lets compare the zillions of lense out there

[EOSThree]

i would specifically like to know, in which ways are L lenses more durable than third part lenses... please explain this to me thanks
can you drop a L lens and expect it to not shatter? is this what you mean?

Not shatter necessarily, but the L could certainly take a bump or a drop a lot better than a Tamron could. The Tamron is built mostly of plastic whereas the L lens is mostly metal. The L lenses zoom ring works very smoothly, the focus motor is faster and quieter. The glass is ground to higher tolerances. Special glass or other materials for elements are used. All of this costs money. And for me it's worth the money.

You sound very skeptical that there should be any difference between an expensive lens or a cheap lens. Let me tell you that you are wrong, that there is a difference in build or image quality and in most cases both. The lens is what gets the image to the sensor and a good lens can make all of the difference in getting a good photo or a great photo with the photographer being equal.

I have learned this from 30+ years of taking photographs, I started with inexpensive stuff and after I purchased my first pro grade lens I realized that is where it's at. Experiment, buy the cheap stuff, if you progress at all in photography you'll find I am right. The good glass is worth it. It's like buying a fine automobile vs. buying an economy model. They both do the job, and get you from a to b, but you'll certainly have a more comfortable nicer ride aboard the fine auto.

[Franglais]

Not shatter necessarily, but the L could certainly take a bump or a drop a lot better than a Tamron could. The Tamron is built mostly of plastic whereas the L lens is mostly metal.....

I disagree though I've never tried dropping a lens on the floor to see. I've dropped plenty of cameras. Plastic is light and bounces whereas metal is heavy and tends to dent. It was a big surprise when I swapped my plastic-bodied Minolta CLE for a metal-bodied Leica M, dropped it from 3 feet getting out of the car - and into the repair shop.

Buy a real pro quality lens like the Canon L series and it's built to last. If any of the moving parts on your Tamron are made of plastic they will wear quickly.

And there IS a difference in image quality. I have had a variety of consumer Tamron lenses (like the 11-18 I currently have). I have been quite satisfied with the image quality but there is nothing quite as good as a high-end pro lens.

[AgingEyes]

Plastic is light and bounces whereas metal is heavy and tends to dent. It was a big surprise when I swapped my plastic-bodied Minolta CLE for a metal-bodied Leica M, dropped it from 3 feet getting out of the car - and into the repair shop.

I once dropped my Fujifilm S6000 on the floor inside a 7-Eleven. I was holding it in my right hand by my side, waiting in line to pay for my stuff. When my turn came, believing that I still had the camera strap wrapped around my wrist, I opened my hand. And the camera dropped. I only had it for a month or so.

I had a table top tripod attached to it and it came off on impact. From the outside, the camera body looked fine, and the lens looked fine, too, without a scratch. First thing I did was to try to take a photo with it to see if everything was still working. The image in the electronic viewfinder looked bad. It appeared the camera couldn't focus. Tried it again that evening at home. Nothing happened. No good !! I really believed I had to take it in for repair.

A few days later, I took it out and checked it again. It was alive! To my amazement, everything came back. No repair whatsoever needed.

Fuji S6000 is a plastic camera. And I am still using it today - on occasions.

BTW, in case you are interested, there're several videos on Youtube now that show a guy abusing a Nikon D3, including dropping it on concrete floor.

[redonnemoi]

guys im a hard case i know

but i realize you guys are very very familiar with the zillions of lenses out there, and know very detailed information about them.

all i want is to know the same very detailed information, explained in a simple way so people not trained in photography can understand. i am not trying to criticize you in any way i can't find it on any website whatsoever so i tried to ask the experienced people, and i appreciate all your help. manufacturers websites all say something like "insist on _____ (insert brand name here) for superior quality". I ask: in what way is your camera lens superior quality?

[EOSThree]

I disagree though I've never tried dropping a lens on the floor to see. I've dropped plenty of cameras. Plastic is light and bounces whereas metal is heavy and tends to dent. It was a big surprise when I swapped my plastic-bodied Minolta CLE for a metal-bodied Leica M, dropped it from 3 feet getting out of the car - and into the repair shop.

I've dropped my EOS 3+80-200 f/2.8L from 5 feet(off my tripod) and the whole thing was none the worse for wear. I haven't dropped any plastic lenses(because I've never owned any)but I've seen lenses ruined from a drop when mounted to a camera(mount). I'll keep my L lenses and continue to not worry about them.

