Best Lens for amateur

Discussion in 'Beginner Questions' started by Dacatster, Apr 15, 2022.

  1. Dacatster

    Dacatster New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 15, 2022
    Messages:
    1
    Equipment:
    rebel eos t8i
    Hi all, I am a somewhat a newbie amateur. Been playing around for 14 years, with Rebels. I get all the different ISO and stuff mixed up. As a RN I am more comfortable resuscitating a baby then try to figure out all the special nuances of photography. So, I am here to ask for help.
    I am planning on a trip to Yosemite National park, Death Valley National park, Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and such. I have a Rebel T8I with a 75-300mm and a 18-55mm lens. I do have a tripod, but I am an impatient person just to sit around to wait for something to happen. I also have nerve damage in my right (dominate) arm from being being hit by a semi. I can't hold something heavy for a long period of time.
    Here is my question. Any suggestions for other lenses for under a $1000 you would suggest. Really looking forward to something long range or great night takes. I could go as high as $1500, but would rather keep it under a 1K. Thanks all
     

  2. Craig Sherriff

    Craig Sherriff Well-Known Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2017
    Messages:
    3,171
    Location:
    Tasmania, Australia
    Equipment:
    60D, 10D, 50D 1dmark3, T70, AV1, lenses ranging from 28mm to 600 mm, canonet Junior, Canonet QL 25, Mamiya C3 and 3 lens sets,Mamiya 645 pro TL and 3 lenses. Pentax MG and various lenses, Toyoview 4 * 5 inch large format camera,Calimat C1 8*10 inch ultra large format camera.
    Welcome to the forum, Dacatster/ I know how you feel, I am stuck on a disability pension myself but where there is a will there is a way. The 75 - 300 my favorite lens besides the 28-104 lens. Now for your suggestion for a long lens. You seem to want a 400 to 600mm, the longer the lens the greater the cost.
    First my I suggest a 1.4 and a 2times extender, 75-300 with a 1.4x becomes 105-420mm but you loose 1 stop of lighting, basically means if you have your shutter on 1/ 2000th of a second you need to drop the shutter down to 1/1000th of a second to get more light onto the sensor.
    Using a 2x extender 75-300 becomes 150 to 600 mm and you loose 2 stops of light. Advantages are extenders are cheaper than a 400 to 600mm lens but loose light. are much lighter in your gear bag.
    The advantage of longer lenses are modern lenses come with image stabilization and other nice things but can be very expensive, next option is second hand, I suggest you take your camera along to a good camera store and ask to try lenses that catch your eye on your camera, that way you can feel the weight and how it performs on the camera, no use buying something you may not like later.
     
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  3. johnsey

    johnsey Site Moderator Staff Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2017
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    2,120
    Location:
    Fargo, ND
    Equipment:
    5dMk4, 5dsR, 5dMk2, 20D, 70-200 2.8L IS, 100mm 2.8 Macro USM, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 17-40mm 4.0L, TS-E 24mm 3.5L II, Rokinon 14mm 2.8; Pixma Pro-100
    So a few things that come to mind, you have two lenses that give you good range 18-300 that's a lot of zoom.

    If you need to get closer to something than 300mm you start entering an investment issue. Many opt for 400, 600 or 800mm primes to get the fasted aperture possible, maybe a 4.0 or 5.6 with very sharp L glass. You can use a tele-converter and multiple by 1.4 or 2x, the slow your lens down taking light away in the process. So your lens quickly becomes an F9 and with have trouble focusing quickly another reason people buy the expensive pro lenses at that point. But to be fair shooting something that far zoomed in is a specialized use case.
    Putting a extender 1.4 or 2x will also show off any softness your lens may have at 300, but i would not over think it, a consumer lens is not as sharp as a pro lens. Sigma also makes some 150-500 or 150-600 lens which are good for the birder or sports shooter on a budget.

