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Photo Forum / Digital Photography / DSLR Cameras / December 2006Lens recommendations for 350D/400D- amateurs point of view
Last year, as a new owner of a Rebel XT I posted a request for some lens suggestions. Many gave recommendations based on their experience and now I'd like to throw in my two cents after living with my choices. I shoot family events, nature, sports and travel pics. Most of them are viewed on computer via internet picture hosting sites and my printed enlargements are for family and friends and the quality of these are more than adequate. For this type of photography, I didn't see a need for fast, expensive lenses and I went with consumer grade lenses from Canon because at the time I had a phobia for aftermarket lens. My choices were the Canon EF-S 18-85mm IS and the Canon EF-S 70-300mm. The results I have achieved over the past very have certainly met my needs, however, I found that the combination of these lenses kept me switching lenses far too much for my liking and that at times, I wished for a bit more focal length. If I had to do it over again, my choices would be the Tamron 18 - 200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-II LD Aspherical as my primary lens and the Tamron SP 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Di for my telephoto. My reasoning is that both Tamron lenses are light and convenient in their own ways. As a primary lens, I don't think you can beat the 18-200 for its versatility. I've talked to two wedding photographers that use this lens on a single camera and they like the convenience and versatility of this lens. If it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for me. My telephoto needs would be met with the Tamron 200-500mm. I had a chance to use this lens and I found it light and easy to handle. Many reviews of this lens touted its ease of handling and the ability to be hand held successfully for their shots. If found my Canon EF-S 70-300mm a bit short in some nature situations (small birds) and appreciated the extra focal length the Tamron offered. The combination of these two lenses provide a light, convenient solution for my type of photography and I thought that I'd share this with any potential amateurs looking for suggestions. Eugene Wendland > If I had to do it over again, my choices would be the Tamron 18 - 200mm > f/3.5-6.3 XR DI-II LD Aspherical as my primary lens and the Tamron SP > 200-500mm f/5-6.3 Di for my telephoto. But it's not clear from your post whether you had actually used these lenses yourself, or are extrapolating based upon others (such as the wedding photographer) using them. I'm sure there are a lot of people interested in a direct comparison (from someone who has actually used both) of the Canon 17-85IS and the Tamron 18-200. I would be one of those people (as I have the 17-95IS, in my case matched up with a 70-200 F4 L). --Mike Jacoubowsky Chain Reaction Bicycles www.ChainReaction.com Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA > Last year, as a new owner of a Rebel XT I posted a request for some lens > suggestions. Many gave recommendations based on their experience and now [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Eugene Wendland Hi Mike > But it's not clear from your post whether you had actually used these > lenses yourself, or are extrapolating based upon others (such as the > wedding photographer) using them. I have had a chance to use the Tamron 200-500mm telephoto, but not the 18 -200mm. Researching blogs, online reviews and talking with other photographers that have the 18-200mm lens helped me with my conclusions. I myself would sacrifice the IS for the extra focal lenght provide by the two lenses. I think that this combination would work best for me in real world situations. Your needs are different than mine and the combination of lenses work well for you. It took me over a year of shooting to find out what suits my needs. I bought my lenses shortly(quickly) after purchasing the camera and after a year and some research, I'd probably go with the Tamrons if I had to do it over again. > I'm sure there are a lot of people interested in a direct comparison (from > someone who has actually used both) of the Canon 17-85IS and the Tamron > 18-200. I would be one of those people (as I have the 17-95IS, in my case > matched up with a 70-200 F4 L). The best I could come up with were the following links, but they don't offer a direct comparison between the two, but I personally don't think that these two lenses are quite in the same category. http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon1785EFS/page4.shtml http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Tamron18200mm/page4.shtml Thanks Eugene You came to the same conclusion I have only my choice was a Sigma 18-200mm. I really can't find much to complain about with the Sigma version. It is light weight, focus works very well, the range is superb, cost is very good and the overall quality of the photos I have taken with it are very good to outstanding. It is on our camera at least 90% of the time. If I could only take one lens with me it would be the hands down choice. I can't wait to see how the upcoming Sigma 18-200mm OS lens performs. > Last year, as a new owner of a Rebel XT I posted a request for some lens > suggestions. Many gave recommendations based on their experience and now [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > Keep in mind that megazooms often have optical image quality issues that lesser zoom ration lenses do not show. For snapshots or images that are seldom printed at larger than 4 x 6 megazooms are fantastic. They mean you can have just one lens with you and never have to change lenses. The average megazoom even works fairly well when the image is printed at 8 x 10, if you do not have to crop the original image much. It is flat out more difficult to produce good optical results over a large zoom range. Not impossible, just more difficult, and thus more costly. Dollar for dollar, all other things being equal, you will get better optical results in a pair of 3x or 4x zooms than in a single 11x. However, to some users the comfort of using the 11x zoom outweighs the less than stellar optical results. C! > Last year, as a new owner of a Rebel XT I posted a request for some lens > suggestions. Many gave recommendations based on their experience and now [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Eugene Wendland |
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