Help me choose lenses for my new Canon digital rebel.

[royy]

I am looking into the macro lenses myself at this time. Fredmiranda.com seems to have good ratings for the Sigma macros if you want to go with a non Canon. The 150mm rates a 9.8 out of 10.

As far as an every day lens I can personally recomend the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8. Really sharp and a good zoom range. Great for family shots.

Roy

 

[cmhollis]

I have the 20D as well, and have the following:

18-55 kit lens - not great, but ok
70-200 f/2.8 - Awesome lens, around $1100 or so
580EX flash
Manfrotto 3021 Pro Tripod w/ 488RC2 ballhead

Next I hope to get the 100 f/2.8 macro, and the 17-40 f/4L. Maybe Santa will be good to me this year ;>

 

[louist]

What lense would be best for taking full tank shots? Would it be the Canon EF 17-40mm lense?

If you are the type of people that like to say things such as "buy once buy it right" or "you get what you paid for", then go for the 17-40 f4 L, great L lens at a great price. It's the most affordable L lens. I say those 2 things often to justify buying lots of expensive toys

What brands of compact flash memory cards do you recommend?

In terms of brand, you will heard varying comments against almost every company on the market. I had issues with Lexar and wasn't happy with their customer service. On the other hand I know people who had Sandisk and got burnt by their customer service. Stick with the pro-grade of either Lexar or Sandisk and you should be fine. The pro-grade are the Sandisk Ultra/Extreme and the Lexar Pro's.

For macro photography what type of tripod head should i get?

Go with a 3-way pan-n-tilt head, and a nice set of tripod legs that will reach your eye level (approx) without extending the center column.

 

[uC]

For my macro, I use ring lights and handheld. Very hard to work with a tripod on none stationary macro subjects. Using a flash allows you to work unencumbered. The downside is that ringlights and macro lens can be heavy and perhaps a monopod would be a useful tool though I do not use one.

 

[uC]

I do not subscribe to the buy once buy it right. I am deeply involved in photography and have been shooting for the last 40 years. Over times your needs and desires change, technology advances, and your finances hopefully improve. You should buy what you can afford and want now, as things change sell and buy the new appropriate tool. Lenses do not depreciate rapidly. I actually buy and sell on fredmiranda.com with at times buying a lens for a specific short project that I then sell when done (it is much cheaper than renting, in fact it often comes out a wash).

 

[uC]

Oh, I meant to give suggestion. For a 1.6 crop camera I would consider EF-S 17-85 as a good walk around lens. I would advise against L lenses until you get more advanced (how do I know you ain't there? When you get there you will no longer request such advice . Yes, L lenses are better, but won't make a difference in the hands of an unexperienced photographer.

 

[joefish]

& Tag.

 

[Automag928]

I just received the tamron 28-75 2.8 for my 350d, and I absolutely love it...It takes tack sharp pics, and for the price, is pretty difficult to beat without dropping some bucks on canon L glass.

 

[gpodio]

Like most have said, the 17-40 L is a great lens, it won't dissapoint anyone and it's one of the few L lenses that are affordable and well worth the money. The 70-200 L f4 is another well priced L lens... I don't use it enough to justify the cost of the f2.8 version.

Another lens of interest is the Sigma 18-50mm F2.8, I've had one for a couple months now and it's actually staying on the camera more so than the 17-40.... results are similar and the f2.8 was the main reason for trying this lens. Plus it's so compact compared to other 2.8 lenses. Worth considering if 2.8 is important to you.

The 100mm f2.8 macro is a nice lens too, I don't think I pull mine out as often as I should. I really only use it as a macro lens.

And the 50mm f1.8 is hard to pass up for the money. I've used it for several full tank shots. It's cheap, fast and sharp...

The kit 18-55 that came with my camera is sitting in a box somewhere. I found it very soft personally. I was uncertain with the 17-85 IS ef-s, not sure if the ef-s line will have a short or long life, I feel most digital SLRs will be full frame shortly and the need for an ef-s lens could fade out... who knows, I often hear people say it is overpriced, I have never used one though.

Next on my wishlist is the Sigma 14mm f2.8 EX, I hear great things about it from a few friends that have one.

I'm sure you've been here before but just in case you haven't:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews