Lenses?!

[jerome]

Hey guys, I'm looking at lenses to purchase for a Canon 550D that I am about to purchase.
It's comes as a lens kit with an 18-55mm standard lens.
Buttttttt, I would also like something a bit different (i.e Fisheye, Wideangle).
As far as cost go, not a lot, trying to keep it under the 600 mark,
and I want something that can also offer great portrait photography.
Thanks A Lot!
Jerome S

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Jerome

Firstly - Welcome to the AP Forum - you'll find us a nice mob of enthusiasts willing to share our knowledge & experiences with others, and you can view our collective images and ask/learn 'how was it done'

To answer your Q a bit tongue-in-cheek ... didn't your mum tell you "listen mate - you can't have everything you want in life..."

On a $600 budget, all you are going to get is a basic camera, and to get a lens as well you are going to be pretty 'lucky'. As you will no doubt have noted elsewhere, and 1/2-decent bit of glass has a price tag equal to your camera price, often 2x or 3x the camera price

What I would suggest you consider is a) buy your $600 kit camera w- its 18-55 lens, then b) wander around your local pawn-shops/ 2nd-hand shops/ non-photographic trade-in shops and look for a $25 video-camera wide-angle accessory lens. They fit on the front of your 18-55 via the filter thread. [you might need to buy a small adaptor]

These lenses were very common a few years back - they had the effect of changing the lens mm's by about "-1/3" ... ie your 18-55 becomes an 12-38. Now the Image Quality [IQ] will never be anything like as good as a $600-$1500 damn-good-brand-name lens, but these accessory lenses are good fun to muck around with

So - it could give you something to ponder upon ...
Regards, Phil

[ZedEx]

I thought I also might add that you can't have a fisheye lens which is also good for portraiture as desired, all for under $600 I'm hoping that the $600 is an extra wad of cash upon the initial camera purchase. In which case: you probably won't find a decent wide angle lens for that price (as in wider than the 18mm EF-S kit lens). If you don't mind having a prime (ie not zooming) and manual focus/apeture lens, then the Samyang 8mm fisheye could be an option. I know camera house seems to be liking this lens, and I can also get it into my shop. But it's a bit of a limited focal length really

[jerome]

sorry I meant $600 just for the lens.
I've got the money for the camera and original lens sorted out,
but as far as another lens for things like portraiture/macro/wide angle I have $600.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Jerome

Ahhhhh :-)

Maybe consider a 10-20 siggy or tammy for wide stuff, & a 60 or 100mm macro for macro & portraiture
Cost wise - dunno - see what you can manage & your wallet

Regards, Phil

[jerome]

Ok cool.
Thanks a lot for all your help, sorry about the confusion!

[N00bie]

On a budget,

Wide - Sigma 10-20mm
Walk around - Sigma 24-70mm