Wide angle lens for T3i?

[ramen00dle80]

I have a rebel T3i and am looking to get a new lens for it. I was thinking about getting a wide angle since I plan on using it mostly at concerts. What lens would be the best fit? I would also like to keep the price around 500-600 dollars since I am on a budget.

Also, most of the places I plan to shoot have little or no natural light. It is very dark and most of the lighting comes from the colored stage lights. Would it be a good idea to get a LED light for my camera? Thanks for your time and I appreciate your help.

[Skirball]

What do you consider wide?  I’m assuming you have the 18-55 kit lens, is that wide enough?  If you want really wide then the Canon 10-22 is the one to get.  Great lens, but it is really wide.  I’m not sure what kind of concerts you’re shooting, but personally I wouldn’t use something that wide for more than a couple of shots at most.  Whoever is on stage will be dwarfed by the entire venue that will fit into the shot.

Flashes are great if you’re allowed to use them.  Unless you have specific needs I’d get a Canon 430exII to start.  There are more powerful flashes, but the next jump up in Canon flashes is 2x the cost.  Alternately, you could get a prime lens that would allow more light in your camera, but you’d have to choose your focal length.  Primes don’t give a lot of flexibility at something like a concert.

[PLee]

If I understand you correctly, you should be looking for a lens with a wider aperture as opposed to a lens with a wider angle of view. This is especially true with your budget. Assuming you have your 18-55mm kit lens, just try out different focal lengths with that lens and see which ones you prefer. Then look on Canon's EF lens site for fixed focal (NO ZOOM) length lenses with small f-numbers. If you can give me some examples of particular scenarios within concert photography you're trying to focus on, I can narrow things down to some specific lens suggestions.

[ebiggs1]

The cold hard facts, with a budget of $600 bucks it is goin gto be difficult to get fast glass. Which I also suspect is really what you are after, too.

A great lens for a T3i is the Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 but it is not going to meet your budget requirements but still a very good choice. Maybe save a while longer?

I use this lens for shooting musicals on stage with my 7D and it works very well, indeed.

[TCampbell]

Are these concerts with professional acts that require tickets to attend?  

Most concert venues have restrictions on bringing cameras and one of the most common restrictions prohibits bringing any camera with a "removeable lens" (basically this is deliberately done to eliminate all DSLRs).  Most venues tend to be ok with point & shoots and camera phones.

Most concerts I attend have this restriction -- unless you can get a photo pass.  I've been fortunately in that I've been able to get photo passes for the majority of concerts I attend (typically this means you need some sort of industry connection to the band, manager, etc.)  

I think in the past 3 or 4 years I attended a grand total of one concert that did not have a restriction on any camera (I wrote to get a photo pass and was told that I could just bring my camera because no pass was required.  I was a bit incredulous at first because this was the first time I encountered a venue that didn't have _any_ restrictions.)  

I own a Canon G1 X (advanced point & shoot) specifically for those times when they have restrictions and I'm unable to get a photo pass.

That aside... when I can bring my camera, the two lenses I prefer to use are my EF 135mm f/2.0L (about $1000) and my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS (original -- which was the better part of $2k, but the "II" is now over $2k).  I never use anything wider unless I'm taking an audience shot (I bring my 24-70 but it's only used for a few audience shots and then after the concert.)

You will _not_ likely want or need a wide-angle (nothing wider than your kit lens), and usually a mild telephoto is nice.  BUT... light is usually a problem.  Expect to have poor/low lighting, need high ISO, shooting at wide open and STILL not having a particularly fast shutter speed.  Such low focal ratio lenses are usually not inexpensive -- so that's going to stress your budget somewhat.