[bain]

I am looking to buy another lens for my newly aquired 40d. I would love to buy the next step up to the kit lens 17/85 IS usm which would be the 70/300 IS or maybe the 70/200 without IS, but sadly i cant, too expensive at this stage going to the states in August dont think the missus would be pleased with MORE camera gear just yet. Any to the point i have seen a few 50mm/1.8 and 1.4 mark one and the new mark two lens on E bay and was wondering would these fit on the canon40d?. i thought i would try one mainly looking for the sharpness i seem to be lacking with the kit lens .

i intend to use it for the nice sunsets i am hoping to see in florida in august.
thanks

[stepheno]

I don't think the kit lens is the 17-85 IS USM However, to your question. You have come up with different lengths as alternatives to buy 50mm prime, 70-300mm, 70-200mm. What are you really looking for - a long zoom, mid range or a fairly short prime. The three you have mentioned are all excellent lenses but what do you want from your final choice?

[stepheno]

After a second read I would also offer -

1 If you want to shoot in low light then the 50mm f1.8.

2 If you are going on holiday then a multi-purpose lens like the 70-300 is ideal but it will struggle a bit in low-light.

3 the 70-200 does not allow for wide-angle landscapes.

4 If you specifically want low-light landscapes then I think you need to be looking at maybe the Sigma 10-20 or the Canon 17-40 and up the ISO in camera.

HTH.

[bain]

hi
i bought the 40d with the 17/85 as a package so i thought this was a kit lens, however what i want is an extention to the 17/85 in the long run, but i want sharpness from the lens short focal the 17/85 at 3.5 i feel it not quite where i want it to be, the 50m at 1.8 or 1.4 i'm sure will give me that ,so really i want both , the sharpness of the 50 m and long lenth 70/200 or 70/300 as i said before i cant afford the bigger lens just yet so i thought i would start of small if you know what i mean.

in other words what i want from my 40d is the sharpness i got from my olympus compact, i take photos where ever i see something i like and when i do ,i want it sharp as possible.
So i think that after spending a lot of my hard earned cash on a bloody good camera i have to spend out more on a lens that gives me the quality of a compact does this make sense?.
the problem of sharpness could be me , god fobid it's the camera after all it's a canon and the lens 17/85 have you seen the price !!!. i'm sure you have .
Sorry rambling on here.

really i am after a good couple of lens that cover all aspects from landscape though to capturing that squirrel in the tree i happen to be passing.
Hope this make sense.

thanks

[JMitchell]

Originally Posted by bain

So i think that after spending a lot of my hard earned cash on a bloody good camera i have to spend out more on a lens that gives me the quality of a compact does this make sense?.

No, because any image you take with the 40D will be inherently higher quality due to the size of the photosites on the sensor.
Sharp or technically good it may not be, and that's something you have to learn, which a compact did for you I imagine. Don't expect to be able to go from a compact to a dSLR and get as 'nice' first time results with the 40D. It's harder work using a dSLR, but you have control, and that's what they're about.

[stepheno]

OK - from what you have said get the 50mm, it's a steal at £50 for the Mark II. So then it's what to buy over 85mm. The other two are both good lenses, They are both f4 opened out but as I have said the 70-300 will struggle in low light at 5.6 but the IS will help. Plus, having had the 70-300, I'm not sure you will get the full 300, more like 285.

If you want to go to a constant f2.8 then you will have to cough up some mullah. Don't forget the 40D has very high IQ when shooting at high ISO, even at 1600.

[Tigress]

Originally Posted by bain

i intend to use it for the nice sunsets i am hoping to see in florida in august.
thanks

Have you looked on some US sites for a lens? If you're going to the States, you may find a better bargain with the £ rate against the $

[Sonsey]

Originally Posted by bain

hi
i bought the 40d with the 17/85 as a package so i thought this was a kit lens, however what i want is an extention to the 17/85 in the long run, but i want sharpness from the lens short focal the 17/85 at 3.5 i feel it not quite where i want it to be, the 50m at 1.8 or 1.4 i'm sure will give me that ,so really i want both , the sharpness of the 50 m and long lenth 70/200 or 70/300 as i said before i cant afford the bigger lens just yet so i thought i would start of small if you know what i mean.

