450D lens advice (or ow my head hurts)

littlebug

I know I know there are a million and one threads on here asking about lenses and I think I've read them all as well as everything relevant ever written and my head is spinning from information overload.

I've had the Canon 450D with the kit lens for a couple of months, love it and am just trying to learn what it all means and geting to grips with figuring out how to take photos in anything other than auto mode... thus I have a couple of books and mags and hopefully will go to some classes after Christmas. The sensible thing would be to wait until I've learnt how to use it properly before splashing out on a lens but there's a birthday coming up so I need to decide soon

In general the camera is used as a general walkabout camera, family stuff etc but I am also interested in nature photography and find myself frustrated at not being able to get a decent shot of birds etc. I would like to try some macro stuff at some point too but that can wait. I'm not trying to become a "proper" photographer.... just trying to develop a hobby (and burn a hole in my pocket!)

Budget is (probably) fairly low... max 300 ish. IS is important. The Canon EF-S 55-250 is jumping at me but I really don't know enough to know



Any advice?

DK32

Hi,

Something like the Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens would probably be a worth while investment. Not too expensive and will yield some nice results with the areas you wish to expand into.

I had one myself and enjoyed it.

Hope these help:
Reviews
Place to buy
Flickr Group

littlebug

DK32 wrote: »

Hi,

Something like the Sigma AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro lens would probably be a worth while investment.

Thanks a million DK. I was looking at that yesterday and thinking it was perfect but then got mixed up and found myself looking at the
sigma-70-200mm-f2-8-apo-ex-dg-macro- which was waaayyyy too expensive. See.... lots to learn :rolleyes:

Trev M

"Nifty Fifty" all the way ! To my mind the best value cent for cent lense you can buy, will bring your shots on a league and you'll have some change left for printing those lovely sharp and pretty bokeh shots that you will acheive to easily

http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/2986/art/canon/ef-50-mm-f-1-8-ii-standar.html

littlebug

What's the difference in the Macro and Macro super on those sigma lenses other than the price? Is the super worth an extra 50?

The nifty fifty had also made it to my list. It's certainly well recommended. nice to know I'm thinking in the right direction!

sprinkles

I'm a relative newb - only been snapping for the past year or so - and I was in the same boat last year and decided to get myself a "nifty fifty" - (link) and was really pleased with it. It opened up a lot of opportunities for me to play with DOF and produce some interesting (if not technically brilliant) shots. I'd really recommend it if you are looking to develop your skills (no pun intended), playing with Bokeh etc. It's my default lens now, although I have recently bought a 20mm f2.8 which I'm just getting used to.

Here's a couple of links to some pics I've taken with the 50mm. (don't want to take up loads of room so I've just linked to them)

Picture 1
Picture 2
picture 3

I don't know much about macro shots but this probably won't suffice for insects etc but it should be ok for taking general nature shots.

Look forward to seeing the results


ps: it's also very light and cheap. Save the rest for your next lens!

DK32

I should also mention I have a f/1.8 nifty-fifty, it's a great lens and for the money (under €100 new) it's worth every cent. Given the €300 budget, you could go for both
The sigma will give you both the telephoto and macro and the 50mm as Sprinkle suggests will open up a lot more avenues for you to explore.