Getting into photography...

[Phil]

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a good Christmas.

I am hoping to get some advice... I am completely out of my depth and have no idea what I am doing!
I am going on a once in a lifetime holiday in February.
Because of this, I have decided to buy a camera to capture as much of it as possible.
Prior to this, I have always used my phone but decided that for this trip, I need something better.
I have bought a Canon 700d and since then bought a Tamron zoom lens which I am very happy with.

I am starting to wonder if I should consider a wide angle lens as well, to capture landscapes and architecture.

As I have already blown my budget on the camera and the tamron lens, I don't want to go too mad on a wide angle lens.
Can anyone recommend a budget wide angle lens?

[clf]

Originally Posted by Phil

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a good Christmas.

I am hoping to get some advice... I am completely out of my depth and have no idea what I am doing!
I am going on a once in a lifetime holiday in February.
Because of this, I have decided to buy a camera to capture as much of it as possible.
Prior to this, I have always used my phone but decided that for this trip, I need something better.
I have bought a Canon 700d and since then bought a Tamron zoom lens which I am very happy with.

I am starting to wonder if I should consider a wide angle lens as well, to capture landscapes and architecture.

As I have already blown my budget on the camera and the tamron lens, I don't want to go too mad on a wide angle lens.
Can anyone recommend a budget wide angle lens?

what lenses do you have? When you say a zoom lens, I am guessing you have the Tamron 70-300mm and the standard 18-55mm lens that comes with the camera?

Also what filters do you have? I would suggest you have UV filters on each lens, and have a minimum of a circular polariser for your 18-55mm (if you have one).

With the above in mind, what is your budget? Wide angle lenses vary drastically, and a possible route to take would be used lenses.

[Phil]

Hi,
The camera came with an 18-55 lens.
I bought a Tamron 18-200 lens which I am really pleased with.
I bought this because I didn't want to carry loads of lenses and wanted to take just one with me.
But, now I think that perhaps that isn't very realistic.
I bought a filter today from Currys. It was filthy.
I took it back and changed it. The next one was also filthy so now I need to go to the small camera shop in town and ask for advice.

Budget, under £150 I think.

[clf]

Originally Posted by Phil

Hi,
The camera came with an 18-55 lens.
I bought a Tamron 18-200 lens which I am really pleased with.
I bought this because I didn't want to carry loads of lenses and wanted to take just one with me.
But, now I think that perhaps that isn't very realistic.
I bought a filter today from Currys. It was filthy.
I took it back and changed it. The next one was also filthy so now I need to go to the small camera shop in town and ask for advice.

Budget, under £150 I think.

£150 (with change) may get you the screw on lens adapters that give you a wide look, but also damage the lens motor, will vignette heavily, and soften the image. (other words DON'T get one of those)

To get better quality to what you have, you could consider the Sigma/Tamron 17-50mm lenses, (a Tamron Used example)

But the difference in quality may not be enough for you at the moment to justify the cost.

I am guessing you wish to go wider angle, though, in which case you could consider the again Sigma/Tamron but this time 10-20/22mm lenses.(good value Sigma used) (do NOT used a circular polariser filter on one of these, especially with sky shots)

When it comes to UV filters, or CP filters, I would recommend the Jessops own brand ones for price. Alternatively search online for Hoya UV branded. Have a UV filter on each lens as a protective measure. For landscapes on your existing lenses a polarising filter in a must. this will bring out the colours and enhance reflections on water etc.

[Phil]

Thanks for the links.

I will avoid the screw on wide angle lenses and look for a dedicated lens.
I bought a Hoya lense filter from Currys. The first was filthy so I took it back to replace it, the second was just as bad.
I'm going to go to the small independent camera shop in town tomorrow to see if I can get something to clean it with before I put it on.

[clf]

Originally Posted by Phil

Thanks for the links.

I will avoid the screw on wide angle lenses and look for a dedicated lens.
I bought a Hoya lense filter from Currys. The first was filthy so I took it back to replace it, the second was just as bad.
I'm going to go to the small independent camera shop in town tomorrow to see if I can get something to clean it with before I put it on.

standard lens cleaning kits will be fine for them, glasses cleaning kits are good for this too.

[Phil]

Thanks for the information.
I will buy tomorrow.
Feeling quite proud of myself.. I have managed to take a picture with delayed shutter of water draining off the hills into the lake outside my house.. Ok, not the best subject but ok for practice.
Came out quite well.

