which lens to buy before a vacation

[twon8]

I am going to italy in march and want to buy one lens before i go and carry only two around with me. My dslr experience is a little over a year so i'm not really sure which lens work best in different situations

I have an olympus e500 with
17.5-45 lens which I can tell doesn't take as good of pictures as
40-150 3.5- lens

for my birthday i got a 50mm 2.0 macro which i can tell takes the best pics out of the bunch, but I don't think it will work well for scenery, but i may be wrong.

http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1/sys_lens_spec.asp

the ones i came up with as contenders are:

Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 $406 ( basically replace the kit lens with much better glass that has a bit more on each end zoom wise)

Olympus 50-200mm Zuiko Digital f/2.8-3.5 $829 (doubtful that i'd spend this much, so someone would really have to convince me that this would be the best use of the money)

Olympus 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 $649 ( figure wide angle is best for taking pictures of surroundings, but is the 11mm that big of difference over 14mm?)

Olympus 18-180mm f/3.5-6.3 $412 (this seems like it could be a good lens to use for lots of situations, and not too pricey, probably leaning this way right now)


so basically if anyone has suggestions on which lens I would use the most and benefit the most from, that would be appreciated

thanks

 

[gregr]

Hi-
Take this with a grain of salt since I've never used that camera or any of those lenses, but I'd think that if you're happy with the quality of the pics from the 40-150 all you need is a wide angle zoom that is better than the one you have right? The 14-54 sounds just right, based on specs.
I'm not at all familiar with the 18-180 but based purely on the price and the design challenges of that focal range, I'd guess that it is not so great overall. Could be very nice in the middle but I'd expect significant barrel distortion on the wide end and softness on the long end.
Wide angle is ideal for landscapes and architecture photography. 11mm (22mm with the 2x multiplier) is really nice but I'd want to see samples to check how much barrel distortion there is. The wider you go the more pronounced barrel distortion is, generally speaking. Barrel distortion is straight lines appearing bowed. The 11-22 is quite a bit more expensive though, so it may be a really sweet lens... try to look at samples. If you get it then you'll have a little gap (from 22-40). Not the end of the world but with the 14-54 there'd be no gap.

 

[twon8]

thanks,i realize you haven't used these lenses, but i figured you would have some thoughts about the different types and which would be used most.

should i take the 50mm macro with me? or leave it behind?

i will probably go with the 14-54 for now

here is a review of the 11-22, with some pics, what do you think about the barrel distortion?

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/olympus_1122_2835/index.htm

 

[VoidRaven]

Though I too have no experience with these lenses, I am going to echo gregr's sentiments. I would advise the 14-54mm for the new addition. The 18-180mm isn't giving you all that much more over the 40-150mm that you already like a lot so no sense in wasting money there. Plus that f/2.8 on the 14-54mm is a nice draw.

 

[gregr]

here is a review of the 11-22, with some pics, what do you think about the barrel distortion?

Those pics look pretty good distortion-wise but whoever did the test pics chose mediocre subject matter for this type of test. Regardless, it looks like a real nice lens.

 

[blstravler]

twon8-

Which lens did you go with?

Have the same Camera and I am thinking about the same lens.

 

[twon8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9046126#post9046126 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blstravler
twon8-

Which lens did you go with?

Have the same Camera and I am thinking about the same lens.

i haven't decided yet, likely the 14-54, unless i can come up with some extra cash; i don't leave till march so i still have some time to decide

 

[blstravler]

I'm looking at the same one or possibly the 14-35mm F2.0, I also like the 11-22mm f2.8-3.5; However with the 14-35mm F2.0, I am not sure if the F2.0 will limit me at all.

I need to plant another money tree in my back yard apparently...

 

[twon8]

im not familiar with teh 14-35mm 2.0 lens, is it sigma lens?

what lenses do you have now?

the 50mm macro is really nice, the 2.0 is great, allows much lower light shots.

 

[greenstarman]

You may want to check these reviews out if you haven't allready. Its a website dedicated to the fourthirds lenses..


http://fourthirdsphoto.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=8

 

[blstravler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9056092#post9056092 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greenstarman
You may want to check these reviews out if you haven't allready. Its a website dedicated to the fourthirds lenses..


http://fourthirdsphoto.com/vbb/forumdisplay.php?f=8

Hey thanks for the link, great website!!!!

 

[greenstarman]

Welcome....