Those are some expensive lenses that although I aspire to own one day, are a bit out of my price range for a Christmas gift to myself. Is a cheap and cheerful 50mm f/1.8 (Canon Lens 50mm EF f/1.8 II (Nifty Fifty) - Digital Camera Warehouse Australia) or the 50mm f/1.4 (Canon Lens 50mm EF f/1.4 USM - Digital Camera Warehouse) going to give me better portraits than my present 18-200mm? (Canon Lens 18-200mm EF-S f/3.5-5.6 IS - Digital Camera Warehouse)
The ability to take macro photos too would be a bonus. I think my budget is $500 max, but the lens has to offer something different or better than my present general purpose lens.
Fixed focal length lens can give much sharper picture than zoom lens can do, but it is only one characteristic feature of lens. Other features are not less important for portraits (most "difficult" genre of photography, as for me). I think you should go to the site like Canon EOS (APS-C) Lens Tests / Reviews, read the reviews, and compare photos made with different lenses. Sometimes results differ from each other much less than prices of these lenses do.
The Canon 85/1,8 and Canon 100/2,0 should be within your price limit and both are amazing. Among the sharpest lenses Canon ever built and thanks to the aperture you can play around with depth of field, which is great in portraits. If you would get more out of one of this lenses then your zoom is something only you can answer; a good question to ask yourself is if you are happy with the portraits you can take with your lense and if not, why? Or just order one online and try it out.
I find that I have to stand very far away and zoom in even at a large aperture to start to get some bokeh with the 18-200mm.
Usual advice for novice in our photography forums - to buy Canon 50mm EF f/1.8 II. Experience of using it can be very useful while it is not costly. Second advice which goes right after first one: buy Canon 50mm EF f/1.4 SM instead . Modern cameras like your 650D can use 50mm EF f/1.2 "in full strength", but this lens is quite expensive, and it's "overkill" for most amateurs.
What do think about this lens folks? Canon Lens 50mm EF f/2.5 Compact Macro - Digital Camera Warehouse I am thinking that I can learn about macro and portrait photography at the same time before graduating to a bigger and better lens. Thoughts? Also, is the 50mm f/1.4 appropriate for my mid-range 600D, or is it overkill, like a BluRay on a CRT? And is the macro maybe a better compromise because of irks dual purpose despite its smaller aperture? (Keep in mind that my budget is $500.)
Actually, what about this one? Hopefully Amazon will ship it to Australia. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EF-S-60mm-Macro-Cameras/dp/B0007WK8KS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top]Amazon.com: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens for Canon SLR Cameras: CANON: Camera & Photo[/ame] EDIT: they are not shipping here, so I will just succumb to price gouging as per usual.
For an inexpensive portrait lens, I think the two that Yassa referenced in post 44 are the ideal. 50mm is a bit short for a focal lenght to do portraits, although it would work in a pinch. The 50 1.4 is NOT overkill (whereas the 50 1.2 L would be) and is preferred over the 50 1.8 if you go that route. For general purpose, the 50 1.4 is considered by many on the photo forums to be the best bargain Canon offers. (All of their newest versions of the lenses are ridiculously overpriced). But as I said, an 85 or 100 as Yassa mentioned is really better if you want it specifically for portraits.
600D has sensor with "crop factor" equal 1.6, so 50 mm lens has "effective focus length" 80 mm on such camera. It is very close to 85 mm, which is standard for classic full frame portrait lenses. So I think nanoboy should not be afraid of it's relatively short focal length. And fortunately 18 Mpix photos could be cropped in case of need with no serious quality loss.
That 60mm f/2.8 looks sweet, and I found a site selling it for under $400. So, try to kill 2 birds with one stone, or stick to the 50mm f/1.4 for around the same price? Keep in mind that I probably will not be buying any other camera accessories until 2014.
If those are the two you are leaning towards, I would definitely take the second one (50mm) for two reasons. 1) It has a much larger aperture - f1.4 vs f2.8 - which will give you the better bokeh you are looking for. 2) It is a full frame lens that will work on a full frame sensor camera if you ever get one down the line (such as the upcoming 6D). The 60mm, on the other hand, is an EF-S lens and the S means it only works on cameras with crop sensors. If you will likely stick with your current body, not an issue, but will not work if you go full frame. Keep in mind, full frame sensors also give better background blur than crop sensors.
Hmmm.... that is definitely food for thought. Looking at the cost of the full frame cameras, I know that I will not be able to afford one for many years to come. When I can afford cameras like that, I suspect that there might be some new fancy lens that would supercede the 'S' lens anyway. So maybe the 60mm is not a bad compromise for now after all. Cheers. My wife wanted a macro lens for our anniversary, but I bought her a card instead, so maybe this might be a good all-round Christmas gift.
Lens purchased. Now I must wait 2 weeks for delivery. $408 in total from Kogan. Let's see how it goes.
I guess it is no longer any help now but I only just saw this thread. Canon EF 100mm F2.8 Macro Autofocus Lens | lowest prices exporting to Australia and worldwide | buy online from DDE Singapore I've bought all my gear from these guys both the Sydney and Singapore outlets and haven't had an issue, great price and great gear. Maybe something to look at for future items.
Thanks dude! Had you posted earlier, I would have bought that lens from your website. Kogan did not have the 100mm, and DigitalCameraWarehouse that I normally buy from in person, has it for $735 so I thought it was out of my budget $500). My lens arrived yesterday by the way folks. I am still trying to figure out how it works.
Sorry mate, I usually check the Aussie forum most days and the other ones every week or two so I missed this one a bit. Another site I look at (but haven't bought from yet but I will for my next purchase) is bhphotovideo.com Have fun with your new lens
Not much compared to some people, but it covers everything I want to do currently. Canon 7D body Speedlite 430EX II 100mm macro f/2.8 17-40mm f/4 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Tripod
