Advice with regards to specific lens I need for Canon 550d, thanks

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larneylee

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lee
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Hi,

Thank goodness I found this forum and I hope someone might be able to steer me in the right direction. I have ear marked the Canon 550d camera to buy and I have been battling to come to grips with what lens, specific to my needs I should be looking at.

I have read so many pages on the net about lenses that I actually have confused myself. Anyways; the type of photography I will be shooting is as follows:

Landscapes and architecture, mostly close 25 feet up to maybe 50 feet-ish? so no major distances to zoom into. Photos of bands and people, relatively close and also around 15-20 feet away approximately. No doubt I would take some portrait pictures at some point and I understand that I would need a separate lens to facilitate this.

I appreciate I may have cover a fairly wide field of subjects but I do know I need a wide angle lens but again; just not sure where to start and what would be suitable for the Canon 550d. I am happy to buy second hand to get me started initially as I can see the prices are pretty steep and I may be looking at a couple of lenses.

Any help would be fantastic and really most appreciated!

Thanks
Lee
 
Tamron 17-50 f2.8 (£200-£300 SH) or Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS (£600ish SH) would both be great for your needs, although the Canon is probably a bit dear.
 
I'd agree with Chris on the Tamron 17-50mm but why not start with the kit lens if you're new to DSLR shooting, after all it won't add a lot to the body only price and I've sold our spare 18-55 IS lenses on fleabay for around £70 which might be the best thing to do when you grab a tammy
 
Budget will be key.

Having said that, getting the camera with one of the basic kit lens options is never a bad idea - they are such good value and you can sell it on if you need something different. The for sale forum on here is excellent - last thing I sold was gone within the hour.

You will probably get recommended any one of half a dozen options - all pretty similar, all good. Only you can really decide which one, preferably having used something for a bit so you know what it will do, what it won't, where you need to make changes, and either swap the lens or get an extra one.

You will get confused, the only thing to do is to have a go. Choosing lenses is a lifelong task - no lens does everything and you always want something else. It's a labour of love though.

Welcome to TP :)
 
If you buy just the body then I've got the kit lens sitting here looking for a good home.
 
anything from the current canon lens line up will fit the 550d

unless you're a millionaire don't ask people here for recommendations, they're all perfectionists and gear freaks and just love spending other peoples money! ;)

do not fall into the trap of the all-in-one super zoom purchase. Its a camera with interchangeable lenses because there is no such thing as one lens that does it all properly.

get the 18-55 IS kit lens with the camera, its a bargain as a kit purchase, it'll do most of what you want, not perfectly but quite well, and your technique and knowledge limitations will initially be more restricting than the lens

when you start to get the hang of it, your next buy is probably the "nifty fifty" a cheap as chips 50mm f/1.8, its a low build quality lens with above average (variably) optical performance for not a lot of money and will give you better low light capability, teach you more about depth of field, how to use your feet instead of the zoom ring, and hopefully make you think about composition. You may have to force yourself to use it as its harder work than the kit lens.

By then you'll have ideas about what to get next.
 
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