What to buy next? (<$1k)

Bennys4mg · 27th June 2012, 5:32 PM

Hi Guys,

First time posting in this forum.. long time lurking.

I bought myself a 60D twin lens kit about 8 months ago to get into photography (had canon A85 point and shoot previously, wanted more options). Soon thereafter I bought a 50mm 1.8 and loved it, except on the crop sensor it is quite narrow!

My photography so far has consisted of the following:
- band photography (lots of leg work and frustration with punters in my way using the 50, but too much noise/blur using the kit 18-55)
- landscape/cityscape photos using the kit 18-55
- thunderstorm/lightning (longer exposures) photography using the kit 18-55
- few macros using the 50
- candid party photos using the 50
- very select photos of birds/sports using the kit 55-250

What I think I want:
a) tamron/sigma 17-50 F2.8 (canon seems expensive, I'd go FF before buying)
b) some sort of 10-20ish wide angle
c) some sort of macro
d) ND filters to suit a and b
e) no more lenses, trade everything (plus cash) for full frame (5Dmk2/D800?) and a 50
f) flash

Any suggestions?

stenchlord · 27th June 2012, 5:50 PM

Sigma 17-70mm would probably be a decent upgrade for you. Relatively fast (f/2) at the wide end and moderately fast (f4) the the tele end. Fairly versatile lens with decent range, OS/IS and AF isn't too bad either, for the price (~$430) I don't think you can do too much better.

Personal preference though, if I were buying I'd just get some primes lol.
24/1.8 and 85/1.8 would complement your 50/1.8 pretty well.

Pinkeh · 27th June 2012, 6:30 PM

Dont fall into the trap of GAS. Just use a prime you enjoy, and then shoot more photos.

I sold the 50 f/1.8 and the kit 18-55mm and got a 30mm f/1.4 for my 500D. It does everything. Fast and cheap.

You can buy more lens if you need it for a specific purpose, but i've found that the 30mm prime just sits on my crop all the time

nakey · 27th June 2012, 7:13 PM

First question: WHY do you want to buy more stuff?

Is it a limitation in what you have, or just Lens buying Addition/Gear Aquisition Syndrome?

Bennys4mg · 27th June 2012, 9:02 PM

mainly a limitation of the kit 18-55.. Primarily I want the low light performance of my 50 for band (live) photos but wider.

A couple of primes sounds good to me also! Yes I have GAS, but there is some thought behind the madness.

18mm has been wide enough for me so far, but wouldn't mind experimenting with something even wider (hence the 10-20mm option) for landscapes/storms.

Jackolow · 27th June 2012, 9:08 PM

whats wrong with a gas when starting out? at least he's set a budget.

It depends how quickly you want to go FF. If you do, get something at onsells well.

If you're not going to FF for a while, go the 30mm and see if you like it more than the 50mm, then get some money back from the 50mm and get the next lens.

My first thing i got after the 50mm was a flash. Definitely was a good decision (got to learn a lot more about simple lighting and party photos turned out really well).., and something like a yongnui ETTL flash is so cheap nowadays

27th June 2012, 5:32 PM	#1
Bennys4mg Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Newcastle Posts: 385	What to buy next? (<$1k) Hi Guys, First time posting in this forum.. long time lurking. I bought myself a 60D twin lens kit about 8 months ago to get into photography (had canon A85 point and shoot previously, wanted more options). Soon thereafter I bought a 50mm 1.8 and loved it, except on the crop sensor it is quite narrow! My photography so far has consisted of the following: - band photography (lots of leg work and frustration with punters in my way using the 50, but too much noise/blur using the kit 18-55) - landscape/cityscape photos using the kit 18-55 - thunderstorm/lightning (longer exposures) photography using the kit 18-55 - few macros using the 50 - candid party photos using the 50 - very select photos of birds/sports using the kit 55-250 What I think I want: a) tamron/sigma 17-50 F2.8 (canon seems expensive, I'd go FF before buying) b) some sort of 10-20ish wide angle c) some sort of macro d) ND filters to suit a and b e) no more lenses, trade everything (plus cash) for full frame (5Dmk2/D800?) and a 50 f) flash Any suggestions? __________________ witty signature.

27th June 2012, 5:50 PM	#2
stenchlord Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sydney, NSW Posts: 4,333	Sigma 17-70mm would probably be a decent upgrade for you. Relatively fast (f/2) at the wide end and moderately fast (f4) the the tele end. Fairly versatile lens with decent range, OS/IS and AF isn't too bad either, for the price (~$430) I don't think you can do too much better. Personal preference though, if I were buying I'd just get some primes lol. 24/1.8 and 85/1.8 would complement your 50/1.8 pretty well. __________________ MAIN 2700K \| CORSAIR H80 \| MAXIMUS IV GENE-Z \| 16GB RIPJAWS-X \| 2GB GTX-670 DIRECTCU II TOP \| M4 128GB \| VERTEX2 120GB \| AX850 \| ARC MINI \| IPS235V + TH-L47ET5A \| FILCO NINJA TKL RED \| G700 \| SOLO6C \| A700 STORAGE 2xHOTWAY \| 13TB BACKUP Q9400 \| MEGA SHADOW \| RAMPAGE FORMULA \| 4GB DOMINATOR \| 2GB HD6970 \| VERTEX2 60GB \| HX620 \| FT-01 \| E2420HD \| DAS PRO \| MAMBA \| Z2300 WORK HP 13.3" \| SU7300 1.3GHZ \| 4GB \| FORCE 60GB \| 32GB SDHC

27th June 2012, 6:30 PM	#3
Pinkeh Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 7,254	Dont fall into the trap of GAS. Just use a prime you enjoy, and then shoot more photos. I sold the 50 f/1.8 and the kit 18-55mm and got a 30mm f/1.4 for my 500D. It does everything. Fast and cheap. You can buy more lens if you need it for a specific purpose, but i've found that the 30mm prime just sits on my crop all the time __________________ Photography: Gear, Flickr ASUS P8P67 EVO, Core i5 2500K, Sapphire 6970x2, 32GB Corsair Vengenance RAM, WD Caviar Black 4TB, Green 4x 3TB, NZXT Phantom Red Full Tower, Cosair TX950 PSU \| QNAP412 4x2TB Hitachi 7k3000 RAID5 \| BF3 Stats

27th June 2012, 9:02 PM	#5
Bennys4mg Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Newcastle Posts: 385	mainly a limitation of the kit 18-55.. Primarily I want the low light performance of my 50 for band (live) photos but wider. A couple of primes sounds good to me also! Yes I have GAS, but there is some thought behind the madness. 18mm has been wide enough for me so far, but wouldn't mind experimenting with something even wider (hence the 10-20mm option) for landscapes/storms. __________________ witty signature.

27th June 2012, 9:08 PM	#6
Jackolow Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Mount Isa, Qld Posts: 1,526	whats wrong with a gas when starting out? at least he's set a budget. It depends how quickly you want to go FF. If you do, get something at onsells well. If you're not going to FF for a while, go the 30mm and see if you like it more than the 50mm, then get some money back from the 50mm and get the next lens. My first thing i got after the 50mm was a flash. Definitely was a good decision (got to learn a lot more about simple lighting and party photos turned out really well).., and something like a yongnui ETTL flash is so cheap nowadays