Lens recommendations for 550d

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Canonized

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A very good afternoon to all you fellow TP users.

I am totally new on here so please be gentle :)

I need some help/advice please.

I've just purchased and EOS 550d (body only). Research told me that the standard 18-55 IS kit lens was not very good so I stuck with the body only which I managed to get at a very good price.

I now need to buy some lenses so was hoping that you lovely people may be able to give me some advice on this front. So far, my research tells me the "nifty fifty" lens is a must have. I do a lot of travelling and am looking to take photos of portraits, landscapes, buildings etc. whilst getting used to the camera. I am also hoping to do a photography course at the London School of Photography or similar at some point in the near future.

I am new to the world of DSLR Photography and plan to keep the 550D for a couple of years at least whilst getting experience. I hope eventually to get good enough to take up wedding photography but realise and appreciate that lenses and body will most probably have to be upgraded at that stage.

I am open to buy other makes such as Tamron and Sigma and am not stuck to Canon. I am ok to look at quality used equipment if it is of the right quality. I would like some good quality lenses so that I don't have to upgrade for a while. Price/value is important, although I prefer a little higher quality. Budget is probably around £600.

I have done some research and this tells me that a lot of people have gone for the following combination:

1. Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Non VC or the Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 OS
2. Canon 50mm f/1.8
3. Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

As I said, I am open to all suggestions as I find that the best advice comes from experts like yourselves :)

I would really appreciate it if you could give me some suggestions in order of opinion.

Thank you in advance for any help/advice/suggestions that you may be able to offer me. :thumbs:
 
On £600 I'd go Tamron 17-50 non VC, Canon 70-200 F4 L second hand and possibly a nifty 50 (but that would be my 3rd choice of lens).

Alternatively Canon 15-85 IS as a general purpose lens (it stays on our 7D almost permanently).
 
I've got the same camera, and I got the kit lens with it. While it's definitely not the best lens around, I certainly think it's good enough for most people starting their hobby (like me). Camera equipment tends not to lose it's value too quickly so if you got it, you could always sell it if you feel you've outgrown it, and not lose too much money.

Still, the other lenses you've mentioned are fine. I own both of them, and find they are both excellent value lenses, while punching above their price in terms of image quality. There are better lenses out there, but you'll start paying lots of money to get them.
 
The canon 17-55mm 2.8 is a very good choice with the same focal lenth as the kit lens
 
romeo21 said:
The canon 17-55mm 2.8 is a very good choice with the same focal lenth as the kit lens
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Indeed, but will blow your whole budget, and some!

Those three you have already identified would be a very good starting set and would cover most situations.
 
Thank you for your reply Paul.

I just wanted to know if there was a better combination of lenses out there within my budget but it seems like my research has gone well!:)
 
Canonized said:
Research told me that the standard 18-55 IS kit lens was not very good so I stuck with the body only which I managed to get at a very good price.
Click to expand...

Not much good for you now seeing as you've bought it, but as a note for other people doing research: I bought the Canon 550D with the 18-55 IS kit lens and can see no problems with it. It's not the highest quality lens, but it does a good job at what it was designed to do, namely be a lens you can walk around with and use for a wide range of photos.
 
For the price I paid for the body alone, I could still purchase the kits lens and have money left over versus buying the body + kit package.

With the money I have saved, my research showed that i could buy a better lens, hence why I am looking for advice and thankfully, all you good hearted peoepl out there have been very informative thus far.
 
Get the Tamron or Sigma and a 50mm if you can afford it. You wont be disappointed
 
Thanks for your reply Harlequin.

Im stuck between the Tamron and Sigma...The Tamron seems to be more popular and has better reviews as a result. The Sigma, whilst having less reviews, alo has good reviews.

The Canon 50mm seems to be what almost everyone is advising to buy so I think thats def got the tick from me.
 
another vote for the 50.
Get one and play then decide if you want to go wider of closer
 
Research told me that the standard 18-55 IS kit lens was not very good
Click to expand...

The 55-250 you intend buying is exactly the same quality (pretty good actually) and you might have been better off starting with the kit lenses then decide what you want.

Buy once and buy right will save you a lot of cash in the long run, maybe bear that in mind when you come to purchase a tripod and bag, two more easy ways to buy the wrong item
 
At the risk of repeating myself, I'd get the 70-200F4L instead of the 55-250 and delay the purchase of the nifty 50. Personally, I hardly ever use the nifty unless I'm in low light and really struggling for shutter speed (times I've used it most have been for flashless indoor photography of people). If you get the Tamron, you are only missing one and a bit stops of light with that wide open vs the zoom lens at 50mm. This isn't a lot really...
 
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