Lens for Landscapes

[Nikki]

Well I should say none of these lenses are $400, they're all $600-$800 so I guess that is my price range now since nothing around $400 has been mentioned.

[Nikki]

I want an everyday lens but something wide would be nice as long as you think it is practical for everyday use:

17-40mm for $688
10-22mm for $690
17-55mm for $990

I haven't price hunted, those are just Amazon's prices. What do you think?

[wvtlo]

can't go wrong with "L" glass...i have 24-70mm and 70-200mm IS...nice bokeh on both

[Caster]

Originally Posted by Nikki

I want an everyday lens but something wide would be nice as long as you think it is practical for everyday use:

17-40mm for $688
10-22mm for $690
17-55mm for $990

I haven't price hunted, those are just Amazon's prices. What do you think?

You should consider 3rd party lenses, such as the Sigma 10-20mm which is going to be my next lens, about ~$450, but its a great lens. Its missing 2mm on the long end compared to the canon, but I doubt you'll notice that. I've used it before as well because my cousin owns one and the lens is fantastic and 10mm is really wide. He loves to shoot landscapes as well and its serving him great on his 400D. Check out pricegrabber for prices. A lot of people say the 10-22 is "better" and a little sharper, but most people say its not worth the extra $200.

Heres some shots my cousin has taken with the lens:
(You can click the pics for bigger images)

[Caster]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Here is a better description/rant about the stock lens.


I think there is a problem with mine. Maybe you can let me know and see if I should send it to Canon:

When it is in AF mode it "hunts" for a focus pretty much all of the time and unless I focus on something in front of me (ie the ground or something) and then move it up it will just continue to hunt or I have to turn it to MF to actually take a picture.

It started happening when I'm close to an object but that's understandable and I would just switch it to MF or step further away.

Then it started happening in low light settings and I got pissed. I'd be in a parking lot with an ok amount of light trying to take a picture of a car. I'm on a tripod with like an 8" shutter and I KNOW it can take the picture but it just keeps hunting.

When I got really fed up is when I was on vacation and I wanted to take photos of the landscape. The mountains were too far away for it to see them I guess so anytime I wanted to take a photo I had to focus on the water, move the camera up, and then take a picture.

The last straw was when some guy volunteered to take a photo of my boyfriend and I and we were literally like 10 feet away from him, if that and it wouldn't focus and after several tries I told him to focus it on teh ground, then move the camera up and take the picture and it worked.


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I had a guy at the lens shop look at it and he said my settings were normal and he didn't know why it was doing that.

What is going on??????

Its the AF on the kit lens, its not THAT great of lens. Stopped down to F/8.0 is pretty good, but the AF motor can hunt and is noisy, but I think you're expecting too much out of it as well, its not a macro lens so u can't be extremely close to something if you want to capture it. If you look on the side there will be a little flower that reads ".28m/.09ft" which means it will focus clearly that far away from the object.

If you want a cheap macro I'd suggest looking into the Canon 50mm F/1.8 (also known as the nifty-fifty) and with some kenko extension tubes. The 50mm F/1.8 is a great lens for its price, but its also going to hunt like the kit lens, the AF on it isn't anything special either, and can get very annoying. Check this thread on POTN for some shots of the 50mm F/1.8 with extension tubes.

Edit: Sorry I was only reading parts of your thread, but make sure your focus points are correct, because if not it's going to change where you want it to focus. To do that press the * button on the upper right hand corner, and make press the center circle button (where the 4 directional buttons are) and make sure that the red dot is either in the center or on all the the points.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Caster

You should consider 3rd party lenses

wow those are some incredible shots lol. I don't think the lens really matters in his case.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Caster

Edit: Sorry I was only reading parts of your thread, but make sure your focus points are correct, because if not it's going to change where you want it to focus. To do that press the * button on the upper right hand corner, and make press the center circle button (where the 4 directional buttons are) and make sure that the red dot is either in the center or on all the the points.

Yeah it's in the middle.

[Caster]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Yeah it's in the middle.

Hmm it could be a bad copy then, I can understand the low-light hunting, but during the day my kit lens is that bad on focusing. As soon as you start stepping up to more expensive and higher grade lenses you're going to be spoiled. The Sigma has HSM as well, so the focus is very quick. All around its a great lens, its pretty sharp, there is some distortion at 10mm but any UWA will give you that distortion, but nothing that can't easily be corrected in photoshop. You only get it when you're really close to an object as well.

[Gripster]

Originally Posted by Nikki

I want an everyday lens but something wide would be nice as long as you think it is practical for everyday use:

17-40mm for $688
10-22mm for $690
17-55mm for $990

I haven't price hunted, those are just Amazon's prices. What do you think?

10-22 is fun, but it's not an everyday lens. 22 is too wide for anything but landscapes.

Be warned, the 17-55 and 17-40 are underwhelming at first. When considering composition, creatively, they give you nothing vs. the stock lens. The quality is a different matter and you will appreciate this when you get a 'keeper' and enlarge it to 20x30in.

So, if you could get your stock working better, I would get the 10-22 to broaden your creative options. Otherwise the 17-55 is a great choice - albeit pricey.

[LOLrance]

Originally Posted by Nikki

I want an everyday lens but something wide would be nice as long as you think it is practical for everyday use:

17-40mm for $688
10-22mm for $690
17-55mm for $990

I haven't price hunted, those are just Amazon's prices. What do you think?

The 17-40L is a great walk around lens. I bring it pretty much everywhere. Build quality is top notch (as you would expect since it is a L) and its not too wide unlike the 10-22.

[Nikki]

Hmm so maybe I will get the 10-22 for now and then replace my stock with the 17-40 for Christmas? Then maybe a macro for my birthday April 2008 hahaa and I'm set

[Ghunger]

Originally Posted by Nikki

Hmm so maybe I will get the 10-22 for now and then replace my stock with the 17-40 for Christmas? Then maybe a macro for my birthday April 2008 hahaa and I'm set

You'll never be set. There'll always be something new or better you'll need.

[Nikki]

Originally Posted by Ghunger

You'll never be set. There'll always be something new or better you'll need.

sssshuuush