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 ).

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 !

[No Control]

That's how it is in our world.

But at least we have the good photos.

[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.

[BBPhoto]

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 ).

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?