Which two zoom lenses?

[julianhj]

I'm in the market for two zoom lenses for my Canon 30D. The first is something approximately 17-35+, the second around 28-105, give or take. I notice that their are a reasonable selection on offer from Canon, Tamron and Sigma, but don't know which offer the best value on a budget. Ideally I'd like to spend no more than £500 on the pair. Here are the ones I've seen so far, along with their best prices on Camerapricebuster.co.uk:

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 IS USM £348.99
Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 EX DG ASPHERICAL HSM £282.60
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro £208.89
Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC £259.99
Tamron 17-35mm Di f2.8-4 £249.95
Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di ll LD Aspherical (IF) £259.00


Canon EF 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 USM II £174.00
Canon EF 28-105mm f4-5.6 USM A £130.99
Canon EF 28-135mm f3.5-f/5.6 IS USM £277.41
Sigma 24-135mm f/2.8-4.5 ASPHERICAL £219.00
Sigma 28-105mm f/2.8-4 DG ASPHERICAL £169.99
Tamron 24-135mm f3.5-5.6 AD aspherical [IF] Macro £235.00
Tamron 28-105mm f4-5.6 £117.00
Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di £239.95

So, with a budget of £500 which are my best options?

Edited by julianhj on Tuesday 10th April 05:53

Edited by julianhj on Tuesday 10th April 06:01

[megy]

I would suggest the canon 17-40 F4L and the canon 24-105 F4L IS, by far the best combination of the ranges you say.

Edited to say thought you said budget of 500 each, oops. SO, out of the 2 i would buy the one you think you would use most and save for the other 1.

Edited by megy on Tuesday 10th April 08:56

[marctwo]

That's quite a lot of overlap between the 2. I'd probably choose 2 that cover a wider range like 17-70, 70-200.

A friend has the Canon EF-S 17-85 f4-5.6 IS USM (£365.00) and it's pretty good, although not really up to much in low light but the IS is very impressive.

How about:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Canon-EF-S-

AND

This looks like a real bargain...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Canon-EF-70

[EmmaP]

You choice depends very much on the sort of photography you envisage doing.

I think that an excellent (true) focal length range for most forms of photography are 24-70mm and 70-200mm. [I personally utilise 24-70mm more often than not with 70-135mm range proving ideal for portraits and detail shots of cars and architecture.]

I would always opt for a lens with a maximum aperture in the region of f2, but then you are talking lots of money. That is because, on the whole, I need to work quickly, without using a tripod. I also like the flexibility that wider apertures offer for use in low level light, as well as the potential for minimal depth of field.

One lens that I think is a truely great all-rounder (for Canon entry level DSLRs) is the EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 USM @ circa £394.99 new. That would be ideal for portraiture, travel and general interest. If you can live with having a slightly slower lens (though IS will help a great deal) this could be a good investment.

www.dpreview.com/ is a great source of information and technical advice.

Edited by EmmaP on Tuesday 10th April 16:17

[luca brazzi]

I've got the Tamron - AF 28-75mm f2.8 XR Di

Outstanding lens. Its my standard walkabout lens...for the time being

LB

Then get a longer zoom...but as EmmaP points out so beautifully, it all depends on what you are looking to use it for.

EmmaP

Edited by luca brazzi on Tuesday 10th April 16:27

[EmmaP]

at Luca. Monsieur!

[julianhj]

Thanks all for your replies.

Luca - do you take many landscape shots with that lens?

EmmaP - is there a particular advantage of the EF-S 17-85 over Luca's 28-75? (Other than the few mm extra to play with each side?)

MrsHJ is quite taken with the idea of the Tamron 28-75 as a good all-rounder...

[luca brazzi]

Not really into taking landscapes, although I'm a huge fan of PHer's landscape work, especially Mr Carter

But I have taken several using it, in conjunction with a polariser...and thrilled with the results.

You may well want the 17mm though.

[EmmaP]

julianhj said:

EmmaP - is there a particular advantage of the EF-S 17-85 over Luca's 28-75? (Other than the few mm extra to play with each side?)

28-75mm represents a great all rounder, but with the x1.3 factor taken into account, you won't get that focal length range with Luca's suggestion. You will get 37-100mm. That is a very good focal length range actually. The one that I suggested will give you the equivalent of a 28-105mm. So, it depends on the image quality at the end of the day. Have a look at the dpreview site and see what their tests say. I would opt for Canon always, but if on a budget, the Tamron may be just what you need.

If landscapes are your bag then that extra field of view will be advantageous.

Edited by EmmaP on Tuesday 10th April 19:05

[luca brazzi]

EmmaP said:

You will get 37-100mm.
If landscapes are your bag then that extra field of view will be advantageous.

Good point re the effective focal length.

Go and see for yourself with your camera body, and both lenses, to see just how much more go get in with the 17mm.

Both are good...just comes down to what you want to use it for I guess.

[TonyHetherington]

EmmaP said:

One lens that I think is a truely great all-rounder (for Canon entry level DSLRs) is the EF-S 17-85mm f4-5.6 USM @ circa £394.99 new. That would be ideal for portraiture, travel and general interest. If you can live with having a slightly slower lens (though IS will help a great deal) this could be a good investment.

Following Emma's advice I just bought this lens. I got it for 320ish in the end...warehousepexpress.com offered it for that igure, I phoned Jessops and they price matched it for me (from their RRP of 500!!!!). Anyhow, it works really well as an every-circumstance lense and the IS (as has been said) is very good indeed. To give you that range (which is x 1.6 on the 30D, I believe?) it is very good indeed.

Only thing to remember is that it is not able to go on the 1D/5D cameras (because of the fitment)..EF vs EF-S I seem to recall (Megy explained it very well to me). This didn't worry me too much as I doubt I'll go the whole hog, but if it's something you consider in the future it's worth remembering.