I just bought a tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens and i am not really liking it a lot. It’s good but i get too many soft photos in low light. Do you think the lens is faulty or should I just buy the canon lens? Is canon 17-55mm f/2.8 usm worth a grand? I use canon T2i.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
I don’t think its supposed to be *that *soft. I have the 17-50mm f2.8 but for a D300 and its been serving me pretty good.
If you do however reckon that its softer than what it should be, I suggest taking it up with Tamron. They will re-calibrate it for you from what I hear.
The 17-55mm f2.8 is decent lens but value vs money I think the Tamron is way better. I’ve used it for commissioned photo-shoots and no complains yet.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
Thank you, sir! I Shot a video with it and it was beautiful. Pictures I took were a little sharper this time. I will try it out a few more times and see how it goes. I really want just one lens that I can keep mounted on my t2i. Any suggestions? I currently have canon 50mm f1.8, and canon 70-200mm f4L, and this tamron lens. I would like to sell my telephoto canon lens and buy a really good all purpose lens.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
See, if you’re noticing improvements it might just have to do with your settings. You can experiment with different settings and you may find out that the lens is not bad at all. Its happened to me when I started out with a DSLR. About an all purpose lens, there will be obvious compromises but I don’t think you would notice the deficiencies (I don’t even want to call them that) on an amateur level, unless you’re being commissioned, its no biggie.
Look at the Canon 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS (IS will come in handy in low light because you’re on f3.5 and I just think its a plus to have it). The lens does have a bit sluggish autofocus but not something that would annoy you, I don’t think its that bad really. Also, there’s a Tamron alternative, at 18-270mm, but its a bit poor in comparison even if its great for the money.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
Try upping the ISO in low light and see if that takes care of the softness. Just be careful to balance the noise over 1600. Tamron’s are reasonably priced lenses and once in a while you get a bad egg.
I really like 50mm @ 1.8 (1.4 is better but more pricey). My carry around is 18-200mm VR (on the Nikon side) and its served me well in all kinds of situations. Not as fast so I keep my 50mm around and then play with ISO settings.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
TofiBaba, I LOVE the 50mm f1.8 lens. It’s amazing, for the price it’s just great.
@goddamniamsoawesome, I find myself shooting mostly in low light so I don’t want to settle for anything less than f2.8. I am willing to spend more money on a good lens that I can keep mounted on my DSLR. I am liking the Tamron lens though so I will hold on to it for a while. Yeah, the more I use it the better it seems. It was definitely the settings. I have played around with the ISO too and it did help a lot. I am liking it more and more so that’s good. I still want a good walk around lens though. I am just a hobbyist. Thinking of invensting in 5d Mark II, what do you think about that?
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
Upping the ISO isn’t a solution you should be looking for unless its absolutely essential in the situation you are shooting. ISO increase was always the last option.
I’ve got the Nikkon 50mm f1.2 and f1.4 both for my D300. Score! These 50mm lenses have some of the most amazing optics around.
Well if you’re shooting in low light a lot of the time, then yeah, you want to go for something designed for that. You’ll be looking at spending a fair bit though.
You can opt for a 17-55mm f2.8 and a 70-200mm f2.8 plus something, if you must need it, for the gap in there. This setup is going to cost you. I think you should definitely experiment, there’s nothing better than hands-on experience so walk down to your local camera store and get a feel for the lenses and a bit more know-how. I’m sure that will help you make up your mind.
About the 5D MKII, why do you want to go full-frame? What benefit do you think you will be getting over a similar featured crop sensor? As far as it being a piece of kit, the 5D MKII is brilliant. I would have liked to have one if I hadn’t gone down the Nikon route. Right now my D300 keeps me company and works pretty well for most light situations.
Over all, the best option is to go out and play with the different options you have. Once you have a feel of them let us know and I’m sure you’ll make the rich decisions.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
WAS being the operative word. A lot of people have this misconception. Play around with the highest ISO’s. A lot of the newer censors are very smart and you get amazing results. What’s the use of having an option in the camera if you’ve never used it. 
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
Its not a misconception. Its how you should be thinking if you’re serious about your photography. To get better at something, you really should be paying attention to the basics. Leave the gimmicks until later. The tools come into the picture when they must be used. Atleast that’s what most photographers think like. Before I got getting all my professional commissioned shoots, I worked on my basics and it obviously showed up in the end results.
That’s pretty much the only reason why I encourage any beginners to focus on their own skills.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
I think I am a little beyond basics at this point and I would like to think I am naturally a good photographer. I do need to know the technicalities/limitations of a camera so I know what to look for. The higher ISO setting in my situation helped me but The pictures were grainy. As for why I want a full frame DSLR? Well, I want to be able to shoot full framed videos at some point in future and crop factor cams would not give me the view I would like even using a good wide angleLens. Also the DOF is better on full framed DSLR. The overall image quality seems ^so much better. Correct me if I am wrong. I have tried it and liked what i saw. Like I said I am just a hobbyist so this isn’t something I need rightaway. I amJust gathering info.
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
When you have tools you use it. Taking pictures may be a skill but using all the features that you have at your disposal can change the results tremendously. I’m not a follow-the-procedure kind of person and experimenting is what gives me pleasure and the results that I look forward to. If you’re not having fun then you won’t stay in your new hobby/profession, so waiting to get beyond the basics might never come…
Re: Wide angle lens for canon EOS
That’s fair enough. If you think you can use it then definitely go for it. Its an excellent piece of kit! Good luck! Also, you should share some of your stuff, it’ll be good.
Aye, my recommendation was based on my assumption that Theorist was starting out or fairly new at DSLR photography. If you’re used to shooting without features then by all means you should utilize what you pay for. No arguments there. I think this calls for a photography thread!