beginner's lens for landscape? (for XTi)

[neoserenity333]

Hi,

I'm new to the world of DSLRs and just got a 400D. Wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a relatively inexpensive lens for shooting mostly landscapes? Sorry if I sound like an idiot, but I was looking at Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens mostly for its price. I guess I'm looking for something that will give me crisp detail throughout a big DoF, but that's under $200 (300 would really be pushing it for me right now :o).

Thanks so much in advance!

P.S. I do already have the 18-55 mm kit lens

[coldrain]

What do you mean with landscape?
To me, landscape means wide views that you want to record on photos... and for wide views you need a wide lens.

50mm, especially on an APS-C sensor size camera, is not wide at all.
On your XTi, it gives a resulting 35mm film focal length equivalent of 80mm.
That is suited for portraits, a lot less for landscapes.

So... You have an XTi/400D. You can see for yourself what the focal lengths mean... with the kitlens you have.
18mm is wide, 50mm is not wide.

So, what do you actually look for?

If you want wider than 18mm, you will have to pay more than $300.
If you want 50mm, you already have that in your kit lens...

[griptape]

Under $300 for a sharp lens that's wide angle is nothing more than a dream. Welcome to the world of SLR's. You've dropped a wad of cash on a body, now to get good pictures, it's time to drop 3 or 4 times that wad to get a good lens. That's how it is in our world.

[RebelRat]

Ummmm, for that money....keep it in your pocket and use the 18-55 @18mm. Take 5 or more steps backwards and click! :)

[Rooz]

Under $300 for a sharp lens that's wide angle is nothing more than a dream. Welcome to the world of SLR's. You've dropped a wad of cash on a body, now to get good pictures, it's time to drop 3 or 4 times that wad to get a good lens. That's how it is in our world.

lol what a pretty picture you just painted ! :p

[No Control]

That's how it is in our world.

But at least we have the good photos. :rolleyes:

[Speed2]

Yep he did Rooz and it is the truth. Shamefully a lot peeps don't take that into consideration when they buy their first dslr. With all the resources available to us nowadays its not a difficult task. And then theres the poor schmuck that buys all these expensive Lenses and then decides later to switch Manufacturers, now has to try to recoupe some money, another price we might have to pay. In other words u better know what ur getting into before u get started with a dslr. 300 bucks can buy u good lens but as said in here before NOT wide angle. Theres lots of sites that review lenses. Go look for them, fredmiranda comes to mind many others too. Play with ur kits lenses get to know ur camera save ur money, read here in the forums and yes ask questions. Small hint....lol don't come in here with a budget cause theres peeps in here that drop 6-7000 on a lens in a heartbeat.:D

[nqjudo]

There is a very cost effective option if you don't mind focusing manually. I was just talking about this in another thread actually. I have a hard time with it on the 400D because it has no split focusing screen. If you have good eyes and can be a little patient, it can work out really well for you. Using a tripod wouldn't hurt either.

You can buy a EOS to M42 adaptor for 15$. This will allow you to use M42 mount lenses on your camera but there is no auto focus function so that's where the manual focusing comes in. Metering is 'stop down metering', meaning that you stop down the lens to whatever f/stop you want and the camera will meter from the available light. I understand that there are newer adaptors that will give you AF confirmation but I can't speak of them from a user point of view.

There is literally tons of M42 mount glass out there that would fit well into your budget. I have bought some very nice M42 glass for as little as 10$ on Ebay. It really may be worth it to give this option a try. Everyone is right. You are not going to get a decent UWA lens within your budget. Not even used. If you don't like the M42 stuff, you can always dump it back on Ebay. Here's a pic that I took of my dog using a 12$ Lentar. It had just arrived and this was just a quick snap to see if it worked OK. It's got 9 aperture blades and it's tack sharp.

[Honest Gaza]

Hi,

I guess I'm looking for something that will give me crisp detail throughout a big DoF, but that's under $200 (300 would really be pushing it for me right now :o).

Thanks so much in advance!

P.S. I do already have the 18-55 mm kit lens

Are you aware what settings on the camera give you the "big DoF" you refer to ?

This is something you will need to understand in addition to your choice of lens.

[No Control]

There is a very cost effective option if you don't mind focusing manually. I was just talking about this in another thread actually. I have a hard time with it on the 400D because it has no split focusing screen. If you have good eyes and can be a little patient, it can work out really well for you. Using a tripod wouldn't hurt either.

You can buy a EOS to M42 adaptor for 15$. This will allow you to use M42 mount lenses on your camera but there is no auto focus function so that's where the manual focusing comes in. Metering is 'stop down metering', meaning that you stop down the lens to whatever f/stop you want and the camera will meter from the available light. I understand that there are newer adaptors that will give you AF confirmation but I can't speak of them from a user point of view.

There is literally tons of M42 mount glass out there that would fit well into your budget. I have bought some very nice M42 glass for as little as 10$ on Ebay. It really may be worth it to give this option a try. Everyone is right. You are not going to get a decent UWA lens within your budget. Not even used. If you don't like the M42 stuff, you can always dump it back on Ebay. Here's a pic that I took of my dog using a 12$ Lentar. It had just arrived and this was just a quick snap to see if it worked OK. It's got 9 aperture blades and it's tack sharp.

Are you aware if there is a Nikon>M42 adapter? :eek::)

[nqjudo]

Are you aware if there is a Nikon>M42 adapter? :eek::)

There is indeed.

