Again with the lenses James!
Yeah I’ll admit, my fascination with camera lenses is becoming unhealthy and troublesome. When I was all set to purchase this lense, I decided to hold off due to the quality of fixed focal length lenses and future proofing my purchases. See digital photography is still kinda expensive if you want high resolution images. And the lenses you buy now (say priced anywhere from $400 - $1000) might not be applicable to your next camera purchase. Here is a good reminder about this issue. They recommend purchasing (Canon) EF lenses as opposed to EF-S. But looking at the price difference it can be eye-opening. Then there are (Canon) terms such as USM (Ultra Sonic Motor), IS (Image Stabilisation) and finally the ‘L’ attached to specific lenses. ‘L’ lenses are very expensive (usually $1000 +) and are what the pros use. More on this information can be found on this great Canon article.
So in order to future-proof your camera lenses, you’ve really got to folk out some serious cash. I use the Canon 350D at the moment with fairly average lenses. It’s a great starting point but already I’m wanting a full-frame sensor camera to go along with it and if I stick with Canon I’m going to have to pay up to $5000 for a Canon 5D (you heard me right, $5000!). Well that ain’t gonna happen anytime soon, especially on my minimal uni graduate wage! So the next logical step is a better lense. I’ve even thought of going back to film cameras but with Nikon ceasing their film camera production and Canon seriously thinking about it, not to mention that in 2 - 3 years time the megapixel count for digital cameras will jump dramatically, equalling and surpassing the quality of film, I can’t see a reason for it.
So I asked around what lenses people are shooting with, both pros and future pros. Nearly every response I get is to purchase fixed focal lenses, lowest f-stop you can get, preferably EF and utilising USM (or equivalent). And I think a wider lense is my preference right now. If I need to get closer to something, I can just move in closer. So at this stage, it might be a toss up between the Sigma 20mm f1.8 DG or the Canon 20mm f2.8 USM, swinging towards the latter. As much as I’d love the Canon 15mm Fisheye, at $1500, that’s stretching things a little too far right now. Of course, this comes after paying all the bills and a new gym membership!