[Rob T]

The Tamron 18-200 is a great lens for the price. I bought my soon-to-be-nine-year-old son one and a Canon 100D for birthday / Christmas.

I've had a DSLR since 2009 and I've never had a lens wider than 18mm (I used to have a Canon 18-200, now I have a 24-105 & a 70-200, both L-series lenses). I've never really had an occasion where I've wished I could fit more in (or a reason I could use to justify buying another lens ), but then again I've not really done that much landscape photography.

It's a little more than your budget, but the best option I've looked at when I've contemplated getting a wide angle lens is the Sigma 10-20mm. You can pick up a used one for £179:

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equip...-canon-ef-fit/

[Ravinder]

Originally Posted by Phil

Hello everyone,
I hope you all had a good Christmas.

I am hoping to get some advice... I am completely out of my depth and have no idea what I am doing!
I am going on a once in a lifetime holiday in February.
Because of this, I have decided to buy a camera to capture as much of it as possible.
Prior to this, I have always used my phone but decided that for this trip, I need something better.
I have bought a Canon 700d and since then bought a Tamron zoom lens which I am very happy with.

I am starting to wonder if I should consider a wide angle lens as well, to capture landscapes and architecture.

As I have already blown my budget on the camera and the tamron lens, I don't want to go too mad on a wide angle lens.
Can anyone recommend a budget wide angle lens?

Originally Posted by Phil

Hi,
The camera came with an 18-55 lens.
I bought a Tamron 18-200 lens which I am really pleased with.
I bought this because I didn't want to carry loads of lenses and wanted to take just one with me.
But, now I think that perhaps that isn't very realistic.
I bought a filter today from Currys. It was filthy.
I took it back and changed it. The next one was also filthy so now I need to go to the small camera shop in town and ask for advice.

Budget, under £150 I think.

Originally Posted by Phil

Thanks for the links.

I will avoid the screw on wide angle lenses and look for a dedicated lens.
I bought a Hoya lense filter from Currys. The first was filthy so I took it back to replace it, the second was just as bad.
I'm going to go to the small independent camera shop in town tomorrow to see if I can get something to clean it with before I put it on.

Originally Posted by Phil

Thanks for the information.
I will buy tomorrow.
Feeling quite proud of myself.. I have managed to take a picture with delayed shutter of water draining off the hills into the lake outside my house.. Ok, not the best subject but ok for practice.
Came out quite well.

Hi

If you have an 18-55mm lens already, then take this with you. 18mm is very wide as it is. I mostly do landscape photography myself and most of the time, my photos are around the 18-30mm range. I do have a wider angle lens also - Tokina 11-16mm (highly regarded) which is very wide and sometimes can come in handy. I haven't used it as much as I thought I would because the 18-200mm lens that I have has done the job nicely. It is handy having a wider lens depending on the type of photography you do, but not essential. So, if you need to save the pennies, then don't rush into buying one any time soon.

You have two good range lenses there. The Tamron is a good lens. I have the 70-300mm myself and cannot fault it and the VR is superb. Puts my Nikon one to shame. It is more stable and faster then the Nikon equivalent. Not sure how it compares against the Canon one, however...

Invest your money in some other things. A good sturdy tripod is a must for any landscape photographer. I am never ever without mine. Just as important as the camera itself. If you haven't got any filters, I would recommend getting a polarizer filter and some ND grad filters. A 10 stop is always a useful filter to have to do nice long exposures!
Also, a good camera bag. One that will protect your gear and from the elements of the weather and safety. Oh, and a remote shutter, too! I always use a remote shutter to take landscape pictures to minimise any movement. The less you touch the camera, the better in some cases. These can be had cheap. Mine only cost £4 so I bought 3 in case one breaks, which it has done!

Just focus on how to use the camera properly in order to take advantage of it. Get to know your camera very well before your holiday. Scout out locations online to where your visiting to get some ideas of compostion and what works well etc and write them down or store as favourites on your smartphone. Always works well for me. Hope that helps.

[Phil]

Thank you guys.
I will take on board what you have said, maybe I don't need to bother with a wide angle lens after all.

Can I ask, what can my Canon kit lens 18-55 do, that my Tamron 18-200 cannot?
I just cannot see any reason to carry it around with me.