"im a beginner and i really want low light conditionswhat do you have to have on a lens for low light conditions?"





As stated above, the trade off for a low light, large aperture lens is DOF. Definitely not ideal for the group photo situation mentioned, but I'm going to assume that at this point, you may have realized this. So without adding to the debate of the trade-offs/ positives and negatives of owning a fast prime, I'm going to assume you have read some posts on this site (and some of the excellent reviews) and offer my two cents.


Lets face it, really good, fast primes are expensive. With you being a self proclaimed beginner I HIGHLY recommend the "nifty fifty". While it's not the 1.6 equivalent of a 50mm on your frame, it's more than worth the almost alarmingly low price tag. When I bought mine I was shooting a XT with the kit lens. I now have the EOS 7D sporting the 17-55 ef-s ($1,100) and the new Tamron 70--300mm VC ($450) and my 50mm ($99) still gets just as much play as the other two. Love that lens, especially for the price. My next purchases are leaning to a good macro and a really good ultra wide (thinking the sigma 8-16mm) with a super high quality fast prime still on the back burner. For my purposes, the Canon EF f/1.8 II is more than adequate.


Link for current price:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html


Review:http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.8-II-Lens-Review.aspx





You might decide you'd rather have a hotshoe flash of some sort, maybe a good ballhead tripod. IMHO,I say make this initial investment to decide if this type of lens matches your needs.





Picture of my daughter using the 1.8. Regrettably I didn't get the focus on her eye.


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Canon EOS Rebel XT -- F/1.8 1/40 sec. ISO-400; 50mm -- Handheld





Hope I helped.


-Rocco