Lens Advice - Canon

Hey All,

I'm going to begin this post with a noob warning. I just bought my first entry level dslr a short while ago. I have been mostly shooting urban architecture and vehicles in typical scenes.

I purchased an eos sl3 with the standard 18-55mm lens.

I am looking to add a wide angle lens as from what I understand, the types of photography I am into, this type of lens would benefit me greatly.

With that said, there seems to be a huge variance in both offering and price. I'm never going to be a professional. Hell, instagram people with iPhones are gonna wreck me.

I am not a brand whore, nor am I looking for the greatest glass.

Thoughts?

I've been seriously out of that game since digital became a thing but back then glass quality, construction quality and the light gathering ability were the major factors in a lens' pricing.

Probably the same now plus you've got electronics and motors built into a modern days lens. Personally, I always stuck with the same brand for both my camera body and lens, not saying you should though. Many people will turn their noses up at kit lenses but the bulk of photographers can produce wonderful pictures with just a kit lenses.

Also, are physical media filters even a thing anymore?

As far as I can tell filters are definitely still a thing. My camera has a whole wack of software filters. It's my understanding that professionals use physical filters and higher quality glass then a doofus like me.

I will definitely pickup a 50mm lens for portraits in the future as opposed to using a software filter.

I still don't know what I am looking at for wide angle. .

Assuming you're not wanting to spend a lot of money, you could look into something like this:
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-camera-camco...non/1468821624

Samyang also has a decent 14mm wide angle lens for cheap:
https://www.amazon.ca/Samyang-Ultra-...006MI1T4A?th=1

but it's completely manual focus and manual aperture. They make a version where the aperture can be set through the camera, but it costs a little more. That said, with wide angle lenses, the further back your subject is from you, the more things will be in focus so that's not really that big of a deal.

Another option is getting a fisheye lens and de-fishing it in post production.

Hey D. Solid advice and thanks for the link to Kijiji. I'll take you up on that. Ps may I ask you to change the thread title as I obviously messed up. I apologize about the spelling.

My only suggestion is to get a zoom lens rather than a prime for UWA if it's going to be your only UWA. With UWA/landscape in particular, you will very often be limited by where you can physically stand or move to (or won't be able to control where other bystanders are), and the ability to zoom more often than not is the solution to that problem. There are lots of good, cheap, UWA zooms out there.

How about the Canon 10-18mm?

Well, I rarely used my DSLR now, but recall the 10-18mm is a decent lens, small, light, very wide, fast, and good price.

My intention would be to use it for medium to low light stationary shots.

More research required!!

You guys are awesome. Feels like old beyond in here!!

Get something with image stabilization if you can - the importance of that on an UWA cannot be overstated for many types of work. Lots of places don't allow tripods or are not conducive to setting one up, and it's also generally inconvenient. It could put you out of budget though, so you'll have to see.

https://www.vistek.ca/store/274870/c...BoCl6EQAvD_BwE

Ouch..I couldn't believe how cheap it is now!

10mm ultra wide, + OIS feature, you can easily hand hold to shoot photo at low light! Say 1/4 of a second no problem! (Architecture, vehicles etc as you said) unless you are taking photos for moving object, don't really need a fast lens.

Holy shit, that's your winner right there.

Just don't buy it from Vistek - get TCS or literally anywhere else (except Seneal) to match the price. If anything goes wrong at all you're SOL with Vistek.

It's also $10 cheaper in BC, so get TCS to match the $249 and you're good to go.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mitsu3000gt

Just don't buy it from Vistek - get TCS or literally anywhere else (except Seneal) to match the price. If anything goes wrong at all you're SOL with Vistek.

It's also $10 cheaper in BC, so get TCS to match the $249 and you're good to go.

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What is SOL? I always have good experience with Vistek and TCS, even Saneal was pretty good years ago .. did Vistek did something bad to you? (haven't bought gears from there for few years)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C4S

What is SOL? I always have good experience with Vistek and TCS, even Saneal was pretty good years ago .. did Vistek did something bad to you? (haven't bought gears from there for few years)

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Shit outta luck.

Vistek and Seneal wash their hands of all responsibility as soon as you leave the store, even if the item is defective when you get home. They also do not allow returns if you have used the product. TCS gives you two weeks to return for any reason and you can use the item - they also help you with warranty claims. I think you have 30 days for defective product too.

I tried to return an unused $20 camera case to Vistek once and it took over an hour and a chat with the manager. I've only ever had horrible experiences there and I know other members here have had similar experiences. One guy bought a flash from Seneal, brought it home to find it was defective and Seneal told him to pound sand haha. If you buy a lens and get a bad copy, you are screwed. They are just horrible companies (IMO) and almost never have the best prices.

Another time I was in Vistek, I tried to get them to match a price with TCS and they told me, I shit you not, that TCS posts fake prices online that are different from their in-store prices and therefore they can't match them. I hate that place.

TCS staff has gone downhill IMO in terms of knowledge, but they are the best local store by far in terms of post-sale support and I buy everything there still. Just find the cheapest price online, get TCS to match, and you get both the best price and a generous return/exchange period.

A UWA such as the 10-18mm or 10-22mm, and a basic 50mm 1.8 prime lens will give you some decent pictures without shelling out too much cash.

Check Kijiji for used lenses if you don't want to go new. Most people baby their equipment so as long as it's in good condition and has no scratches you should be okay.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freshvibes

A UWA such as the 10-18mm or 10-22mm, and a basic 50mm 1.8 prime lens will give you some decent pictures without shelling out too much cash.

Check Kijiji for used lenses if you don't want to go new. Most people baby their equipment so as long as it's in good condition and has no scratches you should be okay.

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^^ This
The 10-18 is a decent cheap lens, and the 50 1.8 is excellent optically. There is a lot of used gear on Kijiji/Facebook right now.