Hello from an SLR phobic!

[LincolnGreen]

Just signed up to the forum and site membership as I was recommended by a colleague. I'm looking to buy my first DSLR and it'll be a Canon. Coming from a bridge camera and all too often finding its limits, its time to move up to the SLR - the 60D seems to fit the bill for me and at £700 for the body, reaonsably prices for the performance. What I really need help with is lenses. What should I be looking for in a lens / lenses? Most of my photography is outdoor and I could do with some advice on the types / makes / zoom ranges etc etc that are available.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[skellum]

Hello and welcome to CC. 

I assume when you say most of your photography is outdoors you mean landscapes. I would try and get Canon L lens if you can but I know a lot of people on this site rate the Sigma 10-20 as a wide angle at a reasonable cost.  A few years go I had a Sigma 24-70 f2.8 which was very good...  Another starting point for telephoto is the Sigma 70-300 which I think is around £ 130.00 new but you should find one a lot cheaper on ebay plus you could resell it on there when you will eventually upgrade to Canon...

[anglefire]

I know its more money, but the 7D is a much better camera all round. Would last you a lot longer than the 60D would. Only MHO.

But regardless, lenses.

When you say outdoor photography, what sort? Wildlife, landscapes?

Call me a snob, but all my lenses are Canon. One reason is that they are designed to work will all EOS bodies. Sigma, Tamron Etc, all have to reverse engineer everything - the AF function being the most difficult - hence they tend to focus slower than Canon lenses. Not always an issue. Not for landscapes as a rule, but for sports, wildlife can be a deal breaker.
Having said that, if I had the spare cash, I'd buy the Sigma120-300mm f2.8 in an instant!

But ranges.

Rather than list them out on here, just pop over to http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ where you will get the full range, including some 3rd party ones, and reviews. Not always the most unbiased ones out there - but not too bad.

Welcome BTW!

[Oldboy]

Welcome to CC. 

Shame you had to spoil it by saying Canon! 

If you want a decent lens for wildlife, then look at the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L IS USM Lens, which is well regarded by many users. As Dave has said, for landscape the Sigma 10-20 is love by all who use it. For mid range get the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS Lens rather than the Sigma model. You can add better lenses over the years as required, but this should get you off to a decent start.   

[LincolnGreen]

Thanks for your comments above, plenty of food for thought. I should have mentioned that the outdoor photography is mostly landscapes with the occassional bird life shot thrown in.

Man those L lenses look good but I'm not going to stretch to those prices yet. As for the 7D I couldn't agree more that it looks a better camera and at another £400 it should be. What I buy now is just going to come down to available budget and for now it doesn't stretch to L lenses or a 7D I'm aware that it's better to spend money on decent lenses rather than a better body though.

I take it Oldboy you're a Nikon fan then!!!

[Hinfrance]

Dare I suggest what you need is Pentax kit system? - they are weatherproof, shock and cold proof for a fraction of the price of a Cankon with the same features.

Check out a K7 or better still a K5. The K5 is arguably the toughest and most able camera in its price range, and somewhat above that too. The 18-55 kit lens is also weatherproof - I use mine in the pouring rain and up mountains with no worries at all. The kit 50-200 is not a very good lens, but it is weatherproof too and virtually given away in a bundle. The Sigma 10-20 is also, of course, a fine addition to an outdoors kit, although you have to keep it dry and out of the worst of the dust.

[Oldboy]

I take it Oldboy you're a Nikon fan then!!!

I have Nikon tattooed on my bum! 

[Mick]

Hi and welcome to CC.   

Any questions about getting around the site etc, just shout.

Rgrds

Mick aka lurkalot aka site admin.  (A Canon user)    

[anglefire]

I have Nikon tattooed on my bum! 

Guess where the "O" is 

[LincolnGreen]

  Nice one. Thanks again guys. I should be with Canon inside a week...

[anglefire]

Can I ask why Canon? If you have legacy stuff then I can understand it, but otherwise, I'd go out and try them all.

Pentax, as has been said does produce some good kit - the latest cameras are as good as any others and they have a huge range of lenses to suit every budget as I think most from the last 30 years (Don't quote me on the time frame!) work in one form or other on modern bodies. Same sort of thing can be said for Sony (Minolta as was).

Canon is limited to EOS lenses - though that is the last 30years and Nikon have a right mismas of lenses - some work with some bodies and not others. (I'm sure its not that bad, but seems so looking from the outside in)

[LincolnGreen]

A broad user base and support whether it be from the manufacturers direct or from people such as your good selves has a lot to do with the decision. I've used a Nikon D70 for a few months and previously Canons. They're the only two manufacturers I'd considered, rightly or wrongly and on balance, Canon was the choice for me, based mostly on familiarity, and price.

Whether or not is was the right decision, time will tell. At this moment in time, its the right one for me.

[anglefire]

That's fair enough. You have made an informed decision, which is really what I was getting at!

Whether its the right one, as you say, time will tell. But in reality, any of them will produce good results.

[Oldboy]

I have Nikon tattooed on my bum! 

Guess where the "O" is 

No, that's the full stop! 

[Oldboy]

Thanks for your comments above, plenty of food for thought. I should have mentioned that the outdoor photography is mostly landscapes with the occassional bird life shot thrown in.

Man those L lenses look good but I'm not going to stretch to those prices yet. As for the 7D I couldn't agree more that it looks a better camera and at another £400 it should be. What I buy now is just going to come down to available budget and for now it doesn't stretch to L lenses or a 7D I'm aware that it's better to spend money on decent lenses rather than a better body though.

In that case, try a kit deal like the Canon EOS 550D Digital SLR plus 18-55mm and 55-250mm Lenses at £778 plus £30 cashback. 18mm is good for landscapes and 250mm is OK for bird shots. If budget is still tight then look at secondhand cameras from places like Mifsuds. http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Used_Canon_EOS_Bodies.html but you need to buy the lenses.