Im new and need some lens buying help!

[Adam]

I just purchased a new Sony F828 and this is a big step up from my previous camera..Im talking 'we landed on the moon' type leap. Im searching around for some good lenses to add on. I definitley want a fisheye as my first purchase of a lense as well as a good telephoto. I've seen Bower and Digital Optics all over Ebay and I have heard a few not so great things coming from Bower. Retail stores through the internet have got Century, Raynox, Tiffen and a few others. I've been looking into to the Raynox FE and TP a lot lately. Any feedback on these or other lenses?

Most of my shots are done at the beach from surf shots. Any other equipment I should look into?

Was this the right place to post this thread?

TIA for all the answers and help!

[wxwax]

Yup, it's the right place. Welcome aboard! :wave

Dunno about accessory lenses for the f828, I'm afraid. But I will add that the wide angle I got for my Canon G3 was tons of fun.

If you don't have one, a tripod is a really good thing to have. And buy gobs of memory. Does the camera come with a lens shade? If not, you'll want one, shooting in the sun. And if you do any night shooting, I'd recommend an external flash.

[wxwax]

I forgot. You might want to get an extra battery. That's about the most useful purchase you can make, along with extra memory. Nothing worse than having to shut down because you run out of batts or memory.

[HarveyMushman]

Does the camera come with a lens shade? If not, you'll want one, shooting in the sun.
Please forgive the sheer nOObliness of this question, but what purpose do lens shades serve? My D70 came with one. I am curious as to which situations might call for use of a shade. I have noticed that it creates severe shadows in an image when shooting at max wide angle.

[wxwax]

Please forgive the sheer nOObliness of this question, but what purpose do lens shades serve? My D70 came with one. I am curious as to which situations might call for use of a shade. I have noticed that it creates severe shadows in an image when shooting at max wide angle.


Is that the lens shade that came with the lens you're using? AFAIK the idea is to protect your shot from glare artifacts when you point a little too directly towards the sun.