I got the same package when I bought my 40D, traditionally the basic 18-55mm lens is known as the kit lens but more recently Canon have been offering kits with different lenses which can cause a bit of confusion.

The two lenses you mention will be good additions to your kit list and will allow you to cover a lot of photography. The 50mm f/1.8 is really cheap as lenses go but is also really sharp and great in low light conditions, a worthy addition to any kit bag. A lens in the 70-300mm range will be great for getting in close to your subjects and is a decent range for getting into wildlife and some sports photography etc. as well.

Originally Posted by bain

in other words what i want from my 40d is the sharpness i got from my olympus compact, i take photos where ever i see something i like and when i do ,i want it sharp as possible.
So i think that after spending a lot of my hard earned cash on a bloody good camera i have to spend out more on a lens that gives me the quality of a compact does this make sense?.
the problem of sharpness could be me , god fobid it's the camera after all it's a canon and the lens 17/85 have you seen the price !!!. i'm sure you have .
Sorry rambling on here.

There are several causes of this problem. Yes the 17-85 is partly to blame here as it isn't one of Canon's sharpest lenses, you will notice a difference in sharpness between it and the 50mm f/1.8.

Another cause of sharpness issues between compacts and DSLRs is the DSLR itself. By default it dosn't apply as much sharpening to it's images as a compact camera does. This can be changed by adjusting the sharpness levels of the various picture styles (see page 63 of the 40D manual on how to do this), but to be honest you'd be better sharpening your shots in your favourite photo editing software, this'll give you a lot more options and better results.

Lastly we come to user error being the cause of lack of sharpness in pictures, despite your 17-85 having Image Stabilisation it won't help freeze the action of moving subjects. Keeping your shutter speeds up will go along way to helping keep your shots sharp.

Originally Posted by bain

really i am after a good couple of lens that cover all aspects from landscape though to capturing that squirrel in the tree i happen to be passing.
Hope this make sense.

As mentioned, adding the 50mm f/1.8 and a 70-300 will cover you here. The 50mm is a no brainer, £56 brand new and delivered from Onestop-Digital is a bargain. You have a couple of ways you could go for a longer lens, the Sigma 70-300 APO DG is a decent starter lens that you could maybe get now since it's available for £116 (also from Onestop). Or you could just save the pennies and take some extra money with you on your holiday to America where the Canon 70-300 IS will be available to buy there for quite a bit less than what it costs here, something to think about.

[bain]

hey ! thanks fellas gave me something to thing about there, have a couple of bids on e-bay at the moment 50mm mark1 £70 and the f2.8 macro same price and i may wait till i get to florida for the 70/300 .
for sharpness taking a shot i suppose practice and more pratice.
thanks for all your feed back really is much appeciated
ihope in the future i can give something back {like reciprocity} lol .

[Chilliman]

Originally Posted by bain

hey ! thanks fellas gave me something to thing about there, have a couple of bids on e-bay at the moment 50mm mark1 £70 and the f2.8 macro same price and i may wait till i get to florida for the 70/300 .
for sharpness taking a shot i suppose practice and more pratice.
thanks for all your feed back really is much appeciated
ihope in the future i can give something back {like reciprocity} lol .

Why pay £70 from Ebay for a Mk1 when you can get a brand new 50mm MKII at onestop digital for £56.00. I use it on my 40D and it's a great little lens for low light. This guy Kerso has a ebay shop Click Here and a very good reputation to go with it. I have bought a few things from him without a problem, his prices are very good too.

Remember if you buy in US then you might get stung for duty on your return, I doubt it would happen (unless you declare it of course ) but you never know. I had the Sigma 70 300 APO DG Macro before I upgraded to a longer lens and it was great on the 40D.

[bain]

as i understand it the mk 1 is better built than the mk2 but thats what i heard with no difference in IQ

[stepheno]

I have the MkI and it is better built with a metal mount and distance calibrations on the casing. Mr Cat is selling his 50mm here.