[EOSThree]

guys im a hard case i know

but i realize you guys are very very familiar with the zillions of lenses out there, and know very detailed information about them.

all i want is to know the same very detailed information, explained in a simple way so people not trained in photography can understand. i am not trying to criticize you in any way i can't find it on any website whatsoever so i tried to ask the experienced people, and i appreciate all your help. manufacturers websites all say something like "insist on _____ (insert brand name here) for superior quality". I ask: in what way is your camera lens superior quality?

That's pure marketing there. I want you to buy my product.

There is a lot of information out there on lens elements, built quality, image quality, etc. Photozone, as I suggested above is one of those places. It takes a lot of reading to take in all of the information there. Don't get so caught up in the details of how the lens gets the image to the sensor, worry more about the big stuff, how good is the final product(image)and will the lens stand up to daily use.

Instead of trying to have us explain everything(very hard for us to do, and you've found out the same thing in your research), but find a lens that you are interested in and ask about it. All of the lenses out there are intimidating, there are bunches of them all competing for your money. It's easier to start in a small place and expand from there, than to try to encompass everything to narrow down to a single lens choice. Once we know what you are looking for we can make great informed suggestions to find you the lens you are looking for.

[Frog]

maybe if you told us what lenses you were thinking about?

[Greg McCary]

I have a B&H catalog that has about all current lenses in it and great explainations about there capabilities. ED, SWD ect are explained. Your best bet is just fiqure out what type of photography you are into and pick a system read reviews here and go from there. With current technologies even the kit lenses make great pictures. The biggest difference I see is in the durability and speed of more expensive lenses. If you are going to shoot low light sports then get ready to pay big money.
I shoot a lot of film and I see a bigger difference in quality on that level than with digital. Some lenes are softer and more suited for portrait shots while others are more contrasty or sharper. It just depends on what I am shooting and the results I want.
I have to shoot with a lens for awhile before I figure out the ins and outs of it. Find it's sweet spot and know what results to expect.

[redonnemoi]

alright i want three lenses (eventually):

1: medium range zoom lens, I will have a tamron with my Rebel XTI.
2: i want a high power telephoto lens, so that I can take photos of the other side of the cliff edge of Yellowstone grand canyon next time I am there, with the magnification so high it looks like I was standing next to it. i don't care too much about things moving quickly in low light I am almost never in those conditions. My telescope can outperform every telephoto lens in existence, but I don't wanna bring that big old thing over for every photoshoot xDDD. Can a telephoto lens also shoot tiny things from a long way away, and fill the whole field of view with that?

3: I want a macro lens, that can magnify tiny flowers so that they fill the entire field of view of a Digital Rebel XTI, and produce these flowers in sharp focus. same deal with other tiny objects, shot up close. Or does an extension tube fulfill this task better?

please tell me a canon lens and a third party lens, that can do such things.

thanks very much

[AgingEyes]

guys im a hard case i know

but i realize you guys are very very familiar with the zillions of lenses out there, and know very detailed information about them.

all i want is to know the same very detailed information, explained in a simple way so people not trained in photography can understand. i am not trying to criticize you in any way i can't find it on any website whatsoever so i tried to ask the experienced people, and i appreciate all your help. manufacturers websites all say something like "insist on _____ (insert brand name here) for superior quality". I ask: in what way is your camera lens superior quality?

Don't take it wrong, but I think there's no definitive answer to your last question, and there's no one person who would know enough to answer your questions. You asked: "In what way is your camera lens superior quality?" There're so many lenses out there, lenses being manufactured time after time. Which lens you're referring to and during what period?

I've seen that you've asked similar questions before on other forums. Presumably you're serious in looking for the answers. Therefore, I'm sure you'd have found a lot of info on the web already. If those answers still not satisfy you, then I'm not sure just a small group of us here will.

You said: "I can't find it on any website...". Although you may not have found the answers, you must have found something. What did the manufacturers say? What did other websites say and what are they? Tell us, would you? I like to know the answers to your questions, too. So share what you've found with us, would you, given that we have tried to answer your questions?

[redonnemoi]

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...0&modelid=7341

manufacturers site provides no info that i need on the lens. so i looked here
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/P...05-23_16-35-42
as i expected long lenses have a very thin depth of field, so only small parts of the photo are in focus. nice stuff. description is good too.

[redonnemoi]

Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co...5&modelid=7323

a detailed review, very nice for me
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

[EOSThree]

What lens did you buy with your body? When you say medium telephoto I think 70-200, that's fairly long, do you mean something you can walk around with, and "everyday" lens? Finally, are you looking for a zoom telephoto, or a fixed focal length? What is your budget? What do you plan on shooting with this glass?

