i got a canon t3 (1100d) for christmas. anyone have lens suggestions?

[justsomeguytn]

So like the title says I got a new Canon T3 for Christmas.  This is the first dslr type camera I've owned.  I already have a Canon G9 so I am somewhat familiar with iso, shutter speeds, apature settings, etc.  But I am by no means an expert.  That's one nice thing about this camera though, it explains everything on the screen in realtivly plain english if you hit the Q button.  But I'm wondering about lenses and filters.  It came with two lenses.  One is a telephoto and the other is a regular zoom with built in image stabilization.  Should I invest in a uv filter?  Also are there polarize filters that wont turn when the lens is zoomed in?

[Merlin the Elder]

You need at least one filter on every lens you own, if nothing else, to save yourself grief and money.  I've seen lenses saved—despite trashing the filter—when cameras have been dropped.  A $10 filter is a helluva lot cheaper than a several hundred dollar lens.

UVs are always nice. I don't know how you would stop the polarizing filter from rotating, but then I've heard that some of these cameras can brew coffee. 

[Auryn]

I definitely concur with Merlin- UV filter on each lense is a must have.
As far of what other lense you might want to get- its all very dependent on what kind of photography you want to do.
Personally I love my macro lenses because I take thousands of product photos for my business and I love macro photography. I like laying in the grass and taking pictures of small things.

If your a bird or wild life enthusiast- Id say invest in a nice 300 mm telephoto lense and a tripod.

It really depends on what you want to do.

[Merlin the Elder]

Macro photography is a lot of fun. I had a really nice macro lens with my Minolta film camera that I took some extraordinary photos with. The lens would allow me to get about an inch away from the subject and still focus.  I'd love to be able to put my Minolta lenses on my Canon digital.  Anyone have any experience with mounting adapters?

Auryn's question is really the one you need to answer first...before you buy another lens. What kind of photography do you want to do?

[Auryn]

Merlin
I know they do make adapters.
Are you wanting to put the manual minolta lense on a new digital canon??
If so, I know you can get an adapter to make the lense fit, you just wont' be able to auto focus or any of the things the digital cameras do- you will have to adjust it all by hand the old fashioned way.

Granted this comes from someone in the middle of building their own dark room- I know I am weird I like the smell of developer and the peacefulness of a dark room.

[Merlin the Elder]

I have a bunch of old darkroom equipment stored away. I think some of it got lost in multiple moves. Darkrooms are nice...I know where you're coming from.

I know there are adapters. I was curious as to whether or not they adversely affected photo quality. As to the "manualness" of the old lenses on a new camera, I actually prefer shooting manual mode anyway.

[justsomeguytn]

I might do a bit of macro for documenting some of the hobby stuff I build but primarily my shots tend to be vacation/travel pictures at faire and amusement parks.

Also the lenses that I currently have are a 75-300mm zoom and 18-55mm with image stabilizer.

[Merlin the Elder]

Those are the two lenses I have with my Rebel, and between them, they're good for what most things. You can do some reasonably close work with the 18-55mm, and with the resolution of the T3, you should be able to get some really close-ups with your photo editor.

[Ms Trish]

Yes, absolutely a filter (UV or otherwise) can protect the front element of your lens, but unless you're shooting in a situation where you would really want to take that sort of precaution (shooting a dirt bike race with spraying gravel perhaps), why would you want to put a $20 piece of glass in front of several hundred dollars worth of glass? I originally had filters on all of mine but once one of my photography professors pointed that out, off they all came!

[Auryn]

well, uv filters aren't just dust/dirt protectors, they also reduce the glare from light- thats why we are talking UV filters and not just plain glass

[Merlin the Elder]

I guess everyone would have their thoughts on it. I accepted the advice from someone who had been doing photography professionally for 40 years.  Lenses are made up of several pieces of glass, and a filter is simply one more. It's still a helluva lot cheaper to replace a filter than an entire lens.  If you're using very large lenses, most of them have hoods that would provide the protection, so in that case, you could skip the filters as a protective item. I don't know any photographers that don't use filters at some point.

Filters, like lenses, do come in varying degrees of quality. I would not, for instance, use a Wal-Mart filter on my camera.

[chainshot]

So like the title says I got a new Canon T3 for Christmas.  This is the first dslr type camera I've owned.  I already have a Canon G9 so I am somewhat familiar with iso, shutter speeds, apature settings, etc.  But I am by no means an expert.  That's one nice thing about this camera though, it explains everything on the screen in realtivly plain english if you hit the Q button.  But I'm wondering about lenses and filters.  It came with two lenses.  One is a telephoto and the other is a regular zoom with built in image stabilization.  Should I invest in a uv filter?  Also are there polarize filters that wont turn when the lens is zoomed in?

Hey Wow, I got the same exact thing for the missus for Christmas as well!  In addition to that, I also got her a UV Filter for both lens, a camera bag and a 32 gig SD card as a stocking stuffer.  She initially thought it was too much for her but after I quickly reminded her that she was way worth it and more she warmed up to it and now loves it very much.  I hope you enjoy your new camera as she does.