Good "everyday" lens for Canon Rebel?

kjs

I am cluesless when it comes to lenses. I bought two lenses from a friend who also has a Rebel and was upgrading. So, I have a Canon 50 mm 1.8 and a Sigma 18-125 mm. The problem is these lenses don't seem to be meeting my needs. The 50 mm is great for close-ups (I have two kids that I love to photograph), but I don't like the "foot zoom". I feel very limited in many situations because I can't always move as far back as I need to to get the whole shot. It was $50 from my friend, so I'll keep it.

The Sigma lens is great outside, but doesn't take great pictures indoors, in my opinion. Honestly, I'm trying to use this lens more to get a feel for it. It's very heavy, too. With an aperture range of 3.5-5.6, I also feel limited when I want more background blur.

So, on to my question.... does anyone have any recommendations for a good "everyday" zoom lens for my Canon Rebel? I would like this lens to be my lens I use most often so I'm not constantly switching between lenses. I enjoy all types of photography... people, street, nature, etc...

Also, does anyone have a good resource where I can learn more about lenses? I serioulsy have NO clue where to even start!

I hope this all makes sense! Thanks in advance!!!

Kim

Richard

kjs wrote:

So, on to my question.... does anyone have any recommendations for a good "everyday" zoom lens for my Canon Rebel? I would like this lens to be my lens I use most often so I'm not constantly switching between lenses. I enjoy all types of photography... people, street, nature, etc...
Kim

The Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 is a good choice...light weight, very sharp and moderate price. It is an excellent value. If you need something longer, the Canon 24-105 f/4L IS is very good as well, but it is heavier and quite a bit more expensive.

Regards,

Teddifish

rsinmadrid wrote:

The Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 is a good choice...light weight, very sharp and moderate price. It is an excellent value. If you need something longer, the Canon 24-105 f/4L IS is very good as well, but it is heavier and quite a bit more expensive.

Regards,

I'm looking for the same sort of thing I think--a good "walking around" lens (for a 30D) that functions well in low light. Any slower than f1.8 and I get too much blur, but I'm having a hard time settling on either a mid-range prime or a zoom at that (fast) speed.

kdog

There isn't one lens that's going to do everything well, so you have to pick your priorities. If you want something fast, I think you should take a close look at the Canon 17-55 EF-S F2.8 IS. This is reputed to be one of Canon's sharpest zooms. It's fast and wide, and works great indoors. The combination of F2.8 and IS means you can shoot in very low light. So for indoor, landscape, and basically anything that you don't need to go longer on, I think it would be an amazing lens for you.

The 24-105L F4 IS that Richard mentioned is a great lens, but 24mm on a 1.6X crop camera isn't very wide. And of course this is a slower lens than the 17-55 mentioned above, although the IS helps make up for that. I would still want a super-wide angle lens as well.

The Canon 17-85 EF-S IS F4-F5.6 lens which is often included as a kit lens is a cheaper alternative. It's half the price of the 17-55, slower, but the IS on this lens will still help you on indoor shots (assuming your subject isn't squirming too much.) This range on this lens is really perfect on the 1.6x crop cameras. And of course, that what the EF-S lenses are made for. In fact, they don't work at all on Canon's full-frame cameras.

Those are my three recommendations for general purpose lenses. None of them are going to be very good for wildlife. Anybody serious about wildlife needs 300mm at a minimum. And of course, you'll still need one of the above lenses for more general purpose use anyway.

-joel

Teddifish

kdog wrote:

There isn't one lens that's going to do everything well, so you have to pick your priorities. If you want something fast, I think you should take a close look at the Canon 17-55 EF-S F2.8 IS. This is reputed to be one of Canon's sharpest zooms. It's fast and wide, and works great indoors. The combination of F2.8 and IS means you can shoot in very low light. So for indoor, landscape, and basically anything that you don't need to go longer on, I think it would be an amazing lens for you.

Those are my three recommendations for general purpose lenses. None of them are going to be very good for wildlife. Anybody serious about wildlife needs 300mm at a minimum. And of course, you'll still need one of the above lenses for more general purpose use anyway.

-joel

Thanks Joel. I appreciate the advice.

colourbox

I second kdog's advice. I started on my Rebel XT with the 17-85 IS, which is a good lens, but it just too slow in low light - especially if you used the zoom, because at 85mm it's no faster than f/5.6. The Canon 17-55 EF-S F2.8 IS USM, which I switched to, is a constant f/2.8 throughout the range, and that makes a huge difference. Nice lens if you can afford it.

As for the range beyond 55mm, my experience walking around with nothing more than the 50mm 1.8 tells me that 55mm is enough reach for many everyday situations, especially indoor, and if I need longer range I should just save up for a separate long range zoom.

Scott_Quier

+1 on the suggestion for the EF-S 17-55. This is my goto lens. Shooting wedding receptions, which are usually cramped, dark, and fast moving, this is THE lens! And, the sharpness is something to be seen. If you have the $$, this is the lens!

kjs

Thanks for all the lens advice... sorry for the delay in responding... I've been busy selling everything I own to buy the Canon EF-S 17-55 IS lens. Seriously, though, I think I may make the investment and buy it. Your recommendations, plus the many, many glowing reviews I've read make me think I would not regret the decision! It seems like it would meet my needs and be a great "go to" lens in many situations!!!! Thanks for all your help!

Kim

p.s. I also plan on checking out your other lens recomendations, too, before buying this one. Just haven't had a chance yet...

tsk1979

Is there a fast lens available which does something like 17-70 or whereabouts. I think Tamron and Sigma have such offerings

Scott_Quier

tsk1979 wrote:

Is there a fast lens available which does something like 17-70 or whereabouts. I think Tamron and Sigma have such offerings

I blelieve the best you are going to do is f/2.8. At that aperture, there are a number of offerings. I also believe, if what I have read can be believed, that the EF-S 17-55 is the fastest focusing and hunts less in low light situations than do the other offerings. This is all based on hearsey - YMMV.

Manfr3d

rsinmadrid wrote:

The Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 is a good choice...light weight, very sharp and moderate price. It is an excellent value. If you need something longer, the Canon 24-105 f/4L IS is very good as well, but it is heavier and quite a bit more expensive.

Regards,

And the Tamron 17-35mm/2.8 SP (on par with the 28-75/2.8) if you want sth moer wide angle yet light, cheap and sharp.