Suggestions? No lens, no money.

[LightSpeed]

What lens is it, that you want?

 

[kric2schaam626]

Start out small! Lenses and expensive camera bodies are necessary when you are just beginning. Start simple, because you will have to learn your camera and then practice your composition and exposure levels.

 

[g-fi]

Don't underestimate the 50mm, just because it's cheap doesn't mean that it isn't a versatile lens. Frankly, if you don't have the money, it's one of the bigger "bang for your buck" lenses. Get a 50mm and shoot, shoot, shoot. And keep shooting. Great photography is NOT ABOUT THE GEAR. It's about what you do with the gear you have. Don't overlook pawn shops either, sometimes you can find great deals on lenses and you have the added advantage of being able to examine the gear before you buy. If your focus isn't primarily on photography right now, then work with what you have (or can afford) and make the most out of it. It's better to be a great, thoughtful photographer with a minimum set-up than a sloppy photographer with a bunch of gear.

 

[RalphP13]

You could practice your macro photography by reverse mounting the 50 mm lens you already have.

You could also practice other aspects of photography which don't require a lot of cash outlay like panoramic imaging (there are free stitching programs), and HDR imaging (also free/trial programs available).

Practicing different postprocessing techniques may also help your images. You could spend years just practicing and advancing postprocessing techniques.

Just have fun.


Thanks, Ralph

 

[usayit]

We live in a "today" world, everyone wants it today. There are many people who go through their adult life without getting what they want. There are others who sacrifice to get what they want. And there are others who work for what they want.
But...so many see what others want and covet it.

Simple advice -
You say your parents won't pay
You are sixteen

Learn to sacrifice and do without until you can afford to purchase what you want. Which means you may need to wait those 6 years. You will be 22 by then. That may seem a long time to you, as you are young and may not yet realize what all of this is about. By the time you are 22 your values will be different then they are now. There will be a day when you look back on all of this and chuckle at your impatience. It will take a life time for that to happen though.

^^^ RIGHT THERE ^^^

Its the problem these days... (trying not to get on soap box)

OP isn't without something>> "I'm using a Canon XSi Rebel. " Be creative and resourceful.


btw...


5 AP classes.. That's great!! but don't kid yourself its an investment in your future and not for right now. Another kid struggling in school in the same situation wouldn't get any different of an answer.

 

[ababysean]

The 50mm hardly ever comes off my camera. So if you have a 50mm that autofocus, I would say you are good to go. If you are doing outdoor photography or portraits I'd worry more about a reflector, if you want to shoot weddings or anything indoors/low light, you can rent lens until you can save up to buy it.

 

[EddieDerbyshire]

Buy a film lens, and buy a m42 adapter on ebay! you can get some really good stuff out of that! search it! And also search up sigma 18 50 its been reduced right now

 

[manaheim]

You don't need a 2.8 lens to learn photography.

 

[Chiuy]

Thanks guys for the suggestion. I know that a good photographer doesn't need those fancy lens. But I've been using my canon xsi with the 18-55mm for the past 4 years! It gets boring, even though 18mm is wide, I take a lot of panoramic pictures and landscapes. I borrowed a 10mm lens before and it was pretty amazing cause I was able to capture more details.
I also rented a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS USM for one week on a online website for $70 and after using for a week, the pictures I took was incredibly sharp and perfect compared to my 18-55mm.
And yes, I know the reverse lens and been using it for over a year now. But the reverse lens, I got some dusts in my lens so it's really not the best so I prefer a actual lens. Never tried an actual macro lens though. I also tries some cheap adapters macro tube, it's alright, not the best.

And also, how will I ever advance to the next level if I am unable to experiment with different lenses? It's like technology, if you don't ever advance, you will never reach the future. A slow comp vs a fast speedy computer that can do a lot more stuff

 

[12sndsgood]

learning to work around the issues of your lens will make you more a better phographer then just going and buying new gear. im sure any (quality)pro photographer could take ,y camera and kit lenes and take better photos then i could.you can keep working on the basics and everything else to perfect things before you go out and buy new gear. youlle learn more and develop better by using what you have instead of just going out and buying new gear and assuming its going to make you a better photographer. most people in high school don't have the setup you allready have.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

OP needs to post up some work for critique.

 

[orb9220]

Yep craigslist is where I buy and everything I have is used. Picked up the kit like 55-200vr for $120 and does a stellar job for what it is. Don't know if canon version on same footing? I would guess probably is. Also don't insist on f2.8 zooms as their are many older non-AF primo glass out their on the cheap. For wide angle. Simple kit at 18 and take 2-5 shots of landscape and stitch together with pano software. Same seen some great wide angle shots with the 50mm shot vertical for 5-8 frames then stitched together. But who would think shooting vertical landscapes with the 50mm? Someone did and gets great results.

And yep Better & Faster glass is preferred. But I still can get outstanding images with the cheapy kit lenses or old manual focus lenses on the cheap. Don't waste time lusting for the attainable and more time on adjusting your expectations and need to something you can use and create with.

Good Luck and like mentioned find stuff to sell off,have a yard sale. And get your parents "I'll clean out that garage fer you and sell for you on a commission basis". Or have them donate stuff they no longer need or use. Us americans are the worst when it comes to hording & buying and not using perfectly good stuff.
.
.

 

[Chiuy]

I'll post some of my works when I get home.
And seriously, if the 18-55mm lens was that amazing, then i should be seeing every pro photographer with that lens, instead I see them with like the 70-200mm f/2.8. Different lenses for different purposes. 18-55 is a great lens, but if I was on the football field, it's completely useless to me. I can't take those actions shots and my camera only has 12megapixels. And the lighting is horrible compared to the 70-200mm f/2.8.

Edit: and yes I know a good photographer doesn't need those lens, but once again, different lens serve different purposes for creativity. If you were in the wild and wants to take a picture of a lion up close, would you want to use you 18-55mm and go super close to the lion or with a telephoto lens and stay near a safe distance?

 

[o hey tyler]

I'll post some of my works when I get home.
And seriously, if the 18-55mm lens was that amazing, then i should be seeing every pro photographer with that lens, instead I see them with like the 70-200mm f/2.8. Different lenses for different purposes. 18-55 is a great lens, but if I was on the football field, it's completely useless to me. I can't take those actions shots and my camera only has 12megapixels. And the lighting is horrible compared to the 70-200mm f/2.8.

Edit: and yes I know a good photographer doesn't need those lens, but once again, different lens serve different purposes for creativity. If you were in the wild and wants to take a picture of a lion up close, would you want to use you 18-55mm and go super close to the lion or with a telephoto lens and stay near a safe distance?

If I were in a life or death situation with a Lion, I don't think I'd be fiddling around with lenses and trying to get closer to it to take a photo. I'd be getting the **** out of there.

 

[g-fi]

And seriously, if the 18-55mm lens was that amazing, then i should be seeing every pro photographer with that lens, instead I see them with like the 70-200mm f/2.8...

. I can't take those actions shots and my camera only has 12megapixels.

Go to flikr and search for pictures tagged "kit lens" and then come back and tell us that you can't do amazing photography with a kit lens. It isn't about what professional photographers have, it's about what YOU do with what YOU have.

Frankly, your attitude is what limits you. You only have 12 megapixels? Well Good Lord! How can you take ANY pictures AT ALL?! You're really limping by, aren't you. :er:

You don't seem to want to hear that better gear will not make you a better photographer. Whatever. I'm guessing with such a heavy workload that you're up until 1:30am every night doing school work, shooting football games, or lions in the wild, or whatever, doesn't happen often enough that you really need to worry about how you're going to afford that super fast lens you think is going to take you to the next level.