• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Canon EOS Lenses - Any Recommendations?

M

Milwaukee Reptiles

Gecko Addict
Joined
Jun 15, 2004
Messages
830
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
41
Location
Milwaukee, WI
Hey all,

I'm going to be getting a Canon EOS 20D sometime before Christmas rolls around, and I was hoping you all could provide some insight on some decent lenses. I want to be able to do some landscape / city skyline work, reptile / flower close-ups, longer distance zoom types (for when we're up north and see a deer accross the lake and such), and I'd like to be able to use it for family gatherings. I'm looking for a value-priced (not necessarily cheap, but more than $500/lens is out of my range), but I still want to get some decent pics for those 4 basic scenarios. I'm definitely open to getting more than one lens (I'm well aware there is no lens for every situation!)

Any recommendations / ideas?
 
I got a Tamron 28-200 (regular) lens, also. I would rate the quality at medium, but like you say, it's really versatile.

That would still leave you with at least a couple hundred bucks left over. With that money, I would get a high quality wide angle, or close up lens, depending on which you consider more important. Personally, I have found the Tamron performs quite well at longer focal lengths, but not so hot at 28mm.

You can get decent close ups at 200mm, but the depth of field is quite shallow, due to the relatively small objective lens, so you gotta compose those babies carefully.

Between the 2 extremes, it performs quite well, but if you want really good wide angle shots, or really good close ups, you will need another lens.

HAHA I just spell checked this before posting, and the spell checker suggests I use "tampon" instead of "tamron".
 
Milwaukee Reptiles said:
Is that the XR series glass Jeremy or the regular one?
Click to expand...
Brian, it is the XR. Not great for everything but good. A very practical first lense.
 
I'm getting the 18-55mm Canon lens that comes with the camera (unfortunately not the IS USM version, just the regular), so I'll probably end up using that for most of my wider shots. I guess that will also work pretty well around the house for holidays and such. I guess the only other one's I need are a telephoto (any ideas?) and possibly a macro (again, any ideas?)

Thanks for the help so far.

PS. Jeremy - Those pics from when you were at the Milwaukee Zoo... were those shot with that Tamron lens? Think you could send me a few at high res if they were? Thanks.
 
HA! I finally pulled the trigger. After months and months of talking about it, I finally went ahead and ordered it tonight. $1,389.94 through amazon, plus $100 mail in rebate. I would have ordered through B&H but they're closed for the holiday and I want to get it before I go up north next weekend. Should be fun to play with and get familiar with while I'm up there.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...44281-7664135?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846
 
I use a tamron 28-80mm lens for most of my regular photographs, just an all around great affordable lens. I use it in conjunction with a 4x teleconverter.

As coincidence would have it, there is an ebay auction ending in one day for the very same lens and it happens to be a seller I have done business with here in buffalo before! Could not complain.... Was quite happy. The auction says $99 but the bidding is at .99 for some reason, perhaps a typo? Either way I would suggest taking a peek, its for a canon setup too!

http://cgi.ebay.com/99-CANON-28-80-...oryZ4687QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are some photos I have recently taken with the very same lens along with my Nikon D70 and 4x teleconverter:

102105_14.JPG


102105_15.JPG


102105_11.JPG


DSC_3981.JPG


DSC_3977.JPG
 
As for a macro, save up a bit of change and get the Tamron 90mm 1:2.8 Lens w/ 1:1 Macro! Yes, thats what I said, 1:1!!!

And of course use that in conjunction with a 1.4 Teleconverter as I previously suggested :)

Macro Examples:

macroheadshot4.JPG


macroheadshot8.JPG


gatormacro.JPG


macrotest2.JPG




(and also a rare glimpse of our black eyed project leo since we're looking at macros....:))
macroheadshot9.JPG
 
Hey all, I just got back from my weekend up in Escanaba, MI (U.P). Here are just three that I took during my first weekend with the camera, most with very little (cropping) or no post-processing (no time yet). Let me know what you think (especially from a technical standpoint). I'm always looking to improve!

All were taken with the Kit 18-55 lens, since that's all I've had the cash for so far.

Overlooking Lake Michigan
9_med.jpg


My Grandparents looking out over Michgan
10_med.jpg


Macro-type shot of some plant (I was never good at knowing what they are called), walking along a path by the hotel
11_med.jpg


And a quick attempt at a panorama shot (put together with PhotoStich, the default canon stuff. Needs work since you can obviously see the seams (especially the middle one), but I think if I had more time it would look pretty decent. It doesn't look half bad when it's 7000 pixels wide
panorama_bad.jpg
 
The close ups are really nice, and I especially like the shot of the white berries framed by the red leaves. Cool.

I think the tree pic could have been "stopped down" a couple more f-stops. The bright wash, where the sun hits the water, draws your eye away from the more interesting part of the pic, which is the tree, and the rays of light above it. I think the little bit of lens flare at the treetop actually adds to the pic.

For outdoor shots that involve a lot of sky, you might want to check into a circular polarizer. They are very useful sometimes. (not always)
 
Sorry, I see that the close ups were posted by a different member. Well, I liked them. Very tight detail, and good lighting.
 
Actually the one with the berries was me. I kind of agree on the one with the tree. I don't have my laptop with me so I'm not sure what f value I used, but It definitly could have been cut down a bit. The glare off the wtaer does take it over a bit too much. I do like the star effect from the sun in that one though.
 
I have the 20D. I had the 10D before that. May I suggest the Canon AF 128-135 IS as your all purpose lens. Yes, it is the total budget, but the Image Stabilization is super and the optics are great too. I use it to take all sorts of pics including my Lizards!!
 
Thanks for the advice. I actually blew the entire budget on the new 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM, so I'll have to wait on the 28-135. Thanks for the ercommendation though. I figure I'll probably end up with that one by christmas or so.

We went to the zoo this weekend and took some pics. I like the framing but my shutter speeds were too low with the telephoto to get anything decent out of it, plus I mistakenly used 9 pt autofocus where I should have focused more on the animal. Oh well, I'm still learning. Here are the pics:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73189
 
Back
Top