Recommendation for travel all purpose lenses

[MikeC]

Currently using 500D with 18-55 kit lens and 50mm f1.8 lens.

i'm thinking of getting a all purpose travel lens, and i am not sure what to get.
Was thinking of tamron 18-270mm, but is it able to last long? or it is more worth it to get a canon manufactured lenses instead. If so, what lens do u all recommend?

I like taking landscape and objects photos, sometimes portraits ;p

 

[daredevil123]

Currently using 500D with 18-55 kit lens and 50mm f1.8 lens.

i'm thinking of getting a all purpose travel lens, and i am not sure what to get.
Was thinking of tamron 18-270mm, but is it able to last long? or it is more worth it to get a canon manufactured lenses instead. If so, what lens do u all recommend?

I like taking landscape and objects photos, sometimes portraits ;p

Lenses last long or not depends on how you use them.

Lenses from any brand will last for many years if you take good care of them.

 

[Rashkae]

Last long? It could last 10-20 years, not sure why you think it's made of tofu. And just because a lens is not "canon manufactured" does not mean it will fall apart quickly. Canon lenses have lots of QA issues too.

As for your needs: You are looking for an all in one lens when you have specific needs and the whole point of a DSLR is to change lenses.

For object photos: What objects? How close? Maybe you should look at a macro lens.
For portraits: Use your 50mm.
For landscape: Use your 18-55, or invest in a UWA lens like a 10-20mm.

 

[chooster]

Currently using 500D with 18-55 kit lens and 50mm f1.8 lens.

i'm thinking of getting a all purpose travel lens, and i am not sure what to get.
Was thinking of tamron 18-270mm, but is it able to last long? or it is more worth it to get a canon manufactured lenses instead. If so, what lens do u all recommend?

I like taking landscape and objects photos, sometimes portraits ;p

If you want to remain "cropped", I think 17-55 zoom should work fine.
Another option would be to get 15-85 for general and landscape, and 50 f.1.8 for object and portraits.

 

[MikeC]

Last long? It could last 10-20 years, not sure why you think it's made of tofu. And just because a lens is not "canon manufactured" does not mean it will fall apart quickly. Canon lenses have lots of QA issues too.

As for your needs: You are looking for an all in one lens when you have specific needs and the whole point of a DSLR is to change lenses.

For object photos: What objects? How close? Maybe you should look at a macro lens.
For portraits: Use your 50mm.
For landscape: Use your 18-55, or invest in a UWA lens like a 10-20mm.

Is not that i think it is made of tofu, because i had heard from random ppl saying that for tamron, after usage of a few years the colour will tend to fade?

i'm jus trying to clarify this issue, and not that i am against other lens manufacturer.

 

[coolthought]

Currently using 500D with 18-55 kit lens and 50mm f1.8 lens.

i'm thinking of getting a all purpose travel lens, and i am not sure what to get.
Was thinking of tamron 18-270mm, but is it able to last long? or it is more worth it to get a canon manufactured lenses instead. If so, what lens do u all recommend?

I like taking landscape and objects photos, sometimes portraits ;p

Let me try to see if my lens has an expiry date.
You can read the review by ortega in the mean time.http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465404

 

[yc2005]

Among the all-in-one lenses I would recommend the Canon 18-200mm

 

[mayhemics]

don't gun for the 270 just because it looks the most "versatile"... i've a 18-250 but the only time i'd come close to using the 250 end was for NBA games (and because i could only afford top-terrace seats)... requirements obviously differ from person to person

 

[daredevil123]

Is not that i think it is made of tofu, because i had heard from random ppl saying that for tamron, after usage of a few years the colour will tend to fade?

i'm jus trying to clarify this issue, and not that i am against other lens manufacturer.

Color fade??? Color of what fade? Color of the surface of the lens... or color of the photos?

Those random people must not know much about photography... or physics.
:bigeyes::bigeyes::bigeyes:

 

[Rashkae]

Is not that i think it is made of tofu, because i had heard from random ppl saying that for tamron, after usage of a few years the colour will tend to fade?

i'm jus trying to clarify this issue, and not that i am against other lens manufacturer.

I think they're referring to the rubber grip. The colors won't fade.

And depending on how they are stored, any lens is susceptible to the "whitish rubber" syndrome if it uses rubber grips.

 

[daredevil123]

I think they're referring to the rubber grip. The colors won't fade.

And depending on how they are stored, any lens is susceptible to the "whitish rubber" syndrome if it uses rubber grips.

TS, even if the the rubber grips change color after a number of years... so what?? Cannot take pictures already is it. :bsmilie:

 

[MikeC]

Color fade??? Color of what fade? Color of the surface of the lens... or color of the photos?

