Help with lenses! Please

[oldcountrygirl]

Hi, I am looking at lenses and the more I look and more I read the more infused I become. First, I have a Cannon T3i w/kit lens and a EF 55-250mm SI. I am looking at a 70-300, 100-400 and the 70-200. Also I would like to invest in a good lens for close ups a 100 mm or 60mm? I am pretty new to all of this; I love to shoot wildlife, birds, flowers etc….. Please help with any recommendations. Thank you in advance.

[RichardTaylor]

For wild life, birds etc the longer the better.

Here's why. (see post #12)

Bird Photography help

I use a Canon 100-400 a lot. It is a very versatile lens and can be used for close ups, including flowers (not macro as well)

See this thread.

Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens


For macro's I would recommend a ~100mm macro lens as it will give you more working room to your subject. Canon make two good 100mm macro lenses.

[inkista]

Slow down. Take a breath and a step back.

If this is your first SLR, I'd say don't buy any additional lenses other than the kit for a while. Just learning your way around the camera, the 18-55 kit lens, and the exposure triangle are going to be a lot to be going on with. Then the whole RAW & post-processing thing.

Add equipment as you need it, and know what you need.

I throw a lot of money away on glass, so my suggestion is to start out with "the training wheels triple" of the 18-55, the 55-250 IS, and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. You're liable to replace all three of them eventually. But in the meantime, for less than the price of one mid-range lens (particularly if you got the 18-55 kitted with the body), you'll have covered wide to telelphoto (18-250), slow/fast, zoom/prime, and stabilized and not. That's a good knowledge base from which to choose your next lenses.

People will confuse you, because they'll recommend what they bought, because it works FOR THEM. You might shoot something different, or differently from them, and a different lens might be a better solution. And you need to get some experience with lenses before you can figure out what you need. A lot of folks will tell you to aim directly at the top for the L lenses and not to "waste" your money in between. Again, that's what worked for them. But they're more liable to be pros who can write lenses off on their taxes as a business expense, or they're just rich folks to whom $1000 isn't a big deal. Your situation could be different. Part of the fit is your budget.

First, learn about lenses.

Then, work out a budget.

That will narrower the field considerably to begin with down to a few models. From there, you can research the individual lenses, look at sample images. And only then would I go asking personal opinions on experiences with given lenses, all the while keeping firmly in mind, what my own personal prejudices and shooting habits are like.

You could also rent lenses for a while, to see which ones work better for you and which ones suit your personal style/budget better. An L lens can be surprisingly heavy and huge the first time you use one--something that rarely gets mentioned in all the hairsplitting over test charts.

Buy one lens at a time. It takes a while to master each individual lens's quirks and handling, and getting a ton of stuff all at the same time will only serve to confuse you. Prioritize by what you want to shoot the most. Use your P&S camera for macros until you get a macro lens.

[camerz]

It took me a long time to realize what lens are natural for me. I was always tempted by the more expensive lens or the lens that worked for someone else, or whatever...but I never took the time to find the lens natural to my way of looking at things. When I did, I bought the best lens (I could afford) in that category, which for me is wide angle, and then a zoom to take care of left over mm and a fast 50mm or in my case a fast 35mm. and I was then finished with buying lens. Just my expeerience, but the lesson for me is work with what you have and learn what what you need.

[oldcountrygirl]

Thank you all so much, I will take your advise and just learn my camera first, Thanks again, you have made me feel much better.