[redonnemoi]

i bought a tamron 28-80mm aspherical lens.
i meant high power telephoto, like something you can see all the way across canyons with and clearly photograph the other side.
3rd one i want: a macro lens like i described before. or will buying an extension tube for my tamron 28-80mm do the same job?

what i want to shoot? wide variety of things, trains, scenery, stuff on vacations, etc.

[redonnemoi]

i forgot to mention seaworld: the next time i go there, i wanna be able to photograph the killer whales jumping. the problem is you don't know when they jump and you only have about a second to photograph before they fall back down. also you can't sit too close because cameras and seawater don't mix hehehe

[EOSThree]

My philosophy is to buy the best lens you can afford. The lens makes all of the difference in the quality of the photograph. If you are serious you will spend far more on lenses than you'll spend on your body.
I had a few inexpensive lenses in the beginning, but after I bought my first pro lens...what a difference. They feel better, focus faster, have beautiful bokeh(out of focus areas), better contrast, better color. The difference is not huge, but it's definitely there.

The 28-80 Tamron that you purchased with your camera isn't a very highly regarded lens. I would think that you'll be somewhat disappointed with your nice camera body's output in a short time with this lens. Since you have it, use it until you can't stand it anymore. The range is OK on a film body, but 28mm with the camera's crop has the same field of view as a 44mm lens on a film body. If you like this range I would recommend the Canon 28-105 USM II, it's a much better lens, or the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 which is a very sharp, contrasty lens.

A telephoto lens with the kind of length you are looking for will be quite expensive. Across the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is a pretty good distance, filling the frame across that gap will take a lot of lens. The Sigma 50-500 has quite a range and might be enough to fill that request. There are a few zooms that go to 400mm but in general they are pretty expensive. Most consumer zooms stop at 300mm, and I don't think that will fulfill your request to pick off a gnat across the GCofY. I would think a Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS would fulfill your tele zoom needs up to crossing the GCofY.

Here's what I would do if I were you:
Sell or return the 28-80.
Buy the Canon 18-55 IS(image stabilized) kit lens for $175
Buy the Tamron 28-75 for $350
Buy the Canon 70-300 IS for $550.

As far as Macro is concerned I would make due with some extension tubes for now and experiment with them on your Tammy 28-75.

Yep, I am betting you are suffering a bit from sticker shock right now. If you want the best from your camera, I wouldn't go with less than what I have listed above. You can spend less than this but you image quality will suffer quite a bit. You can also spend a lot more than this and get the spectacular nuances that high quality pro glass can get you.

[redonnemoi]

em you bring up a good point, i want to know how do you know how far a telephoto zoom lens can zoom. i suppose i am asking a math question: for a given telephoto zoom lens, how many metres away can it focus on something, and fill the camera sensor frame with this thing? is there some math equation that tells you this?

[EOSThree]

Tamron has a focal length comparison guide here. I don't really know of a formula or a page that will tell you a 6 foot man will fill the frame at this distance with this focal length.

[Frog]

get this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K77UvaiHii0 remembering that a 2x converter comes with it.

[redonnemoi]

O_o hehe thats huge
i might as well bring my telescope, t ring, t adapter, and barlow lens. hahaha

[jkriminger]

You seem to have a great deal of knowledge for someone with more questions than answers. Sometimes you just gotta strap it on and shoot. Good luck and lets see some pics!

[redonnemoi]

thanks so much guys! case closed, I have all the info I need. thanks again

[Franglais]

I've dropped my EOS 3+80-200 f/2.8L from 5 feet(off my tripod) and the whole thing was none the worse for wear. I haven't dropped any plastic lenses(because I've never owned any)but I've seen lenses ruined from a drop when mounted to a camera(mount). I'll keep my L lenses and continue to not worry about them.

The EOS3 has a very nice - plastic body. There is a metal chassis inside but what you touch is polycarbonate. I suspect that some of the Canon L series lenses are also polycarbonate on the outside but metal for the parts that count. It's quite difficult to tell the difference sometimes.

[OmahaAdam]

thanks so much guys! case closed, I have all the info I need. thanks again

So are you going to be checking back in to let us know what you got?

[redonnemoi]

yeh i will do that, but it will be a few months down the road. i will post a pic or two, to show you my newfound creativity hehehe

thanks again