Help me decide on what lens to get!

lliella

lliella

Sweet Shoppe Designer
I have a Canon 450D, and i usually take photos of my kids indoors. I have narrowed my choices to these:

Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8

OR

Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM

My DS is active and so i need a faster lens to try to photograph him. I also like to take whole body photos, not just close-ups. What would you recommend? TIA! :D
 
There is no doubt the 50mm 1.4 will give you the best portrait style shots but a 50mm fixed can get old when used in doors all the time. I have the Tamron 28-75 and it's a great lens - very bright and sharp. And a bit more flexible than the other one. My 50mm is 1.8, not the higher end 1.4.
 
I know you said you'd narrowed down your choices but you might want to look at the Sigma 30mm 1.4 lens.

It would give you the same speed as the 50mm lens (1.4) but because it has less zoom than the 50mm I think it's a better choice for indoors, especially if you're looking to capture more than just close up shots. I had a 50mm lens when I first started and I got frustrated with it really quickly because I was always having to back up (and in some cases there wasn't room to do that). I love, love my 30mm lens. The Tamron is a great lens as well but I think you might get frustrated with only having a 2.8 indoors.

That would be my recommendation anyway. :D
 
I have the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8, I got it in March and it has been on my camera at least 95% of the time since then. It really is a nice all around lens, I use it both indoors and outdoors and we have a pretty small house and have never had a problem having enough room or anything. But the 50mm f/1.4 is on my wish list (I also love my 50mm f/1.8, I used it exclusively before I got my 28-75), so I don't think you could go wrong with either lens.
 
50 mm 1.4!!!!! I just bought the 50 mm 1.8 and am still trying to get the hang of it, but so far I really LIKES it!!!
 
I have the 50mm 1.4 and it's a fabulous lens, but if you're wanting to do more wide angle/full body stuff, I don't think you'd be happy with it.
 
I have both. I always have the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 on my camera. In fact, I've rarely ever used the Canon 50mm f/1.4. Like maybe for 20 shots total. I need to break it out and try to see if I even like it. I just like the range of the Tamron so much that it just doesn't leave the camera.
 
I love my 50mm, but I really want the Tamron, so I'm no help;)

The 50 is great (I have Nikon though), but there are times I wish I had a wider angle. I rarely use the 1.4 or 1.8 apertures, because I find it really hard to focus on those, but that's just me.
 
Angie4b1g said:
I have the 50mm 1.4 and it's a fabulous lens, but if you're wanting to do more wide angle/full body stuff, I don't think you'd be happy with it.
Click to expand...

I agree...I have the 50mm 1.4 and it is AWESOME...but for me I find it isn't good for capturing "activities". With the fixed focal length it just isn't flexible enough so I'm in the market for a new lens, too!!

I saw the discussion about the 30mm lens in another thread...can someone tell me why some lenses have the autofocus in the lens rather than using the autofocus on the body of the camera? My Canon is super old - the original EOS Digital Rebel - do I need a lens that focuses itself? Or is there a different 30mm lense I should look for?

thanks for the help!!
 
thanks for your input, everyone! :D

hmm.. now i'll also have to consider the 30mm, it looks very useful.

i should mention that i mostly shoot in auto mode hehe no time to really learn all the bells and whistles yet. and i have the camera almost a year now.
 
g8rbeckie said:
I agree...I have the 50mm 1.4 and it is AWESOME...but for me I find it isn't good for capturing "activities". With the fixed focal length it just isn't flexible enough so I'm in the market for a new lens, too!!

I saw the discussion about the 30mm lens in another thread...can someone tell me why some lenses have the autofocus in the lens rather than using the autofocus on the body of the camera? My Canon is super old - the original EOS Digital Rebel - do I need a lens that focuses itself? Or is there a different 30mm lense I should look for?

thanks for the help!!
Click to expand...

Canon builds the autofocus motor directly into the lenses. There's no autofocus built into the camera. This allows them to tailor the autofocus to the lens. It's also a way to keep costs down as the cheaper lenses tend to have a slower and noisier autofocus motor than you'll find on an L lens. If you've ever used the 50 1.8 lens you can definitely tell - the grinding noise it makes when it focuses is crazy. :D

The Sigma lens I linked to should work just fine with your Digital Rebel. I use it on my XT and it works great.
 
lliella said:
thanks for your input, everyone! :D

hmm.. now i'll also have to consider the 30mm, it looks very useful.

i should mention that i mostly shoot in auto mode hehe no time to really learn all the bells and whistles yet. and i have the camera almost a year now.
Click to expand...

I just bought the 30 mm 1.4 and I love it. I had a cheap 50mm 1.8 and it was just too close up for the in house.
 