[Gintaras]

neoser, i am a beginner too and i was into your situation sometime ago.
and that what i can recommend.

1) be patient, stick to your kit lens for some time and experiment with them. kit lens can take good pix when you stop it to F8 or higher F... unfortunately for low light tripoid will be a must. i also trashed kit lens in the beginning but after a while came back to kit lens and went on experimenting and i am glad i done so. After learning i can say kit lens can do good job if you know how to set your camera for that.

2) understand through learning which glass is for you. i for instance sold Sigma 17-70 together with filters because this was not for me. I figure Sigma made a nice attempt to put a lot into a single glass but you cannot have everything IMO.

3) of cheapo good lens i can recommend Canon 28-105/F3.5-4.5 II USM (keep in mind this is II USM, because there is another lens from Canon which is without II and this is a crap). 28-105 is equivalent to 44-168 on a 1.6 crop sensor like XTi's. another good cheapo you want to consider is 28-135/.5-5.6 IS (image stabilizer), i overlooked this when coming to 28-105 but then my lens is 100$ less that this one. however these two still will leave you wishing a wider angle lens.

4) believe it or not, but for everyone lens choice is often different and what can be good for someone might be not for you.

For myself i can tell after having rush for buying a new lens, i am glad i have not done so right away. because lens i consider today are different to what i was considering in the past.

and unfortunately good lens is never cheap, so prepare to invest if you want them.

third party lenses can be good solution but you need to get a good copy too, focusing with third party can be a problem, esp with Sigma while i hear more good words on Tamron and Tokina.

[coldrain]

Are you aware if there is a Nikon>M42 adapter? :eek::)
Be aware!

The Canon EOS range allows you to actually meter with the MF lenses, you set the aperture on the lens, and the camera meters with the light that goes through.

However, on a Nikon D40/D50/D70/D80 the camera refuses to meter! So you will have to get a light meter to figure out how to set the camera... not really an easy task.

The Nikon D200 and up do allow you to meter with older lenses.

[Gintaras]

and for cheapo you can always look up on Ebay for second hand lens.

as concerns landscape, my 28-105 is enough for me, but when i go to photograph in the city i wish i had a 17 or wider...:(

[Gintaras]

as concerns primes, what puzzles me is focal length on 1.6 which makes otherwise excellent 50mm a 80mm lens... and excellent 85 becomes ...hm...136mm. i am not a portrait shooter for this case while low light scape is more my case, so i am scratching my head quite a bit which prime can give me what i want.

[nqjudo]

Be aware!

The Canon EOS range allows you to actually meter with the MF lenses, you set the aperture on the lens, and the camera meters with the light that goes through.

However, on a Nikon D40/D50/D70/D80 the camera refuses to meter! So you will have to get a light meter to figure out how to set the camera... not really an easy task.

The Nikon D200 and up do allow you to meter with older lenses.

Thanks for pointing that out Coldy. I wasn't aware of that.

[Speed2]

One other thing I might want to mention in ur Lens search, is that you must remember also that you have a 1.6x Crop Factor dslr not 1.3x full frame. Also the ef-s lenses are designed for ur camera, they don't work with the full frame cameras good. I won't get into detail, u can read up on it. Point is when ur deciding on a lens make sure that this lens will work on ur camera well. I myself like to look at reviews from guys that have a 30d. Good Luck and be patient, unless ur rich enough to make mistakes...lol.

[Gintaras]

Speed2, do you think you ever go to full frame? my impression is 1.6 crop will be kept on prosumer cameras while i am NOT so rich to afford easily a FF monster... in which case AF-S lens fits perfectly both on 400D and 40D if I am not mistaken?

[Speed2]

Speed2, do you think you ever go to full frame? my impression is 1.6 crop will be kept on prosumer cameras while i am NOT so rich to afford easily a FF monster... in which case AF-S lens fits perfectly both on 400D and 40D if I am not mistaken?


Depends, on or if i win the Lotto...lol. Since i don't play, i can't see me spending the money. D30 D60 and 10D won't do the EF-S lenses. I should also add that i wouldn't want a canon FF anyways.
This hit and miss focus thing would drive me crazy. More over the fact that they have no Customer Service IMO. These guys spend what? 4-7000 on these babys.

[No Control]

Be aware!

The Canon EOS range allows you to actually meter with the MF lenses, you set the aperture on the lens, and the camera meters with the light that goes through.

However, on a Nikon D40/D50/D70/D80 the camera refuses to meter! So you will have to get a light meter to figure out how to set the camera... not really an easy task.

The Nikon D200 and up do allow you to meter with older lenses.

Ahh thanks a lot coldrain. Well I have had the opportunity to use light meters before when out doing nature stuff, so they're not too foreign to me. We'll see what happens once I get some extra cash.

[Gintaras]

D30 D60 and 10D won't do the EF-S lenses. I should also add that i wouldn't want a canon FF anyways.


what do you mean? if i am not mistaken 30D does EF-S lens, 40D as well. cannot grasp your point.

[Speed2]

what do you mean? if i am not mistaken 30D does EF-S lens, 40D as well. cannot grasp your point.

Ya ur right i'm sorry, i answered it wrong, i told u what doesn't work with ef-s lenses. 20d 30d 300d 350d and 400d will use ef-s lenses.