What is the best lens to buy with a EOS 300 kit

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Dear all. I had bought an EOS 300 after being advised in this forum. Now since I bought that in India, where it is difficult to get Canon lenses I had to settle with the EF 28-90 non USM lens. Now I have come to UK and would like to buy some good lenses Canon only. Can some one tell me what lenses can complete a kit ? Earlier I remember people asking me to go for EF 50 mm f/1.8 , EF 28-105 USM and EF 75-300 USM to complete the kit. Very recently canon UK has sent me a brochure containing a whole range of lenses and to be honest I was overwhelmed and confused. Please help me. Also please let me know what would be the best place to buy as I have done a research in the internet and rang up several dealers but each dealer is quoting a different price !!!!

-- Siddhartha Roy (sandy_roy1@hotmail.com), March 26, 2002

Answers

I would look into the 20-35/3.5-4.5 (one of my favorite lower priced Canon lenses), the 50/1.8 and the 100-300/4.5-5.6. The 28-105 is a sharper lens than the 28-90 but it's really too much duplication.

The 20-35 was one of the first Canon lenses I bought as part of a three lens outfit. It is the only one of the three I still use a lot- -very sharp, very useful. The 50/1.8 is cheap and cheaply built but very sharp and a lot of fun to use without flash. The 100-300 is perhaps marginally better than the 75-300 but it's really a toss-up between the two.

-- Lee (Leemarthakiri@sport.rr.com), March 26, 2002.


It always depends on what you want to do with those lenses. If you are new to photography, it might be helpful to just get one lens and learn what you need to learn, without worrying about accounting for every focal length. The more you know, the better you will be able to make decisions about new (often costly) lenses.

I favor prime (non-zoom) lenses, so I use 28, 50, and 100 mm ones. I use the 100 mm for portraits (and not much else) and the 50 and 28 for documentary work and everything else. Prime lenses, for the most part, offer superior optical quality when compared to zooms.

My recommendation is that you get the 50 mm 1.8 (or the 50 mm 1.4 USM, which is an excellent lens) and use it for several months. You may find that the best "zoom" is your own two feet.

To get an idea of good pricing for Canon equipment, check out B&H Photo in New York--THE great camera store of all time:

www.bhphotovideo.com

Good luck!

-- Preston Merchant (merchant@speakeasy.org), March 26, 2002.


if you are new to this field of photography, and want to learn then what you have is enough. but if you want sharper picture, get rid of it and go for a 28-105 or 28-135 IS. you can get a new or a used one. 28-135 IS is great, especially the IS. it also give a slight higher reach. its ring USM is pretty silent. its an ideal travel lens. but its heavier and needs expensive 72mm filters. on the other hand, the 28-105 is ligher, need just 58mm filters, which i guess you might have but without IS. it also has similar ring USM (if not ring USM, someone correct me). optically, i heard its slightly less sharp than the 28-135.

-- sajeev (chack74@yahoo.co.in), March 27, 2002.

The first observation I would make is that there are some excellent deals to be had on eBay in the UK on secondhand Canon lens. I have purchased several secondhand and had no problems whatever and typically prices are 1/3 to 1/2 of new price and 1/2 to 2/3 of the secondhand price of the photographic stores. Biggest problem with most camera shops these days (certainly in UK) is that they carry very little secondhand stock. If you prefer to buy from a retailer then one place to look is the online store of Jessops and their secondhand selection.

Regarding lens: I agree that the 28-135 IS is a great lens and would give you a useful range. To be honest at this stage I would disagree with the pundits who say prime, prime, prime. You want to be exploring the effects of different focal lengths and taking photos not constantly changing lens (and remember you can only use a lens if you are carrying it around with you). Also, the IS function of the 28- 135 will probably have more effect than going to a prime - unless you are using a tripod then camera shake (reduced by the IS) has more impact on image quality than the difference between a good zoom and a prime.

The two lens I would then add to the 28-135 are a super wide angle such as the 20mm f2.8 and a longer focal length lens. My favourite is a 200mm f2.8 Mk 1 bought secondhand, the 100-300 f4.5-5.6 is a useful zoom (although the 70-210 f3.5-f4.5 secondhand may be a better bet).

But, main thing is to use the things to take pictures!

Good Luck

-- Derek Linney (dlinney@aol.com), March 27, 2002.


I see that every one has given some suggestions which is really impressive . I think everyone agrees that the 50mm f 1.8 is a good lens. So I have a prime lens.Now out of 28-105 and 28-135 which one has the edge ? Please let me know . Also with this I want a long zoom. So which one is the best 70-200, 75-300,80-200 ? Also Sajeev since I am not a novice and always like to do some experimenting could you please let me know that if I buy second hand L series or IS lens how will be the performance of those and while buying how to judge the goodness of the equipment. Regards Siddhartha

-- Siddhartha Roy (sandy_roy1@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.


The 28-105 USM and the 28-135 USM IS are nearly equal in sharpness. The 28-135 is larger/heavier and uses bigger filters (72mm vs 58mm). It also costs more. But the 28-135 adds a little extra zoom length and the Image Stabilization feature. I think that makes it worth the extra cost/size/weight, but some disagree.

-- Jim Strutz (j.strutz@gci.net), March 27, 2002.

yes jim. you are right. though the 28-105 and 28-135IS are nearly same in sharpness the later is worth the price. It give a higher reach and the additional feature of IS enhances the sharpness slightly. The weight should not matter to siddhartha since he has EOS 300/ Rebel 2000 (335g). Those who disagree on using 28-135IS over 28-105 has bodies weighing twice to thrice to as much as EOS 300. They attach a battery pack or power booster just increases the overall body weight to, may be, beyond 1000g. For them the weight can be an issue. I would really recommend to go for any IS version lens.

-- sajeev (chack74@yahoo.co.in), March 28, 2002.

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