Need Advice on 1st Lense Purchase

[niki]

Dear all,

juz got a canon350d last weekend. very excited to take shots.. but.. the kit lense..CMI. CMI in the sense that the zoom power is simply not enough. I'm into nature photography and getting 'close' to the objects/subjects is what i desire.

For shots covering scenery, i think my kit lens will suffice (for now...haha).

My questions:
1. Any recommendations on the lens to fit my requirements? i have been reading about Canon's EF 70-300mm (i think outta my budget), EF 75-300mm series, the Sigma 70-300mm and sigma 18-200 (or isit 300)mm. Considering that i am willing to spend around the budget of $500 or less.

2. 2nd hand or New?

3. Strange that when i got my canon A70 in the past, these digi cams get more expensive as the zoom capabilities increase, but for SLRs, they are cheaper in general?

I need the veterans' advice before i commit myself to a purchase. Thank you in advance for reading! :sweatsm:

 

[ortega]

you are not looking at the expensive range.

big lens cost big money

 

[solarii]

1) The Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro is a good lens to start with. Around S$300.

2) Your choice really. Though at $300 it won't be too expensive to buy new. Even if you don't like it you can sell it off without too much loss. Other lenses different story. Depends really on whether or not you can find what you want on the 2nd hand market.

3) Not true. Telephoto lens like 500mm or even 1200mm cost a small fortune. But yes wide angles are also pretty costly. Generally the price goes up when you approach the extremes...wide or tele. Quality of the lens also matters a lot.

 

[niki]

thanks solarii..

u have more or less helped me decide what to get.

 

[espn]

Get the 500 f/4L. MTL.

 

[niki]

espn, i see 'L'.. :nono:

if i get...my year end bonus all gone... cannot.. MTL to poison me isit.. :cry:

 

[NE clicks clicks]

Since you,ve already more or less decided on the tele lens you will by, I will only say something on the 3rd question that you've in mind.

The reason why DSLR are getting cheaper day by day while other type of d.camera are getting more expensive because, camera manufacturer can earn more profit thru selling DSLR as buying one would means future purchase of lens, flashgun,.... are most likely to occur. Also because many DSLR users are brand loyal, hence they would not switch brand easily. By switching brand would result in a big lost as one would have to sell off most of their stuff at a cut price to accomodate the purchase of a new brand. Whereas other d. camera are basically a one off purchase with the exception of some high range EVF cameras.
Hence in long term, enticing buyer to go for DSLR definitely make more $ sense.

 

[Virgo]

I'd like to suggest you to start taking pictures with your kit lens first, to find out more on your likes and dislikes, before deciding on what you REALLY need. At the same time, start saving up for the lens later, which may be expensive.

A lot of us down here just go get it, without knowing what they want. Later they found that their lens landed up in the buy and sell section here!

Start shooting lots, decide on what you want, and then zoom in!

 

[espn]

espn, i see 'L'.. :nono:

if i get...my year end bonus all gone... cannot.. MTL to poison me isit.. :cry:

Heehee... I'm always evil... you know you want the 500 f/4L.

MTL. BUY BUY BUY!!!

 

[niki]

thanks virgo for ur advice.. i have been shooting..

espn.. u :devil:

 

[fWord]

Don't want to rub it in here, but as others have said, do take more time to shoot with the kit lens first and then decide how often you actually need the added zoom. It is not surprising for shooting habits to change quickly over just a few months of shooting. It is possible that you may want to go completely wide angle in the future.

In the past I found the tele end of the kit lens to be inadequate as well, and even studied my photos to find that I hardly shot any photos at a focal length of less than 28mm. So I got myself a telezoom.

Now I'm shooting plenty of photographs at 18mm, the minimum that the kit lens offers, and my telezoom is much less utilized than I would have otherwise hoped for. The kit lens covers as much as 98% of the shots for me. But, I do not regret purchasing a telezoom. For the odd occasions when I needed to load it up and use it, it's been a real saver to have!

 

[niki]

fword, thanks!

for myself, i wanna get more powerful zoom capabilities to supplement my teaching resources. especially so, during field trips where theres so much interesting things to capture, but limited by my zoom. tats for my A70 in the past. Nonetheless, thanks ya? eventually, i may still wanna get a wide angle lens, but not for now.. hahah...

 

[fWord]

Indeed, we should take it one step at a time. Best wishes!

 

[infusia]

Sorry OT abit...

can someone point out the difference btn Sigma 70-300 APO DG Macro and Sigma 28-300 DG Macro? wats the APO?

eh.. don't tell me the diff is 1 is 300mm 1 is 200mm.. i know

 

[Horsba85]

APO is some feature that has low dispersion. they put it in there for those lenses which have lesser CA. the 28-300 i think doesn't have IF. both have different range of apertures?

 

[infusia]

eh... CA? IF?

 

[solarii]

CA = chromatic aberration
Basically its a distortion of the colour in an image. Do a search to see sample pictures to understand it better, though all you really need to know is that CA is bad.

IF= inner focus
Means that the length of the lens doesn't change during focusing. Instead elements within the lens shift to achieve focus.

 

[infusia]

wah chim... dun quite understand...
can i say that the sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro is better than the sigma 28-300 DG macro??
i'm having the D50 kit lens... wanted to get a telephoto lens. the nikkor 55-200 has got some bad reviews so i skipped it... so left this 2 choice... like i've asked before, is it important to cover the missing in the 55-70 range if i were to get the 70-300?? :S

 

[espn]

wah chim... dun quite understand...
can i say that the sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro is better than the sigma 28-300 DG macro??
i'm having the D50 kit lens... wanted to get a telephoto lens. the nikkor 55-200 has got some bad reviews so i skipped it... so left this 2 choice... like i've asked before, is it important to cover the missing in the 55-70 range if i were to get the 70-300?? :S

Buy 70-200VR.

 

[infusia]

ARGH!!! U AGAIN!!!
i oni wan either both!! not a VR!!!
VR = pocket killer!!!