General purpose lens for Rebel 350

[mangoface3]

I am planning to buy 70-200 f/4 plus 100mm 2.8 macro. Main objectives

are tack sharp images with excellent bokeh, in field of portraits,

street scenes, macro, and candid portraits. I want to add a general

purpose lens like 50mm f/1.4. Any comments please?

[fanta]

Well, given you already plan for a long lens, I would consider more the 28 mm f/1.8 like a general purpose, considering that with the 350D you have the 1.6x factor. Just my 2 cents.

[jani_k]

Even if 50 f/1.4 is very good lens, I think 50mm will be too long when used with Rebel.

 

What about Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM? I have not tried it but have heard that it is good lens. That would be about 50mm in your 350 Rebel, before zooms 50mm was considered the best general purpose lens.

 

I have same problem as you do and have seriously thought that Sigma lens, so if anyone has used it or know something about that lens let us know.

 

Jani

[robert_hall2]

There are a "gazillion" comments on this. Check out Photo Zone. Learn to read those graphs. Norm Korem has a great site with other links that help explain the topics. Bob Atkins compared the 17-55 with an L-lens. The 17-40L and the 24-105L get good reviews. Those will be my next two purchases. Your are absolutely correct in buying good lenses. They will outlast several cameras. I have the EF-S 17-85 and it is good, impressive, perfectly suitable for most amateur work, but clearly not the best. Don't forget the 1.6 magnification factor. The 2.8 macro is superb, but the 180 is even better. Don't sell the 50mm!

[mangoface3]

I did look at 'photozone', 'photodo', 'fredmiranda', 'pbase', 'bobatkins','dpreview','imagingresources', 'the holding tank' and plotted numerous graphs typically 'LW/PH vs aperture' before approaching this august body. As you very correctly said I want a very good lens. The Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM does not get a clean rating by photozone. They seem to have some reservations regarding the residual spherical aberration for the sample tested although at the centre its performance was superb. As regards EF 28 1.8, the sharpness at centre is superb and only the 50mm 1.4, efs 60-2.8 macro and Sigma 30 1.4 are superior. But at the border the sample tested was soft and most of the top grade lenses showed a superior performance [canon 70-200 f4, 100 2.8 macro, 85 1.2 L,85 1.2L,24-105 f4L tamron 90 macro] Grateful for more ideas please.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>The 50/1.4 is definitely capable of tack sharp images with excellent bokeh. But I agree with those who suggest that it's not a general-purpose lens on a 1.6-crop body. I really liked it on my film body, but it's been getting less use since I went digital because it's too long for the stuff for which I originally bought it.</p>

 

<p>If I were you, I'd look for something wider. To me, who has used 50mm lenses (on film bodies) as general-purpose lenses, that would probably be a 28mm lens for your body; 35 is a bit long. There are plenty of people who prefer 35 to 50 on a film body, and they'd need something wider still, in the 20-24 range, to fill that role.</p>