HN Explorer

Ask HN: Which DSLR Lens?

10 points by samratjp ↗ HN
Dear HN,

I am hunting for my second (the first being a stock kit 18-55mm) DSLR lens. I know I want a telephoto zoom, but am unsure what I can get around the $300-400 range for a Canon DSLR? So far, I've found this somewhat useful article:http://pic.templetons.com/brad/photo/dslrlens.html

While you're at it, I am still a semi-noob dSLR enthusiast and wouldn't mind a few pointers at taking better shots :-)

17 comments

[ 1.9 ms ] story [ 47.2 ms ] thread
dimarco
off topic for HN, but:

Why do you want a telephoto lens? Do you shoot mostly wildlife?

If you don't shoot wildlife or have a specific use in mind - skip the telephoto and go for a prime lens.

A prime lens doesn't zoom, but they usually better quality as you'll get a much bigger aperture.

Definitely own the 50mm 1.8 lens, and be comfortable shooting it. That is where I'm at in photography. The 50mm 1.8 is cheap, < $200, so you have no reason not to own that.

Good luck.

joshkaufman
Agreed - when I purchased my Nikon D200 a while back, I got an 18-200mm telephoto and a 50mm 1.4 prime. Most of the time the telephoto sits in my camera bag. Learning to shoot with a prime made me a much better photographer.

Definitely skip the telephoto unless you're planning to shoot wildlife or have a similar specific use. You won't miss it.

ojbyrne
I love the Canon 50mm 1.4. It's at the high end of the range, but (~ $400 I think) but still reasonable.
uuid
If you can, get the new sigma 50mm 1.4 instead of the Canon. The sigma has USM, better bokeh, is faster, has better build quality and seems a bit sharper. Both go for around the same price (~300 euros).
ojbyrne
Amazon owes you a referral fee ;-). My Canon 50mm is actually broken (and out of warranty), so I just ordered one.
billpaetzke
I agree with dimarco. Start with the 50mm f/1.8 fixed lens. It's good quality for the price. The real professional lenses cost between 900 and 1600 dollars. Fixed ones are cheaper. Zoom are more expensive.

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens $99.95 -- if you buy this, you MUST buy the UV filter http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007E7JU?ie=UTF8&tag=...

UV filter (protects lens' glass): Tiffen 52mm UV filter $9.95 -- goes with the Canon EF 50mm lens (trust me; this is the correct size filter) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004ZCJG?ie=UTF8&tag=...

Tutorial Book: Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera $17.13 -- Bryan Peterson, the author, is a god of photography teaching http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817463003?ie=UTF8&tag=...

Tutorial Book: Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography -- $17.13 -- Bryan Peterson, the author, is a god of photography teaching http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817453911?ie=UTF8&tag=...

My credibility is that I have been a digital photography hobbyist for three years. Here are some of my photos: http://billpaetzke.smugmug.com

atrain34
$300-400 is going to buy you plastic crumby lenses. I do a lot of various photography... weddings, family, portraits, kids, landscapes, etc. If you bought your DSLR to take more photos than quick shots at family gatherings, invest in prime lenses.

That being said, the best (cheap) lens I have ever used/bought was 50mm 1.8/f lens. It was for the Nikon, but Cannon has one similar. The price is about $100 depending where you go.

I don't know the cannon world very well, but those guys talking about Nikons 18-200 is truly one of the best lenses there is. In terms of what it can do and cost. I bring it when I travel alot because it's small, great zoom, great wide angle (all considering), great in low light, great for outdoors and decent indoors.

Another thought is to visit your local camera shop and rent some lenses. Try them out for a weekend. Borrow from fellow Cannon owners. Go out on Flickr meetups and see what they are using.

Quite honestly hackernews crowd is the not the best place to find other photographers for advice :)

frossie
I don't know the cannon world very well, but those guys talking about Nikons 18-200 is truly one of the best lenses there is

What's the best camera? The one you have on you when you need to get a picture. There's a lot of sneering about "vacation lenses" like the 18-200, but the tiny drop in image quality is well worth just having the right lens on the body when you see something neat.

