thekendo Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Hi, I've got a canon 450D, the kit lens has recently stopped working on autofocus so I'm looking to upgrade to something better although I suppose fixing it could be an option. I've got a budget that could go to £300 but I'd prefer about £200-250. The lens will be used for a bit of everything so I guess I'm looking for a bit of an all round lens. I like shooting me and my mates climbing in the peak, taking pics of running events, landscapes, portraits, shots of friends out for meals etc. So a bit of everything. I've been thinking about a sigma 18-125mm and would be interested in anyone's experience using this or any alternative lens. Sigma also do a few lenses up to about 200 and so do Tamron, any opinions on these alternatives would be great. Thanks,
thekendo Posted October 31, 2011 Author Posted October 31, 2011 additional info: I've got a 50mm F1.8 [nifty 50] lens already
speedbirdone Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Try the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-f4 I have a friend who has this lens as his general everyday walkabout lens and it's a cracking bit of kit for the money. Shop around you should get it for under £300.
pete051 Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 I agree with speedbird here I use one of the older non IS types and optically it is far superior to the kit lens only downside is the weight much heavier
ndegwa Posted October 31, 2011 Posted October 31, 2011 Its a great lens, it offers more range, its a little bit faster at the long end than the kit lens is. I didnt find it overly noisy when focussing. Its sharper than the kit lens. Like Pete051 i once had one of the older versions without Optical Stabilisation and i used it to great effect!
thekendo Posted November 1, 2011 Author Posted November 1, 2011 Thanks for getting back to me. Do you think that the improved image quality of the 17-70 justifies the reduced range compared to the 17-125? I like my images to be rich in colour and sharp so I'm tempted by the 17-70
ndegwa Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 generally the longer the zoom range the more the lens compramises on IQ. Not true for all lenses but more so on the budget lenses. the best thing to do is find a store with both in stock, take a few sample images and look at them at home in detail. make sure you take the same seen at various focal lengths and to rule out the camera causing any trouble shoot at the lowest ISO possible. things to take into consideration are the weight, balance of the setup, ease of use. Also check for lens creep. When attached point the lens downwards and see if extends. may sound daft but walking about in your hand the lens will prbably be haning down and the same goes if you normally wear it over your shoulder when not in use. Yuo dont want it knocking something accidently.
thekendo Posted November 1, 2011 Author Posted November 1, 2011 thanks for getting back to me. lots to think about!! I've read very good things about this lens: Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II VC Image Stabalise Lens Canon AF does anyone have any experience of using it?
astraman Posted November 1, 2011 Posted November 1, 2011 thanks for getting back to me. lots to think about!! I've read very good things about this lens: Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II VC Image Stabalise Lens Canon AF does anyone have any experience of using it? I use the older version of the Tamron without image stabilisation. It is an excellent lens. Tack sharp, vibrant images. It is my everyday walkabout lens. Personally, I wouldn't bother with image stabilisation on a lens of that range, but that's just me.
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