Newbie question

[Beccah]

This might sound silly, but I'm new to all this SLR stuff. My plan is to stick with the kit lens I have for the time being, but later on I'll be looking into buying a new one. I've read a few guides on the internet, but I still can't get my head around all the different types.

What I mainly want to photograph is bits of architecture and things around my home town. Could somebody tell this newbie what sort of lens I should be reading up on for this purpose?

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by Beccah

This might sound silly, but I'm new to all this SLR stuff. My plan is to stick with the kit lens I have for the time being, but later on I'll be looking into buying a new one. I've read a few guides on the internet, but I still can't get my head around all the different types.

What I mainly want to photograph is bits of architecture and things around my home town. Could somebody tell this newbie what sort of lens I should be reading up on for this purpose?

What camera are you using? What will your budget be?

The kit lens should actually work just fine for architecture and as a general walk-around lens. Use it for a good long while and see if there's anything you want that it can't do, this will guide your upgrade path.

[Jill H]

I would agree with the previous reply. Get used to your camera, practise a lot, see what direction you are heading in photographically, and then purchase an upgrade lens to suit your style.

[RexK_Cozumel]

If you are planning on taking architecture photography seriously then you might want to consider getting a tilt shift lens. This will allow you to keep the sensor parallel to the verticals of the building so that they do not angle in. Of course said lenses are pretty expensive.

[inkista]

Just to get a handle on what all the different numbers mean, I'd recommend going through this basic guide to lenses.

For architecture, most people prefer a wide angle lens with a minimum of distortion, or the ability to correct for perspective/keystoning. So, a wide angle tilt-shift is probably the best kind of lens--assuming you're talking about architectural photography in its stricter sense: where the photo looks like an architectural projection of the building.

However, with digital and post-processing software, it's actually pretty easy to accomplish perspective and distortion correction in post, so that can widen your choice of lenses, if you're willing to have all the changes be done in post-processing and stretching pixels about. Pros prefer to use lenses to do as much of the work as possible, to have a better starting point before post processing. But, as Rex mentioned, high-quality tilt-shifts tend to have four-figure price tags.

An 18-55 IS/VR kit lens is actually a very useful lens for architecture shots. You may want to use a tripod and learn to stop the lens down for more sharpness and depth of field.

[kathiemt]

I have a Nikon D90 and two kit lenses. For my first 12 months I stuck with those until I really got addicted and then started to invest in more lenses. Probably good to get used to what you have first and then look to add to them once you have a better feel for your camera.

[Indigo November]

You should find this helpful.
How to Choose the Best Digital SLR Lens