Help!!!! Lens advice

[JonD]

Hi all,

I need a bit of advice. I am new to photography. I have been using a 35mm canon EOS 1000FN with 2 lenses Sigma 35-80mm 1:4 - 5.6 and Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 for a short time. I decided to go digital and got a second hand Canon 40D body. My plan was to use the lenses I had already got while I got use to the camera then buy some new ones when I have saved up.

When I am using the Sigma 35-80mm 1:4-5.6 I keep getting an error message err01 camera cannot communicate with the lens. I have followed all the advice I can find online about cleaning the lens contacts with no joy. The other lens works fine so I think is a problem with that lens/not compatible with the camera

I want to get a new lens to replace the sigma and have been looking at a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS just to get me started.

They seem to be fairly cheap second hand on the net. Are they any good or can you recommend anything else that I could use for general purpose / landscape. Unfortunately I only have a small budget of up to £100.

Jon

[rpcrowe]

Jon,

Welcome to CiC. Your Canon 40D is an excellent choice for a first camera. I have used one for years and have been quite happy tith the results. My China galleries at: http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/
were shot with a combination of 30D and 40D cameras.

Considering your budget, the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS might just be your best bet.

Ensure however, that the lens you choose is the IS model. The IS version is a later model than the non-IS lens and, in addition to providing Image Stabilization, also has better optics than the non-IS lens...

A hotshoe flash is a good addition to the kit lens and will allow you to shoot indoors. Bouncing flash provides decent looking lighting that avoids the "deer-in-the headlights look". There are some third party flashes that have received good reviews. However, I have no experience with these. I do have experience with the Canon 420EX which is a good flash. It cannot be used in the manual mode but, it is E-TTL capable and High Speed Sync capable. On the used market, it is the least expensive Canon full size hotshoe flash suitable for digital cameras....

Later, a decent tripod will certainly add to your capabilities. The "kit" lens, shot tripod mounted, around f/8 or f/11 will provide surprisingly good image quality...

[JonD]

Hi Richard,

Thanks you for your advice. I have got a tripod so hopefully this will help.

My aim is to save up and get a Sigma 150-500mm lens for wildlife and then get a decent lens for landscape photography.
I hope to be able to get them soon as I was out this morning and was very limited to what I could do with the lens I have.

Jon

[RustBeltRaw]

At your price point, Jon, the latest versions of 18-55mm kit lens (the IS II)will serve very nicely. I used one on a Canon 6MP Digital Rebel (the original) for almost three years. Some of those images are still in my portfolio.