Is this a good first lens?

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blacksheep

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Ian
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I've just bought a 400D :) so now I'm looking for a lens that I can keep on the camera while I'm out and about so would this be a decent choice?

Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Lens
http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=414

Or there's the slightly cheaper:
Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Asph. (IF) Macro Lens
http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24_29&products_id=99

Price wise they seem pretty good and idea of not having to change lenses is appealing!

Ideally I'm looking for something around these prices so would they be suitable for a first lens to learn with or would I be better off sticking with the kit lens for the time being and then getting a couple of different lenses later on?

Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Ian
 
What do you want to take pictures of?

The superzooms are a compromise to some degree which may produce distorted images towards the extremes of focal length and may not work so well in dark light conditions. I think Sigma do a OS version of the 18-200 which is probably the pic of the bunch.
 
Thanks for the reply - just looking for a lens that will be ok when out walking with my better half.

Being new to photography then I'm taking pictures of pretty much everything at the moment so I don't have a specific need as such.
I thought that something like these would give me a decent range without having to buy too many lenses and then hopefully I can add a couple more lenses when I've got a better idea of what area of photography appeals the most!

At the moment when we go for day's out then I'm pretty snap happy and occasionally a longer zoom would have been great at the Zoo etc.

I was hoping that these type of lenses would be ok for when we go on holiday so that I only have to carry the one lens around!
 
For the purposes you mention, the lens will be just fine :)

If you get the bug, you'll know what sort of lenses you'll want to upgrade to!
 
Thanks for the reply - it's the cost of the bug that's frightening!!!

Already practising my 'no love, it's not a new lens, I've had this one for ages' line :)
 
I have the 18-250 tallied with a 400D and it's a great combo for walkabouts. You may get the occasional dissapointment subject to light but i've also taken some stunners with it. For the money you can't go wrong IMHO. See the pic reference in my sig for what I took with that combo.
 
The wife uses a Tamron 18 - 200 as a walkabout lens and is quite happy with it.

But the I'ave had it a long time does not work for long, but delivery to work does help as they don't see the delivery :D
 
hepburn said:
I have the 18-250 tallied with a 400D and it's a great combo for walkabouts. You may get the occasional dissapointment subject to light but i've also taken some stunners with it. For the money you can't go wrong IMHO. See the pic reference in my sig for what I took with that combo.
Click to expand...

Amazing pictures - thanks for the links. I hope that I can take pictures that good one day!

Graham_P_Clarke said:
The wife uses a Tamron 18 - 200 as a walkabout lens and is quite happy with it.

But the I'ave had it a long time does not work for long, but delivery to work does help as they don't see the delivery :D
Click to expand...

Will have to remember the delivery to work as well - thanks :)

I've also got 'it was half price and too good a bargain to miss' :)
 
If it's 1 lens you want to cover as much as possible a superzoom will be a fine choice, as long as you are not striving for tip-top quality because, as mentioned before, there will be a degree of distortion due to the range of zoom.
 
Will there be a big difference in the quality of one of these lenses compared to the kit lens?
The kit lens is my only lens at the moment so as long as it's an improvement on that the I will be happy!
 
I cannot say as I have not used a superzoom although I have seen good results with them. However, keeping the kit lens (or upgrading the kit lens) and adding a telephoto zoom may be a better choice. Depending on your budget you could go for a Canon 55-250IS, A Sigma/Canon 70-300 or a Sigma/Canon 70-200. As these options leave out the wide to standard focal lengths the distortion should be less than from one of the superzooms, along with having better wide apertures.
 
Thanks again everyone for the input - I have looked at the canon 55-250IS and to be honest, this was the lens that I was originally going to get, but then I saw the extra range available on the Tamron for what looks like a decent price so I was thinking that the Tamron would be the better option!!!

Choices, choices!!

Slapo - thank you for the link, I will have a good read of that review a little later (in work at the moment and should actually be working!).

Thanks again

Ian
 
Another vote for the Tamron 18-200mm - it was my main walkaround for the first 6 months of owning a DSLR, and it's very versatile, and capable of some pretty good shots, in good light. Many of the shots on my website were taken with it.
 
marky_h said:
Another vote for the Tamron 18-200mm - it was my main walkaround for the first 6 months of owning a DSLR, and it's very versatile, and capable of some pretty good shots, in good light. Many of the shots on my website were taken with it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on the lens and there's some brilliant pictures on your web site - very impressive.
Looks as if I will have a bit longer to decide on which lens to get as the service light came on in the car today so it looks as if the car will have to get sorted first!
 
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