Single walk about lens

tsinc80697

tsinc80697

tsinc80697

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I know this might have been answered in previous posts but a few were quite some time ago!

I'm going to Germany in 8 weeks time then traveling round a little to France/Holland. At the minute I've got 18-55, 50mm, 70-300mm sigma.

Whats a good all round walk about lens? Not looking to spend loads but I was after something that I could use in most places. When I went to London Zoo I was changing lens every 10minutes and the girlfriend wasn't happy so she'll have a go if I bring the whole kit and changing lenses all time when we're over there!

Thanks! :)

For Canon
 
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You could have a look at the Sigma 18-200 or the much better (but more expencive) Sigma 18-250mm.
 
Whats the IQ like on the 18-200?
My 70-300mm goes a bit soft at anything over 200mm so I'd probably sell that to help fund something like 18-200 aslong as IQ was decent
 
My friend uses the Sigma 18-200mm as a walkabout lens also, he admits its not the fastest or the sharpest lens. But the price and versatility makes up for it.
 
do you have a nikon, canon or sony camera?

if its a canon then the best 'walk about' lens is either the 24-105 or 24-70 but both are L series lens and expensive. for more affordable lens the 28-135 or 28-105 f3.5-4.5(make sure its not the cheaper f4-5.6) are ment to be good tho obv not as good as the 2 mentioned above.
 
If you have a Nikon, go for a VR lens, I find it really helps with handheld shots.

I have a 18-55mm VR lens, and I find it's a very good walk about lens, small and light. :)
 
If you have nikon then the Nikon 16-85 is very good.

That plus a 70-300 and a 53 1.8 makes a great travel kit, adding an UWA like the Nikon 10-24 if you need landscapes shots.
 
sigma 17-70 is an excellent walkabout lens, or if you have the cash, a Canon 24-105 F/4L, my favourite lens :)
 
would love the 24-105 for my 300d(40/50d in the future) but not all of us can afford to splash out £700-£800+ on a single lens :)

I've been looking at lenses for the last couple of months, this has some suggestions for general purpose lenses(with the 24-70 and 24-105 being the 2 main ones as you'd expect). the site also has suggestions for different aspects of photography as well(potraits, wildlife etc).

I ended up getting a used ef-s 10-22 for landscapes(still to go out and really use it, taken some shots indoors to check it works etc) but still looking for a general purpose lens and a zoom lens. I almost ended up getting the 28-135 from the same guy I got the 10-22 from but decided against it at the time.

I've been looking on and off at lenses for 5yrs but never bought any till recently, could have got some good ones for less than they are going for these days :(
 
tsinc80697 said:
I know this might have been answered in previous posts but a few were quite some time ago!

I'm going to Germany in 8 weeks time then traveling round a little to France/Holland. At the minute I've got 18-55, 50mm, 70-300mm sigma.

Whats a good all round walk about lens? Not looking to spend loads but I was after something that I could use in most places. When I went to London Zoo I was changing lens every 10minutes and the girlfriend wasn't happy so she'll have a go if I bring the whole kit and changing lenses all time when we're over there!

Thanks! :)

For Canon
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Take a look at the Tamron 18-270mm and the Sigma 18-250mm, the Tamron is meant to be sharper than the Sigma but doesn't have USM/HSM. Or you could get a new girlfriend.
 
haha I could get a new girlfriend but I think its less hassle finding a nice lens! :D

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take a look at sample images/prices today and hopefully find something suitable!
 
Whats the Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM like?

edit: This is just general question as ive seen 2nd hand one for around £100. I'm after something wider for holiday!
 
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All of these lenses starting at 24/28mm are pretty useless ona cropped sensor for a walk about lens. You need soemhting starting at about 18mm, even wider is better. Other wise you will need an UWA lens like a 12-24 and you will always be swapping lenses. The 16-35mm range is very, very useful.

If the OP is traveling around Germany/France etc., then wide angle is a must have city scenes, architecture, landscape, nature shots.
 
Been offered a Tamron 18-270mm, about 6 months old for just under £400 so I might go take a look at it and see what quality its in and what IQ it produces!
 
Yeah I've read mixed reviews. Mostly saying its not got the IQ of lenses for £400ish but those lenses don't cover such a wide focal range.

It's either something like this or I take my Sigma 70-300mm with me and get something like Sigma 10-20mm and take both lenses. It does leave a focal gap but for what I'm thinking I'll want photographs of I doubt I'd need it.
 
EF-S 18-55mm IS is excellent. Sharp, light, best of all inexpensive.

Might not be up to your requirements on the telephoto end though. The EF 18-200mm is meant to be OK but not great for IQ.
 
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