which lens should I buy?

[betseylu]

I'm new here and also quite the amateur, so please be gentle

I am wanting to purchase a Canon Rebel XTi in the near future and do not want to purchase the kit lens. So now I am debating on what lens to buy instead. Money IS a factor, so I need a good lens for general use that isn't horribly expensive until I can afford to add to my arsenal of equpment. I have seen a few lenses that have been reviewed as "the ONE lens to have if you can only have ONE lens!" A couple that I have been looking at are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. So which would you recommend, or is there any other lens that you think would be better for me? Thanks in advance!!

 

[Snoweagle]

I'm new here and also quite the amateur, so please be gentle

I am wanting to purchase a Canon Rebel XTi in the near future and do not want to purchase the kit lens. So now I am debating on what lens to buy instead. Money IS a factor, so I need a good lens for general use that isn't horribly expensive until I can afford to add to my arsenal of equpment. I have seen a few lenses that have been reviewed as "the ONE lens to have if you can only have ONE lens!" A couple that I have been looking at are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. So which would you recommend, or is there any other lens that you think would be better for me? Thanks in advance!!

There are different lenses for different needs. So what do u generally shoot or shoot most often? If u want a walkaround lens those u mentioned are gd ones. Or u may also want to consider Tamron's 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di.

 

[diver-hloc]

Suggest Tamron 17-50mm f2.8

 

[Headshotzx]

Since your budget is the restricting factor, here are some Canon lenses that fall below the S$800 price-tag, plus some suggestions:

Do note that I'm a Canon nut.. So I don't know anything much about 3rd-party lenses like Sigma and Tamron. I hear they're quite good though, but I still won't buy them.

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Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM : RS$1,229 - CP $860 / MS $860 /AP $1,020 / CP-M $880 / OP $750 (without box)
The Digital Picture Review
The Kit II of the Canon 400D, this is an alright lens with a good range and quite good image quality. Drawbacks will probably be the high amount of barrel distortion at the wide end. It's recommended for a general walkaround lens.
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Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS : CP-M $410 / OP $360 / MS $399 / AP-S $360
The Digital Picture Link (No review yet, just go check out how it looks like xD)
Hmm.. I have mixed feelings about this. Image quality isn't very good. It has a good zoom range, but 55mm for a walkaround is a bit too tight for some shots. It's the best bargain if you need a high zoom range.
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Note for the above 2 lenses: They are EF-S lenses, which mean that they can't be used on full frame bodies (eg 5D / 1D). Meaning that if you ever take a huge leap and upgrade to the better bodies, you can't use these lenses. But since you're just about to buy your 400D, I don't think you should be bothered by it too much.

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Canon EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 II USM : RS$490 - MS $380
The Digital Picture Review
Check out the above review. Apparently it's not quite good a lens, so I wouldn't recommend it.
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Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM : RS$690 - MS $338 / TCW $450 / CP $348
The Digital Picture Review
No idea about this lens. Apparently it's a good build and decent price-for-quality lens. Don't bother about the slightly cheaper f/4 - 5.6 version.
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Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM : RS$1,100 - CP-M $690 / MS $665
The Digital Picture Review
Highly recommended from me. I borrowed it from my friend to shoot for a week or so, and it performed pretty well. It won't perform well for low-light no-flash photography, but is still a very good lens. The IS helps a lot for this zoom lens with a small aperture at max zoom.
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Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II : RS$160 - / MS $110 / AP $125 / TK $135 / JO $130 (w/ gst) / TCW $135 (grey) / CP $125 / AP-S $130 / OP $125 / MS $120
The Digital Picture Review
A highly recommended and cheap prime lens. It is the cheapest of all lenses going at around S$130, but it's a good choice for your first few lenses. It's a prime, so it doesn't have the zoom-capability ie you'll have to move around to compose your shots. I own one, and I use it more often than my other more expensive lens.
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I recommend the 28-135mm f/3.5 - 5.6 IS USM Zoom and 50mm f/1.8 II Prime. I'll just keep recommending the cheap 50mm f/1.8 to anyone cos it's such a bang-for-buck prime lens. That'll make the hole of your pocket about S$775 from MS prices.

Hope this helps =)

 

[Ben Ang]

if u dont shoot too much in doors and not really intending to use the cam to take groups pics of yr frens indoors then i d say go for a 28-XX f/2.8 zoom. i ll recommend the tokina AT-X pro 28-80mm f/2.8 or the 28-70 f/2.6-2.8 depending. the formaer has v much betther flare control and feels tougher in yr hands. a joy to use. the latter is sharper in some respects but can flare terribly.. i suggest the former=) if not the tamron 28-75 yr looking at may be a good offer.. havent actually tried the lens, but everyone seems to say its goot. only thing i dun like abt tamron is that the build quality is well.. to me seems abit substandard.

if u want to go indoors more often the tamron 17-50 f/2.8 will seem like the best choice. light weight, sharp and has enuf wide angle to make u happy indoors. only thing is that these aps 16/17/18-xx zooms have v much more barrel distortion on the wide end. where as the 28-xx hardly have any.

i think start with a 28-xx. then when u get more, add a 12-24 or 70-200. then after tt u can swap for a canon 24-70 L or wad..

i cant comment on canon lenses since im nikon user... but i was in that situation previously so this is what i ve learnt=P if u dun mind restricting yrself and want to improve composition and other techniques, get a 50mm f/1.8 or 35mm.

 

[onewheeler]

I'm new here and also quite the amateur, so please be gentle

I am wanting to purchase a Canon Rebel XTi in the near future and do not want to purchase the kit lens. So now I am debating on what lens to buy instead. Money IS a factor, so I need a good lens for general use that isn't horribly expensive until I can afford to add to my arsenal of equpment. I have seen a few lenses that have been reviewed as "the ONE lens to have if you can only have ONE lens!" A couple that I have been looking at are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. So which would you recommend, or is there any other lens that you think would be better for me? Thanks in advance!!

You mentioned Rebel XTi, are you an American? That's a great camera. value for money all in on lens, I will go for Tamron 18-150mm. It has got good review. Price at bout $500.

 

[onewheeler]

check out http://www.dpreview.com/news/0609/06093001tamron18250.asp

 

[BlueBull]

check out the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8.

 

[Mister]

I'm new here and also quite the amateur, so please be gentle

I am wanting to purchase a Canon Rebel XTi in the near future and do not want to purchase the kit lens. So now I am debating on what lens to buy instead. Money IS a factor, so I need a good lens for general use that isn't horribly expensive until I can afford to add to my arsenal of equpment. I have seen a few lenses that have been reviewed as "the ONE lens to have if you can only have ONE lens!" A couple that I have been looking at are the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. So which would you recommend, or is there any other lens that you think would be better for me? Thanks in advance!!

Hi betseylu,
if you're interested I'm selling my 400d in the near future for an upgrade (6k shots, used eight months, absolutely perfect conditions).

Regarding the lens, that largely depends on what you're gonna do with it. Personally, the lens I use the most is the EF-S 10-22 (I'm mainly into landscaping – coming to Singapore wasn't a good idea from this point of view), the one I find most adaptable to different situations is the 17-85, but if I really had to part from all others except one, the one I'd keep would be the EF 50mm f/1.4.

As I said, thought, that depends on what you want to do with it, choosing the widest zoom range isn't necessarily the best option.