Good zoom lens for my Canon t3i?

Question

Hi, so I'm getting a canon t3i soon. My primary use is film making, but my secondary use is taking pictures at weddings, and other general events (volunteering, just to get some experience).

I found these two offers on Best Buy:

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/canon-canon-eos-rebel-t3i-18mp-digital-slr-with-ef-s-18-55mm-ef-75-300mm-lens-kit-and-dslr-bag-5169b086/10277587.aspx?path=b46ce17966d8284b1787ae5025c1e7fcen02

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/-/b0000079.aspx?path=bbcc1f54c62c0fc24f4200cb06ce265een02

And I was wondering if one of those is good for taking photos of objects far away, and also which one is better than the other. I've also been doing some research and found out that some lenses tend to change in brightness as the user zooms in/out due to the aperture change. If so, would those lenses not be worth it?

The camera without the lens is $500, should I spend the extra $100 on one of those lenses? Or should I wait for a couple of months and save up for a good zoom lens of a higher price?

Thanks for the advice,

Answer 1

The EF 75-300mm does not have a very good reputation. Do get the T3i bundled with an EF-S 18-55mm IS. Don't get the 75-300mm. An economical telephoto with a better reputation is the EF-S 55-250mm IS.

A camera case is good to have, but I wouldn't pay extra to have one in a bundle. Lowepro and Tamrac make better ones. You can shop for one with a good fit at a Best Buy store.

Answer 2

A correction in terms. Since digital cameras don't use film you can't do "film making" with them... record video yes, movie making yes but not film.



Second be very careful of ebay. It's become a dumping ground for every scam out there. When you find a price that's too good to be true it usually is. Lots of the outfits just want your credit card number. If you take them up on one of these and (this happens very often) you get an immediate email reply that the item is on "back order", that usually means you'll never see it. Buy from only well known, honest stores like

B&H and Amazon.



The t3i is an excellent camera. I know because I own one and it does great work with video (not film) and still photos.



Zoom. Virtually all lenses lose f/stop as they zoom because of the length of the tube not the aperture. Less light can get down the tube so smaller aperture.



You cannot shoot with the body only, you must have a lens. You'll need to buy at least the kits lens, normally an 18-55 before you can shoot anything, video or stills. Any extra lenses are going to cost you extra, simple as that.

Answer 3

Canon T3i Zoom Lens

Answer 4

I will give you some advice that I've come to understand as gospel. Today's camera marketing gibberish talks all about megapixels. I can tell you that in digital photography, image quality is determined by two things. The image sensor and the lens quality.



Most D-SLR's nowadays have decent image sensors, but understand how this impacts image quality. If you look at budget D-SLR's and Pro D-SLR's, the main difference you will find is all in the sensor.



Secondly, the lens. Kit lenses, well, to be blunt, suck a**. Your best bet will be to buy the camera and lens seperately. You can survive with 2 lenses, but 3 good lenses will make for a happy camera gear bag. You will want a short focal length lens, such as a 10-18mm f4.5-5.6. Some will say "f4.5-5.6? That's too dark!" But 10-18mm lenses are wide angle, suited for things such as landscapes. Landscapes require large depth of fields, thus don't require large apatures. Most landscape photogs I know shoot at f8 or f11. So you don't need a 18mm f1.8 lens. Second you need a mid length lens. A 24-70mm f2.8 is a great lens for this. A lens this bright will run you $2000 (you could sacrifice apature for cost, but f2.8 will do low light and be good at action shots in video as well, so it would be a worthwhile investment.) Last, you need something that stretches out a bit. a 70-200mm f2.8 will run you around $2500 for something decent. But those 3 lenses, will cover you for 95% of anything you'd shoot, and do so in a wide range of conditions. Only thing you might end up wanting later down the line is a longer zoom (say, 200-400mm f3.5 or faster, but that'll run you over $5000 for something good). Spending good money on good glass will pay off in ways you can't yet imagine. Spend the money and you'll be glad you did, tho.

Answer 5

Thanks a lot man, all I needed to know.