A Question About DSLR Lenses

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A Question About DSLR Lenses
Hi, I had recently got a Canon T3i kit awhile back and have been using the lens that came with it. Unfortunately the lens doesn't have the capabilities I would like.

Does anyone have any advice for a longer range lens that is a reasonable price that will work with my camera? (The closer to $100 the better! )

Also, I had a question about "fish-eye lenses." My friend recently mentioned I should look into getting one, what are these and are there any good ones for a reasonable price? (Are they lenses or attachments to lenses, because when I tried looking it up some parts that claimed to be lenses looked like they were to be attached between the body and lens?)

Thanks so much in advance everyone!


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you should really do some research and read up on photography before you start throwing money at accessories, example- fish eye lens, those are typically expensive, and give a pretty cool effect, so it sounds like your friend would like one.

go to the library and start with general photography


Besides not mentioning exactly what "capabilities" you are looking beyond "long range" (whatever that is), the $100 mark makes it sound like you bit off a hobby bigger than you can afford.

As far as "fish-eye lenses", what exactly do you need one for? Friends will give all sorts of suggestions, but that doesn't mean it has anything to do wit the type of photography that you do.

Figure out what you want to be doing with the camera, learn about what's out there and ask more specific questions.


"long range lens" and "reasonable price" never go together when talking about SLRs or DSLRs; they're not cheap

you didn't mention what lens you already had (probably a 55?), but $100 is no where near enough budget

I'm guessing you didn't bother to learn about regular SLRs first...300 lenses are around $400, as much as the body itself...even a 200/250 would be about $200


fish-eye lenses do what the name suggests...are they worth it?; no, not when you can get a junky digital camera on clearance that would have multiple filters/effects


having a dslr is not necessarily a money sink. for some people it may be way more than they want or need, but it's not like you have to break the bank to get great pictures.

you can find something like this 75-300mm for around $150 or less, which is probably a fine zoom lens for most non-professional photographers, especially entry level dslr users.

as for the fisheye, i've got an opteka fisheye lens that screws onto the outside end of an existing lens (like the kit lens) and adds a super wide angle fisheye effect. it cost under $50, just search for something like "opteka fisheye canon" on Amazon. i have the .42x and it works fine. if it's not compatible with your specific lens, you can get adapter rings so it will fit. it's threaded like a filter.

it is definitely easy to drop a lot of cash on lenses, they can get quite expensive, but you can certainly get great pictures out of reasonably-priced lenses. if you try out a lens, like a 50mm for around $100 and find you use it all the time and want better, you can upgrade and probably sell the old one for almost what you paid. also, if you upgrade to a new body, the lenses should work, unless you go to a professional level body like a 5d, but they're significantly more expensive.

i believe any canon ef or ef-s lenses should work with the t3i. ef lenses should work with the higher end professional cameras as well, ef-s will not, but as long as you stay at the normal consumer level, you should be fine with either.


http://froknowsphoto.com/

Check out the guy in the link above. Yes, he does look "different" but when I got my Nikon I watched a BOAT LOAD of his videos and he taught me virtually everything about my camera! This guy is a major professional photographer! Spend an hour or two watching videos and you'll learn a lot!


We don't know what you want. a "long range leans" could mean "telephoto" that will bring the image "closer", or "Long range" could mean high zoom capability. The longer the zoom ratio the more expensive it will be and the lower the maximum apature meaning less llight gathering without spending WAY more money.
Most experienced photographers prefer OEM lenses, but there are some superb third party lenses sigma, tamron and tokina make excellent lenses. Do NOT buy a cheapazz no-name lens, you may as well just use your iphone to take pictures.

As far as a fisheye lens. It is an extreme wide angle lens that produces a cool effect, purposeful distortion, but it is NOT a "long range lens" it is usally ONE focal length. It makes an element in the center, or near the camera MUCH parger than normal and an element further away from the camera much smaller than normal

http://europeforvisitors.com/olympus/olympus-8mm-fisheye-sample-...
http://www.flickriver.com/lenses/nikon/8mmf28aisfisheye/

here is an example of fisheye distortion




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