Sometimes the best hack is the simplest.

strlen
50 mm f/1.8 should be your first lens. Learn how to take great pictures with that, after that I'd suggest:

28 mm f/2.0 (anything below 35 mm would do)

Once you've got the basics down with prime lenses, I'd suggest a good walk around lense with image stabilization (I am a Nikon guy and I like my 18-200 VRII). 85 mm f/1.8 is another good lens for portraiture (VR isn't great for everything).

lsc
agreed, even if you aren't really serious about ever being a 'great photographer' - the prime lenses are just dramatically superior to anything else in the 'within reason' price range. though if you are on one of the SLRs that makes everything a telephoto, you might want to start with a 35mm or a 28mm rather than the 50mm, even though the 50 is a better lens for the money. If you take indoor photos with the 50 on my D30, you end up trying to get as far away as possible from the subject, which can be hard in small apartment rooms.

Even from another rank amateur, the quality difference between the primes and the affordable zoom lenses is dramatic. Honestly, most of my photography consists of taking pictures of equipment for ebay or blogging, but slap a 50mm canon prime on a ancient 3 megapixel D30 and your photos are sharp enough to read the serial numbers, even when your photographer is a shaky handed amateur, something that is decidedly not the case for the zoom lenses I've seen in that price range.

Sure, once you get up into the multi-thousand dollar zooms, I'm sure the difference fades, but really, I'm just not that into it.

DanielBMarkham
I am a Nikon guy and I like my 18-200 VRII

Agreed. You will take this lens from me when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Awesome lens.

waivej
Check out http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/best_canon_eos_...

I have the tokina 12-24 which is a wonderful lens. Any others with similar ratings would be a joy to own. For cheap next step lenses, perhaps a 28-105 for it's size or the 28-135 is for it's sharpness. I think they are f3.5 or so.

I like my f1.8 50 but it's cheap plastic. I would probably look at the older f1.8 or a used f1.4 50 from KEH.com.

Shoot a wide variety of photo experiments. Publish them somewhere to give structure. Ignore the rules and test the edge conditions. Overexpose. Underexpose. Use a flash in daylight. Handhold in darkness. Set timers. Shoot star trails. Shoot from the hip. Find a few favorite photographers and try to duplicate what they have done.

enedi
A great, great site to go for advice is the www.fredmiranda.com forums. They have tons of info already available that you can search through and on top of that, their buy/sell forum for used gear is highly reputable and you can save 20% off new prices for great, clean and high quality lenses.

Hope this helps! Good luck and good shooting!

CyberFonic
I'm a Canon user from the days of film. Recently bought a digital back so that I could use all my old lenses. Most cameras have a 1.6 multiplier that is the 50mm is as if it were a 80mm - nice prime for portraiture, a 75mm (film) prime would be even better.

Cheap plastic lenses are just that, cheap. You might as well just buy a $100 point and shoot. Zoom lenses are great if you have to be prepared for anything and don't have time to change prime lenses (don't forget dust, etc problems) and of course all those lenses are a bother to carry. Trouble is that quality zoom lenses cost heaps. Of course, you could try buying second-hand, but sometimes they have been knocked around and are worse than useless.

Unless you are on the move a lot, a tripod is a better option than expensive image stabilization lenses. For absolutely shake free shots learn to use the self-timer to let the camera settle down after pressing the shutter release button.

Learn to focus manually, the auto-focus doesn't work best in some light conditions. Same about the settings, learn to use manual settings. Unlike film, you are not wasting money by experimenting.

atrain34 is right, get your tips from a photography forum.

blazingice
I've had a good experience with the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM. It's right in the middle of your price range and has image stabilization and a good zoom range. It's my go-to lens if I'm traveling light.

If you can possibly save up for the 24-105 f/4L, do it.

Everyone else suggests that you get a prime lens - they're fantastic for portraits but so so very annoying in any other situation. On the plus side, the 50mm 1.8 Canon lens is amazingly cheap and light. On the downside, it's noisy, takes forever to focus, and it's just not very versatile. I'd get it after a good zoom lens; it's worth having but not right off the bat.

The right lens for you really depends on your photographic style - if you shoot wildlife, scenery, street photography, or people, your lens choice will be wildly different.

Cheers!

P.S. my go-to site for lens information is http://www.canonlensreview.com - it's quite good and simple.