70d ordered, need help for lenses and advice!

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Hey all,
Wife ordered me a present yesterday, a 70d (body only) , So i am looking for advice on a few lenses to get and best place to get them, i have not done photography for many years now, but really want to get back in, been checking some local sites for some small courses.

From what i can see , LOTS AND LOTS to learn! ISO, aperture etc etc, I did say the 70d was probably too much of a massive curve for a beginner, but hey if i can learn on it, i should be able to use most others!

So, What would be the best glass to get, after reading around a few people say the 50mm f1.8 is nice, 100mm macro is a definite (looking at Sh4rkie's pictures) , are the kit lenses 18 - 55mm and 18 - 135mm any good?

Maybe when i get it all down i will get a 300mm so i can get some wildlife pictures / Nature as that interests me a lot.

So what would you all recommend?
 
Hey

The 17-55 f/2.8 is THE standard focal length zoom to get on crop.

If you want slightly more reach, then the 24-105 L lens would be a good shout, and it's much better made. It's not as good on crop as it is on FF, but still a bloody good lens so I've heard!

What do you want to shoot?

I feel it'd be odd to sink money into a 100mm macro straight away! Maybe figure out what you want to shoot first?

Don't bother with the kit lenses.

What do you want to spend?
 
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Nature / wildlife / buildings and landscapes and some portraits of family . So a wide variation really , want to get the best I can for the best price, cost is not too much of an issue as I can save and get bit by bit!
 
a 10-22mm would be good for buildings and landscapes

a 17-55 f/2.8 would be good as a walk around, or the 24-105mm

for nature and wildlife you'd be looking at longer focal lengths, maybe a 70-200 f/4 is or f/2.8 is

or a 100-400 would be good for wildlife!

It completely depends on how much you want to spend on each part of your photography!
 
Thanks for the help, as I said I can save for each one not much issue, looking forward to getting into it, looking in the macro thread is amazing too
 
I've had my 70D just over a month and am so impressed with it... I got mine with the 18-135mm kit lens which is very nice and well built... and all I need a lot of the time. These STM lenses work so well with this camera and its focusing system, esp. for video... they are lightning fast, and virtually silent.

I also bought the STM 55-250 which is a cheapish Canon lens, with a plastic mount, but is fantastic optically, giving amazing pin sharp results... it may not give the reach you need though.

My other two lenses are the 50mm1.8 which is very nice optically, but has very cheap build quality... I'm careful with my kit, so am not that bothered about it.... and I have the Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 which is a good, really well built lens, but wish I'd seen that Canon had just released a 10-18mm STM lens for about £50 less than the Sigma. It may not be built as well, but it does give mostly better results, and will work beautifully with the 70D... having used my two STM lenses the others seem clunky and noisy by comparison, and if you have any plans to do video, they are well worth looking at first.
 
Great info , I'm damn excited to receive mine, thanks for all the great info, where do you guys buy your lenses from normally ?
 
I bought my 50mm 1.8 from a tiny little camera shop in my local town, for no more than getting it online, same with the Sigma, but that was a larger independent in Exeter... I do like to shop local if I can, as long as the price is at least close to what I can get it for online.

My first 50mm 1.8 did not focus properly, so I was able to pop it straight back for replacement, which is another plus of buying in the highstreet... so it can be worth looking locally first.

I did get my 55-250mm on Ebay and saved around £110... this was 'used' but described as being mint/as new and this was absolutely the case, but there is always some risk going secondhand.

Enjoy it when it arrives :) ... and I know its not about the gear, but there is something about this camera, that makes me want to get out and take more pictures...I just really enjoy using it, and love the results it gives.
 
Don't worry about the 70D overwhelming you. It's a better point and shoot in Auto mode than.... well, pretty much any point and shoot camera. You can get on with having fun and getting great shots, and use the more advanced features as you learn.

50mm f1.8 is a no brainer. Cheap enough that it's not the end of the world if it dies. Mine rolled off a water bus stop into the Grand Canal in Venice. It was time for an upgrade anyway!

Don't write the kit lenses off immediately. Stopped down you can still get great shots. My only advice would be if you are going to spend on lenses and weight/size isn't an issue, buy the best you can- the best quality and largest aperture you can afford. And don't be scared to take lenses back to the dealer if you don't think they perform- every lens is different.

If you want cheap and good, the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 Non VC is great for the money.

Further up the scale the Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS is an epic lens.

Don't discount prime lenses either- they generally mean more aperture for your money, and aperture=fun.

Enjoy!
 
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