Which 2 lenses for 550D to start

[Greggors]

Firstly Im sorry if this question comes up all the time, im just getting into the world of the DSLR and the range of lenses has baffled me!

Ive pretty much decided on the Canon 550D but its the choice of lense that has got me thinking.

So do I go for one of the kit lenses that come with the camera or go for body only and spend the extra on another lens. I have seen the body and 18-55IS lens in Dixons Travel (Birmingham airport) for around £480 plus Canon have £40 cashback at the moment. If I go for the body only it will only save me £15 as Dixons travel only have the one kit available. I would say my budget is £800 and would be nice to have 2 lenses. Hard to say what I will be taking shots of, possibly mountain biking and motocross sports wise also landscapes and indoor photography, so quite a wide range.

Here are the lenses I have been looking at.

Kit Lenses
Body Only £465
18-55 £483
18-135 £720

Lenses
50mm 1.8 £75
Someone at the weekend had this lens on a 550d and the images over the kit lens were alot better although felt like a cheap lens (which it is!)
28-135 IS USM £273
Have been looking at this lens as it has good reviews, looks well built and has the USM
55-250 IS £150
Not too sure on this one but seems to fill the gap nicely if I go for the 18-55

My original plan was to go the 18-55 kit, buy the 28-135 and then in a couple of months buy the 50mm but Im worried there will be too much overlap in focal lengths and not enough zoom. I was going to go for the body only but with the price at Dixons travel it seems silly not to get the lens.

Ive confused myself writing all this so hope it makes some sense to someone and you can help!

Thanks

Chris

[thefonz78]

Well what i did when nikons cashback offer was on which like you the cashback was on the body and kit lens. So buying just the body would have only saved me £25. I bought the d5100 for £600 got my £50 cashback never used the lens and sold it as new on ebay for £80. If you did something similler you could be paying just £360 for the body which is one hell of a price. I'm going for the tamron 17-50mm f2.8 very sharp and fast lens £260 Much better alternative than canon or nikons kit lens. If you got this and sold the kit lens you got with the camera for £80 you are now up to £620 Still leavin you £180 for the 50mm prime lens and a tidy tripod.

18-55 kit, buy the 28-135 and then in a couple of months buy the 50mm but Im worried there will be too much overlap in focal lengths and not enough zoom.

Yes you right don't get both these lenses the overlap to much and not a great zoom. Before buying a zoom do you know what you want to shoot? I've its landscapes you will want a wideangle not a zoom.

[Greggors]

Thanks for the reply

I work in motorsport so there is every chance I might want to shoot it, although I tend to try and spend my weekends doing something else! I do feel a zoom will come in handy to have but not fussed if its not that fast as it wont be my main lens.

How short a focal length will I need to go for general landscape photography (go for a walk, oh that looks nice, click click) nothing too serious. Bearing in mind the crop factor of 1.6 of the 550D.

[thefonz78]

the kit lens and the tamron are wide enough for general walk around landscape shots. For a zoom have a look at both tamrons and canons 70-300mm.

[rbarry]

Hi Greggors and welcome to the site.

The advice from the fonz78 is very good, although a Nikon owner, the fundamentals are all the same.

I bought the 550D last year with the kit lens; you'd be crazy not to take up the deal with the IS version of this 18-55mm kit lens. It isn't a bad lens, just search the internet for images captured with this lens to give yourself reassurance. Selling this lens on is an option, but keeping it to sell with the camera body when the time comes to upgrade, will make your sale far more attractive.

I opted for the Tamron 18-50mm f2.8 lens which I bought second hand on ebay. I have to admit I paid to have it recollimated (focus issue) and it's a truly great lens for the price. The 50mm f1.8 is the best sub £100.00 investment in a lens you can make. You won't use it all the time, but for the price it's a must have inexpensive fast lens that delivers great results.

With the quality your new camera body can deliver, it's best you stick with good "glass". I found I wasted money on lenses I thought would "do", but eventually sold on or have become redundant (unused) because they don't match up to what you can achieve. So my last lens acquisaton was an f4 70-200 IS zoom lens. What a stunning bit of kit. The 2.8 version is even better for low light scenarios, but I'm very happy with my f4 acquisation. It's light to carry around and great in most daylight conditions.

Rick.

[Greggors]

Thanks for the replies, they have given me some ideas.

I think I will look for a 70-200/300 lens for around £300 so go for a second lens with the 18-55 and get the 50mm in time.

For the time being i'll play around with the kit lens and see where I need to extend my focal length.

[Hybrid]

Depending on your style (and given that that'll only appear over time), don't write-off all-in-one lenses. I got myself a Tamron 18-250 "D!II" (whatever that means) for my Canon 50D, purely to reduce the number of lens changes I found myself doing with my older 350D.

Such lenses require more research though, as chromatic abberation and poor image sharpness are a bane with such lenses.

[ehammock]

Hi,

Having looked at the max aperture I would go for the 28-135, with your crop factor you will have more than enough reach at the telephoto end, and there are some cracking wide angles to be had for the crop sensors. They both have IS, so there is nothing to choose there. Regarding the 50mm, I have recently done some research into this and feel that the bokeh of the f1.8 50mm was surprisingly poor. I know it is cheap, but not curving the aperture leaves has a seriously detrimental effect on the shape of the bokeh. I think that a small budget increase for the f1.4 is worth it, even if it does mean saving for a little longer. It's a shame that the 1.2 is such a stratospheric jump in price, but that L does cost an 'L of a lot!!

[wave01]

hi the 550d and the 18-55is kit are are good combination to start with IMHO it is a better lens than 18-135. I would looking at what you take then i would go for the 55-250is, this lens punches way above its weight. depending on the price of that you may even be able to get the 50 1.8. job done

[modchild]

+1 for wave01, the 55-250 IS is an extremely good lens for its price, and does go perfectly well with the 18-55IS as well. If you take a look at some second hand lenses, I got my 55-250 for £110 in as new condition, you should be able to get the 50 f1.8 as well, which is a brilliant lens IQ wise if not quite build wise.