I too am eyeing a 30mm but Ken Rockwell says not to spend the money on the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for Canon to just get the Canon 30mm f/1.8

Does anybody have the Canon one and like it?
 
FlirtatiousBrat said:
I too am eyeing a 30mm but Ken Rockwell says not to spend the money on the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for Canon to just get the Canon 30mm f/1.8

Does anybody have the Canon one and like it?
Click to expand...

I think you mean the Canon 28 1.8 - Canon doesn't have a 30mm prime lens. Does he say why he thinks it's better? All I can find on his site is where he says it's better but there's no reasoning or photos to back it up.

When I bought my lens I debated a lot between the Canon and the Sigma, mostly because I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with the 3rd party lens or not. But everything I read, especially from people who had used both, the Sigma won out pretty much hands down. It's sharper and has more contrast than the Canon. I had heard that some people have focus issues with 3rd party lenses (the Tamron mentioned above has those issues too) but I didn't have any issues and even if you did, a simple calibration from Canon will fix the problem.

Here's a review that recommends the Sigma over the Canon complete with side-by-side comparisons: http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/28v30. Scroll down and click on the Main Tests: Resolution thumbnail - it will bring up a series of different tests with side-by-side results.

Ultimately it was these two threads that sold me on the Sigma. I was WAY more impressed by the Sigma photos than the Canon photos. I can't say I've regretted my decision at all.
Sigma 30 1.4 lens sample archive
Canon 28 1.8 lens sample archive
 
well, I used to have the Tamron but after getting the 50mm 1.4, I ended up selling it because it wasn't getting any use and the 50mm stays on my camera 99% of the time... the f/2.8 I found isn't fast enough for indoors.
 
I can tell you I had the Canon 50 1.8, if you want something cheap, get it.

WIth in a couple months of getting mine the auto focus stopped working. And its plastic.

I got where I only pulled it out at Christmas to get pictures of the tree without the flash. That's it.
 
Yes, i figured if i'm going to get a 50mm, i might as well get the 1.4. i hear the 1.8 is pretty flimsy.


nesser1981 said:
I can tell you I had the Canon 50 1.8, if you want something cheap, get it.

WIth in a couple months of getting mine the auto focus stopped working. And its plastic.

I got where I only pulled it out at Christmas to get pictures of the tree without the flash. That's it.
Click to expand...
 
I just wanted to say that for photos where the subjects are in a relatively "fixed" position (or you can freely move around your subjects)...the 50mm 1.4 really does rock!! and it is so much cheaper than the 30mm 1.4. I have some truly gorgeous photos of my kids, all a credit to the lens! (certainly not the user, LOL!)

But I'm looking for a more versatile one so Nettio has me sold on this 30mm lens! I looked at reviews on Amazon and saw similar comments to what has been said here so far.

I would like to know more about what everyone has as camera "essentials"...but I won't hijack this thread, I'll start a new one! LOL!
 
Beckie, you are welcome to hijack this thread LOL

I'm leaning more and more towards the 30mm! hehe
Anyway, just wondering what hoods are for??!
 
lliella said:
Beckie, you are welcome to hijack this thread LOL

I'm leaning more and more towards the 30mm! hehe
Anyway, just wondering what hoods are for??!
Click to expand...


it prevents lens flare and I mostly use it to protect my lens from the elements especially on a windy day.
 
Nettio said:
I think you mean the Canon 28 1.8 - Canon doesn't have a 30mm prime lens. Does he say why he thinks it's better? All I can find on his site is where he says it's better but there's no reasoning or photos to back it up.

When I bought my lens I debated a lot between the Canon and the Sigma, mostly because I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with the 3rd party lens or not. But everything I read, especially from people who had used both, the Sigma won out pretty much hands down. It's sharper and has more contrast than the Canon. I had heard that some people have focus issues with 3rd party lenses (the Tamron mentioned above has those issues too) but I didn't have any issues and even if you did, a simple calibration from Canon will fix the problem.

Here's a review that recommends the Sigma over the Canon complete with side-by-side comparisons: http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/28v30. Scroll down and click on the Main Tests: Resolution thumbnail - it will bring up a series of different tests with side-by-side results.

Ultimately it was these two threads that sold me on the Sigma. I was WAY more impressed by the Sigma photos than the Canon photos. I can't say I've regretted my decision at all.
Sigma 30 1.4 lens sample archive
Canon 28 1.8 lens sample archive
Click to expand...


I am so glad I found this. I am fixing to order my new camera and this is the lens I am going to get with it. I have the 50mm 1.8 and it has been good but it is way to close for inside shots. When I first got the 1.8 I couldn't believe the difference in my inside shots so I can't wait to see what the 1.4 does. So excited! Thanks for posting this Lynnette
 
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