Camera Lens Question

[DonnaV]

If anyone can help me with a question on getting the proper lens?

I did have a Canon AE1 with all the lens, telescopic, fisheye, etc.
My husband bought me the Canon Rebel XTI for christmas, mainly because I have arthrists in my wrists and this was a lighter camera for me, and he was thinking that all my lens would fit this camera.
No one told him when researching, that the camera design had changed and all my lens wouldn't fit the new style cameras. Not even all my filters fit.

I do have the Canon G6, cause I wanted to get into digital, but not the SLR route and was informed that the G6 at the time was the closest camera you could get before going to the SLR. I then opted for the Canon S5, more so for the higher digital Mega Pixel and the much better Optical Zoom. I am hooked...

I want a better lens, for this Rebel, and I am so out of touch with what is out there, that I am totally lost.
I don't take pictures of birds or wildlife, I like scenery pics and people. I am finding that the sales clerks are trying to push towards the extreme. Also something about a stabilizer in some of the Canon lens???

Any help with this delima would be oh so appreciated.

Donna

[Hemo2]

Hello Donna. There are many, many Canon lenses for the XTI camera. You can use either the "EF" or "EF-S" style lenses. Keep in mind, the EF-S lenses are for Canon D-SLR camera bodies that have a "crop" factor of 1.6. Your XTI has the 1.6 crop factor. The EF lenses will work on a crop body or a full frame style body. The 'image stabilizer' is a feature on some Canon lenses that will help 'stabilize' the image. The logic is that when you hold the camera, you have some level of "shake" in your hands and the stabilizer with eliminate that shake making your photo sharper. (It doesn't correct things if your subject is moving though. Only faster shutter speed or tracking will help that.) One final thing, the "L" lenses for Canon are their "pro" level lenses. That basically means they have a higher quality build and glass in them, but you pay a lot more for them. There are a lot of good non L lenses though.

Since you're looking for landscape and people photos, you probably don't need a lot of "reach" in the lens, but only you can answer if how long of a lens you're looking for. The first question is did your XTI come with a lens? If so, which lens did it come with? If it was purchased as the body only, then you might consider the new Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. It is the new 'kit' style lens for folks on a budget. But by all accounts it's actually a very good lens for the price and it does have image stabilization (IS) in it. You can read about it here:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Canon%2 ... rt--review

If you're looking for a lower light lens with a F2.8 aperture, then that changes things a bit. There's a few options, including higher priced Canon lenses or 3rd party lenses. I'm thinking the Canon 18-55 f3.5/5.6 IS lens should do fine outdoors and with people indoors using a flash. And with the image stabilization, if the people indoors aren't running around, it will probably do fine without the flash depending on how much light is available. I do swear by an external flash though as it seems to make a big difference. (For me anyway.) But the built in flash will get you by. I use the Canon 17-40 f/4L lens for indoor photos with a 430EX flash. I use a home made bounce card on the flash and put the camera in manual mode and set an aperture of about f5.6 with a shutter speed of around 1/125s and get great indoor photos of my kids.

A lot of folks like Tamron, Sigma, and Tokina lenses too.

I'd forget listening to the sales clerks unless you know them personally and instead post questions here and you'll get a lot better advice from these folks. You can see reviews of many lenses at the photozone sight (and others). The main photozone page is: http://www.photozone.de/all-tests
Some of the info can be a bit technical, but most is easily understood. There's also end user reviews at Fred Miranda's site of: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

Keith

[twodoor55]

Hi, I have a Canon Rebel - and I purchased a Canon IS lens. If you take a lot of pictues hand held this will help to stablize the image to reduce camera shake. I found when switching from film to digital camera shake is a lot more noticeble.

One thing to keep in mind with this lens, is that it does not do well for action shots, although there is the capability of turning the image stabelizer off.

AE1 - That is an older version of Canon is it not?

[DonnaV]

Thanks for the advice, it is extremely helpful and I will check out the sites...

I did forget to mention that I love taking pictures of my Border Collie...
Only problem is she never stops moving, we are beginning to train her for obstacle so I will be doing some fast action shots.
The one reason I liked my Canon G6 & the S5, not only could I control the ISO but when lazy I could use the Sports mode with the S5...

Also thanks to this site, I went out and purchased a mono-pod which is totally worth every penny.

Opppps.... Yes the camera came with a lens EF-S 18-55mm. So unable to do any closeups...

[gpsmikey]

Border collies and Shelties -- only two animals I know that will herd a
rock if they can't find something else to herd

Definitely go with a fast /continuous auto-focus

mikey

[Hemo2]

Donna, since your XTI came with the original 18-55 kit lens, I'd recommend using it for a short time first. You'll be able to figure out if the 18-55 range will suffice for what you want. If it is, then you have to determine if you want a much better version of lens in that range, and if so, then there is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS lens. It's quite expensive though, but you get the f2.8 aperture throughout the entire range of the lens, you get IS, and you get the USM (Ultra Sonic) focusing motor which is faster and usually quieter than the non-USM lenses.

If you want more reach than 55mm, then there are a variety of good options. For fast action shots, the IS isn't that much of a concern and shutter speed becomes more important.

You mention you can't do any closeups but you actually can focus very close with your 18-55 (around 1 foot) to take great candid portrait shots. However, it's not a true macro, and if that's what you want, then you have to look at macro lenses. Canon makes a 100mm f2.8 macro lens that has USM in it. You can do macros and use it as a portait lens, although 100mm is starting to get a bit long for portraits.

Keith

[JC]

Check out this site for lens review info:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

I went with one of the Tamron lenses and am pretty happy.

At any rate, they have some good reviews/feedback from people who have actually purchased the lens on which they are commenting.

Jeff

[gpsmikey]

You mention you can't do any closeups but you actually can focus very close with your 18-55 (around 1 foot) to take great candid portrait shots.
Keith

OK, Keith, how the heck do you take a "candid portrait shot" from 1 foot away ??????

mikey

[Hemo2]

Mikey, probably not the best choice of words to explain that the 18-55 can take candid portrait shots of people "or" focus close up if needed.

Keith

[DonnaV]

I would like to thank you all for your great advice.

I had my first class yesterday, it was a beginners class on the Rebel XTi and learnt sooooo very much.
Learning also the differences between the old 35mm lens and digital lens.

After talking separately to the instructor and explaining what I was looking for, for a beginner lens,
he suggested the Canon EF 75-300MM/4-5.6 USM II/III AF & the UV filter for the lens' protection.
This was after I had informed him that I would be willing to pay high prices for a lens.
His point then was a valid one to me. This is my first DSLR, I was just getting use to it.
Get use to the cameraand it's functions first, learn it and it's capabilities and it's shortcomings.
The same with the lens. Once I have somewhat mastered it, then go to the more challenging lens,
perhaps even advancing to a better DSLR camera.

His other valid point was, what if I realize I don't like the DSLR and want to go back to my
Canon G6 or Canon S5 (here he chuckled and added Point & Shot), which some people have done.
Why pay out the big bucks until I decide.

So thank you once again, and I hope I made the right choice.