help me choose a lens

Autonomous

hi y'all!
so I wanna buy a new lens already but I don't know what to get.
I have XTi, and I think I would want the new lens for portrait, landscapes, nightscapes, anything basically. But I want it fast.
And, I can't afford that much too~ since I'm only a high school student.
$400 range.
any tips?

ziggy53

The reason to get a dSLR is so that you can spend endless amounts of money in constant pursuit of all the lenses you will need to shoot everything.

Seriously, I would start with a lens that will satisfy a large number of photographic tasks. For most people that is a "standard" zoom with a range of twice "normal" FOV through normal and then about 2/3rds normal FOV. For a Canon crop 1.6x camera, like the Canon XTi, that would be 18-55mm or so. While you may have the "kit" lens with that range, you may find it less than satisfactory in terms of focus speed and accuracy, maximum aperture and contrast.

A much better lens in that range might be the Tamron 17-50mm, f/2.8 XR Di II. This is a standard zoom of constant aperture and capable of professional results. There does seem to be some sample variation so be sure to purchase from a source that will allow easy exchange if your not happy with the results.

The Sigma 18-50mm, f/2.8 EX DC Macro is another pretty good choice.

If you need a little longer focal lengths, at the expense of the wide end, the Tamron SP 28-75mm, f/2.8 XR Di LD-IF is often recommended.

Notice that these are all f2.8 constant aperture zooms of very high quality, not to be confused with the lower end zooms with slower apertures and generall much less quality.

du8die

+1 for the Tamron SP 28-75mm, f/2.8 XR Di LD-IF. I have one and love it.

Moogle Pepper

ziggy53 wrote:

The reason to get a dSLR is so that you can spend endless amounts of money in constant pursuit of all the lenses you will need to shoot everything.

A politically correct usage to define gear lust.

Scott_Quier

ziggy53 wrote:

If you need a little longer focal lengths, at the expense of the wide end, the Tamron SP 28-75mm, f/2.8 XR Di LD-IF is often recommended.

Notice that these are all f2.8 constant aperture zooms of very high quality, not to be confused with the lower end zooms with slower apertures and generall much less quality.

- I can recommend this lens without reservations. I have had this lens for a number of years. It will not be the first lens I sell should I ever have to sell of equipment. I've used this lens to shoot a couple weddings/receptions. I have a wedding photographer friend that has just about glued this lens to his 50D and his works is simply stunning.

Not to push too hard, but B&H has them for about $350 here. You don't see many used ones for sale.

jbakerphoto

I am buying a used tamron 17-50 2.8 tomorrow for 325!
The seller said it has been nice and sharp for him...

I was seriously thinking about upgrading camera bodies but decided to go with a lens instead....I sorta got tired of backing up to get people into shots in low light situations with my 50mm 1.8....Hopefully this is the right decision! glass over body....(for now)

I tested one in the store and it was pretty good.....I also tested the canon version that everyone on here has been raveing about!!!! I see why.....

Best of luck with finding your glass.....

Image from the soda can test he sent me! Looks sharp to me....

50mm 2.8



26mm 2.8

pjessen

Great reflective image!
Looks like you had a white faced black bear taking the photo??

there's some great recommendations here...I think your body will do very well for you for quite some time, and any quality glass you buy will have great utility on more advanced bodies or good solid resale.

Autonomous

i see.
which is better, sigma or tamron?
actually i had this on my mind:
tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC; the ultimate all-in-one Zoom: longest, steadiest lens on earth (I quoted it from a magazine)
whuddya think?
I'm also thinking of that tamron 28-75mm thingy~

Scott_Quier

Autonomous wrote:

i see.
which is better, sigma or tamron?
actually i had this on my mind:
tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC; the ultimate all-in-one Zoom: longest, steadiest lens on earth (I quoted it from a magazine)
whuddya think?
I'm also thinking of that tamron 28-75mm thingy~

First - understand that I've never even seen this lens, let along used it. That have been said, you should take the following with a grain of salt...

If you understand that "super zooms" have inherent design compromises and can live with them (they are different for each lens) then this might not be too bad a lens. Reading this review makes it sound not too bad. One thing to watch for is the very small maximum aperture when zoomed to the max length - it's only an f/6.3. This means that you may have problems getting sufficient shutter speed to hand hold this if not shooting in very bright light.

Edit: There's another review of the lens here

kini62

Sigma 17-70 covers a nice range. Heard mostly good things about it. Doubles as a fairly decent macro for flowers and larger critters.

Gene

Autonomous

actually I'm looking for a lens that cover wide range to decent zoom but with fast aperture. Something like 11-70m/2.8 does that exists?

ziggy53

Autonomous wrote:

actually I'm looking for a lens that cover wide range to decent zoom but with fast aperture. Something like 11-70m/2.8 does that exists?

In a word, "no", that specification does not currently exist. If it ever were to exist it would have an enormous front element, would be very heavy and very expensive.

I have advised you the best choices within your approximate budget which do exist.