advice

[bigredmed]

So I am going to start saving my pennies for a new lens for my Cannon T3i.  I have the kit lenses (the 18-55 mm, and the 30-255 lenses) and they are a lot of fun.   I am tempted to buy a new lens for recreation.   So, for the pros and experienced amateurs, would you go to a dedicated Macro, wide angle, or a long telephoto first if you liked taking photos of nature?

I am in a bit of a debate about whether I would be better off to stay with the lenses I have and instead go with a Go-Pro and a waterproof container as I really like water, but I am not a guy who does stunts that would need the video feature.

Thoughts?

[nebugeater]

So I am going to start saving my pennies for a new lens for my Cannon T3i.  I have the kit lenses (the 18-55 mm, and the 30-255 lenses) and they are a lot of fun.   I am tempted to buy a new lens for recreation.   So, for the pros and experienced amateurs, would you go to a dedicated Macro, wide angle, or a long telephoto first if you liked taking photos of nature?

I am in a bit of a debate about whether I would be better off to stay with the lenses I have and instead go with a Go-Pro and a waterproof container as I really like water, but I am not a guy who does stunts that would need the video feature.

Thoughts?

What is your budget range?

[bigredmed]

$750 would be about the max.

[Brad]

Back in the day, I did a heck of a lot with my kit 18-55.

As far as what you need, I am not sure.  I just don't pay that close of attention to all the lenses out there are on the market.

My bag includes.
Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS - great for sports and I do use it for some landscape shots where I really need some zoom.  Got it used from Rockbrook for $1100.
Canon 16-35 F2.8L - Nice wide angle, little dark in the corners.  Use it for landscapes and architectural shots.  Got it new from Rocbrook for $1700
Canon 50mm F1.8 - Fun little prime lens to have in the bag.  At only $100, you can't go wrong with this just to have.
Canon 25-105 F4L IS  This was my main lens for a long time.......... Now, I absolutely HATE this piece of |expletive|!  I need to replace it.  It just sits in my camera and I get upste every time I see it.  It was a great lens but one day, the right side of the images were all soft.  I have sent this back to Canon THREE times and it keeps coming back and its still soft.  

My next lens will probable be a canon 17mm Tilt Shift Lens.  However its around $2500 so that is a LONG WAYS off....  Popular with architectural photographers, but now also coming in to favor with landscape photographers.  Since I do both, I think it would be perfect.

As far as actual reviews, Mike Hollingshead has been doing some lens reviews lately...
http://www.extremeinstability.com/lenses.html

[bigredmed]

What I would like to get  is a lens that is long enough to get a close up of a bald eagle resting in a tree or of a sandhill crane resting from 150 feet, and fast enough to stop motion on a Cormorant at De Soto.

[Brad]

What I would like to get  is a lens that is long enough to get a close up of a bald eagle resting in a tree or of a sandhill crane resting from 150 feet, and fast enough to stop motion on a Cormorant at De Soto.

Lol, my "best" bald eagle shot was when I rented a 400mm and also had a 2x teleconverter for a total of 800mm and I still cropped down the final image.

I usually shoot cranes at 800mm as well.

[bigredmed]

So, given the "Lol", am I not being realistic?

[Coyote]

So, given the "Lol", am I not being realistic?

If you know when and where you want to shoot those kind of shots it would be better to rent than to buy.

[bbtran72]

Depending on what your budget is, when i first started getting back into photography again i had a canon XSi with a 18-55 kit lens and also bought a sigma 55-200.  It wasn't untill 2 years later that i upgraded to a Canon 60d and got a 50mm 1.8, sold the kit and kept the zoom, I still have that 60D with like 40,000 shutter count but got letter lens.  Point is don't go and get something crazy that will frustate you, but get something that you can easily learn and can grow from, T3i is a good starting body.  

My backpack is not crazy like brad's but it will give you an idea.

Canon 60D
canon 70-200 F/4L  (non-is (amazing lens at $700 brand new but have seen used for $500 or less) (90% of my shots of motorsports are during the day so no need for IS)
Canon 17-40 F/4L ( awesome wide angle,  $800 brand new, got it used for $600)
Canon 50 f/1.8 (like brad, its a good at only $100 but it's plastic)

Don't be afraid to buy used lens, but like anything else on craiglist or ebay you just have to becareful.  Used lens can save you a lot and since its used the resale value woun't drop as much.

[Brad]

So, given the "Lol", am I not being realistic?

Yes and No, it the right lighting, you can make a lot of lenses work.  Its on the low light times when you will start seeing the biggest difference.  There are a lot of situations where you can make different things work.  However, event the biggest birds are still small and I just don't want you to get your expectations set too high that you will be right up in some bald eagle's grill.

Don't be afraid to buy used lens, but like anything else on craiglist or ebay you just have to becareful.  Used lens can save you a lot and since its used the resale value woun't drop as much.

I agree, Rockbrook has lots of good used lenses too.

[Coyote]

So I was walking around the GLM today and passed some kids with pants on the ground and neck tattoos. One turned back towards me and I thought he was going to ask for money or something. He came up to me and asked if I were a photographer (having my camera in hand), and I said I was an amateur photographer, then he surprised me by asking if I knew where he could get 35mm film for a vintage camera he owned. I just told him to ask Rockbrook.

Talk about me profiling some dudes.  :(