The basic lenses for your Canon DSLR or photography kit

J

jeremiahjw

Active member
Something any beginner DSLR shooter is going to want to know is what lens they should get first. I made this video to answer those questions, hope it helps!


 
You really just recommended around $5,000 worth of lenses for beginners? Way to put people off.
 
lol...yeh dude just recommended majority L series lenses for the beginner starting out. uhm...yah. I know you are trying to help and that really is admirable so i'm not taking that away from you. Kudos on that, but the reality is that a beginner wont have that kinda $. They probably barely scraped up the $$ for their t2i and nifty fifty.

Your video does look nice though.
 
IMO the first lens any DSLR video shooter should get is a vintage manual focus Nikon AIs 50mm f1.4

With that one lens you -

• get an aperture ring (modern lenses don't have one)
• you can learn about dof
• you can rack focus
• it sharp
• its a prime so you get to really learn to work just one focal length
• it matches well with modern lenses
• it holds its resale value and you should be able to sell it for the same as what you bought it.
• it will cost you around $100 used, good condition
• its flange distance means it works on all DSLR's from gh1 to canon dslr's plus red one, epic, AF100, FS100, F3

beginners ... buy this lens.

edit: the film in my signature - all close ups were shot with this lens
 
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J Davis said:
IMO the first lens any DSLR video shooter should get is a vintage manual focus Nikon AIs 50mm f1.4

With that one lens you -

• get an aperture ring (modern lenses don't have one)
• you can learn about dof
• you can rack focus
• it sharp
• its a prime so you get to really learn to work just one focal length
• it matches well with modern lenses
• it holds its resale value and you should be able to sell it for the same as what you bought it.
• it will cost you around $100 used, good condition
• its flange distance means it works on all DSLR's from gh1 to canon dslr's plus red one, epic, AF100, FS100, F3

beginners ... buy this lens.

edit: the film in my signature - all close ups were shot with this lens
Click to expand...

I love that lens and it's one of my favorites. If we were playing "the one lens to recommend" game, I'd have to say the Nikon 35mm F2 for the same reasons above, except it is normally about $50 more than the 50mm, but it gives you a much better FOV to work with than the 50mm.

Very good recommendation and points, nonetheless. Highly recommend the 50mm 1.4!
 
Video is a mess imo.... Recommending very expensive lenses to beginning shooters seems really off. Also you looking at your ipad every 2-3 seconds to read the information you are giving makes this seem very very unprofessional. Fact is most dslr shooters shoot with these cameras due to their low cost. A great video would be using vintage lenses and very specific ones that are worth it. No doubt the 70-200mm lens is excellent, but where are the alternatives or moreso why is it that it is so much better?

You brought a good message, but you failed to connect to your audience.
 
Not sure I agree with your choices... unless people are using their lenses on a daily/weekly basis, and rely on them for income, then L lenses are not really necessary.

Also you fail to make any significant distinction between the needs of a full frame vs APS-C camera. For example, you mention that the 16-35mm becomes a tighter crop on APS-C, but you don't mention the fact that there are plenty of crop-sensor-only lenses that cover this range with more features and a better price (eg Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, etc). Instead you still recommend the 16-35L even though it is designed as a superwide lens for full frame and becomes a very expensive, wide-standard zoom with a very short zoom range.

Also I'd say that for most people, the most useful lens will be a f/2.8 zoom either in the 17-55 range (for APS-C) or 24-70 (for full frame). Lenses in these ranges are available from several different manufacturers at varying price points.
 
vision_filmz said:
Video is a mess imo.... Recommending very expensive lenses to beginning shooters seems really off. Also you looking at your ipad every 2-3 seconds to read the information you are giving makes this seem very very unprofessional. Fact is most dslr shooters shoot with these cameras due to their low cost. A great video would be using vintage lenses and very specific ones that are worth it. No doubt the 70-200mm lens is excellent, but where are the alternatives or moreso why is it that it is so much better?

You brought a good message, but you failed to connect to your audience.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The cut tool is your best friend. There were a lot of awkward moments and it showed you were really winging it.
 
Those recommendations are pretty bad considering the assumed audience. A beginner DSLR owner will get way more mileage from getting a couple primes and/or the Tamron 17-50. You can go a long way with a modern 50/1.8, 35/2, and 24/2.8 on a crop body. And the Tamron zoom is a fantastic walk-around lens - and if you can't afford more than one lens, I think it's a good first lens.

I love my vintage Nikon primes, but I really wouldn't suggest them for a beginner - flaring and CA can be very annoying on those.
 
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I feel like this discussion belongs in the Canon APS-C lens discussion area. I am moving the thread.
 
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