Going to get a DSLR, what lens should I get?

j.engel

j.engel

Member
I am getting sick of using my gopro for filming where 5 feet looks like 20. So I am just about to get the cannon t4i because I am an entry level filmer. But I've came to the problem for witch lens I should get with it? I want to be filming in the trees, there are a 18-55mm lens and 18-100mm lens that i can get from cannon but just wondering witch lens I should get?
 
go into the "Media and Arts Directory" thread, find the "What camera" thread link, fill it out, post back
 
1) What is your budget? How much money can you spend right away, and do you think you can get more money to invest in the future? I've got 500 bucks now and am willing to pay up to a thousand.

2) What experience do you already have with cameras? Have you ever even used one before? Have you helped your friend out with his camera? Have you ownI've had experience filming with my gopro, and taking photos with my moms nikon d3000. Yes i have used one before. Yes Ive helped my friend with his.

2) What gear, if any, do you currently have? (tripod, old camera lenses, mics, etc)

I have two tripods, old lenses, straps, and Bags.

4) What are you planning to shoot and how do you want to use your camera? Are you going to use this with the sole purpose of shooting skiing? or do you think you might try other stuff as well (movies, documentaries, short films, etc)

I want to be filming and taking lots of pictures in the trees and at my home mountain park. beside pictures of family, no.

5) Do you want a camera that you can hand to your friends, that could or could not have film experience, and let them shoot you? or will you be doing all the filming?

Maby a little, I will probably do must of it.

6) When filming skiing, how do you tend to shoot? (follow cams, leave it on record on a tripod and hike, film from a tripod, etc)

follow cams, tripod and dolly.

7) What computer do you currently have/use to edit (if not currently editing, what would you most likely use)? If you can provide specifics, such as hard drive space, RAM, processor size, that would be great.

I have an hp pavilion g, with 650 gigs of memory. and quad core with 8 gigs of ram.

7) What program do you currently edit on? How familiar are you with it (1- just learning; 10- I can make tutorials and know the keyboard layout)

I corently edit on corel video studio pro. on a scale of one to ten probably 7.

8) Do you think you might consider using a DSLR?

yes i consider using a dslr
 
I would for sure get a T3i... They are really cheap now, and just as good as the T4i quality wise. It will probably come with a stock 18-55 lens, and that pretty good for filming to start out with. If you have the money, for sure get a glidecam as well and you'l be set!
 
Not to jack this thread but I didn't want to make my own for the sake of cluttering m&a, my dad is looking for a travel do it all zoom lense for my 60d when he takes it to Costa Rica, his budget is like $650 thanks guys!
 
These threads would be viewed so much better if the OP actually did some research on a few lenses and then asked what would be better between choice A,B, and C. And the kid who is asking for a walkaround zoom for $650, do a little research before you ask to be handfed on NS.
 
Get a video camera! I have read good things about the Panasonic tm700 (never tested it) on here so I would look into that. Also save up money for a nice tripod, glidecam and maybe a mic. If you for some reason want a DSLR be prepared to spend a lot more than 1000$ if you want a good setup for filming.

Also do some research on your own, there is so many threads about this already so I am sure you could easily find out what lenses people were gonna recommend (Tamron 17-50mm, Tokina 11-16mm..)
 
What focal range does he need? Can it be more than one lens? what sort of weight and size can he manage?
 
He said do it all, so im guessing a mid range. Id go for a used 24-105 f4 if he could save up an extra $50-100 to buy one used.
 
I think he wants just one because he is going to be doing a lot of hiking and whatnot and doesn't want to carry around a ton of camera stuff, he was looking at the tamron 28-300, and I don't know much about that lens, but he is looking for something that goes to 270 or 300, thanks guys
 
270 or 300 35mm equivalent? Or 480 on a crop? I'm pretty sure I heard Heath talking about how shit the 28-300 was, I might be mistaken though, would a 17-50 and 70-200 be too much weight?(less than 3lbs)
 
anything that has that much range is not going to be good. the canon 75-300 would probably work, but id avoid wide-super tele lenses like 28-300.
 
Obviously it want be super sharp and it will be pretty useless in bad lightning but if sharpness isn't that important for him and he is just going to use it in good light I am sure it will be a great walk around lens for him. Most reviews on B&H seemed to be very happy with the lens so its probably not that bad when it comes to sharpness either.
 
I've tried using the 75-300 for filming and its only good until your at like 100mm, after that its really hard to keep it still unless your stationary with a tripod...
 
That's not the fault of the lens, all will be exactly the same, it's hard to keep tele lenses steady without a tripod.
 
The 75-300 is a pretty crappy lens. For the same price you can get a 55-250 which has IS (its actually really good, even for video, it helps a ton) and is better optically.Why not just take two lenses?
 
The 55-250 isn't bad but neither is the 18-135mm from canon. I mean optics wise they're comparable, they ain't no 70-200 but gets the job done
 
I swear people are retarded nowadays, when I was looking into getting a camera I did all my own research online, there is literally no reason not to use the infinite amount of free information available to your advantage, but everyday the same damn thread gets posted.
 
the obligatory "back in my day" post...just kidding, there is a lot of truth behind what this guy is saying. do your own research and read the thousand other threads on this exact topic.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top