Lenses for 50D I am purchasing my first DSLR, the Canon 50D. I want a lens that will create a blurry background beyond the point of focus. I will be taking nature shots as well as indoor shots at family events. Which lenses would be recommended? I am looking for a quality lens, but not wanting to spend over $900. Thanks, Lenses for 50D I am purchasing my first DSLR, the Canon 50D. I want a lens that will create a blurry background beyond the point of focus. I will be taking nature shots as well as indoor shots at... » Read More Lenses for 50D I am purchasing my first DSLR, the Canon 50D. I want a lens that will create a blurry background beyond the point of focus. I will be taking nature shots as well as indoor shots at family events. Which lenses would be recommended? I am looking for a quality lens, but not wanting to spend over $900. Thanks, « Show Less
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Frank, I recommend you get the 28-135mm kit lens. You wont get a better value on a lens. The price in the kit is half what it sells for. On an APS-C sensor camera it offers fantastic image quality. This is why Canon continues to 'kit' it with even the 7D, despite not being wide angle on APS-C cameras. It should take care of most of you shooting needs. For indoor shots where you want a little more width add a Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens. It's f/2.8 aperture will start to give you the nice bokeh you desire. But, for the best bokeh you'll want a prime lens, I prefer the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens, but, some people prefer the a 50mm on an APS-C camera. Frank, I recommend you get the 28-135mm kit lens. You wont get a better value on a lens. The price in the kit is half what it sells for. On an APS-C sensor camera it offers fantastic image quality. This is why Canon continues to 'kit' it with even the 7D, despite not being wide angle on APS-C cameras. It should take care of most of you shooting needs. For indoor shots where you want a little more width add a Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens. It's f/2.8 aperture will start to give you the nice bokeh... » Read More Frank, I recommend you get the 28-135mm kit lens. You wont get a better value on a lens. The price in the kit is half what it sells for. On an APS-C sensor camera it offers fantastic image quality. This is why Canon continues to 'kit' it with even the 7D, despite not being wide angle on APS-C cameras. It should take care of most of you shooting needs. For indoor shots where you want a little more width add a Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens. It's f/2.8 aperture will start to give you the nice bokeh you desire. But, for the best bokeh you'll want a prime lens, I prefer the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens, but, some people prefer the a 50mm on an APS-C camera. « Show Less
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If you do upgrade your lenses dpreview.com recommends Canon "L" glass for this camera. I have the 28-135mm on my 30D and can see the difference from my 70-200mm L. I'm sure the differences would be even more noticeable on the 50D and certainly the 7D. Good luck.
1771107
Thank you for the information. Especially I decided to purchase 50D with a 28-135mm IS because of the reason you told. It is very attractive offer. Previously, I had thought to purchase a 28-105mm, so the overlapping would be at minimum w/ 100-300mm.IS lenses are unfortunately over my budget. May be later, I can think about them.I think my Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens can be enough For wide angle focal lengths.Thank you again for your suggestions,Merry christmas and happy new year,GO
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For a first DSLR, yes i'd definitely go with the d5200. Look at the specs, there's everything a beginner needs. I started with a d5000 about 3 years ago and my 11 year old daughter now knows all the ins and outs about operating a DSLR, even on full manual mode. In my opinion, d5200 would be a great start. I have a d7100 and probably gonna start looking at a full frame soon. Good luck and have fun shooting!
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All Canon EF lenses are compatible with the 50D and all of Canon's other dSLRs. You just have to keep in mind that the 50D's smaller APS-C sized sensor will make your lenses seem 1.6X longer in focal length. Your 100-300 will give you the same viewing angle as a 160-480mm lens and the 28-105 will no longer be wide angle but seem more like a 45-168mm moderate telephoto. I tried out my brother-in-law's 100-300 on an XTi sometime back -- very nice image quality as I recall and EXTREMELY fast focusing.
