Camera So which lenses do you have?

@Aces170: Yep... I know, I haven't checked out all the forums properly off-late... lord alone knows that other things I might be missing. :)

@apollyon: So far it's been great... dare I say, it has even surpassed my expectations to some level. However, I still have to drive it to it's fullest to understand it's shortcoming better. Hoping that would happen soon. You can check out some of my snaps from Suvali Beach/Birds from Hope Bridge (from TE Surat meet) album on my flickr sets, Most of the shots are taken with 150-500 lens (Hope Bridge shots are all by 150-500 lens).
 
I got myself Canon 550D last week and since then I've experimenting with it.. I really love this cam.. Finally I have decided what I want to shoot - Ceremonies, Portraits, Night Shots, Birds. Hence I am planning to buy a telephoto zoom lens. I have shortlisted following lenses :

1.Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM ( thinking abt f/4 coz i simply cant afford f/2.8)
2.Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
3.Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD

As I am still very much a noob in photography, I think I need to have IS/VC lens. So if anyone has experience with any of these lenses, please advise me which one should I go for?
 
Tamron 70-200 f2.8 for 41k odd. Its much cheaper then Canon L versions, options 2 and 3 cannot come in the same list. I am saving up for the Tamron version.

If you want a cheaper alternative get a Canon 55-250 IS lens for 10k odd, but low light performance wouldn't be as good, nor would portrait shots.
 
^^^^
I also thought about Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8..but it doesnt have VC feature..in fact, i cant find VC/IS in any of the affordable telephoto zooms with fixed wide max. aperture.. The canon 70-200mm f2.8 L lens that comes with IS costs about $2399 and as much i would love to get this lens, im not that rich yet.. As night shots are also on my list of interests, I know i should go for f/2.8 but i think i will take care of exposure with lower shutter speed combined with VC/IS and a bit high ISO.. I need to make some compromise.. but thanx for advice..!
 
^^ Thats why I went down the Sony route. Picked up a used Sigma 70-210mm f2.8 for 9k (had a bit of fungus) and with a Sony DSLR the lens is image stabilized. :)
 
Purchased Canon EOS 550D in last week. Here's the list of lens I have :)

1. Canon EF S 18-55mm IS

2. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

3. Canon EF S 55-250mm f/4-5.6IS

Would like to buy more stuff in next few months :D

Please suggest me ND4 filters and lens protectors.
 
BF1983 said:
^^ Thats why I went down the Sony route. Picked up a used Sigma 70-210mm f2.8 for 9k (had a bit of fungus) and with a Sony DSLR the lens is image stabilized. :)
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I dnt hav any regrets with my cam, Im loving it..in fact one of the reason i bought it was there are wide range of lenses available..nevr thought i will be spoilt for choices like this.. ;)
 
^^^
well, right now i have only the kit lens - 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6 that came with the cam.. i plan to buy lenses over the different ranges soon but firstly i want to get a telephoto zoom so that i can start pursuing my interests..
 
How many lenses do you think you will use ? :)

I have a Sony 16-105mm everyday use lens, Tamron 90mm f2.8, Sigma 70-210mm f2.8, Rokinon 85mm f1.4, Sigma 10-20mm, Minolta 50mm f1.7, Sony F42AM flash (works wirelessly with any Sony DSLR). Of course all the above lenses are image stabilized. The IS will also get better and better with each newer DSLR body. :D
 
As i said my main interests are : Ceremonies, Portraits, Night Shots, Birds.
So will ideally im gonna buy telephoto zoom lens - im getting more and more inclined towards Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD as it fits my budget and caters to my needs. May be in future will also look in to getting a wide-angle and telephotos with 300+ mm.

Any suggestion about Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD? should i get it and where should i buy it from??
 
There is never a 'one size fit all' lens, I can't think of one single lens for your interests. I'd recomment the Canon 55-250 IS, since it already has a 300+ mm FOV on cropper sensor cams. As for the night photography, get a nice tripod and experiment with long exposures on the kit lens.
 
How many lenses do you think you will use ?

