Lense Recommendation

kinger88

kinger88

kinger88

Associate
Joined
4 Jan 2010
Posts
90
Location
Gloucester/Plymouth
Hey All,

I currently have a Cannon 550D with the kit lense and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.
Only been doing photography for about 6 months and I shoot all sorts really. I do a fair bit
of sport photography (mainly rugby) and wildlife which the 70-300 is great for, hoping to
upgrade that in the future. But was thinking now is the time to upgrade the kit lense for a general purpose use lense.
Looking to do this fairly quickly as Im off to Zurich/Austria for a long weekend this weekend
(so street shots and views of mountains etc etc). But on a limited budget.
So been looking at the Tamron AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR which I can get off the jungle place.
Do you think this would be a good upgrade for the kit lense (a tad worried about the known issue
with quality from my research) or should I wait and save up for something else? Been also looking at
the 50mm 1.8 as well, but don't think this would serve my needs as much. Any other recommendations?

Cheers all!
 
are the kit lenses really still that bad, i swapped mine on my 400D but they were truley horrid bits of kit. Yes you are going to have a faster lens, thats great if you shoot in dim places and like shallow DOF, I do both, so they suit me. What i am trying to say is dont upgrade for the sake of upgrading and wanting new gear. From what you have said there is nothing to note about whats wrong with your current lens. Are you gonig away to see friends family or to take in the sights. If the first then yes maybe a faster lens is more flattering however if the latter then, im sorry to say you may not find that much benefit as you wont be shooting wide open all that much?

Im not jumping down your throat, just maybe making you step back a little before buying something you can live without or maybe there is something else that might benefit you.
 
Personally I am going to stay away from tamron lenses as everyone that I have spoken to about them has always said if I am tight on money it is worth saving that little extra for a sigma (or canon if budget allows). However, I am new to photography myself so I am just repeating what others have told me on that topic.

However, here is a review of the sigma 17-50 f2.8 which although slightly more expensive seems to be quite a good lens.

 
Well that the whole reason for asking advice, before I do the whole impulse buy thing. To be honest I don't find the kit lense that bad, it is a soft sometimes. Just wondering if it would be worthy upgrade before I go away. I'm doing both when I go away. Thinking more into it I may just wait and save my money.
 
I have to agree that spending money on lenses, if chosen well, you will find that you never have to change them again. I have had 11 lenses, i now have 5. You say your lens is sometimes soft, it is or it isnt to be fair! (to a point) It might just be technique that you need to work on, no lens will give you that!
 
If your kit lens is the 18-55 IS II, it's not regarded as a bad lens, especially for the price. I've had decent results out of mine, but you'll definitely notice the difference with the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 mkII, as long as it's the non-VC (image stabilised) version. The VC isn't a terrible lens either but general wisdom seems to be the non-VC is sharper. It's certainly going to be my next lens based on a lot of review-reading. The Canon EF-S 17-55 IS is probably the best APS-C specific lens in that focal range, but it's almost 4 times the price.

Check out the reviews on http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

The site also has a useful comparison tool, here's a link to the Tamron 17-50 vs the Canon 18-55:

linky

Obviously every example of a given lens is going to be slightly different, but it's still a useful tool, and in many cases has comparisons of multiple copies of the same lens.
 
I've recently got myself a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 non-VC

No quality issues and I am very pleased with it as an upgrade from my kit lens

If you are that concerned about getting a duff one then buy second hand where you can get the seller to send you some pictures so you can check it is ok
 
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