I am looking for a "walk-around" lens

Duke O Smiley

Hi all, very first post in this forum (& I am totally clueless on this subject matter..so apologies in advance)

A brief bit of background on how I've ended up here; I had a Canon powershot XS410 IS digital camera which I knew very well and loved. It was a perfect "point and shoot" camera with great zoom which I very much appreciated on a few occasions, but for the most part I could just point and click, and it took a nice photo. In any case, it broke a few weekends ago, and a neighbour had for sale his son's old Canon EOS 600D which I bought.

It came with two lenses. A big one, which reads "55-250mm 1.1m/3.6ft", and a small one which reads "50mm 0.45m/1.5ft"...I don't know if this gives an accurate description of what kind of lenses there cameras are..but bear with me once again

I am happy with the quality of photos of these lenses but I have a problem. If I am standing quite near to an object (I mainly take photos of cars..classic cars), I can't fit the entire object into the photo. This has proved quite bothersome over this weekend. I have only had the camera for a few days, so I hadn't noticed before this.

I am looking, then, for a lens similar to that of my old camera, something that I can "point and shoot" with, while standing next to a car. The option for a decent zoom would be good but is not essential, I have two lenses for that already. I appreciated the zoom on my last camera because it meant I didn't have to chase a car up the road for a shot before it got away.

So I would like to buy a lens that would allow me to do the above, and I would very much appreciate some guidance on what/where I could buy. New or used would be okay, for a couple of hundred or less!

I do hope I've made some shred of sense here :P

Any advice or replies appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Zimmerframe

Your original "point and shoot" had a massive zoom ranging from 24mm to 960mm.
With your new setup, your 50mm is not wide enough for your needs.

You need a kit lens of 18 -55 mm

summit like this, if you don't want to spend a lot of dosh.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Canon-EF-S-AF-18-55mm-F3-5-6-IS-Zoom-Lens-/262999509500?hash=item3d3bfe09fc:g:ceEAAOSwH09ZJAFN

or a newer stm version

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Genuine-Canon-EF-S-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-IS-STM-Lens-BLACK-Not-In-Box-/152475356692?hash=item23803d4e14:g:oNsAAOSw32lYtQgo

CabanSail

The 600D has a lot larger sensor than the compact camera you had before. While generally considered a good thing there is always a downside as well. When you have a small sensor the lens diameter is also small and so you can get quite large zoom ranges with an acceptable quality. Moving up to a larger sensor that range will be reduced.

The two lenses you have are both telephoto on that body. One is a zoom the other a prime. I think you will find that the 50mm lens probably has an aperture of f1.8. This is a measure of how much light it will let in when wide open. This would be a "fast lens" which meand it can use faster shutter speeds in low light. The zoom will be slower, usually about f4.5 - f5.6, so not as good in low light.

The "kit lens", which is the default lens which often comes with a body, is often an 18-55mm f4 lens. On that body a lens like that will go from wide angle to medium telephoto. If this lens will suit your needs there is some good news. Many people will start with the kit lens and then move on the some better glass, be it faster or sharper etc. That means that there are often quite a few kit lenses available on the used market. If you want a larger zoom range then they are available too, but nothing like you had before. The thing is as the zoom goes up so does the price and other compromises too. They will often have a lot more distortion and can be less sharp.

magicbastarder

to probably repeat some of the above, what would be considered a 'standard' lens for your camera - i.e. not a wide angle, not a telephoto lens - would be a 35mm lens. unfortunately, canon don't seem to have a lens around that length at your price point - the 50mm lens (which you already have) is their cheap prime (i.e. non-zoom) lens. the 35mm would be a bit more general purpose than the 50mm, but as mentioned, has no zoom capability.
however, other canon users may know of other manufacturers who make 35mm lenses compatible with your camera.

Duke O Smiley

Huge thanks once again for the advice folks.

In light of the above, if I have followed what has been said, would this be suitable for my needs?

http://www.adverts.ie/lenses/canon-ef-s-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-is-ii-lenses-white-box/11426431

Wide-angle to short telephoto range

morritty

I'd personally save my cash and get this.

http://www.adverts.ie/lenses/canon-ef-s-18-55mm-f-3-5-5-6-iii/12937447

georgefalls

Personally, I would stick with the 50mm lens, and just walk backwards a bit to fill the frame.

Zooms are overrated.

Ben D Bus

georgefalls wrote: »

Zooms are overrated.

Balderdash!

With respect, it's primes that are overrated. A zoom gives more options and nobody can ever tell the difference between a picture taken with a prime and a zoom without looking at the exif

OP, take the recommendation for the cheap 18-55 lens

IF in a year you find all your pictures are taken at the same zoom distance, or you love all your pictures to have blurry backgrounds, or you like shooting in the dark, then think about a prime (ie fixed length, no zoom). You'll find this out only by owning a zoom lens.

georgefalls

Primes are usually a lot faster than zooms, and are usually better made with quality glass.

I do a lot of car photography, as does the OP, and I use either a 35mm or a 50mm prime to very good effect.

Plus, a zoom lens does tend to make you lazy, and I for one, need the extra exercise..!

:-)

Duke O Smiley

Thanks, once again, for the advice guys.

I've taken a chance with the already linked 18-55mm lens for €50, will pick it up tomorrow.

I'll see how it goes in any case!

magicbastarder

Ben D Bus wrote: »

With respect, it's primes that are overrated. A zoom gives more options and nobody can ever tell the difference between a picture taken with a prime and a zoom without looking at the exif

of course they can tell. the photo taken with the prime lens will clearly have been taken by the photographer with more class.

CabanSail

Duke O Smiley wrote: »

Thanks, once again, for the advice guys.

I've taken a chance with the already linked 18-55mm lens for €50, will pick it up tomorrow.

I'll see how it goes in any case!

That's a good price and will probably do the job.

georgefalls

You also have to take into account the EOS 600D has a crop factor of 1.6.

So a 35mm lens will give the equivalent of 56mm, which is roughly what the human eye sees.

Great for taking portraits, and cars for that matter.

The 18-55 kit lens, used at the 18 end will give you roughly 28mm perspective. That tends to make car shots look out of proportion (bulldog effect)

Zimmerframe

The kit lens you bought will certainly do the job and is hard to beat for the price.
Another option later on, if you find you are taking your car photos around the 40mm region, would be to flog the 50mm, and buy the very good and tiny 40mm 2.8 pancake lens .

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-2-8-STM-Lens/dp/B0089SWZDU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496184101&sr=8-1&keywords=Canon+ef+40mm

OldGoat

magicbastarder wrote: »

of course they can tell. the photo taken with the prime lens will clearly have been taken by the photographer with more class.

Let's not forget the zoom lens bellows effect blowing dust around the interior of your camera. :eek:

Duke O Smiley

So I bought the lens anyway, very happy with it. Came across this on my way home so of course had to test it out

Heebie

My current "walk-around" lens is a 24-75mm f2.8, on a full-frame body.
17 or 18 to 55 should be roughly equivalent.
BUT, of you're not looking for real speed, there are 18-200mm and even 10-300mm lenses out there that will give you a lot of versatility without carrying any other lenses.

twowheelsonly

You're well set up now that you have the basics and a 50mm prime as well.

Read up on 'Depth of Field' and use the 50mm to experiment with. It's the best value learning tool that's out there and will help you to see the difference of various aperture settings and shutter speeds a lot more clearly than the zooms ever will. Mess around with these for a week (using the 50mm) and you'll learn a lot more than if you spent the next month reading forums and magazines. Before you know it the 'jargon' will start to make sense and you can even start using some of it yourself

Enjoy, and Good Luck...