General walkabout lens

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Ant

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Anthony
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Right, i had my mind set on a sigma 24-70 f2.8 EX. Looked the perfect lens, quick, and covered up to 70mm.

But out and about today, and the last few days with my fave prime, and my widest prime, my 24mm f2.8, i noticed that this wasn't wide enough for a lot of the shots i was taking, meaning i had to take too many steps back, or i lost the composition i wanted, as the lens wasn't wide enough, and moving lost the composition.

So now i've had to scrap the idea of the 24-70, as it's not wide enough at the wide end on my 1.6x sensor on my 400d, and i can't really afford a wideangle lens atm, or in the near future.

So what are my needs? Ideally i need something about the 16-18mm at the wide end, up to about 50-70mm at the long end. And preferably something that's got the same aperture throughout the focal range, e.g f2.8.

one of the things i am lacking however, is a budget. it's not massive, about £200-£250 max. i don't mind going second hand at all, half my lenses i got were 2nd hand off ebay.

If it comes to it, and i realise that i need to spend a bit more cash for my needs, then i can wait to save up a bit, or wait till next payday anyway.. :)

So basically, i've got no patience to sit and look through oodles of reviews of lenses, so i'd like recommendations from you guys please. :)
 
Well two lenses fit, the tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 or the sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. According to the reviews I've seen the tamron is better as well as cheaper.
 
If you look here - http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/cat5.html - you'll see what options you have and at what price from Canon, Tamron and Sigma. I don't think you'll find one lens that does what you want at any price - i.e. fixed aperture and ~17-70. For a "budget" 17-50ish range I think the Tamron gets the vote from most people. Otherwise you're into big bucks for the Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM (which I have :) ).

If you can survive a variable aperture then there is the Sigma 17-70 f/2.8-f/4.5. If you set it to, say, f/4 you could more or less pretend you have a fixed aperture but you're sacrificing a full stop of speed at the long end to gain that extra 20mm of zoom.

Check out reviews and stats for individual lenses here - http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/overview.
 
Only the Sigma 17-70mm meets your focal length requirements, and it's not f/2.8 for very long at all - still a lovely lens, though. Otherwise, Tamron's 17-50mm f/2.8 as stated above, or if you could save a bit longer, then Canon's cracking 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, around £450 or so second hand.
 
Save and get the Canon 17-55 you will not be disappointed - L quality in all but name :thumbs:
 
Hmm, may as well do that then..

Just thinking though, it may as well be worth me getting one of these instead of the 17-55.yes, i lose a couple of stops, but i get extra reach, and if i want to convert to something full frame, i can keep the lens.

But then again, i;d have to get a 10-22mm too, as i need something wider than the 24mm.

oooooh, the decisions.

Just trying to cost a trip over to NY at the beginning of september, so if i do, i may go lens shopping.
 
Think i'll be picking up the Sigma 17-70 at some point this year, it's apparently a nice lens.

Do the lens HAVE to have a wide aperture, or could you manage with F4+ ?
 
there is no point of me having something that goes up to 200mm, i have my 70-200f4L for that biznets.

thinking about it, i don't really shoot @ f2.8 much anyway, so going down to f4 won't really be a problem. if i do decide to lose the stops and get the L lens, i could keep my primes, which i was thinking of selling.
 
I'd vote for the Sigma 17-70mm. I have one on my cam (replaced the kit lens) and I find it a great walkabout lens. Not majorly expensive and does a great job.

Can't speak for the Tamron, but have heard it's a canny lens too!

Good luck.

Anth
 
I used to have the Canon 28-135 IS lens as my walkabout, it was a really good range.

I got rid of it after getting my 24-70mm F2.8 but still miss it at times.
 
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