Hey 6gc,

Im planning to purchase my first SLR. Thought id seek some advice here before i go out on my purchase as i see some of the members here are into photography also.
Got my eyes set of a Canon 550D with a 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS and a 50mm 1.8.

You rekon this is a good starting choice?

Rico.

This post has been edited by whatthe: Apr 15, 2010 - 11:53 AM

I think other people might disagree with me, but I'm a bukeh guy and due to that reason I think the 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS is pure crap. Using that lens, I might as well just use a regular point and shoot and set it to manual.

For a very cheap alternative but with an extremely small depth of field, I recommend the 17-55mm f2.8 IS:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews...ens-Review.aspx


50mm f1.8 is a good choice too, hey it's only about a hundred bucks, it's sharp, it's light, it's a fantastic fixed lens.

He did mention he is looking at the 50 1.8 which should satisfy any bokeh requirements you need. But that 18-55 is a kit lens, it's not a great lens but it's fine for starting out. It's a little on the slow side which is a much better reason to opt for the 17-55 f/2.8 IS, than for bokeh.

But yes that is a fine starting place.

This post has been edited by Supersprynt: Apr 15, 2010 - 3:50 PM

>


Good point, maybe if he gets the 17-55 f2.8 with IS, he wouldn't even need to get the 50 f1.8.

True, but the 50 is only about $100 and it's pretty fast. It's a well loved lens.

got my first slr a rebel about 3 years ago and it takes pretty amazing pictures as far as quality goes, that about all i know

canon is a good choice! that 50mm f/1.8 is a great lens foe the price! canon is better than nikon. there are more lenses for them and they are set up to be more user friendly! let us know what you come up with!

>
I will be getting the 50 f1.8, and was looking at the 17-55 f2.8 you stated, and wow the price is sky high. Im sure ill work my way up the ladder.
But as a newbie starting off what choices do you rekon i should buy i have around US260 to play with as i also need to buy the body.
And since the 550D it would be nice to run with a 55-250 f4-5.6 IS for the video feature.

Is my logic right? So thats sort of 3 lenses i want to start off with lol.

But i will definately get the 50 f1.8
Just not sure about the variable focal length lenses.

My purpose is some wide angle ish for scenery pics and cars ( 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS). But also standard too for normal social events, general and cars.(50 f1.8)
And for the video feature to play around with on track days (car far away and rolling video movies on the road). I was thinking to use the (18-55 and also the 55-250 f4-5.6 IS.)

This post has been edited by whatthe: Apr 15, 2010 - 10:40 PM

$260? That's not going to get you much.

Its enough to get me started with a 18-55mm and a 50mm f1.8. You disagree im doing it wrong?

Maybe you can find a good used kit lens for cheap. People like me who hates the kit lens usually try to sell it online, but since it's a kit lens it doesn't really worth much. I'm pretty sure you can get one for WAAAY cheap

And dude, if the 17-55mm f2.8 is "sky high"... oh man, that's pretty much the CHEAPEST f2.8 lens Canon carries. I'm pretty sure all other f2.8 lens are under the L-series.

I forgot the 550D comes with video, HD 16x9 too! Wow fancy camera!

This post has been edited by tomazws: Apr 16, 2010 - 1:47 AM

just get the 50 1.8 and the 18-55.
you will more than likely upgrade in the future.
and you will regret spending that extra money on the 55-250 when you could have saved up and gotten the 70-200.
you can do alot with the 50 1.8
but if you do find yourself absolutley needing a long lens, then get yourself a 75-300 or 55-250

im not sure if that made sense i just woke up lol

I thought you meant $260 in total, not in addition to the T2i. I think what you have picked out is fine.

Sort of an update. Finally picked up my 550D with the 18-55 and a 50mm 1.8
After my exams going to get out and learn everything i can about this beasty thing before deciding on what lens i want to upgrade to. Been sort of thinking of 10-22 or a sigma 10-20 f.20 (or something). Maybe its abit too wide. But yeh need to play around with this camera first Oh yeh and get a in car camera mount !

I probably wont need a get long tele lense unless i start attending track days with my race car forum and take some snaps. This is pretty exciting

This post has been edited by whatthe: Jul 3, 2010 - 10:19 PM

your going to hate yourself for picking this hobby
lenses seem fine and cheap at $300 then all of a sudden you want more then you have to start shelling out $1500!

I've looked at a lot of DSLR....... and the cannons where nice but the nikons just felt right to me. either would be a good choice no doubt. I started off with a D80 and then moved up to the D300. And Mike I know what ya mean about the 300 buck lens.......... and then getting the good stuff. I have the Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8 & the 70-200 f/2.8 both are great lens, but damn expensive!!!!!

Roger

This post has been edited by RvA944: Jul 4, 2010 - 11:57 AM

Just so you know, this one was shot in 11mm:



And the rest of the pics are all done with a 11-16mm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37389154@N02/...57624263357981/

Bad hobby, it sucks. It takes all your money away very quickly..... on the other hand...

Go out and shoot and have fun! I started off with a Rebel xT then off to a 20D and 30D.

50 1.8 and 18-55 IS will suffice you until you want to upgrade. A good upgrade for the 18-55 would be Tamron 17-50 2.8 or Sigma 18-50 2.8

And don't waste your time with the 55-250. I stupidly bought one and sold it months later, go for the 70-200 F4!

off topic but when i see the title purchasing slr i keep thinking Mercedez SLR

>

11mm on a Rebel is actually 17.6mm. Canon has 3 different sensors with 3 different crop factors. 1x (5Ds), 1.3x (on 1D's) and 1.6x on the rest.

This post has been edited by Supersprynt: Jul 12, 2010 - 2:08 PM