Want a nice walk around lens for January trip..help!

[SDisney90]

Hey guys, so I'm pretty much a very amateur photographer but I currently own a Canon T3i DSLR. Upgrading this DSLR is not in my future...at least anytime soon. I purchased this DSLR with the kit lens EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens and I must say I took some pretty amazing dark ride photos, and landscape photos that I will upload later.


But my real issue is...I would like a new walk around lens, with better image quality and hopefully more zoom. I'm new to all this lens stuff, this is 1 of my two lenses. The "nifty fifty" is my other lens that I purchased and what a steal for less than $100.

Currently I've been looking at these few lenses:
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Standard Zoom

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Image Stabilized USM


What are your thoughts on these lenses? I have quite the ranges here, and I'd like more zoom than my current 18-55mm lens and better quality. Thank you in advance!

 

[NowInc]

I'm not a canon user, but looking at those ranges...I'd say the 18-200 will be your best bet and cover the most ground for a walkaround lens. I mostly use 3 lenses when I go..an 8mm fisheye (*avoids the stones being thrown*), a 35mm 1.8 (awesome for dark rides), and a 55-200. I have NEVER had the need to zoom further than 200mm. I think you'll find that having an 18mm wide to a 200mm close will cover all ground you can want.

 

[SDisney90]

I'm not a canon user, but looking at those ranges...I'd say the 18-200 will be your best bet and cover the most ground for a walkaround lens. I mostly use 3 lenses when I go..an 8mm fisheye (*avoids the stones being thrown*), a 35mm 1.8 (awesome for dark rides), and a 55-200. I have NEVER had the need to zoom further than 200mm. I think you'll find that having an 18mm wide to a 200mm close will cover all ground you can want.

Thanks for the response, I think you're right. I've been looking at the 18-200mm all morning. The other issue is where to buy this lens. On amazon they're going for 699. On Ebay, I've found some for 400-449.99 new.

 

[NowInc]

With amazon you get no taxes (well..in most states), and if youre a prime user (everyone should be..seriously), you can get it in 2 days free shipping. Also the return policies on amazon are fantastic. I personally won't buy certain things on ebay (computer parts, lenses, etc)..but thats just me. I am sure others will say its fine, and I'm sure it is.lol

 

[SDisney90]

With amazon you get no taxes (well..in most states), and if youre a prime user (everyone should be..seriously), you can get it in 2 days free shipping. Also the return policies on amazon are fantastic. I personally won't buy certain things on ebay (computer parts, lenses, etc)..but thats just me. I am sure others will say its fine, and I'm sure it is.lol

Thats true, I was a prime member I had the free trial but never paid to keep it for the year. I've never purchased electronics from Ebay, but the 200 dollar price difference sure makes a difference lol. BTW, awesome Flickr! love your photos

 

[SDisney90]

These two photos are an example of pictures I I took with my stock kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ) This is a lower resolution I uploaded to Facebook but I have to say I think its pretty good for a pretty low end, and not really a low light lens at all by any means.

 

[NowInc]

Not bad at all. I am always impressed with the current low light capabilities of DSLRs (even a few years ago they were way worse). Do you ever use the prime lens for dark rides? If not..give it a go...Open the aperture up and you're jaw will drop from how much you can get.

Also..with those photos..what mode to you shoot in? Aperture, shutter, manual? I only ask because I like how much the canon captured. In the past with my nikon on dark rides, I shot in shutter priority set to around 1/80 (the slowest I'd safely go to avoid any motion blur) and this way no matter what lens I used, the aperture would be wide open. It was the easiest way..so I'm just wondering how the canon handles with low light in certain modes.

 

[SDisney90]

i actually never tried using my prime lens for the dark rides sad isn't it? lol When i went the lines were so short that I didn't even want to spend literally 15 seconds changing lenses so I just went ahead with the 18-55! I shoot in Aperture mode and let it do its magic. Like I said, by no means am I a pro or anything there is so much left to learn and do so even I was impressed how good they came out.

 

[NowInc]

i actually never tried using my prime lens for the dark rides sad isn't it? lol When i went the lines were so short that I didn't even want to spend literally 15 seconds changing lenses so I just went ahead with the 18-55! I shoot in Aperture mode and let it do its magic. Like I said, by no means am I a pro or anything there is so much left to learn and do so even I was impressed how good they came out.

