jambredz
Veteran
Solid advice all around. The most valid I think is the suggestion to slow down, get the lens that comes with the camera and shoot everyday for a couple weeks and come back. Also during those weeks watch youtube tutorials on dslr filmaking and photography. There's a lot of tutorials there if you search. If u don't know the basics you won't know why when u shoot the image looks so damn bright. Then when u compensate for the brightness you won't know why the heck is every darn thing in focus. Where's the shallow depth of field people rave about. Then you find out something called ND filters ect. This is just one example of a problem when u don't know basics. So shoot with the stock lens and come back. You also mention you want to shoot stills. Well an autofocus lens (it also has a manual option)will be better than a manual lens in ur situation which is why some people mention the 50mm 1.8. Do u even know WHY u want a manual lens? Someone mentioned u need the aperature control on the lens but you seem pretty lost as to why. So pls learn the basics b4 u take this plunge...it can be quite costly.
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manual primes usually have a long "focus throw" meaning the focus ring as a large degree of rotation. This is very useful for "follow focusing" or keeping people in focus while they move through the frame. Another reason for manual primes are the fact that they usually can be used on other cameras with an appropriate adapter. If u get autofocus lenses they are designed for canon cameras and can't be used with other cameras.therefore that is why someone mentioned u need the iris control on the lens (manual lenses) because the autofocus lenses usually have the iris controled by the camera itself. Though now there are adapters that can enable them to be used with some cameras...but those are expensive. Another reason for manual primes are that they usually have characteristic looks to them. This may or maynot be to your liking. A lot don't have the coating that modern lenses today have and therefore they flare in the sun a lot sometimes. I however like that and many others do also. For still photos though u may want to get autofocus lenses. They have the ability to focus things very quickly and accurately (reason for short focus throw). Therefore you need communication between camera and lens. The old manual primes have NO communication with the camera. That can also affect how you measure exposure but that's another story.