Lens help

[Kitty]

I bought my camera about 18months ago. I got a 450d from america ebay, with the camera came two lenses Tamron 28-80mm 1:3.5-5.8 and Tamron 75-300mm 1:4-5.8. The pack was cheap so i thought i would take the risk and see how i like photography. In the last few months i have not been happy with the quality of the photos. The colours and shrapness is just not there for me.

Now there could be a few reasons, i may just not be a good photographer or the lenses are not good.

I have been looking at the lenses that come with the kit here
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

and also the Canon 50mm EF f1.8 II

Would any of the lenses be worth spending the money on. Would i get a better picture? I don't have too much money atm but i would like a new lens before i go OS in three month. If anyone has any other suggestions of a good lens to just basic shoting, some landscapes and also car events like drifting it will be a great help, i am pretty clueless with this stuff and just starting out.

Thanks in advance

[etherial]

Firstly - There are plenty of people on here with more experience than I!

But I have experienced the 450D and the two Canon lens you mention as that was my first kit. I also have the 50mm F1.8. I found them all reasonable as a beginner and I think I produced some good images from them. Have a look at any of my threads from last year and they will all be shot taken with those lenses.

I can't comment on the tammies but it is rare to hear bad things about lenses. Others will no doubt be able to share experience there.

What also might help is to post some images that you are happy and not happy with and people might be able to advise if it is the lens or a technique issue.

[arthurking83]

First things first!!

I know that you say you're not happy with the quality of the images, but the reality is that the qualityof the images can be dependent on so many points, and none of them may have anything to do with the camera gear too!

eg. just your PC screen can decieve you in what you believe to be true.. because only you can see that point of view through your PC screen!

So to be sure that you're accurate in your assessment of the images you're taking post up a few samples @ 1024 pixels and about 240kb in size if you upload them to AP via the attachment tool. Otherwise link to them from whatever site you use to store them.

So with that there's also the possibility of operator error.. in many ways. technique in holding the camera and more likely inexperience in using the correct settings for the conditions.

Eg. when doing landscapes. are you using a tripod and is the camera focused correctly and have you set the appropriate aperture value for that scene?... etc, etc, etc...

The list is way too long to explain covering every possible detail.

So I suggest posting another thread, in that thread you;d ask for opinions of how to do it better, what anyone thinks you may have done wrong and the image wil be posted or linked to in thatthread.. making sure that the exif data is going to be intact. Also explain what software you've used to 'process' the image too.

From the exif detail, a lot CAN be explained about other variations of how to best capture the scene.

eg, if you set the aperture to it's widest setting with those types of lenses then you're almost certain to get image softness to begin with. if you're shooting a landscape scene with the lens wide open, and handheld in low light at a slow shutter speed.. well then, you can see where this reply is leading to, I hope) and picture tell a thousand words they say.. and it's damned well true!

[darylcheshire]

Years ago I thought my photo quality was not good as I saw jaggies and then I used different software to what was provided and the photo quality had improved. So be careful what software you are using in determining how bad the photos are.
Otherwise, depends on what you are photographing and how much practise you are having. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 is the cheapest Canon so you might start with that. Otherwise the 18-55mm is about $250 in Melbourne prices and would more suit the 1.6 crop factor.

Daryl.

[Mary Anne]

The 18-55mm at DDP Brisbane and Sydney is only $159 +$20 postage I buy all my lens there.

[Kitty]

Thanks for your replies, as i said i am just beginning and it is probably me not being a good photographer. The only reason i started looking a lenses is because i had a friend just buy a camera and his photos looked so clear and the colours were great. I have another friend also get great shots of exactly the same thing i was shoting and he had a canon lens, he had also just bought the camera and didn't know what he was doing so it was slightly fustrating his photos looked so clear.

I will go through my photos and link some for you to look at. I am open to all criticism and any tips about what i am doing wrong will be a great help.

I must admit i have not been out much with my camera so i guess that could be holding me back.

[rwg717]

Agree with most of the above, particularly Arthurking83...try posting a few images and let some of the tribe on AP work out what was wrong with them (if anything?), some great help available here, afterall that's one of the reasons you joined isn't it?
Richard

[bigdazzler]

Thanks for your replies, as i said i am just beginning and it is probably me not being a good photographer.

I must admit i have not been out much with my camera so i guess that could be holding me back.

Well there you go then ..... better lenses will not give you better images unless you know how to use the camera properly in the first place. Just like a top of the line hammer wont help a carpenter build a better cupboard if he doesnt know how to build a cupboard.

IMHO, forget buying more gear. Go to the New To Photography forum, and start the Learning Plan from scratch. if youre serious about improving, its the ONLY way to do it.

[Kitty]

I have added some photos to be critiqued
here and here

Thanks for all the advise.