beesue

Hi everyone, I have a Canon eos T3 camera and I want to be able to take clear pictures. What lense is good for clear sharp portraits, should I do it in auto focus or manual. What lens is required for long distance pictures. I am very new at photography. Thanks

beesue

beesue (new user) (online) Joined: Aug 27, 2018 Posts: 1

Hi everyone, I have a Canon eos T3 camera and I want to be able to take clear pictures. What lense is good for clear sharp portraits, should I do it in auto focus or manual. What lens is required for long distance pictures. I am very new at photography. Thanks
beesue

ELNikkor

Welcome to the forum, beesue! Your T3 can take very clear pictures with whatever lens you have on it right now. If you zoom in and set the aperture wide open, (either on manual, or Aperture Priority mode) fill the frame with your subject, your portraits will look sharp and clear. If there is a problem with sharpness you can't figure out, post one of your photos here, and you will get plenty of advice on how to improve. Once again, welcome, and happy shooting!

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Welcome. Have fun. There are plenty videos out there to help you learn. Practice, it's fun.

ppage Loc: Pittsburg, (San Francisco area)

Welcome to the forum. You have a lot to learn and seem willing to. Lenses have little to do with "clear sharp portraits". Almost any lens, including the less expensive "kit" lenses can take very sharp images. The outcome of your images have more to do with you; your technique and the camera settings you select. Until you learn more, shoot in Auto. (Not Program mode) If you ever find limits to that, it means you have learned enough to recognize those limitations.which is a sign that you can start experimenting with the creative modes; Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority. If you master that and still sense a need for greater control, then you can tackle manual mode. What is really important right now is that you educate yourself in the craft of photography. I watched YouTube videos and read books like Tony Northrup's "Stunning Digital Photography" and Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure" After some effort of self education, the myriad mysteries of Photography will all begin to make a lot of sense.

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

Welcome aboard, start shooting and do what ELNikkor said. Don't be afraid to try full "auto" for your early shots - just review them and see what the camera is selecting, then take it from there, adjustment wise. YouTube videos will help, and there are some good "how to" books, some are designed for the individual camera - David Busch's book for Canon T3/T3I & 1100D can probably be found on Ebay for just a few $$. These things will help you much, especially if you have very little or no digital camera experience. If you have the "Kit lens" usually something like an 18-55 zoom, or a 50 prime, you have a good starting point....for longer distance (subject dependent) the 50-200 range stuff is good, or a 70-300. Get to know your camera first, then start to stretch out.

One of the great things about digital is that you can do many shots varying the settings and such to see what the camera can produce (all for cheap - memory cards are so inexpensive now) and use that as part of your learning experience. Just pay attention to what each setting produces, and don't be afraid to "burn some megapixels"!!

Good luck and happy shooting!

Keith S Loc: Federal Way, Wa

Welcome to the forum. I am very new to this photography world as well. So What I do is shoot the first shot in auto and see what the camera is suggesting. Them I may go to manual or one of the other settings to see if I can duplicate that same image. Helps me learn since I have not had any formal training.
Good luck and have fun.

Shoeless_Photographer Loc: Lexington

It's a rare and usually expensive lens that will be sharp wide open.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Welcome to our forum!

I always recommend starting off in Auto mode. See what the camera can do in different situations and gradually make changes to ISO aperture, and shutter. As for lenses, the better they are, the more expensive they are. Will you really notice the difference in the quality of your images between a $500 lens and a $2,000 lens?

I always tell people to read reviews and comparisons before buying. You can save money by buying non-Canon lenses and buying used or refurbished.

http://lensvslens.com/
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/lenses
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx
http://www.diyphotography.net/this-website-helps-you-choose-your-next-lens-based-on-the-photos-you-like/
https://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
http://lenshero.com/lens-comparison
http://www.lenstip.com/lenses.html
http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Compare
http://www.lenscore.org/

achesley Loc: SW Louisiana

What Jerry said. I have a 3Ti and went through the same thought you're having. YouTube was my friend.

Plieku69 Loc: The Gopher State, south end

What Jerry said, like Achesly I started with a T3i. It's a great camera and I still use it a lot.
The kit lens served me well for a long time, long enough to learn how to operate all the features on the camera. Only then was I ready to upgrade my lens.
Learn your camera, there's a big learning curve with DSLR's.
One word of caution, the kit lens that came with the camera is good. I cannot say that about some of the longer zoom lenses in the same catagory. When that time comes you will want to have better quality lenses.
Ken

brooklyn-camera I Loc: Brooklyn, NY

Welcome. The T3 was my starter camera and it works just fine. These were take this past weekend with the T3 and a cheap Yongnuo 85mm f/1.8 at a cost as of now $190.00. I purchased when on sale for less, but these photos are good enough for me. As for distance how far do you wish to shoot, this would help. Start in auto....then work up to AP and after a lot of practice go to M. By the way YouTube could help you too.

