decent lens???

[fatrip]

hey guys i am wondring if the lens that comes with the reble xt the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens is any good for like walking around and group shots? What would be a good one for close up tank shots??

 

[sivert55]

good macro lens

good macro lens

Unless I'm mistaken, your Rebel XT has a 58mm ring like mine. So a great macro lens is the EF 100mm f/2.8 USM lens by Canon.

 

[jsenske]

Ditto that great macro lens. It's a must actually!

 

[jedininja]

The kit lens is fine for everyday shots. It will produce pics as better than most point and shoot cameras. But its not a great lens by any means. If you are looking for a lens that will give you spectacular shots that you can publish or sell, then you'll have to look for a different lens. But if you ust want a lens that will give you good shots of your family and friends for your photo albums, then the kit lens will do the job.

As for a tank lens to take macros, the most popular is the canon 100 macro that is mentioned above. Sigma and Tamron also make very sharp ones as well. I use the Sigma 105 Macro DX and its very nice. Only problen with it for tank shots is that its not internal focusing, so when you fcus on your tank, the lens extends which may be a problem if you have it right up to the glass. I dont really take tank pics, so no problem for me.

 

[fatrip]

sounds like a good lens...have to save up a lil for that one...lol...

 

[mike1962]

Just as an FYI, Canon has different qualities of lenses. To get really sharp, clean shots the pros all use Canon's L series lenses. They are quite pricey as you can imagine (e.g. Canon has a 135mm f2.0 L lens for $900) Most all of the L lenses have a red ring on the outer part of the lens which makes for quick ID to all of us who are keen on checking out such things.

 

[Blazer88]

I think the term "professional" is rather subjective, plenty of "pro's" will use non-L lenses. The 100mm F/2.8 is a well respected lense and used by many. You don't need L glass to get clean and sharp shots. The 135L is a great lense and budget in terms of price but I'm not really sure why you mentioned it. That lense has a minimum focusing distance is 3 feet which doesn't work well for tank photography and wouldn't even be considered next to the 100mm F/2.8.

 

[fatrip]

thank you for that tidbit blazzer...if i was goin to invest that much in a lense i would have to focus at like .2 feet...lol...but yes i am thinkin about either the 100mm or the 105mm...can you tell me if there is a down fall to either with tank photography???

 

[Blazer88]

I'm going to guess you are talking about the Sigma 105mm F/2.8 macro. That's a popular lense and should be plenty sharp. I don't personally own one but I don't think its an internal-focusing lense. That means the front element is going to rotate/extend as it focuses. I frequently place the lense directly to the front of the glass so that wouldn't work for me. I would also double check to make sure it has the HSM (their version of the USM focusing motor) for quick focusing. I just don't know if Sigma has come out with an updated version of the 105mm or not. It's a very capable lense but I would go the Canon EF 100mm route.

 

[fatrip]

now are you talking about the EF 100mm f/2.0 or f/2.8? it looks like the only difference between the 2 are the f stop and that the 2.8 is 1:1 mag as the 2.0 is 1:7.5, i am sort of new at this and i am trying to understand the difference. and this lense does have internal focus?

 

[jedininja]

For tank shots, you;ll want the 2.8. The 2.0 is a faster lens, but the 2.8 is true macro. 1:1 means that the size of the object you are photographing will be the same size on the sensor. !:7.5 means that the image will be 7.5 times smaller than the sensor. So the bigger the pic is on the sensor, the more macro you have. If all that makes sense.

 

[fatrip]

yes it does. thank you for explaining.

 

[Maxxumless]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10266003#post10266003 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Blazer88
I think the term "professional" is rather subjective, plenty of "pro's" will use non-L lenses. The 100mm F/2.8 is a well respected lense and used by many. You don't need L glass to get clean and sharp shots. The 135L is a great lense and budget in terms of price but I'm not really sure why you mentioned it. That lense has a minimum focusing distance is 3 feet which doesn't work well for tank photography and wouldn't even be considered next to the 100mm F/2.8.

“L” Just means luxury; typically more rugged, weather sealed and higher quality optics. Red rings are nice, but certainly agree they are not the end all of lenses.

 

[Maxxumless]

Re: decent lens???

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10218732#post10218732 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fatrip
hey guys i am wondring if the lens that comes with the reble xt the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens is any good for like walking around and group shots? What would be a good one for close up tank shots??

Here is a list of popular macro lenses...

Canon 60 f2.8
Canon 100 f2.8
Canon 180 f3.5
Sigma 50 f2.8
Sigma 105 f2.8
Sigma 150 f2.8
Sigma 180 f3.5
Tamron 90 f2.8
Tamron 180 f3.5
Tokina 100 f2.8
Canon MPE65
Canon 50mm f2.8 Macro / LS Converter

 

[mike1962]

Sorry Folks. I didn't mean to confuse things. All I really meant to say is that there are different choices of lens qualities out there by the same manufactures. It was meant to be informative, nothing else. Then I went and gave a bad example (wasn't thinking). My apologies to all.

Michael

 

[fatrip]

not a problem...i think i am liking the cannon 100mm..