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If money is a concern, try the "fantastic plastic" or sometimes called the "nifty fifty". That's the Canon EOS 50mm f/1.8. Great lens. Best optics per dollar, for sure. Only complaint people have had has been about the quality of background blur when shooting wide open. I haven't had an issue personally, it's acceptable for the price. It IS rather ugly compared to the quality of bokeh on the f/1.2L .. But you can buy 15 of the 1.8s for the price of the 1.2, so that's to be expected. The 1.4 has had some great reviews as well.
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If money is no object, get the FA 77mm Limited. It's the legendary Pentax portrait lens that we all dream about. Otherwise, I'm sure the DA 50mm 1.8 that's been recommended is a fine prime lens. The WR 18-55 and WR 18-135 (the one I purchased) are good general purpose zooms.
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I have to respectfully disagree with the recommendation for a 16-85mm VR. I have that lens, use it with my D90 and it's great for outdoor situations. Indoors, the 16-85mm is fine if you are using a flash. I can see using the 16-85mm for some interior church shots, but most of wedding shots are going to be of people. things, little details like bouquets, etc. You will want a lens that can handle low-light and can isolate a subject well (subject in focus - remaining areas blurry). You should check out primes. Fast zooms are nice, but they will defintiley set you back a lot of money. Look into these lenses: 1. Nikkor 50mm 1.8 - The poor man's lens for low light, decent bokeh, depth of field interestingness. $100 Everyone should have at least one fast lens and since this one is cheap, it's a good place to start. 2. Sigma 30mm 1.4 More money, but since it's wider than the above lens, a little more versatile, especially with DX sensor. $300 or more 3. Nikkor 85mm 1.8 - Like the 50mm but is more telephoto, so this is good if you are standing far from your subject but want to fill the frame with your subject. Good for concerts, theater, etc. 5. Nikkor 85mm 1.4 - This is a money-making lens for pro wedding photographers and portrait photographers. People fall in love with and worship this lens. Do a web search and you'll find out why. Very, very pricey. $1K but worth it. One thing about primes is that there is a definite learning curve to using them - especially at the wider apertures since the depth of field is SO narrow. You have to really work on learning to use them to maximize the number of keepers you have. BUT, these fast lenses help you to examine more work more critically, to look at your composition, technique, etc in ways that your kit lens never will :) Good luck with your photography!
501122
Thanks for the feedback. I ended up getting the Canon 17-55/2.8IS. It was more expensive, but I had come across some extra money. I've had that lens for several month now and it's awesome. The zoom range is excellent, it's great having f2.8 through the whole range, and the IS adds probably at least 3 stops. It's very sharp when I do my part, especially when it's stopped down a couple clicks. I would still love to get a lens like I described in my OP, but I'm looking at a wide angle zoom and a better telephoto lens before that one.
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I think I was misunderstood? When I bought my 50D, it was a toss up between the 5D and the new (at that time) 50D with a couple of kit lenses. I chose the 50D (newer tech wise and more stuff) and I'm satisfied for now. If and when I upgrade, it would be the latest (tech wise) full frame Canon like the 5DMkII. I was just thanking John M. and ED F for validating my non-researched decision to go 50D instead of older 5D at the time.Bob
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Hi Mr. Hewitt (I wonder if we have any relation?) Anyway, for a true beginner (as in you've never used anything but a point-and-shoot) I'd recommend you get a Nikon D40 and an 18-200 VR. Keep the 18-55 kit lens, you'll find it lighter when your just taking snapshots of the family or whatever. The D40 is an excellent starter camera, it has almost all the tweaks of this much more expensive camera without the weight and cost. The D300 has many advantages over it, but I really feel you'll learn a lot faster with a simpler camera, and step up to this when your ready. I actually started out with a D40 a bit over a year ago, it made starting out quite fun. The 18-200VR will follow you as a great lens on the D300 too, and you can use any newer AF-S lenses on it. If you have older AF-D Nikon lenses lying around that you want to use, a D80 is also a good place to start. It's easier to make the custom tweaks you'll learn about in your photography classes on the D80, but it still has Auto modes as well to get you started. Checkout www.kenrockwell.com, especially his recommended camera page. He's a bit more eloquent than I am. And I wouldn't be so fast to recommend the D60 to anyone, it's just the D40x's guts (plus active D-Lighting, but without the other enhancements of the D300/D3) with a different name stamped on it. I wouldn't recommend the D40x or D60 to anyone, they exist to fill a price point to compete with Canon. If your eyeballing either, jump to the D80 and don't look back.
