Recommendation for A Good Walk-Around Lens for Canon XTi?

Gisho

Gisho

New member
Hello,

I have a Canon XTi with the kit lens 18-55. I also have the 100mm macro and 70-300 IS USM zoom lens.

I am looking to replace the kit lens for general purpose/walk-around use. I was considering the 17-85mm USM/IS lens or the 28-135mm USM/IS lens (which I have read some negative things about on this board, but not sure exactly what the cons are of this lens?). The "L" series lenses are more than I want to spend for right now.

Any recommendations/advice?

Thanks in advance!

Gisho
 
Last edited:
What did you hear neg about the 28-135mm lens. I'm planning to buy a Canon 30D that comes with this lens. I don't want to spend the extra if it is not a good lens?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10111856#post10111856 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by znut Reefer
What did you hear neg about the 28-135mm lens.
Click to expand...


The happiest moment that I had with mine was the day that I sold it.

:D
 
Ok thanks beerguy, so what other lens would you get with the Canon 30D, I plan to get a macro 100mm with it. But will need an all around lens too.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10112191#post10112191 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FloatingFish
Explain
Click to expand...

Yes, please do explain why BeerGuy. In researching through this forum/board, I believe that I have seen you and others state this about the 28-135mm, but I have never been able to understand exactly why this is?

Thanks.
 
Probably the quality of the lens just isn't great.

There's an EFS lens that's 17-55mm IS... I hear that one is very good.

It's kinda expensive ;)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10112191#post10112191 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FloatingFish
Explain
Click to expand...

This is just my experience and I've read reviews by folks who like the lens so take it with a grain of salt.

I wasn't happy with a single shot out of that lens. Color saturation, contrast and sharpness were always lacking. On a crop body camera (like yours and mine) it's not wide enough. On the other end it never seemed long enough either. It always felt like I had the wrong lens for the shot. The build quality was poor, the zoom mechanism prone to creep and it just felt flimsy.....

My family recognizes it, in conversation, as "the stupid lens." :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10112210#post10112210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by znut Reefer
But will need an all around lens too.
Click to expand...

The 24-105 f/4 IS is a great lens, although pricey. There's nothing wrong with buying used from a reputable source.

I too have heard good things about the 17-55mm IS EF-S but have no first hand experience.

My primary lens is a 24/70 f/2.8. It's on my camera about 90% of the time. It is, however, a tank.
 
Like Beerguy, I use the 24-70 2.8L for my walkaround lens and I'm very happy with it. As he mentioned, it is a tank but the quality is outstanding. I don't have personal experience with either of the other lenses being discussed, but you can check out the reviews at http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/ for input from people who do have them.

Good luck!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10114217#post10114217 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by swjim
Like Beerguy, I use the 24-70 2.8L for my walkaround lens and I'm very happy with it. As he mentioned, it is a tank but the quality is outstanding. I don't have personal experience with either of the other lenses being discussed, but you can check out the reviews at http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/ for input from people who do have them.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks all for your feedback. Excellent link Swjim, thanks!

I think I have narrowed it down to either the 24-70mm 2.8L or the 17-55mm 2.8 USM/IS (wow, it is expensive for a non-L lens!).

Considering the crop factor of 1.6 on our cameras, do you, Beerguy and Swjim, find that the 24-70mm satisfies your wide-angle needs for general/walk-around use? Also, it does NOT have IS, correct?

Thanks in advance.
 
The 24-70 works well for my needs, but most of my picture taking right now revolves around my kids. If I was shooting more landscape right now I'm sure that I would like something wider. The only other lenses I own at the moment are the 85mm 1.8 and the 70-200 2.8L IS. The next photo gear on my radar is the 100mm macro, Alien Bees lights, then I'll probably get something wider. The fact that I want to get the macro and the lighthing before the WA shows that at least for my shooting needs the 24-70 is wide enough.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10115859#post10115859 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gisho

Considering the crop factor of 1.6 on our cameras, do you, Beerguy and Swjim, find that the 24-70mm satisfies your wide-angle needs for general/walk-around use?
Click to expand...


It does depend on your shooting style but, at least for me, this should answer the question:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10113813#post10113813 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by beerguy
It's on my camera about 90% of the time.
Click to expand...

If you need to go wider, the Tokina 12-24 f/4 is a fantastic lens. I can't say enough got things about it.
 
I use the 24-70 on my 30d as well. on my camera the most :)

get a WA lens to support it because 17 isn't that wide
 
Thanks GuOD for the advice.

Do you ever find that the fact that it DOESN'T have IS is an issue in low-light conditions?
 
I havent used the 28-135, but I have used a similar lens, the 17-85 IS. The 17-85 has slightly better reviews than the 29-135, but I doubt the amount is enough to make a difference. I did not have any problems with the build or zoom creep at all. Although the build is not as nice as my L lens, it wasnt that horrible.

I thought the sharpness, contrast, and color saturation to be pretty good, especially compared to the kit 18-55 lens that my XTi came with.

Then about a month ago, I helped a friend out with thier wedding since they could not afford a professional photographer and they asked me to do it since they liked my nature photography. So I used my 17-85 lens half the time and my Sigma 105 Macro the other half the time since it had a 2.8 Aperature. In PP, I noticed that the pics taken with the 17-85 IS just werent as sharp as the Sigma 105. Color saturation and contrast were pretty close, but I had to do a lot more work on the pics taken with the 17-85 in order to get the same sharpness as the 105. So because of that, I wanted to replace the lens. I tried a few different lens out before buying at a local shop and was able to upload the pics onto my laptop right there. The Canon 24-105L, 24-70L, 17-40L, and the EFS 17-55. Most are right in the $1k range except the 17-40L which was about half the price as some of the others. All of those lens had pictures so much nicer than my 17-85 IS. But the lenses that really stood out for me was the 24-70L and the 17-55 IS which was pretty suprising. I expected the 24-70 to be nice, but not the 17-55. Since I use an XTi, I ended up taking the 17-55 IS home since its much wider than the 24-70. I have to say that I didnt know what I was missing before. I don't know how I was ever happy with the 17-85. The 17-55 produces even nicer sharpness and color than my Sigma 105. For the $60 and under range, I should have gone with the 17-40 back then.
 
Thanks for the input. Yes, I read some pretty lukewarm reviews about the 17-85 so I avoided that one. The 17-55 IS/USM is getting great reviews, but is also $900+ for a non-L lens and is EF-S, not EF.

I ended up deciding on a 24-105 4L IS and absolutely love it so far. It was just over $1K. The picture quality is fantastic. I haven't tried using it in low-light conditions where the f4 may be a bit of a hindrance, but then again it does have IS.

To top it all off, while I was at it I decided to upgrade to a 30D, so if anyone wants a black body XTI with kit lens for cheap, let me know.
 
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