How do I know which non-canon lenses will fit on my canon camera?

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stellarbeam

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I'm looking to buy a new lens. Something that covers the 18-200mm so I don't have to keep swaping the 2 lenses I have. I don't know which lenses will fit on my EOS400D when they are not canon brand lenses. I know some sites will list which cameras lenses are compatible with, but not all (I may be visiting ebay also)

Any tips on which lenses to take a look at would be much appreciated, as well as the ones to steer clear of. I don't really know how much I'm prepared to spend as I have no idea what price these start at. I guess I was hoping I could get something for under £200, ideally under £150. I don't mind buying second hand.
 
Any lens with a Canon EF or EF-S mount will fit on a 400D.

The Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5 IS is a good one, around £200. Built well and has good image quality. Great value for money.
 
If they are not Canon lenses (ie they're Sigma, Tamron, Tokina etc) they (if they are Canon fit!) will be marked as Canon AF or Canon EOS fitting. If you're not sure, don't buy the lens, especially if the seller isn't sure either. Best bet is to buy from a bricks'n'mortar shop and take your camera along to make 100% sure it fits and works on your body. If you're buying from a dealer via the 'phone, specifically ask if it'll work on your camera - if it doesn't, you can then send it back as unfit for use.

Happy shopping!
 
Thank you. I feel at least I now know what I'm looking for, in ways of what will fit. I think I'm going to have to compromise maybe on what I want from my lens. I borrowed a lens off a colleague once (no idea what it was) and that had image stabiliser, which made a huge difference. I'd also like something faster than f3.5 as I shoot in dark clubs/gigs. I realise I'm not going to get the zoom I want with anything faster than 3.5 for the money that I have. But I figure at least with image stabiliser I can shoot at slighty lower shutter speeds, which will be helpfull.
 
8utters said:
Who do you work for when shooting in clubs?
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No one really. I photograph at a metal night in Manchester for the promoters of the night. I don't get paid but it builds up good experience and gets me out of the house.
 
not all EF lenses will work on canon digital cameras, I have some old sigma lenses and while they fit all I got was error 99, only did it with these lenses, something to do with the chip set, some can be re-chipped by sigma, some can't
 
stellarbeam said:
No one really. I photograph at a metal night in Manchester for the promoters of the night. I don't get paid but it builds up good experience and gets me out of the house.
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Yeah noone gets paid for nightlife photography. I used to work for fotoparty.co.uk and get paid £10 per venue (basically £10 per hour) which was pretty good.

Which club is that metal night?
 
stellarbeam said:
I'm looking to buy a new lens. Something that covers the 18-200mm so I don't have to keep swaping the 2 lenses I have.
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stellarbeam said:
I borrowed a lens off a colleague once (no idea what it was) and that had image stabiliser, which made a huge difference.
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Sounds like you might want to look at the Sigma 18-200mm OS. It's about £300 new, but if you can pick one up second-hand it should be around your budget range.

I have the older non-OS version of this lens and it lives on my 350D when I don't have a need for anything more specialised (which is most of the time). It's a good all-rounder, though a bit soft towards 200mm and of course not very fast. By brother-in-law has the OS version on his 400D and it's all round a better lens: better build quality and better optical quality.
 
they are never going to be fast lenses but i would love that range at a constant fstop but that would make it rather heavy.
 
For low light, I would say get a 50mm - either the f/1.8 version or even the f/1.4 (the f/1.2 is probably a bit overkill!) for their low light capabilities. It won't be a zoom but it will get you pictures with way less subject motion blur than any of the 18-200 options.
 
I might be selling my Canon fit Tamron 18-200mm soon, if you're interested??
 
Nod said:
For low light, I would say get a 50mm - either the f/1.8 version or even the f/1.4 (the f/1.2 is probably a bit overkill!) for their low light capabilities. It won't be a zoom but it will get you pictures with way less subject motion blur than any of the 18-200 options.
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Although I know a 50mm lens would give be better quality I find myself shooting at a lot of bands instores (just for my own enjoyment) and you are literally about 2 or 3 feet for the band so I find myself using the 18mm end a lot. I also find myself using the 200mm end of my other lens a lot for close ups.

Candlestick - PM me the details when you come to selling it. If I've got something before you PM me I'll let you know.