Those random people must not know much about photography... or physics.
:bigeyes::bigeyes::bigeyes:

TS, even if the the rubber grips change color after a number of years... so what?? Cannot take pictures already is it. :bsmilie:

I think they're referring to the rubber grip. The colors won't fade.

And depending on how they are stored, any lens is susceptible to the "whitish rubber" syndrome if it uses rubber grips.

I think i have cleared my doubts about what other ppl had said, more opinion had led to a clearer mind.. haha thanks all for the info..

Guess the condition of the lens and how long it last depends on the usage of the user..:bsmilie:

 

[MikeC]

don't gun for the 270 just because it looks the most "versatile"... i've a 18-250 but the only time i'd come close to using the 250 end was for NBA games (and because i could only afford top-terrace seats)... requirements obviously differ from person to person

wow u went for a nba game? that's nice, i thinking of going there sometime provide i have e $$

btw u owns a tamron 18-250? how was the lens, would u recommend it

 

[daredevil123]

wow u went for a nba game? that's nice, i thinking of going there sometime provide i have e $$

btw u owns a tamron 18-250? how was the lens, would u recommend it

I've been to several NBA games as well..

 

[virtualme78]

I've been to several NBA games as well..

So Envy!!!!!

 

[daredevil123]

So Envy!!!!!

Nothing to envy la.

You can just go mah...

Back then tickets were dirt cheap.

 

[d-popotamus]

i'm thinking of getting a all purpose travel lens, and i am not sure what to get.
Was thinking of tamron 18-270mm, but is it able to last long? or it is more worth it to get a canon manufactured lenses instead. If so, what lens do u all recommend?

How long a lens will last depends on the user, how frequently its used, whether you do alot of ROUGH outdoor shoots. Make ur lenses last longer with proper care i guess? Use a simple UV filter to protect your lens if its expensive enough. Send lenses for servicing if you suspect problems such as backfocusing which occurs on very old lenses. May require recallibration.

I personally feel that any lens that has a very vast (trying to avoid the use of the owrd "wide") focal ranges, eg 18-200mm (effectively 11.1 times) delivers poor quality. I guess its by the law of physics impossible to achieve good optics with such lenses. The 18-270mm is about 15 times. If image quality its not your concern, then I guess its ok. Pincushioning distortion can be quite bad in those cases. CA can become evident too, especially for the longer, less expensive (and thus poorly built) third party lenses. I might be wrong about this. Perhaps someone with good experience with 3rd party lenses can comment?

 

[daredevil123]

How long a lens will last depends on the user, how frequently its used, whether you do alot of ROUGH outdoor shoots. Make ur lenses last longer with proper care i guess? Use a simple UV filter to protect your lens if its expensive enough. Send lenses for servicing if you suspect problems such as backfocusing which occurs on very old lenses. May require recallibration.

I personally feel that any lens that has a very vast (trying to avoid the use of the owrd "wide") focal ranges, eg 18-200mm (effectively 11.1 times) delivers poor quality. I guess its by the law of physics impossible to achieve good optics with such lenses. The 18-270mm is about 15 times. If image quality its not your concern, then I guess its ok. Pincushioning distortion can be quite bad in those cases. CA can become evident too, especially for the longer, less expensive (and thus poorly built) third party lenses. I might be wrong about this. Perhaps someone with good experience with 3rd party lenses can comment?

- front or backfocusing doesn't kill a lens. Just makes focus a little off. Still usable if you know how to correct or get around it. And FF or BF is irrelevant in manual focus.

- How frequently a lens is used do not really determine how long it will last. If you never use the lens and leave it in a dry cab forever, it will probably have a shorter lifespan than one that is constantly used.

- If you do a lot of rough outdoor shoots, and still take care of your equipment, the lens will still last longer than a lens used only indoors by a butter fingered newbie.

- Lenses break due to many reasons, and UV filter only protects a small fraction of that.

- Some 3rd party lenses are the best in their categories, constantly outperforming "original" brands.

Examples of highly regarded 3rd party lenses:

Tokina 11-16/2.8

Sigma 50-150/2.8

Tokina 50-135/2.8

Sigma 85/1.4

Sigma 30/1.4

Sigma 50/1.4

Sigma 17-50/2.8 OS

Tamron 17-50/2.8

Any Carl Zeiss

Voigtlander 58/1.4

Voigtlander 40/1.4

Voigtlander 120 lanthar

the list goes on......

 

[coolthought]

Let me try to see if my lens has an expiry date.
You can read the review by ortega in the mean time.http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=465404

can't find any expiry date. Maybe it is becos the uv light will cause degradation to the lens internal that photos captured using the lens will start to fade in colours after using for some time....

 

[wcljack]

wide angle lens will do most travel job..... unless ur trip is to africa.....