Problems with kit lens and purchasing a Canon 50mm lens

xochescobarxochescobar
edited April 2013 Posted in » Canon T2i Forum
First of all, I'm so happy to found this website. I just found it yesterday and I've learned more in these two days than the two years I've had my T2i.

Second, my 18-55mm kit lens was acting weird a couple of months ago. It sounded like it wanted to auto focus but it would just make some weird noise and it never focused. The consequences were blurry pictures and me trying to shoot manual focus with more blurry pictures. Do you think my lens is ruined? If you think I could use it manually focusing the pictures, what's a good setting to still get good pictures with me moving the lens all around?

I was also considering purchasing the nifty fifty, after all the reviews I've been reading and your great description of it, but I would still like to use my kit lens for family portraits and group pictures (since you didn't recommend the 50mm for this type of pictures).

I love playing with my camera, especially this time of the year when the weather gets better; the days are full of sunshine! Recently I've been using my point and shoot camera because of my kit lens.

When I shoot pictures on a very sunny day, most of my pictures come out really white with most of my settings, unless I use the no flash mode. Any suggestions of the settings I should be shooting with?

Thanks in advance!

Comments

  • MooseMoose
    Howdy @xochescobar - Thanks for the kid words! Lets jump in...

    1. It sounds like the focus motor might be fried. Have you tried removing the lens and cleaning the contacts? Also, make sure the AF/MF switch is in the AF position.

    2. Manual focus is very hard to master. You'd be better off purchasing another used 18-55mm (probably $50-$70 on eBay) or upgrade to a better lens that's suited for the types of things you like to shoot.

    3. For group shots in small spaces, you'll need something a bit wider than the 50mm f/1.8. However, if shooting outdoors with plenty of room to move around, the 50mm can produce some lovely family shots.

    4. It's possible you may have accidentally switched the exposure compensation or metering mode. I would reset your settings to factory default and take a couple test shots in Auto mode.

    In light of your lens issue, it's also possible that it's not communicating properly with the camera, thus capturing uneven exposure.

    Hope all that makes sense and happy shooting!
  • xochescobarxochescobar
    edited April 2013
    @moose - It actually does give me that error message sometimes.
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