Camera stuff

[Jawloms]

I bought myself a Canon 1000D a while ago with a Canon EFS18-55mm lens which I have been teaching myself to use. I have been given an old camera bag with a lot of "good stuff in it" but as I am still not that familiar with photography I am after some advice as to what would be good for me to have in my camera bag as I don't really want to be carrying around the lot do I? I have;

 

• Canon EFS 55-250mm lens
  
• Canon EF 35-70mm lens
  
• Canon Compact-Macro Lens EF 50mm
  
• Canon Extender EF 2x II (which connects to the camera, but none of the lenses then attach to it)
  
• Tamron SP Di AF 90mm 1:2.8 Macro
  
• Various metal rings of different thicknesses
  
• 
  

I also have a a remote shutter release button which I made myself, a tripod, an additional flash and a spare battery.

 

I know what macro lenses are for but which one would I be better using, the Canon or the Tamron and why? What are the metal rings for? What's the extender as I assumed it was a doubler which you put in between the body and a lens, but like I said above, no lenses connect to it? Is there anything else it would be good of me to get? Some filters? I have about £120 available to me.

 

Thank you

 

Stuart

[stickman]

There's no quick or easy answer as it depends on your style and what you shoot.

 

Each of the lenses you have listed have different strengths and weaknesses, some things they'll excel at and some they'll be useless for.

 

If I owned what you listed above I'd probably carry the 35mm-70mm range (on camera) as this is a good focal range for daily shooting and the 55-250mm in a bag as it's good for the times you need longer zoom/reach.

 

Again, what you're shooting will have a huge impact on what you should carry, if you're wildlife, a 35-70mm lens is almost useless, if you're shooting in confined spaces then a 55-250mm isn't suitable at all.

 

I'd recommend spending time with each lens, maybe a few weeks using each one exclusively and learn what they're good at and what they aren't suited to. Once you've done this you'll know which to throw into your bag and which to leave at home. This would also be a good process for determining which macro lens is best, their stats on paper don't always tell a full story, it's the results you get with them which matters most.