Lens for Student (Advice Please)

MagicHumanDoll

Hey I was wondering if anyone has any recommendation for a lens for me?

Basically I only got my DSLR (Canon 1200D) in January, but I've been improving rapidly and consider myself at a good standard to buy my first lens. At the moment I am feeling very limited by the aperture of my kit lens among other things (f3.5-5.6).
I'm an architecture student so my focus would primarily be buildings obviously but I do like a bit of anything that catches the eye at the moment as I learn technically and also learn about what I enjoy shooting.
So, ideally a wide angle (20mm area) and a wide aperture (f2-2.8 region) is what I should and am looking at. But, being a student with little spare cash I don’t want to be limited by a prime necessarily but obviously I’d be sacrificing the aperture then.
So would I be better off buying say a 20-200mm and also a cheap f1.8 50mm or is there everything I need in the 20mm f2 areas that my inexperience is unable to see?

Thanks if you took the time to read and again if you help,
Adam

flyingsnail

Do you have a budget in mind? and what lens do you have now?

With the exception of the canon 50mm F1.8 (MK 2 currently around €100 on Amazon) there aren't really many cheap fast lens. There is an EF-S 24mm F2.8 but that is about €200 but something like a 20mm F2.8 is closer to €500
One thing to bear in mind with architecture and photography is that the wider you go with your lens the more likely to distort perspective so you buildings could look like they are leaning (I have no idea how important that is to what you are doing).

MagicHumanDoll

flyingsnail wrote: »

Do you have a budget in mind? and what lens do you have now?

Oh yeah sorry forgot to include that. Max I'd be able to go would be 300 so a reasonable investment as such.
Was looking at the 50mm f1.8 and 24mm f2.8 alright, look like decent lenses.
The distortion wouldn't be an issue really, just requires more precision and I like when it's pulled off. Can look very appealing!

CabanSail

As said, the nifty fifty (50mm f1.8) is the most economical way to get some fast glass, but on a cropped body it is a mid-telephoto lens, so does not fit for your wide needs. It is still a very good investment and a useful lens.

When you move to shorter focal lengths the depth of field increases. On my fisheye lenses the DoF is still quite large even when opened right up. When shooting architecture you will generally want a wide DoF so there is not the need for fast glass. You will mainly be using a tripod so if the light is low use longer exposures and and the aperture set at the sweet spot.

A popular budget lens which may fit your requirements would be the Sigma 10-20 which can be picked up quite reasonably second hand.

MagicHumanDoll

CabanSail wrote: »

A popular budget lens which may fit your requirements would be the Sigma 10-20 which can be picked up quite reasonably second hand.

Thanks for that, will definitely look into that lens a bit. As for the Depth of Field stuff it opens up like that so I appreciate that insight!

ditpaintball

have a look for second hand lenss. Loads out there on adverts, donedeal etc. You can save some cash that way.

Make sure you test them out first with your own camera.

Heebie

While you're learning the basics, stick with primes.
A 50mm ("nifty fifty"), as fast as you can get, is a good thing. If you're not on a "full frame" Camera, then somewhere between 30 and 35mm, closer to 35 for most, is roughly equivalent, and can be had in fast speeds for not ludicrous money.

I have a 30mm f1.4 prime from Sigma for my Pentax that I like a lot. (same lens is available for most any mount type.)

I also have a Canon 50mm f1.4 prime and an adapter. This lens is from the 1960's, and is the sharpest lens I've ever owned. It's a completely manual lens. No autofocus, no auto-aperture, no controlling things from the computer in the camera or via the wheels on the body.

Something like this is a REALLY good idea for learning. If you HAVE TO adjust it all yourself, you're going to always see what your adjustments are doing. I think this will force you to understand them quicker.

Using primes keeps you from screwing around with zoom, and makes you think more about the composition, and where you are in relation to the scene.

I believe you said that you like architecture. Try an extreme wide-angle, even a fish-eye prime, and shoot REALLY REALLY close to your architecture. Always fun.

Back to the lens with the adapter.. if you can get lenses and an adapter to put them on your camera body, you can get some pretty amazing glass cheap. (One of the adapters I have lets me put Pentacon-6 medium-format lenses on pretty much any Pentax 35mm or dSLR, and I have some really nice Carl Zeiss P6-mount glass I can use. (fully manual, of course)

Best thing to do is play.

MagicHumanDoll

Heebie wrote: »

While you're learning the basics, stick with primes.
A 50mm ("nifty fifty"), as fast as you can get, is a good thing. If you're not on a "full frame" Camera, then somewhere between 30 and 35mm, closer to 35 for most, is roughly equivalent, and can be had in fast speeds for not ludicrous money.
I believe you said that you like architecture. Try an extreme wide-angle, even a fish-eye prime, and shoot REALLY REALLY close to your architecture. Always fun.
.

Yeah stuck on an APS-C 1200D for the moment, works for learning though.

The wide angle is the goal but tbh based on my research I might have to hold out until I go full frame!

Either way, thanks for the advice. Very much appreciated