Advise on f2.8 zoom lens for canon mount

[hptay]

What do you use your 24-70mm f2.8 primarly for?

I have been tinkering with the idea of getting a stantard f2.8 zoom (around 24-70mm) lens but am still rather hesitant. I am using the 300D. My current lens include a EFs 18-55mm, 28-200 f3.8-5.6 and 50mm f2.5 macro. Both my zoom lens are rather soft wide open, and I am looking for a good all rounder lens with moderate zoom and really crisp images, to bring along for vacation photos.

My question here is, does the f2.8 matter greatly to you when you take pictures? How often do you use your lens at max apperture? Other than canon L lens, I read the the sigma/tamron/tokina f2.8 lens in this 24+ to 70+ zoom range are rather soft with the apperture wide open. Price vs performance comments? is it obvious, say on a 8" x 12" size print?

Havent actually used any zoom lens in this range with f2.8, I can only speculate that it will come in handy during low light conditions, perhaps even without the use of flash with high iso?

After reading some reviews on the net, I get the impression that the f2.8 lens are generally more "pro", with better quality glass and sharper images when compared to varying appertures zoom lens. how true is this?

Love to hear from you; especially from those with a tamron 28-200 XR lens and 24-70 f2.8 lens combo, on the comparison of the two lens between their common range.

Perhaps some day, canon will invent the all in one ultra compact 18-200mm wonder lens designed for the DSLR users. :bsmilie: :bsmilie:

many thanks

 

[Denosha]

When i first got my 300D i got myself a tamron 28-200. But the more the shot, the more i realised how crappy that lens was (in terms of everything mind u) and decided to get a slew of 3rd party f2.8 glass to replace it. I settled with the tamron 28-75 F2.8 XR DI and I've been very satisfied. It's AF is pretty fast (of 'cos can't match USM) and it's sharp and contrasty (esp from F4 onwards). It's also compact and the F2.8 (altho abit soft) does come in handy sometimes. Best of all the price/performance ratio is quite hard to match.

My only gripe is it isn't wide enough for the 1.6x crop, forcing me to bring along a WA prime (Sigma 20 F1.8). That's why i'm looking at the Sigma 18-50 F2.8 but there's a lack of reviews on it so i'm holding back.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stoned]

Would also recommend the tamron 28-75/2.8
It is definitely much sharper wide open than your kit lens and the bokeh is really creamy too. Colours are punchy as well.
AF is fast...enough

 

[hptay]

thanks stoned and denosha,
heard any reviews about sigma 24mm - 70mm f2.8?
do you think the 4mm will (6mm after crop factor) will make a
big difference?

btw, how much is the tamron 28-75mm new/ 2nd hand?

thanks

 

[sriram]

I purchased the canon 28-70/2.8L because I could shoot at f/2.8 without having to worry about image quality. There have been numerous occasions where I have had to shoot wide open, and prime lenses were not an option.

I've tried one of the sigma 28-70/2.8's (not sure which version, they have a bazillion different versions of these lenses) and a tokina 28-80 atx pro. Both were soft at f/2.8 and one would front focus all the time. Both lenses showed lower contrast than my old 28-105USM when shot wide open till about f/5.6. I have given up on any decent third party lens in this range.

The 3rd party mfgrs like sigma come up with new versions every few months. Maybe you'll get lucky on one of these.