Alternative to Canon 18-55mm IS kit lens

AndyWest

AndyWest

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When I bought my camera I bought the Canon 40d body and the following lenses:

Lens 1: Sigma Zoom 18-200mm 1;3.5-6.3 DC
Lens 2: Canon Compact-Macro EF 50mm 1:2.5

After talking to my dad and nephew (Both pretty up on all this) i wish i had kept the kit lens so i have been searching about the net for one but they are either not available (out of stock) at a decent price or they are well over priced by some retailers. There is one in the for sale section that i may buy but i was wondering if there was a better alternative. I have about £200ish to spend and i would like IS if poss.

As i have the Sigma, do i need another lens at all? I was thinking that a 18-55mm would be lighter and easier to use for normal shots.

ADDED: I now see theres a Sigma 17-70 for sale in the classified section. Is it worth the extra £90ish for the Sigma?

Thanks in advance.
 
If I were you I'd sell your Sigma 18-200 and replace it with the OS version of the same lens.

I have the Sigma 18-200 on my 350D and it's a good all-rounder for the money. I'm very attached to it. But my brother-in-law has the sigma 18-200 OS on his 400D and I was interested to see the difference. His is a lot better - better build quality, better image quality, and it has OS. I'm jealous.
 
StewartR said:
If I were you I'd sell your Sigma 18-200 and replace it with the OS version of the same lens.

I have the Sigma 18-200 on my 350D and it's a good all-rounder for the money. I'm very attached to it. But my brother-in-law has the sigma 18-200 OS on his 400D and I was interested to see the difference. His is a lot better - better build quality, better image quality, and it has OS. I'm jealous.
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Thats some good advice.

I have a friend who has the OS version of that sigma lens and swears by it, for the money it definately appears a decent buy.

The real question is why do you want to swap? If it's a problem with image quality then the OS variant will improve that to a certain extent however if it's a speed problem or you want true professional quality then you may need to look elsewhere. It sounds a bit like your thinking of changing lenses because someone has told you the one you have is poor and thats not a good reason.
 
I am new to all this so i don't really know what's what. I have heard good things about the canon 18-55 IS and I want a decent small lens for normal shots. It will be lighter and easier to manage too. I thought I could use the Sigma for the shots that need the telephoto.

I have just been going through my photo's that i took at Xmas and they are cr*p! I'm sure it's all down to me not knowing what I am doing but I was being instructed by my dad and nephew. My dad is a keen armature and has produced some prize winning shots at his club and my nephew is at uni studying to be a pro photographer and he has the same camera as me. He is lucky in the fact that he got a decent canon 'L' lens for xmas from his dad which does look to give superb results. I'm also reading the magazines to learn what everything does.

I'm sure with some tuition and time I'll be ok but my budget is limited so I'm not sure which direction to go i.e use what I have as they are good lenses or get a better lens, either the canon 18-55 or OS replacement of my Sigma?????
 
AndyWest said:
I have just been going through my photo's that i took at Xmas and they are cr*p! I'm sure it's all down to me not knowing what I am doing .....
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Perhaps it would be a good idea to post one or two here and ask for advice. Chances are, a different lens won't make much difference to your photos unless it offers capabilities that you need but don't have (eg long reach, wide aperture, IS, etc)
 
I need to try out my sigma in daylight which i have not had a chance to do. i'll try tomorrow and see if i'm happy with the results.
 
Have a look at the Sigma 24-70 f2.8. It doesn't have any form of image stabilisation but you don't really need it at those focal lengths. However, at f2.8 it's much faster that what you have and it's pretty god quality. I use mine on my 40D a lot. Should be around the £250-300, but it's worth the little extra to get the speed.

StewartR said:
But my brother-in-law has the sigma 18-200 OS on his 400D and I was interested to see the difference. His is a lot better - better build quality, better image quality, and it has OS. I'm jealous.
Click to expand...

With the hardware you have at your disposal I somehow find that a little hard to believe :lol:

Steve
 
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