Need some Lens Recomendations and Advice.

[Lord-Jaffa]

So I purchased a 60D the other day after trying out a few different models, this one felt right in my hand compared to the smaller 550D and 600D and in General I love it!

Ive noticed that on these boards and in the picture thread there are some absolutely amazing photos being taken, So id like some advice on some future lens purchases.

Im still learning the basics and reading everything I can get my hands on, in the last 24h ive mastered the very basics and am starting to understand the different aspects of DSLRS. Which brings me to my next issue - Lenses!

So with the camera I got the basic 18-55mm lens, which ive found to be pretty decent and has given me some good shots already. Im looking for recomendations though on a further 3 Lenses to purchase to complete my collection. Idealy I am after ones which do the following.

Large Zoom lens for wildlife and other such shots. I have been reading up and it seems the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS is a very good lens for such things.

Macro Lens for those beautiful closeups (also doing portraits would be great) I was thinking about a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro for this, However the 50mm one is also a possibility, if anyone could give me some advice here on their experiances and the benefits of the 100mm that would be great.

Good lens for full body portraits from various angles and distances, lots of Bokeh as well, would a 50mm 1.8f lens do for this? I have a few friends who want some photos of them taken so I need something for this, I could use the 18-55mm but I want something that I can mess around with the depth of field

Are these 3 lenses typical of what most people would go for?

Cheers for any input you might have!

 

[jaket]

Normally the first question is budget?, the second is what are you doing with the lense's (Wildlife / Portraits / Macro)

If your budget is in the range of the lense's you researched above then they are perfect.

The 100mm isn't designed for portraits however I would definetaly recommend the 50mm f/1.8! The 100mm has had good reviews and is a great starter macro lens.

 

[dannyjo22]

I would spend longer playing with what you have or you will buy a load of cheaper lenses and in 6 months time regret your choices.

I should know

 

[jaket]

I would spend longer playing with what you have or you will buy a load of cheaper lenses and in 6 months time regret your choices.

I should know

He's not going to get experience of wildlife with max 55mm.

All lens's have some sort of resell value so i'd still buy atleast 1.

 

[Andy90]

Canon 50mm Macro and the 100mm Macro (non L version) are both capable of truely excellent results.

The difference between them is the 50mm macro offers only a 1:2 (x0.5) magnification vs the 1:1 (1x) magnification of the 100mm.

You can check out excellent reviews of both lenses here:-

Canon EF 50 f/2.5 Macro

Canon EF 100 f/2.8 Macro USM

I've got the 100mm and it is a lovely lens. One of the advantages of it over the 50mm is that you can put a bit of distance between you and the more skittish insects/bugs that you can encounter and still get a good shot.

The 100mm can also double as a really nice Portrait lens, since it is very sharp - it can show all the lines and wrinkles on a persons face though!

As for the 55-250mm lens, have you considered the Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens (don't confuse this with the Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens which is generally considered to be poor)

There isn't much difference between the top end of the 55-250 and the 70-300 but the build quality is better (metal mount v plastic mount) and optically it is better. Again you can take a look at the reviews at

Canon EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

50mm f/1.8 lens is cheap and capable of some remarkable results.

One thing I would say is try to buy they best glass you can. Also bear in mind any future moves - if you go full frame then EF-S lenses will not work on the full frame body whilst EF lenses will.

There are alternative lenses from other manufacturers as well, so don't just consider the Canon versions - some of the other brand Macro lenses are really good too and I'm sure one or two people will recommend some for you.

One last thing if you want to see what some of the lenses above are capable of take a look at these Flickr groups.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

 

[theheyes]

I would spend longer playing with what you have or you will buy a load of cheaper lenses and in 6 months time regret your choices.

I should know

This, without a doubt. I would definitely not go out and buy three lenses. I've been fiddling and experimenting for a good 4-5 months and I'm still working out what my preferences are. You'd be much better off staggering your purchases, getting to know what you like/dislike about them and using that to inform your next purchase.

For example, my first lens was the 50mm f/1.8 and after using it I was hooked on the sharpness and fast aperture, but the focusing wasn't so great. So when I was looking for my longer lens I ended up with the 70-200mm f/4.0 specifically for the fast focus/full time manual focus and image quality. One surprise feature (to me) of the 70-200mm which I really liked was the constant aperture, and this has informed my decision to buy a constant aperture Tamron as my general purpose zoom.

If I'd gone out and bought lenses within a couple of weeks of picking up the camera, I'm 99% sure I'd have ended up with the 18-55mm IS and 55-250mm. This is not to say they are bad, but you've spent good money on a 60D so take your time with the lenses. You might find you absolutely hate changing lenses while you're out and would suit a 18-200mm, or on the other hand find it no big deal and end up with a set of primes.

 

[Lord-Jaffa]

Canon 50mm Macro and the 100mm Macro (non L version) are both capable of truely excellent results.

The difference between them is the 50mm macro offers only a 1:2 (x0.5) magnification vs the 1:1 (1x) magnification of the 100mm.

You can check out excellent reviews of both lenses here:-

Canon EF 50 f/2.5 Macro

Canon EF 100 f/2.8 Macro USM

I've got the 100mm and it is a lovely lens. One of the advantages of it over the 50mm is that you can put a bit of distance between you and the more skittish insects/bugs that you can encounter and still get a good shot.

The 100mm can also double as a really nice Portrait lens, since it is very sharp - it can show all the lines and wrinkles on a persons face though!

As for the 55-250mm lens, have you considered the Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens (don't confuse this with the Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens which is generally considered to be poor)

There isn't much difference between the top end of the 55-250 and the 70-300 but the build quality is better (metal mount v plastic mount) and optically it is better. Again you can take a look at the reviews at

Canon EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

50mm f/1.8 lens is cheap and capable of some remarkable results.

One thing I would say is try to buy they best glass you can. Also bear in mind any future moves - if you go full frame then EF-S lenses will not work on the full frame body whilst EF lenses will.

There are alternative lenses from other manufacturers as well, so don't just consider the Canon versions - some of the other brand Macro lenses are really good too and I'm sure one or two people will recommend some for you.

One last thing if you want to see what some of the lenses above are capable of take a look at these Flickr groups.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Thats some fantastic advice there Andy, thank you, Im 100% certain I am going to buy a Macro Lens, just need to decide on the 50 or 100mm after a bit more research.

The 50mm 1.8 looks like great value for money and I absolutely LOVE Bokeh.

Other telephoto lenses I will have to look at yet, I do feel that a lens that does the whole range might be a better purchase for me after some more consideration, so I will look into the 18-200 as well.

Im almost 100% certain that the Macro and 50mm will be in my collection soon as these are the two aspects I love the most about photography.