Newbie confused about lenses

[scott33b]

Hi. Can anyone explain what lenses are suitable for my new Canon 30d.
Bought it new with no lens from ebay.
Been looking at lenses, but unsure what to buy.
Do EF lenses fit? or does it need to be EF-S?
What does the "f" figure range stand for?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Scott

[WibXL]

EF lenses will fit on any of the EOS range, EF-S lenses are for cameras that don't have a full frame sensor such as your 30D so you can use either.

F numbers tell you what the widest aperture of the lens is, the lower the f number the larger the aperture. F1.8 means it has an aperture of 1.8 all the way through the lens range, f1.8-f5.6 on a zoom lens would mean that at the widest end it has a 1.8 aperture and at the longest 5.6.

A low aperture is good for two things, it lets more light into the lens which means you can use a fast shutter speed plus it creates a shallower depth of field for example if you take a photo of somebody their face may be in focus but the background is nicely blurred.

You may also see another f number such as 32 which would tell you how narrow the aperture can be made as well but the number in the lens description is always the widest aperture.

[scott33b]

Thannks for the quick reply.
Was looking at this lens on ebay as a first lens, until I get the hang of the camera.
CANON EF 80 - 200mm F/4.5 - 5.6 11 LENS

Also was thinking of buying the kit lens second hand. I see them for about £25.

Is this a good start?
cheers

[WibXL]

Hard to say as it depends on what type of photography you want to concentrate on. I've not tried the first lens that you mentioned but for £25 I'd get the kit lens as whilst it may not be a brilliant lens it'll be more than enough to cut your teeth on plus you'll either find that it fits the type of photography that you want to take well so you know to buy a better lense with the same range or it won't so you'll know that you either want a lens with a higher or lower mm rating.

The lower the mm the wider the lens will be and the higher the more zoomed in.

EDIT: mm is the focal length of the lens.

[PD_BARBS]

Originally Posted by scott33b

Thannks for the quick reply.
Was looking at this lens on ebay as a first lens, until I get the hang of the camera.
CANON EF 80 - 200mm F/4.5 - 5.6 11 LENS

Also was thinking of buying the kit lens second hand. I see them for about £25.

Is this a good start?
cheers

I wouldn't recommend this as a first lens, this would leva eyou very restricted. What you really want is a good or entry level walkaround lens. The 18-55mm, kit lenses can be picked up fairly cheap, but you will want to change it pretty quickly. Other good candidates would be the sigma 17-70mm, sigma 17-50mm. But these tend to be alot pricier coming in at around £200.

But as you can see, you would be better getting a lens that covers the lower zoom range. But as already said, it depends on what you like to photo.

Good beginner option would be the kit lens (Canon 18-55mm) and the Tamron 55-200mm, these are cheap and give you some options.

[scott33b]

Thanks guys. I'll have a search around on ebay.

Cheers