1st lens suggestion

I'm switching over to Canon after having had a Nikon D40. I just ordered a 30D body and now I'm trying to decide on a lens. The budget is fairly limited for the time being. I know that I want to get a 50mm 1.8 for sure. However, I am also looking for a "walk-around" zoom lens. We have two kids under two years old, which will be the basis of a lot of our photography.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a Canon 18-55 IS lens. However, I really want to make the right choice the first time around.

I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks!

Why buy the 50 f/1.8? It is popular, but it isn't very good. Buy the cheap 50 f/1.4, and you will be ahead of the game for the long term.

I would rather wait until I can buy the right lens, rather than just settle for any lens. For a standard zoom, I have the same MO. Buy the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS, even if you have to use only the 50 f/1.4 for eight months until you can afford it. You will end up with two great lenses that will stay in your kit for many years, and will not fall to the wayside as your skill improves.

That's just my opinion, and I wish you the best, no matter which lenses you choose.

--
Voyager

Tamron 17-50 shpould be good.
It does not have IS but that is not that important on a wide to standard lens.

As somebody mentioned here Canon EF-S 17-55 IS is going to be the best but it is for somebody whose budget is flexible enough.

It is a decent lens but the focus speed is terrible. Your children will move too fast for the 1.8 to focus. The 50 1.4 is much better and faster.

Another great lens is the 17-55 IS but can be pricey. The 17-85 would be another "budget recommendation" or if you are tighter than that, the 28-135 isn't that bad a lens.

Good luck!
--
Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right!

del cooper said:

I'm switching over to Canon after having had a Nikon D40. I just
ordered a 30D body and now I'm trying to decide on a lens. The
budget is fairly limited for the time being. I know that I want to
get a 50mm 1.8 for sure. However, I am also looking for a
"walk-around" zoom lens. We have two kids under two years old, which
will be the basis of a lot of our photography.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a Canon 18-55 IS lens. However, I
really want to make the right choice the first time around.

I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks!

Click to expand...

As other's have said, the 50f1.8 isn't very fast to focus, and 50mm inside
on a crop camera is fairly long, it is a bargain though at $80 or so.

You'll wan't something 17mm-24mm for inside use, and you'll probably want
something fast to capture in low light.

So I think you have a couple of options:

Get a third party f2.8 zoom lense 17-50 or 24-70. Tamron and SIgma make these
(17-50 if probably more useful, though I have a 24-70 and don't find it to long
for indoor use). These cost around $400.

Or get the new 18-55IS, and a external flash. The external flash will let you
bounce the flash of a ceiling or wall, so you don't get washed out looking
flash pictures. These are in the $200-400 range depending on the model
and manufactured.

You can always buy just the lens, then add the flash later (and if you get a
f2.8 lens you might also find that you would like to add a flash).

The 50f1.8 is a great bargain, and probably worth buying, but it won't be
very versatile. The 35f2.0, at around $230 is probably a better bet for
indoor use (though still not very wide).

Before you buy a prime, I'd suggest using the 18-55mm (or whatever zoom you buy) and see what focal lengths are useful for you.

Ken

Take the 18-55 IS. It is a great an cheap lens, as you can read on photozone.de.

I had very big focusing problems with four different third party lenses on my 40D.

If you can't get the 17-55/2.8 IS, get the 18-55 IS and a decent flash that you can bounce for indoor shots. I bought a 300d and the original 18-55 when they first came out. That lens did a respectable job for me for 3-4 years and the new version is much better. The 18-55 range is a very good and practical range for a 1.6 crop camera. I now am using a 40d with 24-105L and just ordered a 10-22 to compliment it. 24mm on a 1.6 crop is not really wide enough for many things, but 17-18 is much better. Can't wait to try out 10mm! Good luck!

The canon 18-55 has some great reviews, so you may be all set for a general purpose outdoor lens. For general purpose indoor lens, consider the sigma/tamaron 17-5X f2.8 variations. Good value for money.

If you budget allows, I would recommend considering 35f2 (or sigma 30 f1.4) as your indoor lens rather than 50 1.8 (about $150 difference in price). 35 f2 would be far more useful indoor focal length.

Suggestion 1:
50 1.8 + 17-50/55 f2.8 Sigma/Tamaron
35 f2 + 18-55 EF-S

Good luck

del cooper said:

I'm switching over to Canon after having had a Nikon D40. I just
ordered a 30D body and now I'm trying to decide on a lens. The
budget is fairly limited for the time being. I know that I want to
get a 50mm 1.8 for sure. However, I am also looking for a
"walk-around" zoom lens. We have two kids under two years old, which
will be the basis of a lot of our photography.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a Canon 18-55 IS lens. However, I
really want to make the right choice the first time around.

I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks!

Click to expand...

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adatta

http://picasaweb.google.com/owaustin/

18-55 IS and the 50mm f1.8 are a great pair to start along with a 430EX flash. For $80, you can't go wrong with the 50mm f1.8. Buy these first and go from there.

I have been enjoying my 17-50 f2.8.