How much time are you going to be at disney for your next trip? If you have a "spare day", i'd say take one and use nothing but the Prime..outdoors and in. I have done that a few times and it actually is great. Forces you to learn how to compose a shot better (by physically moving), can get some very nice dark ride shots, and is actually pretty fun!

 

[SDisney90]

I will be in Disney from jan 7-15 so a pretty decent amount of time which is why I'd like another lens with more zoom and better quality which the 18-200 just keeps on looking better. Any tips on shooting with the prime? I usually used it only for food pictures actually and they came out amazing pretty simple too

 

[NowInc]

I will be in Disney from jan 7-15 so a pretty decent amount of time which is why I'd like another lens with more zoom and better quality which the 18-200 just keeps on looking better. Any tips on shooting with the prime? I usually used it only for food pictures actually and they came out amazing pretty simple too

Surely

As you know, "wide open", although letting in more light, also brings with it the downside of less than sharp images. Not that they will be out of focus, but they also won't be at their best. While opening "wide" for a dark ride is ok (and pretty much the best way to capture whats going on in there), its not really ideal for most other situations (more on that below). As said above, I would set to Shutter priority and use the "slowest" setting you can get by hand without adding blur (1/80 to 1/120 are good starting points). If you are having auto focus issues (you most likely will), you may want to get familiar with one of two options as follows:

1.) "focus" on a bright spot of the subject by pressing the shutter button halfway down and holding it once it "locks in". Then you can recompose your shot and press it the rest of the way to take your shot. However, this may still result in an out of focus image if the spot you focus on isn't in close enough range to the overall subject (it happens). so that leads me to..

2.) Manually Focus. I'm not sure if its on canon bodies (it should be), but on my nikon there is a meter on the right side of the viewfinder that sort of looks like this: < 0 > . I set my focus point (even in manual foucs you do this), and then depending on what is lit up, is how out of focus I am based on the focus point I chose. Example: If the < is lit up, I'm too deep.. if the > is lit up..i'm too shallow. And if the o is lit up..i'm right on.

For both of these, I would say be in Single Point Focus mode. Its just easier for dark rides in my experience. And you know you're going to need to boost that ISO. There WILL be noise, its pretty much unavoidable..but finding a level you can "live with" takes some time. (finding a balance between ISO range and Aperture/shutter speed...the triangle of exposure).


Now...for some math..sorry..

Almost every lens is sharpest between 2 and 2.5 stops down from wide open..

So you're 50mm f1.8 will be at its sharpest set to F4 (wide open being 1.8 and F4 is 2 and 1/3rds stops below).

So for "outdoor" shots of buildings, objects etc...to achieve the sharpest image, that particular would be set to F4. Remember, the higher your F stop, the longer exposure is needed. Not so much an issue on sunny days of course, as the sun being the brightest possible light source available will be MORE than capable of handling your requirements.

So what about people? PERSONALLY I always shoot people at an aperture of F2.8. This will create some great bokeh and help bring the eye to the subjects instead of the background. If you're not comfortable with shooting in manual mode. Aperture priority works well here.And remember, focus point on the eye.

Just always remember to check your settings as you change subjects. It sucks to be set for a dark ride, then start shooting outdoors and realize you're at a wide open high ISO in shutter priority. It will quickly become second nature to you, and before you know it you will feel great about just keeping yourself in Manual mode.

Hope all this helps and sorry if its a bit confusing! Coffee still hasn't fully kicked in. I'm sure others here will toss in their personal opinions, in fact I hope they do...its how we all learn! (myself included)

 

[NowInc]

Realized I left out some semi important info:

Pretty much a general "handbook" of #s for you carried over from film...

Shutter speed 1/250 (ISO at 100 or 200)

f16 = Bright or hazy sun on a BRIGHT floor (sand or snow..or white-ish concrete)
F11 = Bright or hazy sun on normal ground
F5.6 = Cloudy but still bright
F4 = Heavily overcast
F4 = Outside sunny day but in a shadowed area

F5.6 at 1/250 a second for back lit closeup objects

 

[ddbowdoin]

Realized I left out some semi important info:

Pretty much a general "handbook" of #s for you carried over from film...

Shutter speed 1/250 (ISO at 100 or 200)

f16 = Bright or hazy sun on a BRIGHT floor (sand or snow..or white-ish concrete)
F11 = Bright or hazy sun on normal ground
F5.6 = Cloudy but still bright
F4 = Heavily overcast
F4 = Outside sunny day but in a shadowed area

F5.6 at 1/250 a second for back lit closeup objects

You want your shutter speed as close to your ISO as possible for sunny 16...

