Programs and lens

[kanniballi]

Hi, complete newbie here.  I have three questions.

1)  I downloaded eos utility, digital photo professional and picture style editor.  What is the difference between eos 2 and eos 3, is it just one is wireless and the other is for plugging in?

2)  With my old camera powershot I had the zoombrowserEx which was great.  It let me click through pictures and rename them without having to open each photo up one at a time.  Is there a program like this for the Rebel series?

3)  I have the 18-55mm which doesn't go close enough and the 75-300 which doesn't go far enough out.  What would be a good lens to go with them?

Thank you!

[Waddizzle]

1). Older camera use EOS Utility 2, while more recent models use EOS Utility 3.  Install version 3 and it picks 2 or 3.

2). For technical reasons, the ZoomBrowser program has been phased out, and is no longer offered with new cameras.  

3).  There is not a single lens that can do it all.  If you want to “go close”, then I think you want a “Macro” lens.  If your 75-300 does not “go far enough”, then prepare to spend more for one lens than you did for your entire 2-Lens Camera Kit.

[TCampbell]

The “compliment” to the 18-55 is the 55-250.  This covers the whole range from 18-250.

There are a lot of factors in lenses to consider besides focal length.  Wide angle lenses “stretch” the sense of depth in a scene.  Long focal length lenses “compress” the sense of depth.    This impacts images depending on the type and intent of the photograph.  “Wide angle” lenses that stretch the sense of depth are not flattering for potraits (faces out of perspective with noses being bigger and longer and the the head looking smaller and a bit stretched) ... but when shooting interiors (think cars, homes, landscapes), the scene looks so much larger and more expansive than it actually is.

Meanwhile when you use “long” focal length lenses it does the opposite... things that are far look much closer.  If using such a lens for a portrait, the nose doesn’t look extra-large... in fact it helps do a bit of the opposite (often considered flattering).  

In other words... instead of thinking how “wide” or “narrow” the scene looks... consider other visual qualities of how that lens treats your subject.  

[ebiggs1]

" I have the 18-55mm which doesn't go close enough and the 75-300 which doesn't go far enough out."

Actually the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens has a quite close focus distance.  It is about 10", pretty good really. If you really think you need to focus closer, you need a true macro type lens.  It will most likely not be a zoom lens. The Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens is such a lens but even a specialized lens like it can only focus down to approx. 8".

The second part of your querry is not enough FL (focal length).  If 300mm isn't enough you need to find a lens that has more FL.  Such a lens might be the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF.  If you need more than 600mm, you better get out your 'cast iron' check book because those lenses are extremely expensive.  But 600mm is more than enough FL for most people.

BTW, the suggestion of the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II Lens isn't good advise per the question you posted.  Notice the 250mm limit.  That is less than the 300mm lens you currently have and will be less "far out."

[RobertTheFat]

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@kanniballi wrote:

Hi, complete newbie here.  I have three questions.

1)  I downloaded eos utility, digital photo professional and picture style editor.  What is the difference between eos 2 and eos 3, is it just one is wireless and the other is for plugging in?

2)  With my old camera powershot I had the zoombrowserEx which was great.  It let me click through pictures and rename them without having to open each photo up one at a time.  Is there a program like this for the Rebel series?

3)  I have the 18-55mm which doesn't go close enough and the 75-300 which doesn't go far enough out.  What would be a good lens to go with them?

Thank you!

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2)  Digital Photo Professional will do that. You can rename an individual picture without opening it, and you can sequentially renumber any selected group of pictures in one operation. DPP is vastly superior to Zoombrowser, except in one possible respect: I seem to recall that Zoombrowser did redeye correction, while DPP doesn't. So I use Irfanview for that (and to add IPTC metadata, which DPP only pretends to do).

[kanniballi]

Thank you everyone!  I appreciate the help!

[ebiggs1]

One nice thing about Bob's suggestions, they are free.