considering lenses for Canon XTi (novice)

[articulate]

Chris, you kill me with your indecision.

You'll probably walk away from all this with a 100-400mm just to make us laugh. So here I go: the 10-22 is nearly a whole new ballgame, but I love wide. Wide wide. Really wide. One of my next lenses shall be a fisheye. I think you'll have fun with that 10-22, and you'll open up some new creative choices.

Ever use pbase.com to search photos based on lens? Check this out, samples of pictures shot with the 10-22 EF-S

 

[cshontz]

Chris, you kill me with your indecision.

Although I am notoriously indecisive, not really in this case. I'm just so new to the SLR scene that I'm soaking up info like a sponge, and getting a feel on what lenses people like and why. As a result, I am easily swayed - but I'm having a blast learning!

Also, I think the 50mm 1.8 opened my mind a little. I've been thrilled with its performance and it just makes the majority of my shots look more interesting - even the blurry ones. I feel like I've taken a step away from being a "snapshooter" and I'm inspired to try other goofy lenses - like the 10-22... to shoot close, shoot far, to climb and crawl around my subjects, and to find out in how many different ways I can capture this world's essence. (its late, give me a break)

For instance, I give you a row of tacky candy cane Christmas lights. No, certainly not an award winning picture, but... it interests me. I don't know why.

Thanks for the pbase link, Mark. Good stuff! I'm sure I'll go through those pictures pretty thoroughly within the next couple weeks. I do the same thing on Flickr. Whenever I'm curious about a lens, there is always a Flickr group where people discuss and show pictures. That's where I do most of my research.

 

[cshontz]

I have the funds for new glass! I'm just waiting for the money to move around, and then I'm going to go for it. I'm stoked!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/351542-USA/Canon_9518A002_EF_S_10_22mm_f_3_5_4_5_USM.html

 

[LJRockstar]

Chris, I just recently got 17-40 "L" lens. I LOVE IT! everything is so much more crisp It has a nice wide angle and a little bit of zoom.

I also have a 70-300 1:4-5.6 IS USM. I find that on a normal basis It rarely comes out of the bag.

I use the 17-40 for darn near everything. I am no Pro, but I can see a BIG difference between it and the kit lens.

Another accessory you might be interested in is:
Battery grip

It makes tanking portraits so much nicer and gives you more leverage when you have a long lens on. Doubles your battery life, and on top of all that it makes your XTI look like one of the big boys!

 

[cshontz]

Chris, I just recently got 17-40 "L" lens. I LOVE IT! everything is so much more crisp It has a nice wide angle and a little bit of zoom.

I also have a 70-300 1:4-5.6 IS USM. I find that on a normal basis It rarely comes out of the bag.

I use the 17-40 for darn near everything. I am no Pro, but I can see a BIG difference between it and the kit lens.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the 17-40. I'd love to take a look at it, if you find yourself at OK on a Thursday. Don't go out of your way, though. I just placed my order for the 10-22, so I'm all tapped out again - but I'd still like to upgrade the 18-55 someday.

 

[\\'anderer]

I bought my wife the 10-22 for Christmas, It is sooo cool, you will love it.

 

[cshontz]

Finally, my driveway shots will be better than ever! Behold, my first 10-22 picture!

I am already ecstatic with the lens. Just kidding about the driveway shots thing, though I do have too many. Now I just have to get out there and take pics. :wings:

 

[articulate]

Excellent, Chris.

More driveway. I need more driveway.

 

[PhoenixGSU]

The only canon lenses I have are the two you listed. The 50 is a good fixed lens and the 28-135 is a good walkaround lens.

 

[cshontz]

The 10-22 is going to require some discipline. Not necessarily the best choice for a 5 year old's birthday party. I am also more aware that wide angle can be misused easily. Do you guys plan most of your shots, or do more "walk around"?

 

[articulate]

I am also more aware that wide angle can be misused easily. Do you guys plan most of your shots, or do more "walk around"?

Go vertical. Get close. Don't point it straight (parallel with the ground).

The cover shot on Overland Journal Fall '07 is a great example of a wide angle shot with the foreground being very close to the camera (although it's horizontal). The camera is practically pointed downward. Dramatic technique.

The 10-22 allows you to get as close as about 10" I think. That's sweet.

 

[cshontz]

The 10-22 allows you to get as close as about 10" I think.

Yesterday, when it was time for the pinata, I wasn't that brave!

Thanks for the great advice, Mark!

 

[LJRockstar]

Hey Chris, are you going to be at OK this thurs? I am going to try and get up there... I NEEED to pick up that pair of wheels that have been sitting there since I was in Moab! I'll bring my Camera gear if you want to take a look.

 

[Lost Canadian]

The 10-22 is going to require some discipline. Not necessarily the best choice for a 5 year old's birthday party. I am also more aware that wide angle can be misused easily. Do you guys plan most of your shots, or do more "walk around"?

Play around some more. I have a Sigma 10-20 on my Nikon and I love it now that I know how to use it. I used it almost exclusively over the holidays at various functions and parties, all in doors. What I've come to learn is wide is best used to show perspective, like how the forground and background play off each other. That cover Mark is talking about is a great example, as it really gives you a real sense of distance. Looking at that cover you feel as though you are standing, with rock below your feet, and way off in the distance you can see a truck.

Here's another example, not the best pic but it illustrates what I'm trying to say. You can sense that my dad is close to me and the girls on the other side of the table are not.

 

[alvarorb]

I'm on my second dSRL. My first one was the original Digital rebel. At first the lens that it came with felt wonderful. But soon I started to see it's shortcomings. So I upgraded to a 24-105 Canon lens. It is great as an every day lens. I liked it so much that I stopped using the 17-55 all together.

Last year I replaced my Digital Rebel for an XTi and a couple of months later got a 10-22 lens from Canon. Wow, what a difference. Now it's the lens that I use most of the time. I'm super happy with it. Pictures take a whole new dramatic feel when properly used.

Last week my wife and I took a trip through Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Near Page, AZ we stopped to look at the Colorado river and one of it's famous bends, "Horseshoe Bend". While I was taking pics another person with a Canon dSLR started taking pics as well. My wife pointed him out to me and we started talking about cameras. Soon I lent him my lens and he lent me his.

Here is a comparison between his 17-40 and my 10-22.

I agree with the comment about Aperture/Light Room. With the 10-22 lens it's hard to take pictures indoors with the built in flash. You end up seeing the shadow of the upper edge of the lens on the pictures. What I've been doing lately is to take the picture without a flash and then in Aperture/iPhoto modify the color temperature. I take all my pictures in RAW format.

fredmiranda.com is a site for camera info
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

Regards

Alvaro