Please advise on lens kit for Canon EOS 650D? Novice to photography.

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Nick_593

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Hello everyone.

I have just purchased a DSLR for the first time (the Canon EOS 650D) and it's great!!.

The camera has come with a standard lens (18-55mm), which I have enjoyed playing around with today, as its my first DSLR.
However I am already seeing how necessary a range of different lenses are!!

Could people please help me out and give advice on what the best (budget) lenses might be for my use??.

My main, and first ambition is to use the camera for wildlife photograph.

However I also want to use the camera for;
-Landscape photography (possibly incorporating starscapes into a time-lapse shoot of some mountains at sun-set. no idea how starscapes work with these cameras!).
- And videos (I watched a vid on YouTube earlier, stating that I don't have the right lens for video?).

*I have to point out that I am on a very tight budget right now, and the best lens for value for money is my top priority. But the lens kit and camera is all going to be a long term investment so I'm open minded.

If someone could give me some lens recommendations based on criteria above, that would be great.

Thanks a lot!!

Nick
 
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Hi Nick,

Best value for money lens is the canon 50mm f1.8 and is a good choice for portraits on a crop sensor. It won't help you with landscapes much and definitely not for distance work. I don't know what you can get cheap for that. If it helps, I replaced the kit lens on my 450d with a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which is good value for money too IMHO.
Hope this helps

J
 
For everything you want to do, you can do with your kit lens. If I was you I would figure out how to do everything you want to do and just experiment. Getting a better lens won't necessarily make your pictures any better unless you know what you are doing.

Ben
 
You might have been better off getting the 18-135STM kit lens option for a little bit extra instead of the 18-55mm but I guess it's a little late now :) hehe

I recently got a Canon 70-200mm F4L lens and even though it's the longest lens I have I think it's still short for wildlife and you definitely need a tripod to get reliable/sharp shots.

If you're interested in wildlife stuff then you'll need a lens with as long a reach as possible it seems!

I did use a friend's EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 USM shortly after I first got the camera. Those are pretty cheap and as long as there's good light you can get some half decent shots :)



Airbourne-9 by Phal44, on Flickr


Airbourne-22 by Phal44, on Flickr
 
For wildlife the Tamron SP 70-300 VR, its superb for landscape well you could always go for the tamron SP 17-50 F2.8 VR again another cracking lens.
 
I'd stick with the kit lens for now and get a telephoto to go along with it. That way you've got most of the bases covered and can look at what 'upgrades' may or may not be required once you've got more experience of your camera and how you use it / what you need from your lenses.

As budget seems to be a big concern I'd suggest a canon 55-250 for under £170 or if you're able to stretch to closer to £300 than a Tamron 70-300VC (I have the tamron lens). It could be a good idea to add the nifty fifty (canon 50mm 1.8) as well to give you something more capable in low light.

The new STM lenses are good for video as they've got quieter focus so less noise intrudes into the recording.
 
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I wouldn't really recommend the STM lenses for video. Yes they can (kind of) autofocus but for anyone serious about the video capability manual focus is the way to go.

I really don't see why people hype up the 650D as a video camera, I'd rather shoot with a 600D if I'm doing video.
 
lolage said:
I wouldn't really recommend the STM lenses for video. Yes they can (kind of) autofocus but for anyone serious about the video capability manual focus is the way to go.

I really don't see why people hype up the 650D as a video camera, I'd rather shoot with a 600D if I'm doing video.
Click to expand...


Yes, if you want to get serious about video then you'd better start getting good at manual focus and you'd better start modifying your camera to make this easier. You'll also need an external mic.

If you just want to have a still camera with video capability then I'd take a 650d with the 18-135mm STM lens. It has IS to get rid of some of the shake and the STM won't fill the onboard mic with random motor noises. It's not perfect but about as good as you're going to get at the moment from DSLRs.
 
Main criteria of wildlife but on a low budget leads me to agree with recommendation of 55-250 as they can be had for around £100 used.
It is a very good lens for the money and yes there are better lenses (longer and better IQ) but not for a very tight budget.
 
Thanks for advice guys. Huge help on picking out a new lens.!! :)
 
Hi guys,

Starting up this thread again as I went into my local camera shop on Saturday, and today, and I've been advised on two different lenses.
*The lens will mostly be used for wildlife photography.

I was initially advised the Tamron 70-300 lens. However today another guy advised the Tamron 18-270 lens. I currently own a Canon 18-55mm kit lens.

The reason for the Tamron 18-270 was that I can use this lens instead of the kit lens I have (canon 18-55 lens that came with the camera), and I wont need to change lens if something pops up close to me that I want to get a picture of.
However the 18-270 doesn't quite give the scope of the 300

I'm kind of edging towards the 270mm. I tried the two lenses out outside the shop and there is a noticeable difference in the extra 30mm on the 300, so I'm torn.
But I can trade in my 18-55mm kit lens for a discount on the 18-270mm.


1) Firstly, could someone please offer some advice/ recommend which lens I should go for?


2) Second, how much could I get to trade in my kit lens (canon 18-55mm) second hand. Its hardly been used (bought the camera 4 days ago)? I was told I can trade in my kit lens if I was to go for the 18-270mm.

Any advice would be a huge help!

Cheers
 
If the lens is mostly for wildlife photography then I'd suggest getting the longest you can, in this case the 70-300VC. The 18-270 is a super zoom that is more of a compromise than the 70-300VC.

If you'd said you were doing a lot of travelling and wanted a very convenient general usage, on the camera most of the time lens then I'd have suggested the 18-270. :).

I doubt you'd get much trade in value for the kit lens, but it's a long time since I had one (got one with a 300d a long time ago now).
 
The 18-270 isnt as sharp as the SP70-300 VC.... its more of an all round lens .. I would make do with the kit lens... grab a 70-300 VC and then later maybe pick up a 17-50 Tamron to replace the kit lens..
 
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