New Walkabout Lens...

Hi All,

I have an EOS 500D. I used to have the Canon 17-85 4-5.6 IS/USM lens for about two years but it recently broke. Unfortunately I was in a rush to replace it as I was just about to leave on holiday so got the Tamron 18-270 PZD lens as a replacement.

Now, I was fully aware of the limitations of such a 'versatile' lens as the Tamron, and most of them don't really bother me too much as I can tend to work around the barrel distortion (which to be honest is the main one that you notice IMHO). I also do like the zoom and the usefulness that brings in certain situations (e.g. I do think it's a good lens to go on holiday with if you can only take one lens (which given we travel with a small child and there are strict weight limits on airlines is typically the case!)).

Anyway, my main gripe with it is that overall image quality just isn't as good as the Canon lens and it also often focuses on the wrong thing (I now tend to manually set where to focus, but still find the focus somewhat soft or off compared to the Canon lens I had).

In my arsenal of lenses I also have a 50mm 1.8 prime, a 60mm macro and a 10-24mm wide angle lens.

In terms of what I photograph I'd say it's mixed. A reasonable amount is the standard family events and holiday photos, however whenever time allows I like to get out and experiment - often with photos of nature (both macro and landscapes) or architecture.

The Tamron is the most used lens, but all lenses are used and I don't want to become a lens collector - I buy lenses for specific things, however I'm just not that happy with the Tamron.

So I started to look around and a very quick look has led me back to the same lens I had before, however I was wondering if there was anything better out there or alternates to consider.

For me, I'd prefer Canon as my general experience has been that their lenses tend to be better than Tamron or others. Also, I'd prefer a USM lens. IS is a must. Faster is always nicer, but I do have a fast prime and macro lens for things that really need it, however being able to open it up and shoot handheld is always preferable.

Range wise, I'd be happy to keep the Tamron handy for anything that needs telephoto (say > 100 or > 200), and I do have the 10-24 for anything wide. However for a walkabout lens on a 500D I'd prefer something from under 20mm going up to > 60mm (see why it's led me to the same lens!?)

Price wise I'm not hell bent on saving money, but can't go much above £600

Anyway, am just looking for alternatives, or even confirmation that the 17-85 is indeed probably the best fit for my needs at the moment!

Thanks,

James