Hey people, just wanted to see if I could get some help choosing a new lens. I have already decided to purchase the Sigma 10-20mm, but need something with a bit more reach to go along with it, but also something I can use as a good walk around lens (don't like swapping and changing lenses all the time). With that being said, I have narrowed it down to these three choices, which all have their up and down sides.
Canon 17-85mm EF-S f/4-5.6 IS USM - $759
Pros: IS and AF are both apparently very good and image quality is good across the entire focal range.
Cons: Slower then the other two choices and doesn't perform as well at wide angles. Not as much reach as the others. Price.
Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS - $447
Pros: Great focal range. Faster than the Canon. Image stabilizer works well. Price.
Cons: From reviews I've read the image quality lags behind the Canon and the AF is slightly less reliable.
Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD - $697
Pros: Even greater focal range. Better image quality than the Sigma (not sure whether it would be as good as the Canon tho). Image stabilizer works well on this one too.
Cons: AF not as reliable as the Canon. Some issues with chromatic aberration and distortion when zooming. Zoom creeps when not locked.
I suspect the Canon would be a better quality lens (in terms of image and build) than the other two, but the limited focal range (in comparison) and the fact that it a little bit slower is making the choice really tough.
Has anyone used any of these lenses or (hopefully) more than one of them? Would love some insight on what you found good and bad if so.
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Help me choose a lens
Re: Help me choose a lens
John, I actually have dwi in my bookmarks, but for some reason hadn't been back there to compare prices. Silly me, they are way better!
Hmmm, now you have made things even harder, lol. Nah, thanks for taking the time to help out!
The 24-105mm looks like a great lens, would love an L series but I thought they were out of reach before seeing dwi's prices. My only problem with it is, it is a not quite wide enough, 18-105mm would be much better. But, I guess you can't have everything and if I do get the Sigma 10-20mm, it's probably not that much of a problem.
I've looked at the 18-200mm Canon. Two things I don't like about it - no USM and it doesn't appear to have an infinity marker. Pretty much just seems like the twin kit lenses as one lens. And well, I really wanna move away from those.
I had an original budget of $1400, then extended it to $1500 and could now get the 10-20 and 24-105 from dwi with a few little filter upgrades for around $1600. Dunno if the missus will go for it tho.
Hmmm, now you have made things even harder, lol. Nah, thanks for taking the time to help out!
The 24-105mm looks like a great lens, would love an L series but I thought they were out of reach before seeing dwi's prices. My only problem with it is, it is a not quite wide enough, 18-105mm would be much better. But, I guess you can't have everything and if I do get the Sigma 10-20mm, it's probably not that much of a problem.
I've looked at the 18-200mm Canon. Two things I don't like about it - no USM and it doesn't appear to have an infinity marker. Pretty much just seems like the twin kit lenses as one lens. And well, I really wanna move away from those.
I had an original budget of $1400, then extended it to $1500 and could now get the 10-20 and 24-105 from dwi with a few little filter upgrades for around $1600. Dunno if the missus will go for it tho.
Re: Help me choose a lens
Well, I had to get the suspension fixed in the 4WD ($1300!!), so had to shelve the plans to purchase those two lenses. Ended up going with the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM and grabbing a Gorillapod which I've been keen to get for a while. Seems like a pretty good lens for a crop frame and an ideal walk-around, so while I'm dissapointed I couldn't get the other two, I'm still pretty happy and figure it will serve me well while I learn a bit more.
For anyone who's bought from dwi, what have your experiences been like with shipping? Pretty quick turnaround? Hoping it arrives before next week as we're going down the east coast for a week and would be an ideal time to test it out!
For anyone who's bought from dwi, what have your experiences been like with shipping? Pretty quick turnaround? Hoping it arrives before next week as we're going down the east coast for a week and would be an ideal time to test it out!