Where shop for lenses?

[Mtalseth]

Well, tonight i agreed to give my new mustang gt to my brother so i wont have to make the $370 a month car payment so now I can buy things that matter like NEW LENSES and equipment. Where should I shop online for the best deals? Also, I'm pretty new to photography and just have the 18-55mm lens that came with my Canon rebel xs. What lenses should everyone have? What would be a good idea to purchase first? Any advice would be great. Thank you. -Mike

 

[gardy90]

bhphotovideo.com

 

[IgsEMT]

b&h, focus camera, adorama, kmh, just to name a few

 

[chammer]

What lenses should everyone have?

everyone should have a 50mm 1.8 (or 1.4) in their bag in my opinion. at $100 or less for a new 1.8 its a cheap way to get outstanding results. other than that, a decent or very nice telephoto depending on your budget. a lot of new people pick up the 55-250mm as it picks up where their 18-55mm kit lens leaves off.

however, if this is something you *really* want to do an article i read suggested that you should buy the best lens in a particular range. if you cant afford it, then you wait until you can...be it one week, one month, or one year. not sure i 100% agree with that, as there are some really nice alternatives to the best of the best lenses, but i do keep it in my mind at all times before i decide to make a purchase.

another thing to keep in mind if this is something you wish to pursue is to try and decide if at some point you will explore a full frame body. if you do then you'd want to purchase only EF lenses. EF-S lenses will not work on full frame bodies like the 5d's and the 1ds's, but EF lenses work on both.

the 50mm mentioned above (both the 1.8 and the 1.4) are EF's and will work on any canon with an EF/EF-S mount. the 55-250mm telephoto i mentioned above is an EF-S lens, and thus will need to be replaced if you decided to jump to those full frame bodies.

you probably have quite a while before you decide, however, so dont worry about it yet...just trying to provide some food for thought for ya.

 

[IgsEMT]

What lenses should everyone have?

The one that you need. Primes, as mentioned above, aren't my flavor and after years of using them won't go back to them.
It all depends on what you need. For me, when shooting a reception, I have my fisheye in the pocket and wide-normal on camera. When shooting portraits, I'll have my 28-105 on camera and fisheye in the pocket - ppl love weird SH*T (go figure)

 

[Mtalseth]

Thank you chammer that is exactly what i wanted to know. :cheers:

 

[Mtalseth]

And IgsEMT thank you as well. :thumbup:

 

[Tiny]

I only use B&H.

 

[mrmacedonian]

I only use B&H.

+1. I've come to realize very quickly how excellent they are. Their site is much more clean cut and a pleasure to navigate compared to other well known competitors. I've designed websites in the past and design jobs such as Adorama, while a good company, put me off in a big way. Also pretty much every purchase I've ever made through B&H has ended up coming with free shipping. I always use their 5-7day shipping option and get the product within 2-3, even during those massive snow falls recently. I can't recommend them enough.

 

[DerekSalem]

As has been said one of the important things is a 50mm/1.8. While it's true there aren't a million uses for it (not being able to change zoom level at all does limit you if you can't move around too much physically), it's completely worth it to have a quick-lens. Even in dark environments you'd be surprised how good of a picture you can get with it. On my XSi at ISO1600 I could grab a shot in a dimly lit room with absolutely no problem. With my T2i at 6400 I can grab it in a room with *VERY* little light and you can barely tell. Remember, the quicker the lens the lower you can keep the ISO or the faster the shutter speed. Eliminating excess noise or capturing a moment you otherwise wouldn't be able to.

The other thing I'd recommend is some kind of telephoto with an image stabilization. I have a Sigma 18-200 OS and I love it. I've had other Sigma/Tamron/Canon lenses previously but this thing is arguably my favorite lens. I can take a picture at 1/20 with zoom and you can't even tell it was handheld. Definitely helps when you're trying to get a picture in the spur of the moment.

Other than that? If you have the money I'd go with a standard f-stop lens I know Tamron and Sigma both make lenses that work pretty well (as does Canon/Nikon obviously but those are usually a bit more expensive). For around $600 brand new you can get a 17-50mm lens that's f/2.8 from beginning to end. Works great for lower-light situations, as well.

 

[icassell]

I like Amazon.com as a source for new equipment. As long as you buy directly from them (and not one of their marketplace vendors), their service is excellent and they tend to be cheaper than some others.

 

[JimmyO]

Spending money on lenses is a waste if your new and want better pictures. Its a shame theres so many people in the world telling other clueless people to buy new lenses. Spend it on books and seminars if you actually want to improve.