 

[ddbowdoin]

depending on how people are orientated in your composition I would personally avoid f2.8, focal points are a little tight wide open and you risk throwing someone who is slightly behind someone (could even just be head position) out of focus.

 

[SDisney90]

Surely

As you know, "wide open", although letting in more light, also brings with it the downside of less than sharp images. Not that they will be out of focus, but they also won't be at their best. While opening "wide" for a dark ride is ok (and pretty much the best way to capture whats going on in there), its not really ideal for most other situations (more on that below). As said above, I would set to Shutter priority and use the "slowest" setting you can get by hand without adding blur (1/80 to 1/120 are good starting points). If you are having auto focus issues (you most likely will), you may want to get familiar with one of two options as follows:

1.) "focus" on a bright spot of the subject by pressing the shutter button halfway down and holding it once it "locks in". Then you can recompose your shot and press it the rest of the way to take your shot. However, this may still result in an out of focus image if the spot you focus on isn't in close enough range to the overall subject (it happens). so that leads me to..

2.) Manually Focus. I'm not sure if its on canon bodies (it should be), but on my nikon there is a meter on the right side of the viewfinder that sort of looks like this: < 0 > . I set my focus point (even in manual foucs you do this), and then depending on what is lit up, is how out of focus I am based on the focus point I chose. Example: If the < is lit up, I'm too deep.. if the > is lit up..i'm too shallow. And if the o is lit up..i'm right on.

For both of these, I would say be in Single Point Focus mode. Its just easier for dark rides in my experience. And you know you're going to need to boost that ISO. There WILL be noise, its pretty much unavoidable..but finding a level you can "live with" takes some time. (finding a balance between ISO range and Aperture/shutter speed...the triangle of exposure).


Now...for some math..sorry..

Almost every lens is sharpest between 2 and 2.5 stops down from wide open..

So you're 50mm f1.8 will be at its sharpest set to F4 (wide open being 1.8 and F4 is 2 and 1/3rds stops below).

So for "outdoor" shots of buildings, objects etc...to achieve the sharpest image, that particular would be set to F4. Remember, the higher your F stop, the longer exposure is needed. Not so much an issue on sunny days of course, as the sun being the brightest possible light source available will be MORE than capable of handling your requirements.

So what about people? PERSONALLY I always shoot people at an aperture of F2.8. This will create some great bokeh and help bring the eye to the subjects instead of the background. If you're not comfortable with shooting in manual mode. Aperture priority works well here.And remember, focus point on the eye.

Just always remember to check your settings as you change subjects. It sucks to be set for a dark ride, then start shooting outdoors and realize you're at a wide open high ISO in shutter priority. It will quickly become second nature to you, and before you know it you will feel great about just keeping yourself in Manual mode.

Hope all this helps and sorry if its a bit confusing! Coffee still hasn't fully kicked in. I'm sure others here will toss in their personal opinions, in fact I hope they do...its how we all learn! (myself included)

Well, I just got out of work and was not expecting all of that...you're the man! Great info I really really appreciate it especially for you taking the time to type all of that out. I think my decision on the 18-200mm is pretty set now. Just need to figure out where I want to buy it from Amazon for 699.99 or Ebay 410-449.99. And I definitely will be shooting with my prime lens.

Also, what you mentioned about the F stops makes more sense now. During my trip it was VERY sunny for January and I was snapping photos left and right. When I came home I did notice some pictures looked way over exposed due to the sun light. Thanks a million!

 

[ddbowdoin]

Well, I just got out of work and was not expecting all of that...you're the man! Great info I really really appreciate it especially for you taking the time to type all of that out. I think my decision on the 18-200mm is pretty set now. Just need to figure out where I want to buy it from Amazon for 699.99 or Ebay 410-449.99. And I definitely will be shooting with my prime lens.

Also, what you mentioned about the F stops makes more sense now. During my trip it was VERY sunny for January and I was snapping photos left and right. When I came home I did notice some pictures looked way over exposed due to the sun light. Thanks a million!

Did you not read your meter?

 

[SDisney90]

Did you not read your meter?

That's where my amateur photography skills played an awful roll...I purchased the camera for myself as a Christmas gift and my trip was on the 7th so I didn't have enough time to really understand the mechanics of it I.e metering f stops etc.

So to answer your question: no lol