--
http://www.359degrees.org
http://blog.359degrees.org/

Thank you for all of the suggestions. Now I have even more to think about. It looks like people are split on the 1.8 lens. However, it does seem like a good idea to look at the Sigma/Tamron options for a zoom with f 2.8. After poking around, I do like the price of the Sigma 28-70 2.8. I would like one a little wider, but it doesn't look like Sigma makes it.

I was in the same situation....looking for a single lens to start with. I went to get Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 as it was 3 times cheaper than the same lens from Canon and I DO NOT REGRET!!! Very good lens. Very sharp.

I'm another 17-55mm 2.8 IS proponent. I have two friends with the Tamron 17-50 2.8, which is a nice alternative. Except I got the 17-55mm 2.8 IS first, and I'm glad that I did. The Tamron is a bit slower at AF, and its motor is significantly more audible (the Canon is almost silent). This is important to me because I often shoot in quiet venues (aka classical music concert), and use Silent Mode 2 on the 40D. Additionally, the IS comes in handy pretty often, despite the short focal length of these lenses. If I had gotten the Tamron, I think I would've eventually moved up to the Canon, just like I moved from the Canon 70-200 f4L non IS to the Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS. That said, I'm sure the Tamron will serve you well, if you don't care about AF noise, speed, or IS. The Tamron's weight and size is more in the walk-around class, though I've gotten more than used to my Canon 17-55, which is heavier and bigger.
--


See profile for equipment.

I did a test with my friends 28-300 Tamron and my 100-300 Canon L and they compared very well to each other, so I started looking for a used one. It's only $400 new but I picked up my Tamron 18-200 used for $275. I know, before you say it, it's not an L. If you go for an "L" you --almost-- can't go wrong, --but--, you pay for it.

On screen, or in a 4X6, or 5X7, I can't see any difference in picture quality.

--
Taking pictures is easy, making them art is hard.

The Canon is $930 right now at B&H, while the Tamron is $420. Unless my math is wrong, the Canon is NOT $1260.

Ferrari_Alex said:

I was in the same situation....looking for a single lens to start
with. I went to get Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 as it was 3 times cheaper than
the same lens from Canon and I DO NOT REGRET!!! Very good lens. Very
sharp.

Click to expand...

--


See profile for equipment.

del cooper said:

I'm switching over to Canon after having had a Nikon D40. I just
ordered a 30D body and now I'm trying to decide on a lens. The
budget is fairly limited for the time being. I know that I want to
get a 50mm 1.8 for sure. However, I am also looking for a
"walk-around" zoom lens. We have two kids under two years old, which
will be the basis of a lot of our photography.

Right now, I'm leaning toward a Canon 18-55 IS lens. However, I
really want to make the right choice the first time around.

I'd love to hear any suggestions. Thanks!

Click to expand...

17-85IS is the only walk around lens Canon produces - read the lens review in dpreview. With a really limited budget 50f18 is the one or a 18-55f3,5-5,6IS is the 3rd alternative.

--
Kari
SLR photography for 40 years
60°15´N 24°03´ E

sfordfoto said:

The Canon is $930 right now at B&H, while the Tamron is $420. Unless
my math is wrong, the Canon is NOT $1260.

Click to expand...

See that little sign "sold out" next to 17-55 2.8 IS on B&H. It's been there for quite a while now.
The average price on 17-55 where it is AVAILABLE is around 1120.

You need to center your photographic system around the lens (or lenses). With a great lens, you will go through several bodies before replacing your lens. IMHO, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens is the best walk-around lens you can get--period! Combine its constant max aperture of f/2.8, nearly-prime-quality resolution throughout the focal length and aperture ranges, 3 stops of IS functionality, pro-quality lens elements and coatings, excellent size and weight (perfect for the 30D or 40D or any advanced amateur 1.6x crop camera to come), and reasonable price ($929 B&H Photo), and you've got nearly the perfect lens. Bite the bullet, dole out the $929, and don't look back. You won't regret it. The smile on your face when you see your pics will tell the whole story.

-Tacksharp

er, for a person on a budget, $929 is hardly a "reasonable price". Rather silly to suggest that.

Tacksharp said:

You need to center your photographic system around the lens (or
lenses). With a great lens, you will go through several bodies before
replacing your lens. IMHO, the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens
is the best walk-around lens you can get--period! Combine its
constant max aperture of f/2.8, nearly-prime-quality resolution
throughout the focal length and aperture ranges, 3 stops of IS
functionality, pro-quality lens elements and coatings, excellent size
and weight (perfect for the 30D or 40D or any advanced amateur 1.6x
crop camera to come), and reasonable price ($929 B&H Photo), and
you've got nearly the perfect lens. Bite the bullet, dole out the
$929, and don't look back. You won't regret it. The smile on your
face when you see your pics will tell the whole story.

-Tacksharp

Click to expand...

--
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adatta

http://picasaweb.google.com/owaustin/

I would agree with what's been said about the 50/1.8. The construction isn't that good and focus can be an issue. Go with the 50/1.4. And, as has been suggested, the Tamron 17-50 lens is good. I've got one for my 30D and it's the one I use the most for sharp shots.