Cannon rebel t2i beginners tips on what lens to buy?

[Caleb]

Hi im saving up money to buy a cannon rebel t2i what lens should i get with it? i dont know what lens to buy especially with the 1.6 times crop thing i want a lens thats a ef not ef-s so if i go to a full frame body i wont have to change lenses and i want a good wide angle and a decent zoom at the same time? any ideas on what lens to buy? or just give me some recomendations on lenses that you think a beginner should use to get to know how to work the camera first hopefully you can understand this


Thanks Caleb

[neuroanatomist]

Hi Caleb, and welcome to the TDP forums!


As you can imagine, this is a pretty common question, and one that really cannot be answered without more input from you. First off, your desire for, "...a lens thats a ef not ef-s so if i go to a full frame body i wont have to change lenses and i want a good wide angle and a decent zoom at the same time," cannot really be met. The 'standard' EF zooms (28-135mm, 24-105mm, 24-70mm) are not really wide angle on a T2i. The wide angle EF zooms (16-35mm, 17-40mm) are reasonably wide on the T2i, but not very long. That's one reason why there are EF-S lenses!


Some questions:


1. Is this your first dSLR?


2. Have you had a film SLR in the past?


3. What do you want to shoot? Family memories, sports, wildlife, landscapes, indoors vs. outdoors, etc.


4. What is your budget?


For example, if the answers to the first three are yes, no, and not sure/everything, then you may be best off just getting the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS that is commonly bundled with the T2i. It adds relatively little to the cost, and will give you a chance learn about your camera and what you want to shoot.


But let's see what you have to say about those questions, and we'll go from there...


--John

[Caleb]

1. YES


2. NO


3.Family ,sports ,wildlife


4. $1500 if cheaper thats great too! haha


Thanks Caleb

[TucsonTRD]

$1500 will get you the T2i with 18-55 kit and you can get the 70-200 f4L (non IS). That will put you right at your budget limit, but it will be a great combo to start with.


You

[Caleb]

wow that sounds like a good bundle thanks John and Braden

[Caleb]

im buying mine new off of amazon thanks

[peety3]

Hi im saving up money to buy a cannon rebel t2i what lens should i get with it? i dont know what lens to buy especially with the 1.6 times crop thing i want a lens thats a ef not ef-s so if i go to a full frame body i wont have to change lenses and i want a good wide angle and a decent zoom at the same time? any ideas on what lens to buy? or just give me some recomendations on lenses that you think a beginner should use to get to know how to work the camera first hopefully you can understand this

Read this first: http://www.lensrentals.com/news/2010.07.18/lenses-don-t-collect-the-whole-set


You're buying your first SLR and you're already worried about upgrading to your second camera? Are you worried about your tenth lens yet?


In my personal opinion, anyone who sells their first camera before they've bought their third camera is crazy and brave. Cameras aren't medical equipment: they aren't made to work 100% of the time. They will have occasional problems (both of our older cameras have), so having a backup is a good thing. Therefore, until you're ready to buy two full-frame cameras (i.e. what would likely be your third and fourth cameras, in my estimation), you will be fine with EF-S lenses.


My wife and I have four cameras: three are 1.6 crop, one is 1.3 crop. Our next lens purchase will be EF-S; our next camera purchase (though after five more lenses, I suspect) will be 1.3 crop. Only after we add a few more lenses do I see us adding a FF camera.


As a first lens, go with the kit 18-55 or perhaps the 18-200 (on Roger's suggestion). Add a tripod and medium flash, then do a 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 prime. Then decide what you need next.

[JJphoto]

As a first lens, go with the kit 18-55 or perhaps the 18-200 (on Roger's suggestion). Add a tripod and medium flash, then do a 50/1.8 or 85/1.8 prime. Then decide what you need next.

I can't agree more. the 85mm 1.8 will let you understand what is fast, sharp, DOF, bokeh..... for less than $400, don't forget hood and filter!


since you mentioned you will buy your T2i from Amazon, I believe they sell T2i with kit lens for $850, so why not get a refurbished 50D with or without kit lens for less than $900 from Adorama instead?

[Sheiky]

Offtopic: Sorry Salazar but out of all the pictures you uploaded only the last one (old camera) and the one with the fruit look "sharp". If you really think some of the others are exeptionally sharp, there's a problem somewhere and I would recommend to look close for it. This way you're not really promoting Ebay []


ON TOPIC!


Hi Caleb, welcome.


I would like to recommend some things for you. I would like to say start with the 18-55 kit lens ONLY. Use it for a while and see what your needs are. That's the best way you can decide what you really want. At least I think so and I do for a few reasons:


1 - You chose the T2i specifically. I guess you're also interested in shooting some video then. Else there would be other choices for that budget. When shooting video, you might want a specific lens or perhaps even some specific equipment. A tripod for instance could be nice...and a good one is not cheap.


2 - The "I'm going full-frame at some point" is not a good argument if you ask me. If it's in real close future I understand this argument, but not if you're just starting out. If you have to ask what lens is a good second lens....well let me point this out: the lens will behave totally different on a full frame camera. And since you're not really sure what you want now, how could you say what you'd like then?


3 - Perhaps you'll find yourself discovering a whole different kind of photography and you're not happy with your second lens. Perhaps you might be getting very interested in strobism, where you don't really need that second lens and you might have been better of by saving the cash for a flash, lightingmodifiers etc etc.


This is what I can think of in this short time. Don't get me wrong, the adviced 70-200 is a really really nice lens and I would recommend it to you if you were looking more specific. But for now, I say start easy and small. See what you like, see what your style is. Discover everything and then do this quest again. This could take some time, but it could also take less than a month...


That's my advice. For what it's worth, I wish you good luck and have fun whooting!


Jan

[dragonmojo]

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