Lenses for Canon 300D

:lol:
nothing that serious.

Hi Keith, don't know if this will help but Canon sell a great little 50mm that's so cheap it's a steal. Now 50mm doesn't have much reach but it has a f1.8 aperture and good glass - I think the 18-55 is f3.5 at it's largest aperture, so the f1.8 gives you about 2 extra stops, that's quadruple the light gathering potential, each f-stop doubles or halfs the amount of light.

Got mine for £55 here:

www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.ph...mp;products_id=98389

Guys, Sorry for the late reply, Thank you all for your help, I'll check everything out!!!

Keith..

Dave/Michael,

Indeed the best way to focus the 300d with a given lens is during the day using a distant object. Once we have taken a sample image, we can zoom in while looking at it via the LCD (max zoom) for confirmation.

Also, I will tape the barrel once I have focused for infinity so that I will be all set during the evening. Of course, we do all of this using MF mode and not AF.

With respect to the 50mm lens mentioned in this thread, I would also like to echo the sentiments expressed. Many people have compared the existing 50mm lens to an "L" type lens. It is that good and sharp. Since we use these lenses in MF mode for astrophotography, it is best to look for defective lenses on eBay. I got mine for 30 euro (mint condition, with end caps, all papers, box etc) and the only "problem" is that the lens will not work in AF mode (as if I care).

With respect to the lack of ability to focus at night and in the dark, this is because the lens cannot obtain sufficient contrast within the field of view (due to the lack of light) for the on-board software to work and do its thing in identifying perfect focus.

Finally, the infinity symbol on the lens barrel is often off and one will reach critical focus slightly before the infinity symbol on the barrel. Please note that autofocus lenses work by converging towards focus and purposely going past it (and hence for the extra room and play past infinity) and which they use to identify the correct focus point. If you think about it, we do the same thing when we focus our telescopes by converging towards focus, reaching focus, going past it and then returning.

Anthony.

Hi Anthony, Thanks for your words of advice Today, I've just completed the focusing on a distant object, looking at the LCD, and marking the lens to achieve correct focus in manual mode. This was done using the standard 18-55mm EF-S lens . I manually focused for both 18mm and 55mm, so hopefully it will work.

I've just bought that 50mm lens that John recommended, It will be delivered in a couple of days, I can't wait to try it, I've heard good talk of this being compared to the 'L' lenses.

By the way, Great steal for €30!

Thanks Again, Keith..

Keith,
Mind me asking where you got the 50mm lens? Seems a great bargain for $30.
Clear skies,