Cameras & Camcorders

[fireflys]

I am looking to get a good telephoto lens for my Canon Rebel T3i camera. I want one with a low F-Stop but yet at a reasonable price. What would be a good one for me. Other things to note is that I would be potentially using it for studio photography. I am a college student so not an extreme amount of money to throw around, but at the same time I do realize that I'm going to have to part with a big chunk of money for this purchase. The more information on the lens, the better. Thanks for the help!

[Rrrrrrr]

For a decent 'pro' lens, Tamron makes a very nice 28-75 F/2.8 for a reasonable amount ($500ish). Sigma's 24-70 F/2.8 is around $900ish. I usually use my 85mm /F1.4 for portraits. Canon has a 85mm/F1.8 for $400. Their F1.2 version is over $2K.

I'd say start with a zoom and see about where you use it most and then see which prime is closest if you need lower than F2.8. The DOF on the 1.4 is amazing.

[xl]

To clarify....

• what lenses do you have now?
• what's your budget ceiling?
• is distortion a concern?
• do you want more telephoto instead of wide?

In general.....

• consumers with kit lenses choose the 18-55 and pair it with the 55-200....
• prosumers will skip the kit lens and get the 18-200mm to minimize lens changes that risk dust into the camera.
• professionals will choose the 24-70mm and 70-200mm as they like the f/2.8 characteristics and minimize pin cushion/barrel distortion found in the 18-200mm.  The 70-200mm comes in 4 price ranges depending on options like IS and aperature.  Sadly these lenses are over $1000 each
• there are variations with "mid-zoom" where you can choose to be wider and telephoto
• finally many experienced photographers like "primes" or fixed focals to minimize distortion and maximize low light like f/1.8, f/1.4 or faster.
• I like Nikon....  I find their high end lenses are cheaper than Canon.  The biggest example is the 28-300mm.... Canon is DOUBLE (over $2500) compared to Nikon.

[xl]

I'll also add, if you find "fast lenses" too expensive. You can cheat by using an external flash with a slower lens.

Another option is to increase ISO. However you may notice more image noise.

Another choice is to switch to a camera with larger sensor. Full frame cameras are more forgiving at higher ISO's for image noise. I like the budget priced D700.