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brooklyn-camera I Loc: Brooklyn, NY

https://www.adorama.com/yn5018caef.html?rfkref=productPage 50mm f/1.8 $59.00 Can't go wrong with this lens..

https://yongnuousa.net/t/lenses Check out their gear......great for a starter type of guy, good luck buddy.

dbjazz Loc: Long Island, NY

Hi and welcome. The lens that came with your T3 should be fine for most shots. Shoot on Auto for a while and really examine what you like or dislike about your shots. Then try the Aperture Priority (controlling how much light enters the lens) and Shutter Priority (controlling how fast the shutter trips). Play around with everything you have before you spend money on additional equipment. And decide what you really enjoy shooting. Good luck. Above all, have fun.

tonal Loc: Greece

Welcome beesue!

I am new in the DSLR world as well. I got a "used" T3i with a shutter count of 2 from a friend at a really good price almost a year ago.
The camera was just sitting in its box for years waiting for some action :)
It was the last six months that I started buying some lenses and replaced the original kit lens (it was the 18-55 DC III with no IS...) with the newer 18-55 IS STM.

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Learn your gear.
Read the manual and find out what your camera is capable of.
If you do not understand something I am sure you will find a good explanation on youtube.

Practice and find out how to handhold the camera as steady as possible so that you minimise shake no matter what mode you are using.
It will help taking sharper pictures whatsoever.

If your lens has image stabilisation turn it on as long as you handhold the camera.

Manual focus when using the viewfinder is a little bit tricky so you better use autofocus.
You can practice with manual focus if your subject is stationary. When one of the 9 focus points lights red in the viewfinder that means that this point is focused.
It might help when in autofocus mode if you set only the centre focus point as active and learn how to lock focus and recompose (this doesn't work very well if your subject is close to you because geometry and distance change when you recompose and this might result in out of focus takes)

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Read about the focal length and the aperture (this will explain what you'll need for long distance pictures or portraits)
Read online about the exposure triangle and how aperture, shutter speed and ISO are related.
Understand what a stop is.
Have a look at the crop factor and its meaning.
Read about some basic rules like sunny 16 if you are in full manual mode or how the focal length and the shutter speed are connected to get sharper pictures (shutter speed needs to be greater than the reciprocal of the effective focal length in order to minimise shake)

Start with the more automated modes when you don't want to miss a shot but...

I would suggest that you start playing right away with the aperture or shutter priority or even fully manual modes, practice a lot and start getting used to it.

Do not get frustrated (even though you will some times :) ), experiment and start studying the technicalities using free online resources.
It is more likely that the first shots will be a disappointment being worse than snapshots from a cellphone but this will change if you practice a little bit.
When you are taking a shot that is important and you are in a mode that permits some short of manual adjustment take a look at the photo you just took and maginfy it in
the LCD as much as you can (x10) so that you are sure that there is no motion blur and your subject is in focus.

I got a DSLR because I just wanted to have more control over the camera apart from getting better image quality photos in comparison with a phone or a compact.
Other than that it is not the most practical thing to carry around a bulky camera with a heavy backpack filled with lenses, extra batteries, filters, tripods and God only knows what else.

I did not expect to take better photos (as a more pleasant visual result) just because I started using a DSLR
even though I can see wonderful pictures taken even with cellphones.
But I can see that through practice I am able to take better and better pictures with respect to what I was capable of before getting a DSLR apart from the extra capabilities
that a kit of multiple lenses offer like having a longer reach or wider angle or wide aperture for that pleasing blurring effect on the background or pretty close macros.
In reality it is not the camera that made the difference. It is practice which most of the times is pure fun. It just takes time and patience to improve.
The technical stuff are the easiest to learn. The difficult for me is getting more artistic results finding a nicely framed interesting subject.
I am thinking about taking a class this October in order to improve and get better shots.

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If you are in a tight budget regarding the lenses for portrait or long reach consider my propositions below.

A good choice without breaking the bank is the Canon EF 50mm F1.8 which is very nice for portraits and would cost around 120$ new.
The only drawback is that it does not have IS so you must take account of this when shooting in low light.

For long distance you will need a telephoto lens which could be suitable for portraits as well if the light permits (usually the aperture is dark on the cheaper ones).
A very nice choice would be the Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS STM but I do not know if you need more reach than that.
If you buy it in bulk packaging new it could be found for less than 150$ (bulk package/white box is usually new lenses that were included as a kit lens with a camera).
This might or might not come with warranty.

I own both of those lenses and I am very pleased with them. Image quality is good, built quality is more than acceptable and they are really worth every penny they cost.
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Since you are new to DSLR it would be better to experiment and take your time with any choices you might want to make.
Go out and take pictures with what you got right now.
Clarify your needs, make a list and find out what are the tools you are missing.
Define your budget.
Watch and read as many reviews as possible in order to come to a final conclusion.
Youtube will be your best friend in your quest.

Hope I helped more than confusing you.