Which First Lens To Buy?

[makinjosh]

Heys all,

I recently bought a Olympus E-510 which is a four thirds mount and it came with a 14-42 1:3.5-5.6. Any suggestions as to which is a good next lens to get? Preferbly a reasonably priced zoom lens. Was looking at the 18-180 sigma lens any good?

Appreciate the help!

 

[westwest2]

what range do you need? that will be the first lens to buy...

 

[scenar]

u will probably need the 300f2.8 Zuiko
Beautiful lens!

 

[bousozoku]

It depends on what you want to do with it.

If you want a do everything lens, the 18-180mm will do okay outdoors in good light. You should really look in the four-thirds forum to see more about it.

You may want the 40-150mm that was in the 2 lens kit or the 50-200mm, if you can afford it, but these lenses are for distant shots. Sigma has some smaller range lenses which are more affordable.

For wide shots, there isn't much affordable but the 11-22mm is a good lens with a limited range.

For macro shots, you could get the 35mm.

 

[makinjosh]

thanks guys appreciate the help i'm still pretty stuck in between buying a macro lens or an all round zoom lens i might buy both though lol.. what about flash? any recommendations or know where i could find 2nd hand flash at reasonable prices?

 

[makinjosh]

btw.. the 300 is waaaaay over my budget but thanx again =)

 

[scenar]

btw.. the 300 is waaaaay over my budget but thanx again =)

okok, I was just being irritating..

anyway, I'm not an oly user, but even for macro, hv an idea of what u would like to shoot. If it's plants and such, a wider macro would be enuff. for bugs and butterflies, the popular macros are ~100mm and longer, as this gives you more working distance.

 

[tunghk]

my take is to stick with your kit lens first.... Save $$ to get the 7-14mm if you are shooting mostly wide angle or the 50-200mm if you are more into tele. Of course for macro, you can get the 35mm or 50mm depend on your requirement and budget.....

As for flash, can stick with built in flash first. Get the FL-50 later if you think you really need one....

My principle is to get a good piece of equipment rather than settle for a compromise and later upgrade and the old equip will become a white elephant.... Of course, while in the process of saving $$, you can make use of this time to take more photo and understand the cam and lens better. You may eventually save some $$ on not getting something you do not need that often (like my 11-22mm wide angle zoom..... sigh)

my 2 cents...

 

[makinjosh]

ahh.. scenar thanx for the advice.. but after reading what tung said.. i think i shall continue experimenting with the kit lens.. but i might buy a flash first.. (for more experimenting with flash) instead of the lenses.. i need $$$ its a good thing i'm still a noob lol..

 

[bousozoku]

ahh.. scenar thanx for the advice.. but after reading what tung said.. i think i shall continue experimenting with the kit lens.. but i might buy a flash first.. (for more experimenting with flash) instead of the lenses.. i need $$$ its a good thing i'm still a noob lol..

There are too many flash choices and they depend on usage. I use the Olympus FL-50 but the Metz 58 AF-1 is newer and rated better. They're both rather expensive but considering the reach 50 and 58 metres, they do long distances quite well. The FL-36 doesn't reach as far and only uses two AA batteries so it's a little slower, lighter, and smaller.

For macro usage, the SRF-11 ring flash is great, except for the price. It's not only expensive, but if you want to use it with the 50mm macro lens, you also need an adapter. However, since the body you have has a built-in flash, you could probably use that until it doesn't do what you want.