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Which lens to buy for 20d?

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Ingrid Suitor

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I got my 20d a couple of months, my first SLR digital and bought the lens that came with it 18-55mm. Now I'm ready to buy another lens and must admit I know nothing about them. Not sure if I should get a telephoto or wide-angle. I'm looking in the camera store's website and must admit all the numbers don't mean a thing to me, I can't tell which is wide-angle and which is telephoto. And how big of a lens does the average person need? I know the salesman will help me but they could tell me anything and I'd believe it:).

Hope this makes sense and someone can help me:).

Thanks a bunch,
Ingrid
 
Had my 20D for 5 months bought the 17-85mm EFS lens, a bit more pricey however fantastic results, especially in low light conditions due to the image stabilization.
 
Wow thanks! This is a great site and just what I need to learn about these strange and wonderful things called lenses:).

Thanks again!
Ingrid
 
The 18-55 is good to help you figure out what you need. Have you needed to back up from shots more often than not? Have you needed to scoot in closer???

Are there shots you'd like to get but can't get right now for some reason?

Usually, you get a lens because there is some kind of thing you need to do that you can't.

One thing you have not experienced with the 18-55 is a FAST lens. An inexpensive way to get a pretty good fast lens for the EOS is to get a 50/1.8 mk II. They are cheap. Try shooting portraits and lowe light with it set to 1.8 in Av mode...

If you aren't sure what lens to get, then it's apparent to me that you just want a new lens to try something new. I'd suggest your next move is to try something like the 50/1.8 because wide open aperature shots are fun and because it will force you to work on composition to use a prime lens for a while.

Hope that helps.
--
It's me.
I just checked.
 
Tell people more about what type of photography you want to do and they'll be better able to advise you on which lenses can help you accomplish it. Also mention your budget.
Ingrid Suitor said:
I got my 20d a couple of months, my first SLR digital and bought
the lens that came with it 18-55mm. Now I'm ready to buy another
lens and must admit I know nothing about them. Not sure if I
should get a telephoto or wide-angle. I'm looking in the camera
store's website and must admit all the numbers don't mean a thing
to me, I can't tell which is wide-angle and which is telephoto.
And how big of a lens does the average person need? I know the
salesman will help me but they could tell me anything and I'd
believe it:).

Hope this makes sense and someone can help me:).

Thanks a bunch,
Ingrid
Click to expand...
 
Just to show how ignorant I am about lenses:), I just checked and this is the lens I bought with the camera. It is great but we're going on a trip to Yuma in a few weeks and I'd like to be able to zoom in closer and wider so thought I'd like a better one.

Thanks!
Ingrid
 
JBM said:
The 18-55 is good to help you figure out what you need. Have you
needed to back up from shots more often than not? Have you needed
to scoot in closer???

Are there shots you'd like to get but can't get right now for some
reason?

Usually, you get a lens because there is some kind of thing you
need to do that you can't.

One thing you have not experienced with the 18-55 is a FAST lens.
An inexpensive way to get a pretty good fast lens for the EOS is to
get a 50/1.8 mk II. They are cheap. Try shooting portraits and
lowe light with it set to 1.8 in Av mode...

If you aren't sure what lens to get, then it's apparent to me that
you just want a new lens to try something new. I'd suggest your
next move is to try something like the 50/1.8 because wide open
aperature shots are fun and because it will force you to work on
composition to use a prime lens for a while.

Hope that helps.
--
It's me.
I just checked.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this info. I have a small studio in my basement with an umbrella and softbox, in the winter that's where I do most of my shooting, I love portraits more than anything. I'm finding with the 18-55 lens that I can't get a good close-up without having to move the camera and since I have a lot of "stuff" down there I prefer to keep the camera in one spot. We are going to Yuma soon and for that reason I'm looking for a better lens.

But you've given me lots to think about so thank you very much, I love Dpreview, the people in here are just great. I usually spend my time in retouching but I knew this was the right place for this problem.

Thanks again. We must be alike because I'm always telling people I'll check to see if it's me:).

Ingrid
 
Good idea, never thought of that but I did talk about it in my post to JBM. Portraits are my passion but for travelling I need something more versatile.

I've gotten a lot of good replies already and for that I thank you!

Ingrid
 
For versatility, I would sugest the 17-85IS, equivalent to a 28-135 on a full-frame 35mm camera. That gets you a little into the wide side as well as into the short-telephoto end. It's a little on the slow side, but it doesn't hurt much to bump up the ISO. If you need more telephoto, then get a 70-200/300 range lens.
 
If you want a great telephoto, the 70-200mm f4 is one.
If you want to shoot portraits, get the 85mm f1.8.
--
Catch me at a Purdue Mens Basketball game!

Gear in Profile
 
You've all helped me out a lot and I really appreciate it! I now have an idea of what to look for, I really was clueless before as I'm sure you could tell:).

I'll check the prices on some of these lenses and the great site I was given too.

Thanks again, you're a great bunch!
Ingrid
 
How about the 85 f/1.8 for portraits (and low-light action should you have the need at some point) and the 70-200 f/4L for your travel telephoto. Keep the 18-55 for wide-angle stuff until you find you need something better.
Ingrid Suitor said:
Good idea, never thought of that but I did talk about it in my post
to JBM. Portraits are my passion but for travelling I need
something more versatile.

I've gotten a lot of good replies already and for that I thank you!

Ingrid
Click to expand...
 
Sound like you need more reach (which is also a preferred thing for portraits).

About a year ago, I got a 28-135 IS. I love the lens now, and it seems permanently affixed to my camera.

At the higher end, you will get the telephoto compression preferred by protrait shots (some people go up to 300mm for portraits), and you will have the lower end to cover the gap to the end of the kit lens.

I'm suggesting it this way in case you have a budget and can't go running around buying lenses every other week like some folks in here seem able to do.

There are the EF-S IS lenses, too, but I suggest the 28-135 simply because I enjoy it so much and it would cover the need you stated, but also give you more usage than a 135 prime.

Cheers!

--
It's me.
I just checked.
 
You've made over 2,000 posts on dpreview in three years, so it seems sensible to ask - what were you using before? If you had a camera/lens combination that was working for you, it should be easy for one of us to work out the equivalent for the 20D.

Steve
 
I think you would benefit from an all around lens. I would get something like Sigma's new 18-200mm. It will give you the wide angle that you need for a DSLR with an APS sensor and also give you the reach of a mid range telephoto. It is relatively inexpensive yet high quality. Here is a link to the detail page on Sigma-photo.com.

http://www.sigma-photo.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3302&navigator=6

I would not get the Canon 50mm if I were you. I have it and rarely use it. Although it does have a big apeture, it is not very good at focusing in low light. The focal length makes it difficult to use in everyday situation because of the 1.6x crop factor on the 20D. That being said it is a sharp and cheap lens.

--

http://matt.dunmores.com/photoblog
http://gnomaticphoto.com
 
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