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Help me pick a lens please

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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
So I just got a T3i and its the first decent camera I have ever owned really. I am excited to get more into videography and photography. I want to get a wide angle for it and I have been hearing good things about the tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 but it is a little out of my price range since i just dropped most of my money on the camera. Is there a wide angle worth getting in the $100 range? Or should I just save up for something like the tamron?
Thanks in advance.
Nov 21 2011 12:37AM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
There is nothing in the 100 dollar range. Save up for the Tamron, which is still not very wide. 600 will get you a legit ultra wide angle.
Nov 21 2011 1:15AM
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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
alright. thats what i thought. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything.
Nov 21 2011 1:16AM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,682
Get a 50 1.8 and take two steps back.
Nov 21 2011 1:31AM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
do you have the kit lens? if so, get the pentax 50mm f/1.4 and an EOS adapter. super fun lens to shoot with. pretty much what i dealt with for a month until i got my tamron.
Nov 21 2011 10:46AM
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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
I just have the stock 18-55, so if thats the kit lens then yes. And I was just checking out the pentax and it looked around the same price as the tamron.
Nov 21 2011 11:02AM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
he said he wanted a wide angle
Nov 21 2011 12:34PM
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[J_Gasper]
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 1,594
not if you get it used. you can get in >$150 used on ebay. really fun lens to play around with. your not going to find a decent ultra wide angle for cheap. you could get the rokinon 8mm fisheye, its not TERRIBLE.
Nov 21 2011 1:09PM
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
how wide are you looking for? if youre looking for wider than the kit lens, the rokinon 14mm or 8mm fisheye if youre into that is probably the cheapest youre gonna be able to find.

Nov 21 2011 1:28PM
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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
alright thanks. The fish eye will have a lot more distortion, correct?
Nov 22 2011 2:29AM
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alexat955
Posts: 2732 - Karma: 112
Yeah, the 14mm is rectilinear meaning straight lines should stay straight, but a fisheye has distortion
Nov 22 2011 2:32AM
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willy_baller
Posts: 1622 - Karma: 693
okay thanks.
So it seems like I'm not going to find anything worth buying below $300-350. Would it be worth it to just hold it out with the kit lens until I can afford something thats very high quality?
Nov 22 2011 2:43AM
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TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
You already got the 18-55, which is a perfectly capable lens, especially for video, and plenty wide.

Get a 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 in M42 mount and buy an M42-EOS/EF adapter. Don't get the Canon 50mm f/1.8.
Nov 22 2011 7:02AM
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erikK
Posts: 3245 - Karma: 2,329
if he wants to do 50% photo 50% video, the canon 50 1.8 is probably better for him. He said he is excited to get more into photography and videography, so i'm assuming it's around half and half.
Nov 22 2011 11:10AM
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jason...
Posts: 9006 - Karma: 780
buy nice or pay twice.
Nov 22 2011 11:50AM
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TWoods
Posts: 10014 - Karma: 8,386
Yes.
Nov 22 2011 3:17PM
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MattL.
Posts: 252 - Karma: 20
like twoods said, yes. for at least a UWA. youll probably want to buy a tokina 11-16 which you could maybe get for around 600 or more used
Nov 22 2011 3:22PM
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deciblast
Posts: 52 - Karma: 10
Start with the Tamron for now. It will cover pretty much everything from standard to portraits except for telephoto. I would then grab a Canon 50 1.8 or Pentax 50 1.4 (manual) for low light.

Nov 22 2011 6:07PM
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WillStart
Posts: 3955 - Karma: 3,192
I would actually disagree. The 18-55 is probably a more acceptable lens for photo than video, although it kinda sucks either way.

Its terrible build quality makes focusing while filming a pain. It's not a fast lens, and considering that the lowest shutter speed you can shoot at while filming with a Canon is 1/30 at 24p or 1/60 at 60p, it can be quite limiting, especially if you're zoomed at all. Also, if you're doing run and gun shooting and trying to get that handheld look, doing snap zooms and such will look terrible because of the variable aperture.


It gets the job done and I definitely made some things I was proud of when I was stuck with the kit lens, but it shouldn't really be accepted as a decent lens imo. I replaced it with a 17-55mm f/2.8 (wish I'd known about the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8) as soon as I was able to.
Nov 22 2011 6:22PM
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chacharlie
Posts: 228 - Karma: 20
Tokina 12-24 can be found used in that price range and is an excellent UWA lens. Depending on where you live, they come up on craigslist somewhat often at that price. I also see them with some frequency on the fredmiranda.com buy/sell boards.
Nov 22 2011 9:25PM
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EL_TIGRE
Posts: 2984 - Karma: 48
im in the same boat, got a camera not too long ago and deciding which lens i will add to my quiver first
Nov 24 2011 12:39AM
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