    Regarding night shots, if you want to have fun with night skyscapes, something wide and fast. I have a rokinon 14mm 2.8 myself (its manual fyi). A prime will be a bit faster and sharper than your 18-55, which helps with start detail. You will need a longer exposure on your tripod for these type of shots though.
     
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  4. Caladina

    Caladina Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2020
    Messages:
    1,774
    Equipment:
    Canon M50
    Canon 18-45mm m, Canon 18-150mm m, Canon 55-200mm m, Canon 22mm m, Canon 28mm m macro,
    Sigma 100-400c ef, Sigma 18-35mm art ef,
    7artisans 7.5mm m, Laowa 100mm macro ef, laowa 9mm zeroD m, Vintage M42 Lenses:
    Ashi Super - Takumar 1.8 / 55mm,
    first of all the canon 75-300mm lens has its haters and lovers, its often reported as being soft at 300mm, i don't know what results you are getting at max reach with it but copy variation may be due to the mixed feed back.

    i use the sigma 100-400mm c for an easy hand held walk about lens for wild life and song birds, and the sigma 150-600mm c for tripod use when i found a place to set up at for a while.
    tripod wise i use a benro carbon fibre classic go-plus which is the more stable of my two full size tripods the other full size one being the travel slim carbon fibre, that i can wear on my back and have often forgotten i even have it.
    as for a tripod head for the bigger lens i use the benro GH5C carbon fibre gimbal head
    the 150-600mm c is the lighter of the big zoom lenses to 600mm but its still a heavy lens, thus the 100-400mm lens get used much more than it, it fits in my regular shoulder bag.
    both lenses work well with the canon mk III extenders, (i use the canon M50), the auto focus slows down with extenders and there is a light drop off, great for bright sunny days and night time objects like the moon and jupiter (autofocus on my set up still works perfectly well) but extenders are more of an added effect rather than a solution to a shorter lens, ie you will get a much better result from a lens without an extender that naturally hits 600mm than a 400 with extenders

    i find with wildlife a zoom lens is the way to go unless you know where you and the wildlife will be for certain ie a specific hide/ location, many times i have set out with a fixed long prime and found wildlife at the wrong distance, mostly to close, and cant move my position either due to the area or its going to make the wildlife run off

    depending on the results you are getting with the 75-300mm you may find the 100-400mm sigma gives better quality images even though its only a 100mm increase, but it will be a lighter and smaller lens to carry than the 150-600mm
     
  5. Craig Sherriff

    Craig Sherriff Well-Known Member Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2017
    Messages:
    3,171
    Location:
    Tasmania, Australia
    Equipment:
    60D, 10D, 50D 1dmark3, T70, AV1, lenses ranging from 28mm to 600 mm, canonet Junior, Canonet QL 25, Mamiya C3 and 3 lens sets,Mamiya 645 pro TL and 3 lenses. Pentax MG and various lenses, Toyoview 4 * 5 inch large format camera,Calimat C1 8*10 inch ultra large format camera.
    Some very nice gear, you have there. My biggest problem is cost as when you are stuck on a crappy pension some of this gear is a pipe dream so I improvise, the 75-300mm lens is OK when you use it within it limits. Both the 75-300 and my 28 -104 are my most used walkaround lenses I use an old aluminum tripod for stable shots, I have 6 of them most for use in my class. I find for wild life photography I find to sit wait quietly and just watch. A thermos of coffee and something to eat is a important bit of kit outside of photo gear. You tend to see a lot more. I spent most of my life hunting and fishing in the highlands of Tasmania. These days I am some-what busy doing other things but hopefully after Christmas this year I shall be better setup to get out more. I am also heading in a different direction with my photography and getting more into ultra large format photography and landscapes, I already have a 4X5 Toyoview , a calumet C1 8X10 and a 1920 Century made 8X10 view camera. My darkroom I am building is a very slow ongoing process. Getting a dose of covid does not help with building work, I am just out of lock down now but still feeling the effects, wandering around now I am out of lock-down seems weird after being stuck at home. Laura, stay safe and keep away from diseased Covid people.
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2022

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