30d walkabout lens

Hi guys my wife is treating herself to a 30d and wants a decent walkabout lens.

She shoots all kinds of subjects people landscapes flora so a mixed bag really.

we have read reviews on the kit lens (18-55) and it doesnt seem to clever. The

lens doesnt have to be image stabalizer but wants to be around 24-70 it doesnt

have to be canon and is willing to spend up to about �5oo or about $750-$800

Thanks Guys.

For a walkabout, there would be 2 choices, the 17-85 IS, which is an EF-S lens, and the 24-105 IS lens. The former is well within your budget, and the latter, you need to stretch your dollar :). All the best.

If you have a GOOD local shop I would try a Tamron 28-75. I have one and it is a knockout lens. Problem with these is there has been some copy variance so buying it somewhere you can trust to exchange it if you have a problem is a must. If you get a good one it WILL rival the "L" lenses except it's not built quite as well as them but is WAY lighter and costs 1/3rd the price.

I second the Tamron and the 24-105L. To me, the extra cost of the Canon is worth it, and I am a believer in IS. I've taken shots as slow as 1/8 second, and couldn't believe the quality. The Tamron, of course, is a much better value and is competitive with the Canons in terms of image quality. I have both lenses by the way. After using the Canon IS for a while I sold my 24-70L.

 

www.pbase.com/bander

Tamron 28-75 f2.8. I can't seem to find a way to get the damn thing off my 30D!

The 24-105 gets another vote. Like Mike's Tamron, mine seems stuck to my 20D.

A 24 or 28mm lens on the wide end will often not be wide enough for landscapes when used on a cropped camera like the 30D. If what she wants is a walkabout lens, I would second the recommendation to go with the 17-85IS lens. Just realize that this lens can not be used on certain Canon cameras like the 5D or 1 series, so a future camera upgrade may necessitate an upgrade of the lens.

For the 30D, lenses starting at 24mm or 28mm will often be too long.

 

Get the Canon 17-40 or the 16-35....for 1.6 croppers, this is a great walk about focal range.

I will second Dan...I use my 17-40 as my "walk around" lens on my 20D. I'd like the 24-105 but it would not be wide enough for what I want to shoot.

My 2 cents the best lenses for her, for the money, are the Canon 24-85mm for around $300 or the Canon 28-135mm IS for around $400. This will get her a good quality lens that will with the 1.6 crop factor of the 30D give her a good working range or either 38mm to 135mm or 45mm to 216mm. You can spend a lot more money but your quality will only increase marginally. Tamron, Tokina and Sigma have very good lenses in that range if you want to go outside of Canon. Good luck!

One more vote for the 17-85 IS. I always used a 28-135 IS on 35 mm bodies as general purpose lens, I found it a bit too long on a 10D.

For a walkabout lens 17 (18)-50mm are a very good option. Besides the already recommended 17-85mm, you should have a closer look to the Tamron 17-50mm, it is 1:2.8 and is optically better and faster than Canon's 17-85. Another option within your budget would be the Canon 1:4 17-40L (optically very good but a little short on its long end) plus the cheap 1:1.8 50mm for portaits, low light and blurred background shots. The 50mm is very small and lightweight, no burden to carry around.

 

Ulrich

For a few more benjamins, the EFs 17-55 2.8 IS USM would be kickass on a 30D. It's as heavy

and bulky as the 24-105 4L so she might wanta make sure she can handle the weight.

David,

 

The Canon 17-40 f4.0L for around $700 is a great walk-around lens.

 

The Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS is a great walk-around lens for $400.

 

The two new Canon 24-70 and 24-105 lenses cost around $1150 to $1250. Either one of these lenses would also be a great choice, but are a few hundred dollars more than what you'd like to spend.

 

//Chuck

Consider a wide-ish prime maybe a 30mm (not very wide on a 1.6, but nice walk-around). 28-135 3.5-4.5 IS USM is not a bad choice either... I had this lens and it is not bad.

David,

 

I'm going to suggest the Canon 28-135 f3.5-5.6 IS USM again.

 

It is not an L zoom, but it is fairly sharp throughout it's entire range and the IS feature is wonderful. This lens is clearly worth the $400 price tag. You would not be disappointed.

 

It's definitely not a wide angle lens on the 30D, though. If you want something that's will give a wider view, then the 17-40 f4.0L for $700 is the next choice.

 

I'm sure I repeated myself from my last answer, somewhat, but that's OK.

 

//Chuck

The 17-40 is a great lens, one that I used frequently when I only had a cropped camera, but it just wasn't long enough as an "only" lens. I do also have the 24-105L lens, but that meant having to carry two lenses all the time, and swapping out mid-range, which was a pain. Just another factor to consider in your selection of lenses.

I am with Iori and not with Dan. I have the 17-40/4L and I find it too short at the long end for a walk about lens on my 20D. I agree with Dan that the 24- and 28- are too long at the wide end.

 

If she only wants 28-70 coverage then she is spoilt for choices: Canon EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS (expensive), Sigma AF 18-50/2.8 EX DC, or Tamron 17-50/2.8 SP Di II XR. These are the closest equivalents, at least in FOV, of the classic 28-70/2.8. For slightly longer reach there are the Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS or Sigma 17-70. Check them all out on http://www.photozone.de and then try them at your local store.

 

Let me point out, before someone else does, that these are all crop factor (reduced image circle) lenses. This did not escape my attention. In my opinion there are no full frame lenses with sufficient coverage to be a single walk around lens on a 30D. You cannot use these lenses on a 5D but then you don't own a 5D. Buy the lenses that suit your camera and if you later go full frame then sell the lenses.

 

I have used the Canon 17-85 IS but none of the others. The Tamron lens suffers from the same spinning focus ring that I hated on the 28-75. I am sure it is easy to get used to but I habitually rest my fingers on the focus ring and when I was trying the lens it really bothered me.

 

If I were to buy a new walk around lens it would probably be the Sigma 17-70 but before then I have an 85/1.8 and possibly EF-S 10-22 to add.

I notice a number of people recommending the 28-135 IS as a walk around lens for the 30D. This one I do own. I think it is just possible that maybe I once put this lens on my 20D. However it was only once. I loved the lens on my EOS 5 but it doesn't suit me for a walkaround on the 20D at all - longer than I need but not wide enough. It is all personal taste.

 

Currently I use 3 lenses for just walking around: 17-40/4, 50/1.8, and 70-200/4. For the hell of it I throw in a 1.4x TC (it is wafer thin...) They do the job very well but it is a bit of a handful. My kit was not built around a 1.6x crop factor camera though that is what I find myself with.

The kit lens is cheap and useful. Get it and try it. If you don't find it useful you can always sell it on ebay for $50.

My walkabout lens on a 1.6x crop body is the excellent EF 24-85 f/3.5-4.5 USM. It has ring USM (full-time manual for those who like that), has good contrast with the hood on, and provides sharp pictures. It's only $300 so its a consumer grade lens but given its versatile zoom range and image quality I'm surprised it isn't mentioned more often on this forum. Excellent value for money. No IS though.

<p>I have the Sigma 17-70mm f:2.8-4.5. It's a great walkaround lens on a 1.6x crop body. The lens is light, very sharp, has good build quality and the ability to take nice macro shots.</p>

<p>In case someone other than John arrives at this 2 year old thread I will mention that this predated Canon's "new" (hey the thread is 2 years old) kit lens: the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 I. This would now be my hands down recommendation for a walk around lens on a budget. </p>