Suggestions for a decent general purpose lens?

MouseMat2004

MouseMat2004

MouseMat2004

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Hello

I am after a fairly decent lens to replace a standard 18-55 lens that came with my 350D. Looking to spend around £100 if possible

Any suggestions? and will it be much better than the standard one? I dont even mind second hand if needed

Thanks
 
That would depend on what focal lengths you were after really, but you're probably going to be having to look at second hand with a budget of £100 and even then it's very limiting.
 
prime 50mm 1.8

is the only possible answer.


When you say decent what do you mean?
Do you want better image quality, better build, faster aperture?
Look at Canon 17-55 2.8 as the direct upgrade to the kit lens. Or a 24-120 F4 or 17-40
 
Have to agree with the 50mm 1.8 purely for the sharpness and speed it has, and is under your budget. Unless you want to try taking photos of birds and things in which case you should be able to get a sigma 70-300 for that sort of money I think.

edit - do you mean replace, or compliment? if replace..:D the IS version of the lens you have is meant to be a bit better than yours (the 450d kit)
 
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I already have a 90-300 zoom lens so just after something for normal everyday/macro shots.

I am after something with better quality, aperture etc, not so fussed about focus speed or noise.

The 50mm fixed zoom one looks good but was hoping for something with some range, I guess I could use a technique of just moving closer or further away from the object ;)

I dont have much cash to spend and I know how much the top of the range lenses are but was hoping there would be something better than what I already had.
 
MouseMat2004 said:
I already have a 90-300 zoom lens so just after something for normal everyday/macro shots.

I am after something with better quality, aperture etc, not so fussed about focus speed or noise.

The 50mm fixed zoom one looks good but was hoping for something with some range, I guess I could use a technique of just moving closer or further away from the object ;)

I dont have much cash to spend and I know how much the top of the range lenses are but was hoping there would be something better than what I already had.
Click to expand...

yeah, unfortunately SLR photography is expensive. No way round it. To get a really worth while upgrade to the 18-55 kit lens you should add a "0" to the 100GB budget. The 18-55 IS canon kite lenss is better than the standard kit lens you have but I'm not sure i will really change your photographs for thr better. The 50mm 1.8 WILL change you photography for the better. When stopped down the lens us as good as you get (even if you spent 10,000GBP its hard to get better than a 50mm 1.8 stopped down to f/8). ide open they are not great but show you what wold be possibile on the 50mm 1.4 (even sharper wide open but the same stoped down).


THe only other possibilitiy I see is to find a Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 . Better than kit lens. Not perfect but ery very good Don't know what these go for 2nd hand.

But I think the 50mm 1.8 is the best bet.
 
Decent General all purpose lens for crop body - 17-55 IS 2.8
Decent General all purpose lens for Full Frame body - 24-70 2.8
Decent General all purpose lens for crop body under £100......the Kit lens

the 50mm is not all purpose, on a crop it is far too long. Yes, its sharp, yes, its fast, but it is not all purpose.
 
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Yup, you'll need around at least £250 to get something like the Tamron 17-50 2.8 to have a worth while upgrade to the kit lens.
 
There are options available, but you will lose the wide end. 2nd hand for around the £150 mark look at some of the older kit lenses for the 30/50/10/5 models. 28-105 , 24-85 28-135's. These are all pretty good standard lenses on 35mm format cameras. But for me are no longer wide enough.

If you are prepared to spend £200-£300 then look at the offerings from Sigma and Tamron, personally I'm saving pennies for a top quality lens, I've got plenty of mediocre lenses and I don't need any more.
 
when you purchase a high quality lens you don't own it, merely look after it for a time, say 10 year, before you pass it on to a new keeper.

From a monetary point of view it is more like paying a large deposit and small annual rent. Good glass doesn't depreciate much, and some even gain in value. If you buy 2nd hand then the initial depreciation has passed and 2 years later you could sell the lens for the same price you purchased it for. That is actually very cheap.
 
D.P. said:
when you purchase a high quality lens you don't own it, merely look after it for a time, say 10 year, before you pass it on to a new keeper.

From a monetary point of view it is more like paying a large deposit and small annual rent. Good glass doesn't depreciate much, and some even gain in value. If you buy 2nd hand then the initial depreciation has passed and 2 years later you could sell the lens for the same price you purchased it for. That is actually very cheap.
Click to expand...

That sounds like your trying to justify it to the wife :D
 
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