Want a different lens for your Canon Digital Rebel XT or Nikon D40/D80 DSLR but thought you couldn't afford it?

Did you get a Canon EOS Rebel XSi,Digital Rebel XT or a Nikon D40 or D80 for Christmas along with a nice kit lens?

It’s been nearly two monthsnow and maybe you are finding that your Digital Rebel XT’s EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens just isn’t covering the wider shots, the telephoto end isn’t long enough or maybe it’s just not fast enough when it gets darker? And you Nikon shooters are having the same problems with the 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED lens that came with your Nikon D40 or D80.

Well spending the best part of $600 dollars for your Canon Digital Rebel or Nikon D40 and maybe a bit more for the Nikon D80 doesn’t leave you a lot for new lenses, and if it did which would you go for??

So you need a way to buy good quality, relatively inexpensive lenses that’ll give you chance to develop your style whilst holding on to their value. And importantly you want to be able to be get a good deal on them if you decide to change, maybe if the lens isn’t suiting your style.

You may not have considered it but something that’s perfect for this is the used 35mm SLR lens market.

Every SLR lens Nikon has produced since 1977 will fit and give results, often truly stunning results at that, on all Nikon SLR cameras right up to the D80 sitting in your camera bag or even that D300 you left in the store that you dearly wanted!!

Even thought Canon has changed things a little over time and swapped fittings there is still a huge back catalogue of lenses available that will fit your Digital Rebel XT or your EOS Rebel Xsi.

Aside from the excellent range of lenses Nikon and Canon produce there is an equally high quality but crucially less expensive group from the third party manufacturers.

Tokina, Sigma, Tamron to name but three all produce a superb ranges of lenses over the years that still have bags of service left in them.

So, back to this cheap way to experiment with camera lenses.

As Canon, Nikon and the party manufacturers have a huge range of 35mm Film SLR lenses that STILL FIT the DSLR cameras of today YOU have a massive selection of second hand lenses to choose from.

Head over to eBay, Craigslist or in your local classifieds and go past the modern Digital SLR listings. Take no notice of the new range of ‘specially manufactured for Digital SLR cameras’ lenses that Nikon, Canon and the other manufacturers produce and go to the older 35mm film SLR sections.

Camera lenses, especially those that are a step up from the entry level ones, are built to last. If the previous owner has shown the lens even a little respect then there is years left in it for you.

And with it you will get yourself a bargain.

The price will be less, sometimes much less, than the equivalent new model around today. The quality will be very good too. Many of the older Nikon, Canon, Pentax & Minolta lenses were built with a care and attention to detail that is no longer available in the high pressure make ‘em, stack ‘em and pack ‘em world we live in now. You will get a real cast iron solid piece of glass.

And if you do want to sell, maybe it’s not right for your style of photography or you are just trying one and then moving on, selling the lenses won’t leave you massively out of pocket – you should get between 60 and 90% of your money back.

So before you loose interest in your prized Christmas present, maybe the Digital Rebels EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens just isn’t cutting it, or your Nikon D80’s 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED kit lens doesn’t give you a better picture than your old point and shoot take a look round the second hand stores, the auction sites or the classifieds and see if you can pick up a bargain piece of glass!!