Quote:
Originally Posted by skymaster
Klazu you have inspired me to buy a tri-pod for my Rebel T3i which I haven't really used in 2 years. I took some shitty cell phone pictures today which looked terrible. What type of lens would you recommend for landscape shots? Also, do you have any small pointers for taking shots?
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Glad to hear that, although I am not sure what specific I may have done to inspire you on this.
I also used to be taking all my photos with a small pocket camera or a smart phone, but I was never happy with the quality of my pictures. I figured that I want my skills to limit my capabilities and not my gear, so on my first trip to Toronto back in 2009, I bought myself my first DSLR,
Canon Rebel T1i. It is still my second camera (not for long, though), although I use the body very seldomly nowadays. My number one camera since 2013 has been a
Canon EOS 5D Mark III which is an amazing camera.
Choosing lenses is an important step and it all depends on your budget. You can get far with kit and 3rd party lenses, but remember that optics is the most important part of the gear when taking photos, so invest most of your budget in lenses. Great lens improves photo quality much more than a great camera body, and lenses hold their value much longer than camera bodies that get updated every few years. The L series lenses that I have are practically "eternal" and won't really require updating as far as I just find them usable for their purposes.
I have four lenses which I categorize into "wide-angle" (
16-35mm focal length, for architecture and cityscapes),
"multi-purpose zoom" (24-70mm focal length, for everything under the sun and a "tele zoom" (70-200mm focal length + extender, for anything that is far). I use my multi-purpose lens the most and it is very practical in most situations. Only when you are shooting tall buildings inside a city, you will really benefit from a wide-angle lens. For open landscapes I still find a multi-purpose lense much better than wide-angle, as the latter makes everything so tiny when shooting wide open.
So I would suggest going with a lens with focal-length around 24-100mm. There are several focal lenses available, but I wouldn't go for a lens that tries to do all focal lenghts in one (something like 18-300mm), as it always compromises on quality. Invest as much as you can on the lens to have a fast lens with a large aperture. I would go for a lens with an aperture of f/4 (or larger) throughout its focal length. If the lens has a Image Stabilization (IS), you can consider lenses with f/5.6, but lenses slower than that will just disappoint you when there is not so much light available. Again, remember that a lens is the most important piece of your camera gear.
For tripods there are lots of options, but if you are investing a significant amount on money in the lens and camera, don't buy a flimsy $20 tripod. You will just risk your camera tipping over and your lens breaking. Even though tripod is just legs for the camera, investing in a good tripod will make it more sturdy, light-weight and offer you better adjustability when shooting on ground that is not even, so mostof outdoors.
Don't get me wrong, you can get far with a $20 tripod, but I would never risk my current camera with such. Those things shake already in light wind, producing photos that are not sharp.
I have a
Gitzo GT2541 which costs as much as most people's whole camera gear, but it does its job perfectly.
So yeah, there is a lot to consider, but you should do lots of considering on this before making a purchase. In many cases you will be "locked" to your decision for quite some time and your future purchases and upgrades may depend on your previous purchases. So try anticipating what you might want to be doing in the future. How serious are you with photography and what do you use your photos for? For posting photos on web, you will be fine with most of the stuff, but getting more serious and capturing great travel or event memories will be easier when investing a bit more.
I took the very expensive road, but it does give me ultimate flexibility and room for learning. Of course I also take loads of photos, so I also benefit from working with great gear. You will be fine with much less expensive gear and remember that gear is only one part of a great photo. Your skills are at least as important and making the effort to post-process your photos is something that will take your photos to the next step. When you know what you're doing, you can take photos like this with
a camera phone.
For taking great photos, trial and error is your best bet. Over time you will start to see what works and what doesn't. Always try finding new angles that people don't normally think or see, and take photos in mood-setting lighting like sunset or sunrise. Bright sunshine is bad for many photos, as it washes out colors.
Buying a book on taking great photos is not a bad idea.
Scott Kelby has some great books focusing on best camera settings in hundreds of very different scenarios.
Sorry for the long reply, but I hope it helps. Others forumers may have other tips as well.