Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS

J

_JOE_

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Anybody have one? A quick search of some reviews turned up some good remarks. I'm looking to shoot some close range shots, like around the house and stuff. The price looks really good and I don't expect it to perform like a 600 dollar lens, just better than my crappy kit lens. The kit lens is 18-55 and takes some mediocre at best shots, it seems to be very picky about motion while shooting. Does the IS make a big difference??

 

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Chili

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I had the original 18-55 and IS or not you are going to need light or a tripod and longer exposures for shooting in the house in most cases.

 

J

_JOE_

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Well, I guess what I'm looking for is something I can use for an all around lens. Mostly pics of the kids and dogs and such. I'm not really looking for amazing quality, more-so less throw away shots. As it is, I get alot of slightly blurry shots. Is this a lighting issue, or would the IS help? Even outside I have some issues. Maybe it's just me? Is there another budget minded lens you would suggest?

 

Rich Rohrich

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Is there a reason you don't want to just add a flash head? Like Chili pointed out with a slow variable aperture lens like that it will be tough to ever be in a position to have enough natural light for a decent handheld shutter speed indoors, unless your camera is really good at ISO 800 and above. Even then you'll be pushing without flash.

When I need to shoot indoors with natural light I use an f1.4 lens and Auto-ISO on a camera body that produces clean images up to ISO 1600. Given the choice I use a flash head and a Lightsphere flash diffuser.

Here's a review on the lens in question :

http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/5116/lens-test-canon-ef-s-18-55mm-f35-56-is.html

 

Last edited: Dec 12, 2008

J

_JOE_

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Rich, that was one of the reiews I read. This qoute from the review was one of the reasons I was interested......Using DxO's blur analysis software, our tests of the Image Stabilizer found that three different shooters could take critically sharp images at shutter speeds between 2.5 and 3 stops slower than without IS. This should open new avenues for Rebel shooters in low-light situations.


I figured upgrading the glass would be a better first step towards better shots than lighting. How much of a difference can I expect upgrading flash? Is the built-in unit not good?

 

IndyMX

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I've found the built in flash on my 20D to be completely useless.

 

Rich Rohrich

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_JOE_ said:

I figured upgrading the glass would be a better first step towards better shots than lighting. How much of a difference can I expect upgrading flash? Is the built-in unit not good?

Click to expand...

I've shot with the built in flash on Eric's Canon and I wasn't impressed. The Canon flash head he added is outstanding.

IS lenses can't make up for poor camera handling in low light, but flash cures all kinds of evils especially indoors where you can bounce the light off of a ceiling or a wall.

Camera technique is probably the hardest thing to fix. I use a flash and/or a tripod every chance I get as a result. ;)

 

J

_JOE_

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Yeah, I think a tripod is going to be required for my ultra unsteadiness. Any suggestions on flash heads?

 

IndyMX

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I got one of these for my flash, really helps smooth the flash out a lot..

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52696-REG/Sto_Fen_OM_C__OM_C_Omni_Bounce.html

 

Rich Rohrich

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_JOE_ said:

Yeah, I think a tripod is going to be required for my ultra unsteadiness. Any suggestions on flash heads?

Click to expand...

Buy a Speedlite from Canon (like a Speedlite 430EX II or a 580EX II) that supports TTL so it communicates properly with you camera's metering system.

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/flashwork/index.html

A good Speedlite will prove to be the best investment you'll ever make in photography, so my advice is, don't cheap out.

Good light can make a mediocre lens look great, but bad lighting will even make a $1600 pro lens look bad. (ask me how I know :) )

 

C

Chili

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If you hit a few of the photo forums or watch local classified sites you can likely pick up an older Canon 420EX and flash diffuser like Indy posted for less than $100. Pretty sure 420's have been selling in the $80 range of late.

 

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Phil

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• Dec 12, 2008

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A good flash is a must have item. I love my 580EX-II, I wouldn't trade it for a bag full of IS lenses. You also have to remember that IS will only compensate for camera shake, it will do nothing to counteract motion blur from your subject.

In fact, motion blur from your subject would tend to be more likely, since you would be shooting 2-3 stops slower shutter than you could with a normal lense. As long as your dogs and kids aren't too hyper, that might be OK...;)

 

B

biglou

• Dec 13, 2008

• #13

I bought my 430 from Amazon a little over a year ago for $225 new. Still haven't taken the time to learn to use it properly, lol!

 

J

_JOE_

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biglou said:

I bought my 430 from Amazon a little over a year ago for $225 new. Still haven't taken the time to learn to use it properly, lol!

Click to expand...

I think that's the main reason my picture quality is less than stellar! :)

Thanks for the help guys, I'll have to start budgeting for some upgrades. :cool:

 

Rich Rohrich

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The cool part about a good flash is once you start to get comfortable with it you'll use it in places where you never dreamed of. It's a really great addition to your kit.

A couple of non-traditional flash pictures that wouldn't have worked without it even though it was outdoors and sunny.

 

a454elk

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I've noticed that the highest shutter speed I can go up to with my built in flash is 250. Will that change if I add an external flash? I have the 20D right now.

 

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Chili

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• Dec 23, 2008

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250 is the highest flash sync speed for a 20D, with an external speedlight you can set it to high speed sync mode and go higher but you reduce the effective range of the flash.