A second lens to complement a 55-250mm?

snotfactory

snotfactory

Suspended / Banned
Messages
20
Name
Mike
Edit My Images
No
I've just taken delivery of a second hand 40D off eBay, and I am very very pleased with it.

It was a body only deal, however a friend has let me borrow a Canon 50mm until I get myself a lens or two this weekend-ish.

I have seen a Canon 55-250mm for sale locally that I am very tempted by, however I would have nothing else for wider shots. Between the 40D and the 55-250mm lens, my total camera budget would be severely diminished down to the £100 mark... my other option is to put my entire lens budget into a 2nd hand Canon 28-135mm instead.

I'm not too worried about having a big zoom (it would be nice) but I would like a wide-ish capability too. I am leaning towards the 28-135 but the 55-250 is well priced and very tempting... what to do, what to do :shrug: I like to take a mix of stuff, from birds to people, but with a large interest in car photography.
 
Hi Mike, I'd say buy the 55-250mm I don't have one myself but have read a lot of good things about it. With the 100 quid you have left you could pick yourself up a Canon 18-55mm kit lens for about 35quid secondhand and have enough left to buy a flashgun or tripod to add to your kit, if you wanted a slightly better lens there is also the Canon 18-55mm IS which can be had new for around 60-70 quid.
 
Last edited:
Would agree with the guys above. Seems like the obvious option.
 
I've just sold my 7D and 5D2 and ordered the 5D3, but in the meantime I have my original camera back off the wife. I gave her it with an 18-55 IS and a 55-250 IS and not used them since. I tried both the lenses on the 550D the other day and I have to say in all honesty, both lenses give very good IQ, have good IS system, are pretty nippy on AF and are a great starter pair. It's just a shame I can't use them on a 5D3 as they would be great lightweight lenses to carry about for general shooting.
 
Well based on the good advice here, I have just bought the 18-55mm IS... £50 seemed too cheap to not get it. Has UV filter with it too, which is nice extra.

Just waiting to here back about the 55-250 now.
 
How have you got on with the borrowed 50mm? It's a nice lens to start with, maybe a little long as a walkabout but fast and sharp. And cheap.

It's not compulsory to have twenty lenses covering 10-1000mm.. although sometimes it feels like it is hearing advice given here. Start small, learn each lens and you'll know when you want something different - and you'll know what you want.
 
Alastair said:
How have you got on with the borrowed 50mm? It's a nice lens to start with, maybe a little long as a walkabout but fast and sharp. And cheap.

It's not compulsory to have twenty lenses covering 10-1000mm.. although sometimes it feels like it is hearing advice given here. Start small, learn each lens and you'll know when you want something different - and you'll know what you want.
Click to expand...

I found the 50mm a bit tricky to use to be honest to start with, the temptation was to get the aperture nice and wide but it just gave me a lot of tasteful blur and virtually no detail on the subject. I like how fast it is though, and after a few goes just snapping random objects I started to understand how not to use it if that makes any sense?

I'm very concious of not going wild with the equipment this time. I did that a few years ago when I had a 450D and ended up with lenses and loads of kit I never used or to be honest bought with much idea what I wanted them for. So far I have a camera, a kit lens, a spare battery, and a memory card :thumbs: I intend to do what you say and just try and exhaust each thing I buy before getting something else. I'd like the zoom as I get a lot of birds in the garden which I love watching, but apart from that I'm just wanting to relearn all the things I've forgotten.
 
Decided to leave the local 55-250mm as I just realised it's only £6 cheaper than it is brand new on Amazon.

Will just have to be patient and wait for my 60days of membership to elapse and get myself looking in the classifieds!
 
I know what your saying on a used lens I'd want more than a £6 saving over new.
 
The Canon 55-250IS is a belter of a lens and well worth an investment in. There is a mark II version out, which is virtually identical to the mark I - the differences are cosmetic and to help with manufactor, the optics, IS etc are the same...

I've had the 28-135IS lens on my 40D and really liked it, for me, it was an ideal walk about lens and I was very pleased with it - so certainly worth a look at

Hope you enjoy your 40D, it's a belter of a body
 
andyred said:
The Canon 55-250IS is a belter of a lens and well worth an investment in. There is a mark II version out, which is virtually identical to the mark I - the differences are cosmetic and to help with manufactor, the optics, IS etc are the same...

I've had the 28-135IS lens on my 40D and really liked it, for me, it was an ideal walk about lens and I was very pleased with it - so certainly worth a look at

Hope you enjoy your 40D, it's a belter of a body
Click to expand...

I absolutely love the 40D, compared with my old 450D the controls are so well thought out and easy to access! Not saying the 450D was bad, but I love the extra buttons and the big control wheel on the back is just such a good step up. Love that everything is just there on the camera and so well laid out.

I did end up buying that 55-250mm. It's the older version but is in mint condition... the lady selling it got back to me on eBay (I was cheekily asking to buy it now...) and after the first small drop in price, she offered it to me for £100. Couldn't argue with that at all so picked it up tonight :clap:

I really fancy the 28-135, my friend has one and I had a go with it the other night and was really impressed. I can defo see myself getting one, one day. However I think my next, and last purchase, will be a 50mm. I really don't want to give this one he let me borrow, back! But for now I want to just get stuck in with the two (modest) starter lenses I have bought.
 
I bought my 55-250 IS off the forum here for £110 and to be honest I couldn't tell it from a brand new one. Great lens, that's why it's been on the 550D pretty much all the time the wife was using it. I should get my 5D3 either tomorrow or monday so I'm sure she'll claim the 550D back with the 2 lenses again. Was wondering whether to look for a 40D as a spare body, but might just go for a 50 or 60D instead.
 
bloater said:
I know what your saying on a used lens I'd want more than a £6 saving over new.
Click to expand...

I have been watching out for a good deal on an used lens for about a month in a half but everything I find only has a small discount, not enough to justify buying second hand. I guess the bright side is that if I ever decide to sell a lens I wont take much of a loss. Actually now that I think of it, I should not be to worried about making the investment on a new lens because it would be basically like renting it if I sold it later. Lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top