Q&A: What would this lens do for my camera?

I want to buy the Canon EOS 50D digital camera body.
First of all what does it mean when it says body? Could I buy the “body” and just use that to take pictures or will I need to buy more to go with the camera?

Also I would like buy a zoom lens to go with it, assuming that either the body or just the canon EOS 50D does not have a zoom option.

I found a package that includes a “Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard Zoom Auto Focus Lens.”
What will this do for my camera? And how would this lens compare to a optical zoom, if even?

I have a feeling that this is not the zoom lens I am looking for. So, what would be a good zoom lens for a Canon EOS 50D?
With the Canon EOS XT and the 18-55mm lens, would that give me optical zoom? for exaple: http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Rebel-XT-f3-5-5-6/dp/B0007QKN22

Answer by Sally
Body mean the camera without ANY lenses what so ever. You should start with the kit that includes the common wide angle lense and then buy a telephoto lense. Depending on your budget these can be rather inexpensive or very expensive.

Answer by Nathan G
Lol, you can not take pictures with the body. The Body only can not take picture. When you see and SLR camera that says ‘ body only ‘ you will need to get a lens to take photographs. A good zoom lens is the EF-S 18-200mm lens, if that is too much for you, the 55-250mm lens would also be cool, but it’s not very wide. What’s your budget? The 18-55mm lens is not a good zoom lens.

Answer by TMC
Body only means it does not come with a lens. You need a lens in order to use the camera. One of the main reasons to buy a SLR camera is the interchangeable lens system, which allows you to tailor your lens collection to suit your shooting style. The 18-55mm kit lens is a great start, although you won’t be zooming in on subjects as much as you would with a 28-135mm lens, which is also offered in a kit for the 50D. The price difference between a “body only” kit and the one that has the 18-55mm lens included makes the 18-55mm lens a bargain. Get that so you can start shooting right out of the box (after you charge your battery and insert a CF memory card, of course). Then as you become more experienced, start building a lens collection that suits your shooting needs. I have the 50D with the 24-105mm L lens on it, which rarely comes off my camera, because it is an excellent general purpose zoom lens for walk around street photography and travel.

Answer by David M
As the others said you need a lens. As you didn’t already know this I suggest you get one of the Canon Rebels. By the time you learn how to effectively use and appreciate the difference between the 50D and the Rebel the 50D would be obsolete. The camera body makes almost no difference in the quality of the photographs. Aside from your skills the thing that will make the biggest difference are the lenses that you use. It is almost always better to buy the cheaper camera and put your money into lenses. For the same price as the 50D body you can have a nice setup to learn on. The lenses will last you decades and can all be used on any camera you upgrade to in the future.

Canon Rebel XS with 18-55mm IS lens $ 500

Canon EFs 55-250mm lens $ 250. Good zoom for sports, wildlife

Canon EF 100mm F2.8 macro $ 490. For closeup shots of flowers, insects and the like. Also good as a portrait lens.

These three lenses would cover you for most all of your needs. You will have from wide angle to telephoto and a macro lens for closeups. If you don’t need a macro lens you could get a nice fast prime lens for portraits like the EF 50mm F1.4 $ 400 or the 50mm F1.8 $ 100 and a 430EX flash. There are many other possibilities as well. It just depends on what you want and need.

Edit: The camera itself would not change the amount of zoom you have. The lens will. An 18-55mm lens will perform exactly the same way on a Rebel XT as it would on the 50D. The same is true for all the other camera manufacturers. The only case where the camera will change how the lens works is if you were to get a full frame camera like the 5D MKII or the 1Ds MKIII. These camera use a sensor that is the same size as 35mm film. The Rebels and up to the 50D use an APS-C sized sensor. Because of this you have to multiply the focal length of the lens by 1.6. So a 100mm lens will perform on a Rebel the same way a 160mm lens would on a full frame camera. This crop factor actually gives you more range on the telephoto end than you would get on the full frame cameras.

Answer by Sweet Serenity
The body by itself would be useless.

Any lens that goes from one focal length to another is a zoom lens. I can’t tell you if the 18-55mm would be efficient enough for you since I have no idea what you intend on shooting. It’s a good lens for landscapes and portraits.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

I’m in need of a decent compact SLR-style digital for indoor and outdoot sporting events, particularly hockey and soccer games. Different arenas have specifications for the maximum lens length (in inches), and I’m afraid to buy a camera that won’t be allowed into the events that I would purchase it to shoot.

Let’s say that I have the Canon S5 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ 18. How many inches is the Canon’s lens at its full 12X optical zoom? Likewise, what’s the difference in inches between the Lumix’s 18X optical zoom?

Thanks for educating this semi-photography novice.

Answer by Edwin
IMO the best answer to your question is to visit a store that sells both cameras and physically measure the lens length fully extended.

Unfortunately, since these cameras look so much like a DSLR, you may still have trouble getting them past security.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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