Are a Canon 50mm f/1.8 and 75-300mm good upgrades from the 18-55mm kit lens on a Rebel T1i?
Asked 1/9/2012
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I have a Canon Rebel T1i with the EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens. My husband also bought me a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 and an EF 75-300mm zoom. I’m learning photography and mainly want to shoot my baby, travel scenes, and nature.
Are these good choices alongside the kit lens? The 50mm feels redundant because the kit lens covers 50mm, and I’ve heard mixed things about the 75-300mm. I’m not shooting professionally, just looking for useful lenses to learn with.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
6
I think you've got a pretty nice setup now. The 18-55 is good for landscapes (wide-angle), the 50mm is perfect for portraits of your baby and the telephoto is great for pictures of your baby in the park walking on the beach etc as well as other close up shots where a telephoto is needed. If you find you enjoy taking macro shots (flowers, insects, etc) you can pick up a macro lens but you can take really nice photos of flowers and such even with the 50mm and the telephoto. Get a tripod and a few filters and you can experiment with long exposure and HDR or just take group pictures with yourself in it...
You can get much better quality professional glass (for a lot more $) but there is no need unless you are not satisfied with the image quality you are getting.
Originally by user4977. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4977
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—overall this is a useful beginner kit, with one clear standout: the 50mm f/1.8.
The 50mm isn’t redundant just because your 18-55 reaches 50mm. Its much wider f/1.8 aperture lets in far more light than the kit lens at 50–55mm, which helps indoors and in low light, and it gives you shallower depth of field for softer backgrounds. On your T1i, it’s also a very good portrait focal length for baby photos.
The 18-55mm still remains useful for general shooting, travel, and landscapes.
The 75-300mm is more mixed. It can be useful when you need reach for outdoor subjects, park shots, or distant nature, but several photographers consider the non-IS version weak in image quality and harder to use well. If yours is the non-IS model, it may be the least compelling lens in the set.
So: keep using the 18-55 for versatility, definitely try the 50mm for portraits and low light, and treat the 75-300 as optional depending on how happy you are with its results. If later you find yourself wanting more specialized shots, then a wide-angle or macro lens could make sense.
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