Camera Labs

Hello, just recently made the jump into DSLR because I have a new baby something worth recording. I bought a T3i and 50mm F1.4 for portraits and anything else it will allow me to do. My question is what other to lenses should i get to complete a complete range from wide angle to telephoto, with a moderate budget $1500 per lense.

Also what is the best compact tripod i can buy that would fit on a Lowepro 102 AW? thanks

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Canon T3i with 50mm F1.4

A complete range of lenses from wide to telephoto and at a moderate price of $1500 per lens....

Can I borrow some money from you?

Have you checked the Camera Lab's recommended lenses section? It's broken down into different categories.
http://www.cameralabs.com/lenses/lens_b ... nses.shtml

What types of pictures do you plan on taking besides portraits? That would really narrow things down. Without knowing, a safe bet is purchasing a general purpose zoom to go with your 50mm 1.4. It'll help alot in tight places indoors.

It's best to go slow so you don't buy a bunch of lenses and find out later you didn't need half of them.

I've seen the reviews but I still find the choices in each category overwelming, I plan on using my camera for the family, landscapes, architecture, and nature.
that being said i really would like to limit my lenses to 3 total, i already have 50mm, i'd like to see what others would have, if they had to have only 3 lenses, the 50mm being one.

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Canon T3i with 50mm F1.4

My first 3 that I enjoyed was:
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon EF 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM

This was after I started with the basic kit EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II and the EF 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 III.

However, this is not the path I would necessarily recommend for someone else.
I listed them however as I felt this gave me the essential three categories for most basic situations, and even if I had to go back to just those lenses, I feel I would be able to still do a lot of what I do now.
I break these down into:
A basic walk around lens - in my case the 17-85mm
A nice prime for low light - the 50mm
Finally, a nice distance lens - the 70-300mm DO

How about instead of saying you want up to three lenses now, and to pick the other two immediately, why not start with just one, and leave a second one open for later.

So you have a nice prime, based upon what you said, I would recommend getting a nice, basic walk-around zoom. These generally start in the 15-18mm range on the wide end, and end up in the 55-85mm on the long end.

Are you wanting fast focus speed, taking in a lot of light, being light-weight to carry around, maximum versatility, best image quality, or something else? Try listing this in order of importance and this will help you decide on what you want. You can also look on the lens review page of this site and go through various videos describing the lenses. Gordon's lens reviews is actually what brought me to this site to begin with. They are a fantastic resource to finding out more about lenses.

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Canon Rebel XTi, BG-E3 Grip
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm f/4L, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DO, 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 150mm F2.8 EX Macro
Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Canon 430EX II
Opteka 13mm, 21mm, and 31mm extension tubes

May I recommend;

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM ( $ 1400)

Canon FE 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM ( $ 1150)

Both will come with in ur prize range. and have an excellent reviews everywhere

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Nikon D800
Nikon AFS 50mm F1.8 G
Sigma APO 70-200 F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Sony H50

I would recommend the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS or the EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS if you don't plan on going on to full frame (EOS 5D Mk II) in the future as those are two highly regarded lenses for the Rebels' EF-S mount.

If you plan on upgrading, I would recommend the EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II like renjith did (I own one and it has been my favorite lens since I got it) or the EF 17-40mm f/4 L. The thing is that they will become ultra-wide angle lenses on a full frame camera if you switch and therefore you might want a zoom lens to fill the gap between that and the EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS that I would also recommend for those things far away regardless of full frame or cropped sensor (Rebels/60D/7D). You also might not need a zoom lens for the gap between the two with the 50mm you have but it is very much up to how you find you like to take photographs.

So, in short;

If you stick with cropped sensors I would recommend:

EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM or
EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

and if you plan on going on to full frame I would recommend:

EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM II or
EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM

as they have decent coverage of wide to normal focal lengths on a cropped sensor.

Regardless of your choice of sensor size in the future, the EF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM is very good. I also own one of them.

If it was me, I would go for the 16-35mm and the 70-200mm as the 50mm you already have fit neatly in between those two.

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Esben - used to be a wide angle photographer but then I took a Fuji X100 in the knee
My deviantART

Hai Esbenlp , we r in the same boat

I supposed to advice 17-40 f/4( even though no hands own experience)
But as he is willing to pay( and have a good pocket) its better to have the BEST!! this forced me stick only with 16-35

I too guessed that the gap between 35 to 70( between 2 lens) can easily managed by his excellent 50 f1.4

EF 70-200 f2.8 IS mark 1 will cost roughly 1600( if u can found new), is also a good option, only if he doesn't mind the weight and want the fastest aperture !!

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Nikon D800
Nikon AFS 50mm F1.8 G
Sigma APO 70-200 F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Sony H50

the 50 1.4 is a nice choice, also the 85 1.8 for getting in tighter.
Have you considered an external flash?

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

On a camera with a 1.6x crop factor, like yours, or my 7D and 40D cameras, I like a fast 35mm for children, pets, and family at indoors distances, and nothing in the Canon line beats the 35mm 1.4L.

First, however, know that the 50mm is a truly good focal length, and you can learn much by learning to use it well, alone, first. A good flash unit, or flashgun, if used well, should be considered. I was very lucky to have the use of a 580EX from the start of my DSLR shooting, though it took a while to learn to use it well. How I do wish I had started with Syl Arena's truly excellent book on the subject of Canon Speedlites! (It was not yet available at the time.) Amazon.com has it, and if you follow the link from Cameralabs to the Amazon site, the purchase will cost you nothing extra, but Cameralabs.com will benefit financially.

Yes, I do recommend starting with the relatively expensive 580EX II, based on your stated budget. This powerful flashgun can cover amazing distances,
but the light can be directed/modified to be as soft and diffused as you want. Something as simple as a white ceiling is a wonderful modifier! A shoot-through umbrella is good purpose- built modifier.

Then, with one, or even two good flashguns, look into a high-quality zoom
lens. I almost immediately invested several prime (fixed-focal-length) lenses, so actually have no experience with the L zoom lenses, so I will defer to
others' experience in that regard. The only zoom I regularly use is the truly wonderful 10-22mm EF-S, but ultra-wide lenses are an acquired taste, so might not be good at the start.

Edited to addFor what it is worth, as I manage to do the majority of my shooting with the 35mm 1.4L, 100mm 2.8L Macro, and the 10-22mm EF-S, if I could only own three, for a cropped-frame-sensor camera, these would be my choices, though a 50mm could substitute for the 35mm fairly well.

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Canon 7D/5D/40D/1D2N; Nikon F6, FM3A, & Coolpix A; Canon 40mm Pancake, 135L, 50L, 35L, pre-II 50mm 1.8, 100mm 2.8L Macro, 10-22mm EF-S, 28-135 EF, 400mm 5.6L; Nikkor 50mm 1.2 AI-S, 50mm 1.4G, 50mm 1.8D, 16mm 2.8D Fisheye, 180mm 2.8D, 100-300mm 5.6 AI-S; Tokina 17mm & 100mm 2.8 Macro

I'd get the canon 18-200mm and a flash.

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Canon 5D2, 7D, 50D & Canon s95 | Canon Lenses: 28-135mm, 17-55mm, 10-22mm, 15-85mm, 100mm 2.8 USM Macro and the 50mm 1.4 | Speedlite 580EX II and 430EX II |