Reccomendations for Christmas.

[Omag 2.0]

There aren't many EF-S lenses out there. Outside the 2 lenses I noted above, there's a 17-85 mm, a new 18-200 mm, a 10-22 mm and the only one I'd ever consider to buy, the excellent 17-55 f2.8 IS lens.

The only drawback they have is the fact that you can't use them on higer end camera's like the 5D and 1D. The XXXD (1000 - 400 - 450D) and XXD (20-30-40-50D) series can take both EF-S and EF lenses.

[machineman9]

Well I saw it supports both EF, and EF-S lenses. On Jessops I could only see an EF-S option on the selection. But yeh, I've found some other EF ones.


I know it seems somewhat obvious, but a lot seem to only offer 3.7 up to 4.2 optical magnification. So, really... Am I only get up to 4x or so? I get 10x with my current digital camera that has no changing lenses.

[Omag 2.0]

Forget about 4x or 10x magnification when using DSLR's. It's the mm that count.

a 10 mm to 40 mm offers 4x magnification, yet it's still a wide-angle lens. 100 mm to 400 mm  has the same maginification, but in the tele-range, so you can get the subject closer...

10 to 50 mm are wide-lenses

50 - 100 mm are standard-lenses

100 - 600 mm are tele-lenses

You'll need sufficiant mm's to get the magnification you want.

In portrait photography, 50 mm will be excellent, but you'll need 400 mm or more when you want to shoot small birds in the wild... I'll look up a page that will give you more an idea of the mm's and what they mean in real life... stay tuned...

[Omag 2.0]

This page ( In Dutch, but don't worry you just need the pictures lower on the page and you can read numbers can you?  ;) ), you'll see a picture with the views you'll get using different lenses ( different mm's)

http://www.nandoonline.com/tutorials/in ... 87a7a8259e

Tamron offers a tool that lets you see the effect in another way. Just move the slider on the bottom of the picture to see the effect the focal-point (mm) has...

http://www.tamron.com/lenses/learning_c ... arison.php

I hope this makes things a bit clearer?

[Mictheslik]

Kris, you're doing a grand job  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I'll give you an example with my pictures......for all my aircraft photography I use a lens with 4x optical zoom......not much you may say. Well.....when I tell you it's 100-400mm I'm sure you can realise just how much more magnification you get from that compared to a 10-40mm

I'll try and find a good photographic example, but think of it like this;

If you have a 10mm wideangle lens and a 400mm telephoto that's like having 40x optical zoom , when considering level of zoom you have to take in the whole range rather than just the range of the lens. So from 1mm all the way up to 1600mm etc. etc.

.mic

EDIT:

Here's something I did for Kris in January  :o

[machineman9]

Oh. So is the first number the 'lowest' it zooms to, and the second the 'highest' it zooms to?

So something 300-500 would be very zoomed in, but could zoom in even higher than something 11-50 (which would be lowly zoomed in)

[Omag 2.0]

Indeed, the lower the focalpoint, the "wider" your photo will be. So for a landscape, you'll want a low focalpoint. To snap an part of that landscape ( say a tower), you'll need a higher focalpoint, so only that part will be in the shot.

It sounds difficult, but becomes clear once you fiddle around a bit with some lenses. The best thing you can do, is go to a shop where they demonstrate the camera's and let you take some shots, to see the effect.

[machineman9]

I think I get it. I'm sure it will make more sense when I do actually see it in action, but yeh I think I understand the principle.

[Omag 2.0]

Once you've received your camera, be sure to buy a good book that explains the principles of photography. That will make things even clearer...

I've got this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Das-Profibuch-C ... 696&sr=8-2

It's basically the same book for every camera, only the camera-details are different. Be sure to pick the one for your choosen model.

It also contains lots of useful general info, concerning lenses, phototechniques, composition, lighting, etc... It gives you a decent kick-start.  ;)

[machineman9]

I will definately be reading through the manual a fair bit, as it is a large leap up... And I will try and find a good book on it too.

[Omag 2.0]

The manual is good for the practical use of the camera and to get to know it's functions, but a good book or website will tell you more about the effects of different settings.

Don't be scared of it, you can experiment as much as you want and things will become clear in no time... you'll see, it's a really nice hobby...

Bet you can't wait until Christmas now...  ;)

[machineman9]

I have my varied thoughts about Christmas.

One is the lovely time it is (hopefully go out with some friends this year) and all the presents. But it is somewhat less great this year - As family is still a large part of every Christmas, and my sister is going to be in Los Angeles, so I won't be able to see her on the 25th. First time that we haven't all been here. Will be a bit strange.

Of course, good news is that I am going over to LA to visit her in the summer next year so that is another reason to get a decent camera

(And as per my thread in the other forum, I should be going out in 2010/2011 to see her and possibly 2 other cities)


But in terms of getting a really nice camera, I am ecstatic!