New to photography

[leon_p]

Hello everyone. Photography has been a dream of mine for a few years now, and finally got the cash and determination to buy myself a camera.

Bought the Canon 450D with the lens kit on Monday with a very nice Manfrotto tripod. Also bought a book to get me started. I also have enough money to buy a nice new lens (I am considering the Canon EF 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 IS USM Stabiliser lens), but still looking into what exactly I need.

The reason for this post is to introduce myself to the forum. Gonna visit this forum frequently from now on, so hopefully I'll meet some great people here with who I can go on photo missions soon.

[Sean van Tonder]

Leon - welcome to ODP. You will learn a lot from this forum. If you want to know about lenses - search the forum - there is a load of info on this topic. I guess it all depends on what you want to shoot at the end of the day. Again welcome.

[Pine]

Welcome to the addiction and enjoy the ride.

[kappaj]

Welcome - enjoy your photography and all the help and info available here.

[Redhawk]

Hi Leon & welcome. Don't just go in & buy a lens, first look at what your needs are, then discuss them here & then make a decision on what to buy. If you want a bit more range maybe look at the 70-200F4L, this is a brilliant lens at a reasonable price. I case you don't know, any of the Canon lenses which end with 'L' are their PRO lenses with better quality construction & better quality glass.

[gbl]

Hello everyone. Photography has been a dream of mine for a few years now, and finally got the cash and determination to buy myself a camera.

Welcome. But realise something now, and right now: buying a camera requires restraint, not determination.

Bought the Canon 450D with the lens kit on Monday with a very nice Manfrotto tripod. Also bought a book to get me started. I also have enough money to buy a nice new lens (I am considering the Canon EF 70-300mm f4.0-5.6 IS USM Stabiliser lens), but still looking into what exactly I need.

As has been mentioned, figure out what your needs are, then start looking for a lens (lenses) to fulfil those needs. Very broadly speaking, portraits, landscapes, street, wildlife/birds, outdoor sports, indoor sports, macro, and weddings/events are the typical needs, and there's little overlap between the equipment used for each. So pick one (or two, three or four if you can afford it), and that will tell you what sorts of lenses you need to get.

>>Here<< is a good place to start learning about lenses and what they're used for. Enjoy.

Easy.

[Ryan Drummond]

Hey L P Welcome man.

[leon_p]

Hey guys, thanks for the welcome. Those L lenses are all above R10k when I checked em out? or am I wrong?

As what areas of photography I intend to move in...man I wish I was able to do everything, but I am very interested in portraits, street and macro. I would also use my camera for outdoor sports (such as rock climbing etc) but would use my camera there probably as I would use any point and shoot camera.

[gbl]

portraits, street and macro

Some lenses to have a look at then;
28mm f/1.8 - street
50mm f/1.4 - street and portrait
60mm f/2.8 - portrait and macro
85mm f/1.8 - portrait
100mm f/2.8 - portrait and macro

No zoom lenses there, primes are generally smaller and lighter (more discrete for street photography) and have larger apertures (nice for portrait). The best macro lenses are also primes.

[GroenHoender]

eish, gbl: some of those lenses you suggested for beginners, like leon_p, are expensive! rather suggest that they start off with a 50 f1.8II lens and such.

and leon_p: not all "L" lenses are over the R10k range. just shop cleverly. for example, the 17-40 L lens are for less than the R10k mark. or look for good 2ndhand bargains in the Classifieds section of the ODP.

and leon: didn't you get a kit lens with your 450D camera? if yes, play around a bit with it, experiment with the basics of photography and develop your skills.

oh, and by the way, welcome to the ODP - you will have lots of fun.

[leon_p]

didn't you get a kit lens with your 450D camera? if yes, play around a bit with it, experiment with the basics of photography and develop your skills.

I did. Its a 18-55mm EFS lens with stabilizer. What for is this lens best used for then?

[GroenHoender]

what's it good for? absolutely nothing... (oops, almost sounds like Jackie Chan! )

actually, nothing wrong with that 18-55 lens of yours. abit soft in some scenarios but a good all-rounder lens. it is all about your creativity with that lens.

if you compare it with the Canon 17-40 L lens, you will see that your kit lens almost equals it in terms of lens range but not quality-wise. the 17-40 L is known as a landscape lens but there are some of us who use that lens for artistic & creative shots too. it is all in how one use it, how one approaches a scenario, how one sees a potential shot.

or put it other way round: with the 18mm end of your kit lens, you can capture landscape stuff. with the 50 mm end, you can achieve portrait photos. turn the IS on and off at times, see how it performs in any shooting. "zoom" with your feet if the lens reach are that too short. you can also try to find its sweet spot (ie, at what focus length it has the best photo quality).

practice. with composition. with aperture, ISO and shutter-speed and learn how they all work in relation with each other (the "triangle of death").

just have fun first. buy new lenses later.

[Andries Oberholzer]

I did. Its a 18-55mm EFS lens with stabilizer. What for is this lens best used for then?

Seems this lens is much sharper then the original non-is kit lens.
Have a look here