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I have a Canon EOS Rebel T7, and I have only used the lens that came with the camera when I bought it. Does anyone have any input on whether I should be buying a zoom lens? I want to be taking portraits and family pictures but also will be using my camera for landscapes and close-up shots, as well as a few nature shots. A mix of everything, really. 🙂 Also, which types of lenses would you recommend for my type of photography?
I’m pretty new to the photography world, so sorry if these are obvious questions!It’s an EF-S 18-55mm… hopefully that’s enough info! I can upload a picture if that would be helpful.
I use my Tamron 24-70mm 2.8 lens 80% of the time. I also have a 18-55mm and a 70-300mm lens. (They’re all the Nikon versions) I’ve found those three cover everything I need.
Think about the pictures you take now. Are you always using 55mm and wishing you could zoom in more? Or do you like the wide-end of lens (18mm) the best?
-HannahThanks, @blessingscaptured, that’s great for me to think about! I have been trying to get good pictures of the flowers around where I live, and I am wanting to be able to zoom in more. I haven’t used the wide-end of the lens near as much.
If you take portraits, do you ever use your zoom lens while taking them? Or would you just use a 18-55mm? 😅
Thank you for your help!When I take portraits I like to zoom in to at lest 50mm and I’ll use 70mm if it can. At that mm people’s faces don’t get distorted and the background has some blur.
Before I had my 24-70mm I used my 18-55mm for portraits just making sure I was zoomed in.I agree with what @blessingscaptured has shared.
If you haven’t already done so, it might be helpful to step through the lessons in the Foundations of Photography Course, Factors to Look for in a Lens, and Scenario: Buying a Lens. Those might help you narrow down some of your options and give you a better understanding of how to make this decision.
Hi @kansasgirl, if it’s of any help, I too keep coming back to 3 lenses being what I use for all my photography needs. I wish I could do it with only 2 lenses (or 1 for that matter), but because I shoot professionally, I would prefer to regularly switch lenses than to sacrifice image quality and the f/2.8 aperture at every focal length.
For landscapes (which I do a lot of because I love it so much) I use the 16-35mm, and at 16mm for probably 90% of the time. For event and portrait photography, I’m constantly going between the 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses. If I’m working with a group of people (like a family) and especially indoors, I probably use the 24-70. If I’m outside and can step far away from my subjects, then I’ll use the 70-200 (90% of the time at 200mm haha) because I love the blurry background so much. And then of course, for wildlife, I’m always using the 70-200 (and often wish I could go further).
Ok this is great! I am grateful for all the advice, it’s been really helpful! I just ordered a 75-300 lens today, and I’m really excited to try it out!
Thank you all again for the help! ☺️That’s great, @kansasgirl! Congrats – I have a feeling you’ll enjoy using that lens! 🙂
You will definitely enjoy having the extra reach with the 75-300mm!
For anyone else viewing this thread, if you specifically want to “zoom in” on small objects, like flowers or insects, you could also look at getting a set of extension tubes. They are pretty inexpensive and allow you to focus closer with whatever lens you have.
Just make sure you get ones that allow auto-focus.
@dfrazer Thanks so much for the tip! And yes, I’ve really enjoyed having the extra zoom, I’ve loved the results of the pictures I’ve been taking. 😊
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