Camera Equipment Suggestions?

i don't think you'll get much for $400. i would stay away from fish eye - it's a fad sort of look, and while it can be used in creative ways, it just warps pictures too much. i'd look into tamron, sigma, etc, and used you may get a good deal.

---Mike Savad

Go to B&H and you can do pretty good there with $400.00. :) Better than you would in a store in town. :)

What type of shooting do you do, that would be the first question. But without it, I'd look at an off camera flash, and maybe a bracket (optional I use mine about a third of the time), maybe another lens, used lenses work great until you can afford a new one, and sometimes you never do need it. I have three used lenses and you'd never tell it. cleaning kit if it did not come with one. tripod, and just look for things that would help you in what you are shooting.
I have a portable studio, but that is because of what I do, and most my work is with film, so I use a lot of filters and effects. Depending on what you do, you might need some of that, or other items, or none.

Josh,

Here's what you need and I would probably buy a used one on eBay if I could find one:

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/sigma_10-20_4-5p6_n15/

Let us know about any other questions..........

Rich

Tooling up for an art show, or I'd buy one of those myself. LOL I could use a lens like that. Especially now that I have range covered. :)

An ultra-wide lens, as Rich suggests, is a good idea. It will give you distinctive shots in many situations. I've got Nikon's 12-24mm. Just remember that it's one tool among many. Don't fall into the trap of overusing it, lest your images begin to look too similar to one another. It's not the camera or lens that makes the picture, but the eye behind the camera. I have eight lenses of varying focal lengths and zoom ranges, but over 90% of my pictures are taken with one of them, the 17-55mm f:2.8, which gives a 'normal' perspective.

Thanks! I am looking at (hopefully) a rokinon 14mm lens.
https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=rokinon+14mm
Too wide???

Neh. Make sure to take some trial shots. A return privilege is the best policy. Examine your images for sharpness both in the center and out toward the corners. Make sure there's not much chromatic aberration (color fringing), which is common with wider lenses.

One thing to note, Ken Rockwell wrote that the Rokinon is "Optically the worst 14mm FX lens sold today, but much better than nothing at all." Work that into your thinking. People have varying amounts of faith in Ken's reviews, but this isn't encouraging.

Ken's review: http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/samyang/14mm-f28.htm

Or a Canon refurb 10-22. Sometimes they knock another 20% off

http://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-digital-slr-camera-lenses-specials/lenses-flashes/refurbished-lenses/ef-s-10-22mm-f-35-45-usm-refurbished

It looks like the glass on that Rokinon 14mm is curved. If it is, a standard filter probably wouldn't fit. For landscape shots a polarizer can be pretty important.

Circular Polarizers can be tricky on wide angle shots because the angle between the light source (the sun in landscape pictures) and lens increases or lessens their effect. My experience with wider lenses (less than 17mm on an APS camera) is that they often provided uneven skies when using a polarizer.

Good wide angle zooms are rather expensive. You can try to find 2-3 used prime lenses instead. You like to photograph landscapes, so you have time to change lenses, or to "zoom with your feet".

By the way Best Buy matches b and h photo prices and you can just return the lens in any store if you don't like it (even online orders), or finance it. I am no expert, but I generally find myself and most people shoot landscapes at a low aperture anyway 9-13 seems good for me usually.

Thank you very much! Maybe, this might be a good one!
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8
Yes, landscapes are usually shot at low apertures, but I am also looking at one for night photography!
https://www.google.com.au/?gws_rd=ssl#q=tamron+17-50+2.8

Josh

Get a 24mm Prime.

Zooms make you lazy. At your level of experience I suggest a single focal length lens and learn to work it in every situation. That's your challenge. Figure out how to use it in every situation.

A fisheye or ultrawide is a specialty lens and certainly one of the last lens to purchase. Used sparingly it can have a lot of impact especially if you have some good foreground interest. You can minimize the distortion by placing the horizon or subject in the middle of the frame.

Here is the Rokinon 14mm on a full frame Canon 6D. It is a manual focus lens but because it is so wide, the focus range is very long. Shooting directly into the sun is cool with this lens.






Similar lens on a micro four thirds camera (ultra wide effect is even greater):



I was so close to this car, the owner was getting nervous. About 5 inches away!



No filter is possible on these lenses unless you hold one up but you have to watch the corners to keep your fingers and feet out of the shots. The lens cap is nearly two inches deep. I've found the color from these lens is very well saturated.

Josh,

Remember your camera/sensor has a 1/6 ratio which means the Sigma will actually look like a 16mm to 32mm lens on a full frame camera, but the 17mm will now be looking like a 27mm, not that wide at all!

Rich

Yes, then won't that mean the 24mm will be like a 34mm??? I know it seems wide, but I'm on a crop sensor camera. I need something that will be wide.

I am really thinking on what I should get now.
Some people are saying get a lens that will convert into a normal lens, and some are saying get a wide wide lens. Which one?
And also, I never thought I would say this, but I really never use my fisheye lens and I don't think it would be any use to my type of photography.

Josh,

Just take any lens and multiply it by 1.6 and you'll know what the effect of the sensor will have. That's why I suggested the 10-20mm for you. It's still pretty wide and you seem to "see" wide. For some reason, I don't. I have a 14mm and I can't remember when the last time I used it..........and that's on the full frame camera too!

Rich