990745
Congrats on the D5000 (and both great lenses you have). Be sure and get that 35mm down the road, believe me it will probably be the best 200$ you'll ever spend if you do any shooting indoors. I have tons of other lenses (including a 50mm f/1.4) so I held off for a while on getting the 35mm f/1.8, once I did finally get it I was kicking myself for not getting it sooner, it's that good. Happy shooting.
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I also have the XSi (and LOVE it)... It's my first DSLR and I have learned so much with it. I ordered it with the kit lens (18-55mm) and also bought the 55-250mm. Both are great, inexpensive beginner lenses, but I have found that I am now out-growing them. The 55-250mm isn't as sharp as I would like (when the image is viewed at 100%) and, as Saleh AlMutawaa mentioned, the EF-S lenses are not compatible with the full-frame DSLRs. So, if you think you might upgrade, you might want to keep that in mind. The Rebel XSi, 18-55 and 55-250 are a great starter package.
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I think you should be comparing this camera to Nikon's D70s, not the D50. I just bought the D70s after much comparison shopping with the Canon XT. I don't think you can go wrong either way. The deciding factor for me was the superior lens in the Nikon kit vs. the Canon which everyone agrees is practically a throw-away. So if you do decide on the Canon, at least buy the body only and upgrade your lens.
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Get the EF 50mm f/1.4 for a few hundred bucks. Give the kit lens to a friend, or if you haven't bought your camera yet, just buy the body like I did. The 50mm is the MUST HAVE LENS. Every professional photographer will tell you this. You can practically take pictures in the dark without a flash. There's tons of information online about the 50mm lens. If you get one, you will never put the kit lens back on your camera. Prime lenses take amazing pictures. I have a 28-135 that I wish I hadn't bought. Go for shorter ranges in zooms and buy primes. If your rich, try some L glass out.
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which canon model are you comparing the d3200 to? t2i? t3i? t4i? for the most part nikon and canon beginner dslr cameras are equivalent, the brand/model won't matter much. they have thier strengths and weaknesses, but overall they're pretty much the same. your best bet is try to go hold a few different models/brands in your hands, see which ones resonate with you. and good glass (lenses) is far more important than the camera body itself, as it has the biggest impact on image quality. so if possible underspend on the camera body and overspend on glass. a good 50mm f1.8 prime lens is a great compliment to the provided kit lenses. which canon model are you comparing the d3200 to? t2i? t3i? t4i? for the most part nikon and canon beginner dslr cameras are equivalent, the brand/model won't matter much. they have thier strengths and weaknesses, but overall they're pretty much the same. your best bet is try to go hold a few different models/brands in your hands, see which ones resonate with you. and good glass (lenses) is far more important than the camera body itself, as it has the biggest impact on image quality. so if possible underspend on the camera body and overspend on glass. a good 50mm f1.8 prime lens is a great... » Read More which canon model are you comparing the d3200 to? t2i? t3i? t4i? for the most part nikon and canon beginner dslr cameras are equivalent, the brand/model won't matter much. they have thier strengths and weaknesses, but overall they're pretty much the same. your best bet is try to go hold a few different models/brands in your hands, see which ones resonate with you. and good glass (lenses) is far more important than the camera body itself, as it has the biggest impact on image quality. so if possible underspend on the camera body and overspend on glass. a good 50mm f1.8 prime lens is a great compliment to the provided kit lenses. « Show Less
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I like the Canon 50D. I would like to buy the body and buy Canon 15-85mm lens.All people told me that Canon T2i has new technology, but I don' know if the new technology will enhance the photo quality!! I googled for the past week. I couldn't find how the new technology will help me to get a better photo quality with the same lens!
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Photofun123-I am in a similar situation. What did you decide on and what do you think of it? I will be getting a 50d and only one lens. My main subject will be my toddler. I am considering 24-70 and 24-105. Thanks.