canon efs 18-55mm lens

[r_j_k_p]

i currently have this lens:
Canon Europe - EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

and i was wondering what it means by f/3.5-5.6

now i know that refers to the aperture value, but does that mean that the sweet spot is in that aperture value range or does it mean that it will only shoot in them parameters, because i've used my camera on like f/22(and more) loadsa times and shots came out ok.

my camera is a eos 400d btw/



THANKS

[Bobster]

f3.5 is the max aperature @ 18mm and f5.6 is the max aperature @ 55mm (so quite good light gathering at the wide end, but poor at the zoom)

for decent glass (lens) you want to be looking at a fast 2.8+

[daza]

Im also interested in this answer as Ive got the same lens on my 400d but find it very hard to get below 5.6 when out and about and only can get to 3.5 a few times.

[Elmo]

you can manually change the f number on your 400d by holding the AV+/- button and turning the wheel next to the shutter button. This might only work in the manual programmes, however. I only ever seem to use mine in fully manual, so i don't know for definite.

[Bobster]

Im also interested in this answer as Ive got the same lens on my 400d but find it very hard to get below 5.6 when out and about and only can get to 3.5 a few times.

you'll only get 3.5 when shooting wide @ 18mm

[stroberaver]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

[Saracen]

We've all got to start somewhere, and learn, and buying an SLR then learning about it seems like a decent way of going about it. Which is what's happening by asking questions.

[Howard]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

Yes. You can't "learn the basics" with a point and shoot camera because all they do is, well, point and shoot.

[Funkstar]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

There are also very good reasons for using a SLR over a P&S, even if you set to to fully auto and ignore all the settings possible. Near instant shutter response, continuous shooting, an actual shutter as opposed to a beep when shooting, etc.

[r_j_k_p]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

get off your high horse.
not everyone is born some sort of technical genius as you are..

[Bobster]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

do you want me to lecture you about the choice of your TFT?

[j.o.s.h.1408]

Am I really the only one wondering why on earth people buy SLRs when they clearly haven't even the faintest clue about the basics?

pretty bad post to say.

[Saracen]

Yes. You can't "learn the basics" with a point and shoot camera because all they do is, well, point and shoot.

Weeeeeeeell, yes. Generally.

But there are some pretty versatile "compacts". My venerable old Olympus 5050, for a start, or the current Canon G9.

I'd argue that it's not necessary to buy an SLR to be able to fully control the camera, and there are some versatile and pretty impressive compacts. But .... with a compact, you're very constrained as to the range of accessories you can use, and to their quality. As soon as you start looking at lens options, you run out of possibilities pretty quickly with compacts, and you won't find specialised options, like true macro (and particularly the likes of the MP-E65), or tilt and shift lenses, and you won't get the option for changing lens to suit circumstance. Or to upgrade the optics from generic lens to L-type and quality as your capability requires (and wallet permits).

So yeah, not all P&S cameras are suitable for learning, and there certainly are good reasons for going SLR, but it MIGHT be the best bet for some people to start with one of those versatile 'P&S' models. Not all non-SLR's are simply point-and-shoots.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

what p&s can allow you to change lens?

[Howard]

Weeeeeeeell, yes. Generally.

But there are some pretty versatile "compacts". My venerable old Olympus 5050, for a start, or the current Canon G9.

I'd argue that it's not necessary to buy an SLR to be able to fully control the camera, and there are some versatile and pretty impressive compacts. But .... with a compact, you're very constrained as to the range of accessories you can use, and to their quality. As soon as you start looking at lens options, you run out of possibilities pretty quickly with compacts, and you won't find specialised options, like true macro (and particularly the likes of the MP-E65), or tilt and shift lenses, and you won't get the option for changing lens to suit circumstance. Or to upgrade the optics from generic lens to L-type and quality as your capability requires (and wallet permits).

So yeah, not all P&S cameras are suitable for learning, and there certainly are good reasons for going SLR, but it MIGHT be the best bet for some people to start with one of those versatile 'P&S' models. Not all non-SLR's are simply point-and-shoots.

Yeah true, I was generalising But many people who are into photography "graduate" from a P&S to an SLR and proceed to learn the more advanced features I guess

[stroberaver]

We've all got to start somewhere, and learn, and buying an SLR then learning about it seems like a decent way of going about it. Which is what's happening by asking questions.

That's true, and it'll certainly help the learning process by actually having an SLR to play with. But the questions being posed in this thread weren't exactly the questions of someone who sounded like they'd even picked up an SLR before, let alone known enough to decide which one to buy...

"i was wondering what it means by f/3.5-5.6" - fair enough, that's a question you often see as some people aren't aware that most zoom lens change their maximum aperture as a function of focal length. But it's not like you couldn't experiment and figure it out by setting the aperture and zooming in and out.
"i've used my camera on like f/22(and more)" - ahh. Apertures that small are best avoided when possible.
"only can get to 3.5 a few times." - sorry to be blunt, but if you've failed to realise that you can only get to f/3.5 at the wide end, then I've no idea what you must be doing with the camera controls.

There are also very good reasons for using a SLR over a P&S, even if you set to to fully auto and ignore all the settings possible. Near instant shutter response, continuous shooting, an actual shutter as opposed to a beep when shooting, etc.

That's also true, but as I've alluded to in the past, learning to drive in a Ferrari doesn't make you a better driver. The performance of a DSLR is just wasted if you don't understand the most basic concepts of aperture/shutter speed and how if affects your image. I'd also argue that the single, main raison d'etre of SLR is the performance and functionality of the interchangeable lenses. The camera body performance is just a bonus, imho!

get off your high horse.
not everyone is born some sort of technical genius as you are..

I'm flattered, but sadly you're wrong. I'm no genius, I just read up on the basics of photography so I could take better pictures when I had a compact. You don't even need to buy a book these days, it's all on the web.

do you want me to lecture you about the choice of your TFT?

Nah, s'okay, thanks. Not sure why you offered though, as I don't remember posting a topic asking what the "1280×1024" means on the box my TFT came in.

So yeah, not all P&S cameras are suitable for learning, and there certainly are good reasons for going SLR, but it MIGHT be the best bet for some people to start with one of those versatile 'P&S' models. Not all non-SLR's are simply point-and-shoots.

That's kind of the line of thinking I had, I just put mine in a slightly blunter fashion.

So sorry for not being diplomatic, but I stand beside my point. Buying a DSLR and then asking why you can only get to f/3.5 "some of the time" suggests you really don't know what the aperture is, or means. Buying a DSLR without the first clue about lenses is a bit like putting a £4000 pre-overclocked, watercooled gaming rig in front of your grandmother. Your grandmother wouldn't know where to start with it, and would be better off with a simple machine and a book to teach her the basics.