StewartR - I'll have a look at that one on the net.

8utters - It's a night called Postmortem at Club Pheonix (by the RNCM)
 
I'm seriously considering getting the Sigma 18-200mm OS lens.

I've found it for £248 (free delivery or an extra £5 if I want it via FedEx)

The company is based in Hong Kong though, which makes me nervous. The site is:

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=419{5**28{7**65

It looks decent enough, but would have felt happier buying from the UK, however that would prob then cost an extra £50.

Anyone had any experience with the above site?
 
One Stop Digital are a pretty sound company. See this thread[/b/] for some feedback on them.

But Sigma UK don't honour warranties on "grey imports" (ie items which have not been brought into the country by official importers). If anything went wrong you'd need to send it back to Hong Kong. Sigma UK also offer a free 3-year warranty, which you won't get from HK.
 
StewartR said:
One Stop Digital are a pretty sound company. See this thread[/b/] for some feedback on them.

But Sigma UK don't honour warranties on "grey imports" (ie items which have not been brought into the country by official importers). If anything went wrong you'd need to send it back to Hong Kong. Sigma UK also offer a free 3-year warranty, which you won't get from HK.
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I think it'll be worth me forking out the extra cash to buy it from the UK then.

*EDIT*I found it for £274 on what I thought was a UK site but just realised that is Hong Kong as well. The cheapest I've seen so far which is definately UK is £294. More than I can really afford. Not sure what to do now! :shrug:
 
stellarbeam said:
I'm seriously considering getting the Sigma 18-200mm OS lens.

I've found it for £248 (free delivery or an extra £5 if I want it via FedEx)

The company is based in Hong Kong though, which makes me nervous. The site is:

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=419{5**28{7**65

It looks decent enough, but would have felt happier buying from the UK, however that would prob then cost an extra £50.

Anyone had any experience with the above site?
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I've just been looking at this again and am really confused by this bit:

"It provides the equivalent focal range of approx. 29-320mm when used with a Canon digital SLR camera."

How does the focal range change when put on a canon?

I wish I understood the technical side of photography, and it's equitment:shake:
 
Lenses are marketed in the equivalent focal length of a standard 35mm camera. If you put this lens on a 35mm camera the focal length will be 18-200mm.

When the same lens is put on a camera where the image sensor is less than that of a 35mm slide or negative (these are sometimes called crop cameras - e.g. Canon 350d; 400d; 450d; 10d; 20d; 30d; 40d), the effective focal length increases by a factor of 1.6 (on a canon), different on other makes. Making the "effective" focal length 29-320mm.

The price quoted is not that competitive when VAT and import duty are added. Check out warehouse express.
 
It is very common for any goods sold from outside the UK to be quoted excluding VAT and import duty. If the cost is under £18, there is no charge (I assume because it costs more to process the payments) - not sure if that rule applies to both VAT and duty.

Over £18, you should pay 17.5% VAT on camera equipment + an import duty rate. Finding out the duty rates is very hard, although there is a number you can call at the customs office to ask - I never have so I do not know what their service is like.
 
stellarbeam said:
Thank you. I figure all my lenses will be doing the same thing so that's ok.

I thought the price quoted was the final price :( I'll have a nosey at warehouse express.

EDIT: http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/faqs.php The FAQ page says you can claim back any VAT / Import Duty that you may (or may not) be charged for.
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You might be right - One-stop digitals' FAQ's offer a VAT refund policy (http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/faqs.php). You have to pay the UK VAT then ask One-stop for a re-fund. I guess the worst that can happen is you pay a similar price to warehouse express. Best is £50 cheaper.

If you give it a go, let us know your experience.
 
8utters said:
Yeah noone gets paid for nightlife photography. I used to work for fotoparty.co.uk and get paid £10 per venue (basically £10 per hour) which was pretty good.
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Erm, I get paid for nightclub photography! Have been doing for over a year. Not through working for a website though, I started as a clubber and got to know people that way. Then when I fell in love with photography and combined it with a love for clubbing, the promoters were all asking how much I charge.

Oh and I'm with Stellarbeam, while the 50mm is a lovely lens, it's almost useless for nightclub work. I use the kit lens and 15mm fisheye.. eyeing up a replacement for the kit lens but there's no rush, it's doing rather well at the moment.
 
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