I have a Sony 16-105mm everyday use lens, Tamron 90mm f2.8, Sigma 70-210mm f2.8, Rokinon 85mm f1.4, Sigma 10-20mm, Minolta 50mm f1.7, Sony F42AM flash (works wirelessly with any Sony DSLR). Of course all the above lenses are image stabilized. The IS will also get better and better with each newer DSLR body.
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Damn, I will need to upgrade a lot of lenses to achieve IS. But an upgrade in body will dramatically improve high ISO performance, negating the benefit of IS, as I can click on faster shutter speeds..
 
^^ Thats true. But frankly I would still prefer to use lower ISOs. :)

Besides noise high ISO affects dynamic range and colour fidelity as well. So sticking within the ISO 100-400 range is generally advised. :)

And IS is extremely useful when attaching long lenses.

So if I shoot with a 400mm equivalent view I will still benefit from having IS.

This was clicked with the Sigma 70-210mm f2.8 with a 2x TC @ 210mm (so equivalent is 420mm). Shot at 1/40 secs @ 400mm (dont believe the EXIF. The lens can report either 180mm or 210mm). Can you spot the camera shake ? :D

To shoot without IS I would need a 1/400 or at least 1/350 sec speed. So inbody IS have given close to 3 stops of stabilization. Not bad at all IMO. (1/200 - 1 stop, 1/100 - 2 stops, 1/50 3 stops.)

image002bq.jpg
 
Nikon D7000:

1) Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR (Kit lens)
2) Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D (just bought, on the way)

3) Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR (biding time, mulling on getting this one) :ashamed:
 
Hi Guys.

Just read through the nine pages of this thread. TE Members have a lot of great glass to show off. I wonder, are there any general conclusions which can be drawn from this vast array of input data? Specifically, anything in the way of advice which would be useful to a beginner just starting out and wanting to pick up a good dSLR and several good lenses for general imagemaking?

I only have old glass. I bought my first dSLR body to match old glass. This is exactly backwards to what most folks do. For whatever it's worth, here is my list of interchangeable optics:

For Nikon bodies F, F2, D700:
Nikkor 24mm f2.8, Nikkor 28mm f3.5, Nikkor 35mm f2.8, Sigma 28~200 f3.5, Nikkor 35~105mm f3.5, Nikkor 43~86 f3.5, Nikkor 50mm f1.8, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kiron 80~200mm f4, Nikkor 105mm f2.5, Nikkor 135mm f3.5, Nikkor 200mm f4, Reflex Nikkor 500mm f8

For Pentax, Practica M42:
Carl Zeiss Tessar 50mm f2.8, Yashinon 50mm f1.7, Vivitar Series One 25mm f2.8

For Contax/Kiev:
50mm f2 Jupiter 8M (Ukrainian Zeiss Sonnar copy)

For Leica M3:
Ernst Leitz 50mm f2 Summicron

For Minolta
50mm f1.7 Rikenon

For Enlarger: (can be used with bellows for macro)
50mm f4 Schneider Componon
75mm f5.6 Schneider Componon
50mm f2.8 EL Nikkor

Honestly, I'm hard pressed to come up with any reason for all that glass. It's just what happens when one adds stuff here and there from 1967 to the present.

Knowing what I know now, and if I were starting from scratch today, I think I would buy the fastest, highest quality short and medium zooms I could afford. And I would supplement those with a few choice fast primes for special applications. Not much more than that. Five optics at most, I think.

:)

Henry
 
^^ Wow thats an impressive glass collection. And I agree with your conclusion, get a few fast walk-around zooms coupled with a fast telezoom, a 50mm and 85mm prime, a 105mm macro, and a fast UWA. I dunno why would people want more :p
 
^^ Did that for quite some time with a 50mm :) but thats the only way you will improve your composition skills. Thats the reason all purist insist going the film way, no "spray and pray" to speak of :)
 
Bought a almost immaculate FM 10 with a 35-70mm lens...

First film roll is on now.. Will post results (If they are ok :p )

But the anticipation of the shot, preparation and the fully manual operation is fun... :p
 
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