Should I Go For The Canon T2i Body Online Or Kit Lens? What about wide angle add ons?

[skital]

Should I just buy the body and get a separate all purpose lens? If so, what lenses should I be considering. I'm not sure what kind this camera takes.

I am looking at 50mm 1.2 and 1.4 lenses, but they aren't really all purpose, but definitely good for low light. I have seen some autofocus wide angle lens add ones that go over the SLR lens that seem like the ones you use on a camcorder which are supposed to widen the view of a 50mm lens or other SLR lenses.

Would this be good choice for widening a 50mm SLR lens without having to use an all purpose lens with a higher F stop to have wider angle while keeping better low light than with say the kit lens or most all purpose lens that seem to all have pretty high F-stops?

 

[Lammy]

Should I just buy the body and get a separate all purpose lens? If so, what lenses should I be considering. I'm not sure what kind this camera takes.

I am looking at 50mm 1.2 and 1.4 lenses, but they aren't really all purpose, but definitely good for low light. I have seen some autofocus wide angle lens add ones that go over the SLR lens that seem like the ones you use on a camcorder which are supposed to widen the view of a 50mm lens or other SLR lenses.

Would this be good choice for widening a 50mm SLR lens without having to use an all purpose lens with a higher F stop to have wider angle while keeping better low light than with say the kit lens or most all purpose lens that seem to all have pretty high F-stops?

I find most wide angle adapters quite poor at wider apertures. They're super soft, like a creamy soft filter if you have the lens at f/1.4. I have to stop down to f/5.6 at the least (and even then you still get alot of chromatic aberation) so it negates the use of having better low light cheaper lenses.

If you had to get an adapter, 0.45x ones tend to have more distortion and are more pleasing than 0.7x adapters IMO. I bought a few from ebay for £20 so I'm not too fussy.

Just try and see whats acceptable for you...

 

[roxics]

The beauty of an SLR is that you can just choose a different lens. Pick up a nice wide angle prime lens. BTW the Canon 50 f1.2 is a pricey lens. Even the f1.4 is several hundred. But the 50mm f1.8 is a steal at $50-$80.

 

[saneproductions]

Try to cover these focal lengths 25 35 50 and then add 85. Once you have this covered you can think about adding more on the wide end like the Tokina 11-16 F2.8. Do a ton more research before you buy anything!

Note that as you get wider the lenses get slower (higher f stop numbers), more expensive and the difference between a few mm is greater. 10mm is 10% wider than 11 mm (a very big difference) while 85mm and 90mm are almost the same.

You probaly won't shoot much all the way wide as keeping things in focus is tough. Most films are shot between f2.8 and f4.

Also remember that each stop is twice as much light. Full Stops are F1, F1.4, F2, F2.8, F4, F5.6, F8, F11, F16 and F22. Other nubers you see are usually 1/3 stop increments.

See:: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number

 

[shaocaholica]

A manual focus older 50mm might be more useful for video compared to the current Canon USM models. The extra 1/2 stop you get with the 1.2 might not be worth it when you can put that money into other lenses unless you can afford it without any reservations.

 

[skital]

I find most wide angle adapters quite poor at wider apertures. They're super soft, like a creamy soft filter if you have the lens at f/1.4. I have to stop down to f/5.6 at the least (and even then you still get alot of chromatic aberation) so it negates the use of having better low light cheaper lenses.

If you had to get an adapter, 0.4x ones tend to have less distortion and are more pleasing than 0.7x adapters. I bought a few from ebay for £20 so I'm not too fussy.

Just try and see whats acceptable for you...

Have you tried any of the more expensive wide angle adapters in the .4 range? Do you think maybe they would yield a sharper picture when wide open?

 

[Lammy]

Have you tried any of the more expensive wide angle adapters in the .4 range? Do you think maybe they would yield a sharper picture when wide open?

No I haven't, as I just took the plunge and bought a few wider lenses anyway.

I do sometimes use a .45x on my Vivitar 28mm f/1.9 lens though, it's actually quite bearable to use at f/4.0.

Oh and I made a boo boo on my previous post, actually a 0.7x would give less distortion, obviously because it's not as severe with widening the view.

I would say if I go for the T2i/550D, I would buy the kit lens just because an 18mm wide end at f/3.5 is still a damn good deal.

 

[skital]

No I haven't, as I just took the plunge and bought a few wider lenses anyway.

I do sometimes use a .45x on my Vivitar 28mm f/1.9 lens though, it's actually quite bearable to use at f/4.0.

Oh and I made a boo boo on my previous post, actually a 0.7x would give less distortion, obviously because it's not as severe with widening the view.

I would say if I go for the T2i/550D, I would buy the kit lens just because an 18mm wide end at f/3.5 is still a damn good deal.

Yeah, I think I will get the kit lens too if I get the T2i and just buy extra lenses later. This camera is very exciting. I still remember years ago wanting the Panasonic DV100A/B so bad, but it cost a fortune at about $3,500 and came down in price SOOOO slowly. It took forever, but it seemed the Canon HV20 changed a lot of things. I love Canon. Since then now we have a DSLR that shoots 1080p at 24p/30p with interchangeable lenses for a fraction of the price of a 480p 4:3 DVX100A/Band also has that highly sought after shallow depth that some paid upto $8,000 for or risked losing a lot of extra light to obtain with a DIY adapter. Now it is available in DSLR format for under a grand and with way better low light.

Amazing.