Stick with the kit lens for now. Your budget, as already pointed out, is at best 1/4 of what you need to get what you want, and realistically, more like a 1/5. The current Canon kit lens is pretty respectable. It's also important to know all digital pics need some degree of post processing to pull out what's really there. Sharpening is one of those tweaks. Obviously, a better lens/body combo will require a lighter touch, but even the kit lens will sharpen up nicely, provided your focus is spot on.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top