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stroma88
14-Apr-10, 19:52
hello there!
ive been thiinking of saving up for a sparkly new lens for my digital camera as i really want to get back into photography. however after researching different lenses i am left feeling a bit lost and confused!!

at the moment im using the canon 350D which isnt bad but im stuck with the lens that came with the body. its a lot better than my last camera but i feel i could do so much more with the right lens!

so im wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction when it comes to types of lenses and brands? im looking for a zoom lens tha can deal with low lighting as i like to take photos of bands. im not going for something really pricey as im a poor student! :P if i won the lottery tonight i would love to get a brand new camera!
fingers crossed!

Boozeburglar
14-Apr-10, 23:04
one of my best mates works with high asa film long lens all natural light band shots, and he is widely published (Uncut mag + loads more)

stylistic, and very evocative

I confess I know little about Canon, but I would be looking for some old fast glass manual focus gubbins.

stroma88
15-Apr-10, 19:54
wow! thats pretty cool, whats their name? might look them up!
ive just started taking band photos and finding it really difficult just because of the low lighting!

Boozeburglar
15-Apr-10, 23:08
P Doherty.

You will be lucky to find much on him online.

He uses a few aliases.

If you scan a few old Uncut mags you will see his work.

Very stylistic, and he does a lot of other things too.

:)

~~Tides~~
16-Apr-10, 13:33
I know how you feel, I'm in the same situation. But, alas, the funds are not present.


Cheapest and best website I've found is www.camerabox.co.uk

A very good website for reviews etc: www.the-digital-picture.com


I would love a Canon EF-S 15-88mm IS USM, about £500 on the former website above. Out of all the Canon lenses, it seems to do the most for the least amount of nuggets.
However, there is a huge amount of information on the latter link there, it will give you lists of the best lenses available for certain budgets too. I have yet to come across a website with such comprehensive tests on every lens.

stroma88
16-Apr-10, 20:00
i think i know roughly what i want, i just dont know which ones are good and which ones arent!

thanks for the links, they look really good and helpful! :)

cemmts
17-Apr-10, 09:44
50-150mm f/2.8 about £350
http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/lenses/dclenses/50-150mmEX.htm

Or a 70mm-210mm f/2.8 if you can find one anyting much bigger looking at £1000's

I ran a 70mm-210mm f/2.8 for no flash band work

Maybe to keep costs down go for a older EOS fit good lens

cemmts
17-Apr-10, 09:52
http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/lenses/telezoom/70-200mm.htm

Can be found for around £500

Oh I guess you dont want to spend the 2.5k - 3k for the canon lens thus linking Sigmas

Before anyone jumps down my throat in .org style

:)

stroma88
17-Apr-10, 10:29
haha, i would love to if i had the money!

yea i have been looking at sigma, think thats what im gonna go for.
i might just buy a cheap zoom for now(impaitent!) and slowly save up for a more expensive one. i was looking at ones that were 70-210mm, i will probably save for one of them.

thanks for the links and help! :)

Deemac
17-Apr-10, 11:24
Just a wee note, but I would recommend googling "Camerabox reviews" and seeing what you come up with!. I have not personnaly used them but was not inspired to do business.

cemmts
17-Apr-10, 11:38
Some pictures scanned from 35mm with a sigma 70-210 2.8 apo

http://i41.tinypic.com/30vj09l.jpghttp://i39.tinypic.com/2i5lcz.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/59sncm.jpg

~~Tides~~
17-Apr-10, 12:18
RE Camerabox,


I didn't know about those reviews! I haven't used them yet, but when the savings come to fruition I was intending to buy from them, purely as their website looked bona fide and they were pretty much the cheapest.

I certainly wont be now. Thanks for that Deemac.

stroma88
17-Apr-10, 14:04
Just a wee note, but I would recommend googling "Camerabox reviews" and seeing what you come up with!. I have not personnaly used them but was not inspired to do business.

thanks fo rthe heads up!
do you know of any good sites for lenses?

Deemac
17-Apr-10, 16:27
I've used www.simplyelectronics.net (http://www.simplyelectronics.net) for my last few photographic purchases.

Just don't be too impatient with them as they appear to have nothing in stock (just like most other web retailers these days!!). 5 to 10 working days seems fine by me especially if I save hundreds of pounds on a single item price!

cemmts
17-Apr-10, 16:33
Simply eletronics sell out of HongKong thus maybe cause of the delay.

cemmts
07-May-10, 12:43
Did you buy a lens yet Stroma ?

Deemac
07-May-10, 19:18
I've got a Sigma 30mm prime f1.4 (Canon fit) up for grabs if you make me a sensible offer. Immaculate condition. Pm me if interested.:D

stroma88
07-May-10, 23:27
no i havent, just dont have enough money at the mo to buy anything reasonable. hoping to save up some money in the summer though :)
i also have a wee canon powershot to sell which will go towards a lens too.

thank you Deemac for your offer but im afraid i wouldnt be able to offer you much! joys of being a student!!

thanks again for all the links, i will deff be having a another browse when i have some pennies!

p.s on the bright side i have a new distraction while i save. i bought a om20 with 3 lenses and flashgun all for £35 off ebay. hopefully get to develop my own film after the summer!

:)

cemmts
08-May-10, 09:51
Yes I have a wee Canon A560 Powershot for "quick pics"
But I fell to the Dark side and went with Nikon for dslr :(

Best of luck

dragonfly
08-May-10, 10:04
I've used www.simplyelectronics.net (http://www.simplyelectronics.net) for my last few photographic purchases.

Just don't be too impatient with them as they appear to have nothing in stock (just like most other web retailers these days!!). 5 to 10 working days seems fine by me especially if I save hundreds of pounds on a single item price!

definately recommend Simply Electronics, massive savings from them compared to other retailers

Deemac
08-May-10, 11:11
I've got a Sigma 30mm prime f1.4 (Canon fit) up for grabs if you make me a sensible offer. Immaculate condition. Pm me if interested.:D

Lens now sold