What lenses to buy for a Canon 450D -Wide Angle; Sports; Night Life?

Question

First off, thanks to all those who answered my first question. So I decided from there to buy a Canon 450D DSLR. So far, I just have my Body, and the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

So my question is, what are the next two lenses that I should purchase?

I want to be able to take photos of around town, and various city pictures. I also want to be able to take close up pictures of flowers, and foods, like desserts. If that wasn't enough, I also want to be able to take good low-light images like around town at night, in the club, at temples/shrine, as well as any other indoor or low-light events. And finally, I want to be able to take pictures at sporting events since I will be involved in quite a few (mostly soccer, tennis, track).

I know this is a tall order, and probably consists of more like 4 or 5 lenses, but after getting my 450D body I figure I can only afford about 2 more lenses, maybe three at the most. I just wanted to throw this out there, and see what people think would help me the most.

Thanks to everyone who answers in advance. Also "L" series lenses are out of my price range for sure-

Answer 1

Ok, your kit lens pretty much covers as much wide angle as you'll need.

For telephoto you have three options without going 'L'. The first option is the Canon EF 75-300mm. To be honest, it's c**p. It goes for about $300 in stores but I wouldn't pay that. Sometimes you can get it used for $100 and that's about as much as I'd pay. Your second telephoto option is the 100-300mm lens. It's a pretty decent lens but it's an older model so it can be hard to find. It also lacks image stabilization. It can be found on eBay for about $250. Lastly you could get the 70-300mm. It's an excellent telephoto lens and it includes image stabilization. The drawback is that you'll be paying around $600 for it.

As for closeups of flowers, you can do that with your telephoto. However, if you want closeups that fill the whole frame you'll need to get a dedicated macro lens. Canon makes the EF 100mm Macro which I've heard is a great lens. It'll cost you about $500.

For shooting around in low light your best bet is the EF 50mm f/1.4 prime. The f/1.4 aperture will allow tons of light into the camera. The images will also be tack sharp as it's a prime lens. This lens will cost you about $350. If that's too much for you to pay you can get the EF 50mm f/1.8 for $100. The disadvantage of both of these lenses is that they have a single focal length so you lose the flexibility of zooming.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

I'm not sure about macro lenses but I'd stick with actual Canon lenses and not third-party lenses. I've got the Canon 75-300mm telephoto and that'd probably be good for sports photography as long as you don't expect amazing close-ups.