Rebel T2i, which lens?

[Steve Conley]

Hey folks,

So I've been doing some reading on here, and I think I've decided my first real camera is going to be the Rebel T2i. What I'm still torn on, is which lens kit I should go with? The two standard kits appear to be the one with the 18-55mm, and the 18-135mm. The latter runs ~$1099, and the previous ~$899. Both come with a $50 rebate through 07/10.2010.

So, cost considered, which one of these would be the best one to start off with? I'm looking for something that I can take good casual photos with (baseball games, some outdoors type photos, etc), but obviously something that will let me get some good shots of storms, formations, etc. So I don't know if either of these is going to cover all my bases, or if I'm better off buying just the body and getting a completely different lens separately, or what to do here.

I'm certainly no pro, this is my first endeavor into DSLR's, so any input would be welcome. If you know of any better deals out there I'd obviously be interested in that as well.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[Allan Jeffers]

I would:
Get the body only
Add a 10-22mm (or something of the sort) for weather, I think some one has a sigma that will fit that for sale here.

Then, get a canon 70-200mm f/4L non IS for more reach, its about 700 bucks brand new. Its better to get good glass up front. You will change bodies more then glass. Good glass is an investment

Another option would be the t2i body and a canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS EF-S lens, but it cost over a grand I think.

I think the t2i body only is 799? The 70-200mm f/4L non IS is on rebate and can be had for 600.00

so thats a total of 1400 bucks. If you want IS with that, you will have to cough up probably 2K

The 10-22mm lens you will have to cough up 720 bucks for (its also on rebate). A 17-40mm f/4L lens cost 700 and it weather sealed (to a certian point)

 

[Steve Miller]

I agree 100% with Allan on the T2i plan for you.
I run that exact set-up (T2i Body + 10-22 Canon) and love it.

 

[Brandon Jenkins]

My advice would be to order the lens independent of the camera body if at all possible. There are plenty of good options out there for general photography that would be a better choice than the kit lens and after all was said and done would keep you in the same price range. Sigma makes a great lens in the 17-70mm f/2.8 for around $350 new. If you do decide to go the kit route, save your money and grab the 18-55 IS and start searching for a new lens to replace it. A lot of chasers decide to purchase an ultra wide angle lens to shoot storms, they work much better for effectively capturing entire storm structures while maintaining a manageable distance (not getting too far away from) the storm. These lenses (sigma 10-20, canon 10-22, tokina 11-16) run somewhere in the neighborhood of $450-750 so they are not for everyone. Either way you go it won't be long before you want to order some new lenses, then you'll wish you never bought the camera in the first place.

 

[Brandon Goforth]

I would:
Get the body only
Add a 10-22mm (or something of the sort) for weather, I think some one has a sigma that will fit that for sale here.

Then, get a canon 70-200mm f/4L non IS for more reach, its about 700 bucks brand new. Its better to get good glass up front. You will change bodies more then glass. Good glass is an investment

I think the t2i body only is 799? The 70-200mm f/4L non IS is on rebate and can be had for 600.00

The 70-200mm will be almost useless for storm chasing purposes, although for other activities it may come in very handy at times. If you want a first lens that isn't too expensive and will cover most situations both for storm chasing and as a walk around lens...just go get the Sigma 17-70. I have it and it's great for the price, and, at least my copy, is really sharp. I also have the Canon 10-22mm and 50mm. The 10-22mm is nice, but you'll get more use out of the 17-70. So unless you want to dish out the money and buy 2-3 lenses right off the bat, I'd just go get the 17-70. It will cover most of your needs. For chasing, I carry a Canon 7D and a Canon Rebel XTi, and when I need to switch between the 10-22 and 17-70, I just switch cameras, lol!

 

[Steve Conley]

Wow, so that's some great information, I really appreciate it. So I think the plan is this then.

I'm going to follow Brandon's thought process here and just go ahead and get the 18-55 as a jumping off point, and then start thinking about what lens to go for next. The way I see it, the body is $799, the 18-55mm kit is $899, both with a $50 rebate - so the rebate is a scratch in terms of pricing comparison. So basically I'm getting the 18-55mm for $100, and as long as it's a good enough lens to help me get started off with photography, then I'm ok with that. In the mean time I'll just keep my eyes peeled for bargains and go from there. Plus, that lets me get a couple accessories and stay closer to that $1k mark for now.

So thanks for all the help and advice, it's much appreciated.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

For the cropped-type camera bodies -instead of getting a medium telephoto (70-200mm)- the Canon 50mm f/1.4 will yield a single 80mm view. It cost about ~$250 new and is one very excellent lens. It is my favorite lens - BTW. Useful for storm chasing - and all around use as well. They also make a f/1.8 version of this lens which cost only $100 - but feels/looks a little cheap - but also works surprisingly well.

The f/1.4 or f/1.8 50mm Canon lens is incredibly sharp and capable of low-light conditions.
Don't leave home without it!

 

[Jim Hunt]

The latest generation of the 18-55mm is not a bad lens. I will mention that Best Buy has the camera body only or the body with the kit lens with 18 months same as cash. Also the T2i does HD video but you need good microphone.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/363083-REG/Rode_VIDEOMIC_VideoMic_Camera_Mounted.html

 

[Patrick Martin]

So, cost considered, which one of these would be the best one to start off with? I'm looking for something that I can take good casual photos with (baseball games, some outdoors type photos, etc), but obviously something that will let me get some good shots of storms, formations, etc. So I don't know if either of these is going to cover all my bases, or if I'm better off buying just the body and getting a completely different lens separately, or what to do here.

I would highly reccomend going with the body + the 18-55is. You can add a UWA (ultra wide angle) later, or in conjuction with the kit lens. I strongly suspect that if you start with just the body and an UWA, when you consider what you are wanting to shoot, that you will find it very limiting, and ultimately end up with a mid range zoom, such as the kit lens, Tamron 17-50, or Sigma 17-70. The kit lens is quite good for the cost, and it's a great setup to learn with.