Hello everyone, first post, and in typical newbie fashion, its a question.
I just sent my very first roll of film to get developed, so thats an indication of my experience. While taking this roll however, I did learn some things. Taking the roll, and looking at a bunch of photos for inspiration and such, I've determined I really like taking pictures of everyday objects up close to create a different view of them and to catch ones eye. I was wondering what sort of lense I should look for to do this best. I could post an example if you need some clarification. Thanks for whatever you guys can tell me.

example please :) a close up could mean a wide range of things depending on who make the comment.

Also, gear you own now that you may add to ;)

As for gear, I currently have a ricoh slx 500 i got for 10 bucks at a thrift store. Not sure if it even works yet. I suspect it may have a 'light leak', when photos come back ill know. I'm planning on buying a canon t2 though.

edit: in fact, if anyone has basic lense advise thatd be good. I was told to get a 50mm instead of the kit lense, and then to get the 28-105 f3.5-4.5, and then I think I want a macro, would this allow me to take up close shots like this one, and the zoom and 50 gets me an okay job with most other things?

this picture is by 'pinkmaggot' on deviantart.com

This image can be taken with the above mentioned gear(50,28-105) . A macro in the 100mm range would be your best choice to me, though you could just get a 50mm Macro and have 1 lens that does both :)

Those two lenses would give you a lot of possibilities. For that shot, you wouldn't need a dedicated macro lens though. Some zooms in that range have a macro function that - while not as good as a dedicated macro lens - give pretty good results.

The lamp (lighting geek term for light bulb ;) ) is about 5" long which isn't that big of a deal in terms of macro. If you want 1:1 lifesize (think taking a picture of a quarter and having it cover from the top to the bottom of the negative) then you need a real macro lens.

I have heard many say that using a fixed focal length will make you a better photographer. I think this is true.
Because of your constraints, you will be forced to think about things more before moving the camera to your eye. Remember that with SLRs you got tunnel vision. You will have to adapt yourself to moving yourself to the right places before trying to make a picture. Cant change your focal length like you can a zoom, so you will even probably be able to look at a scene and judge exactly how much you can put on film without ever raising the camera to your eye. I just got meself a 35mm f2 just a few days ago. It's gonna be funfunfun

Great news, my thrift store camera doesnt have a light leak, the photos came back, a few are "decent". Ill post some once I can scan em in.
So you guys think Ill be able to take those kind of shots with the 28-105? That and the 50mm are a good pair for a start you think? Is it worth spending the extra...$200 on the nicer 50mm or should I just go for the $80. One detail that stands out to me alot is that the cheaper one appears to not have a metal mount, which seems sketchy..

Merry Christmas to all!

speed difference?
Aspherical elements?

the 80 dollar one is 1.8 vs the 1.4 of the more expensive one. That and build are the only differences I can spot.

GET the 50 F1.8 :)

My question is this...

What camera are you buying a lens for ?

NO 50F1.4 is made for the EOS system that I know of :)

$200 for a Practica type screw mount 50mm lens is REDICULOUS!!!!

Here is some info on the Ricoh

http://www.butkus.org/chinon/ricoh_slx_500/ricoh_slx_500.htm

I'm leaning towards the zoom simply so I can do more stuff right now, then get some nicer lenses in the future. I think the zoom I want is fairly good for my purposes anyway.
The lense will be for the canon t2 I'm getting, definetly not the old ricoh.


heres a link for the f1.4 lense
1.4 lense (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=12140&is=USA)

I have a canon eos 50mm 1.4. I like the lense and get sharp images. The 1.4 can be found at
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?A=search&Q=&b=8&a=696_6146&a=700_6179&shs=&ci=8429&ac=&Submit.x=9&Submit.y=12

B&H has a eos 50mm 1.4 for 294.00

Magoo

I thought they made a 1.8 and a 1.2L only.... learned something today :)

BTW... Any 50F1.8 will produce sharp images..... ANY.

If a F1.4 is worth $200 more is up to the person using it :)