Advice on a General Use Lens

starky987

I currently have a 28-135 IS USM canon lens as my primary lens. I was looking to upgrade though. My only other lens is the 18-55 kit lens that came with my xti which I currently use for wider angle shots. I had two thought I was looking for advice on
1. Upgrade my 28-135 lens with a higher quality one that will produce better pictures and keep my kit lens for the same uses as now.
2. Instead of buying a single new lens, buy something like the 17-40L and another lens like the 55-250 IS USM. This would provide me with more range and I think better lenses overall. (Any one know anything about the 55-250 IS USM lens? reviews?

If people have any other suggestions of lenses I should get I would appreciate them. What lenses do you use that you would recommend for me? Just remember that I do have a limited budget of around $600. If I sell my other lenses it would be around $1,000 so just keep that in mind with your recommendations. I just don't want to rush into buying something that I will regret shortly after. All comments are appreciated.

cmason

you will get a million suggestion, but I always recommend the Tamron 28-75 2.8. It is amazingly sharp and at around $300, a heck of a bargain.

starky987

cmason wrote:

you will get a million suggestion, but I always recommend the Tamron 28-75 2.8. It is amazingly sharp and at around $300, a heck of a bargain.

I'm hoping for a million suggestions, and of those hopefully a few repeats. Those are the ones I'll look into a little more. Thanks for the advice on the tamron, i've got a friend who also likes his.

Tee Why

Sell the kit and the 28-135lens and with a $1000 get a Tamron 17-50 and a Canon 70-200 f4L, Canon 70-300IS, or a 55-250IS if you want to save more dough.

Tommyboy

I agree with dumping the kit lens and 28-135.

Get a 17-85 or a 17-55. The 70-200 f/4.0 is a good suggestion, too.

If you want to keep the 28-135, the 10-22 would be a nice option.

starky987

Do you think that getting a lens with IS is more important than getting an L lens. There's no way I can afford an L with IS and still get the range of coverage I'm looking for. Also I really want to make sure if I buy a new lens it is an upgrade in image quality. I don't want to just sell my 28-135 for the sake of getting something new. thanks

jgoetz4

starky987 wrote:

Do you think that getting a lens with IS is more important than getting an L lens. There's no way I can afford an L with IS and still get the range of coverage I'm looking for. Also I really want to make sure if I buy a new lens it is an upgrade in image quality. I don't want to just sell my 28-135 for the sake of getting something new. thanks

Good Morning,
Like a few posters have said, the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 is a very good lens. Combine that with the 70-300mm IS ( a hidden 'L' lens considered by many) and that should cover most, if not all, of your shooting. If you're shooting in tight spaces, then the Canon 10-22mm is an excellent choice Good luck.
Have a good day
Jim...

claudermilk

Rather than just throwing out my favorites, I'll ask you a question. What is it that the kit & 28-135 are not getting done for you?

I'd make sure you are getting the most out of the current gear rather than just looking for a silver bullet through spending money. We all agree the kit lens isn't the best offering in Canon's lineup; however, used to it's best capabilities it can produce perfectly acceptable images. The lenses' main failing is a narrow performance envelope where it can do that.