Best "Walking Around" Canon Zoom...

sween

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Hey, this is a first for me, asking about a Canon Lens. I've always loved Canon, so forget any brand war with this post, it's just that I tied up a pile of money in Nikon over the years, so when it was time to go dSLR, it had to be Nikon. Right? Good.

I now have a good friend who is getting really serious about her photography. For reasons not now germane, she went Canon rather than Nikon. The body she bought, although I do not know which one, is of a vintage of within the last year or so - meaning all current Canon lenses should be good to go on this rig. She is presently looking for a lens, a great all-purpose zoom, that just might be a Christmas present.

Sooooooooooo, how 'bout all you Canon folk out there just fill me up with recommendations for this perfect lens, the ultimate walking around zoom.

Have at it, and I thank you...so does she.
 
I also shoot Nikon, but have to put a plug in for the Sigma 18-250 - it's been an awesome lens for me and I highly recommend it as 'the ultimate' walk around lens.
 
I use Tamron 17-50mm F/2.8 as my Canon camera walk around lens.
 
ive heard only great things of the canon 24-70mm 2.8 L as a walk around. pretty good range and a nice wide aperture, and it has the excellent build quality and optics of an L series lens
 
The best 'walkaround' lens for Canon is possibly the 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS. Good focal range, f/2.8, IS and hey, it's an L lens. Also smaller and lighter than the 24-70mm f/2.8.

More reasonably (in price terms, especially for a beginner), the 18-200mm or others.
 
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There's also the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS for crop bodies, which is excellent.

I also hear the new 18-135mm is a lot better than the 18-200 in terms of distortion and IQ.
 
I could walk around and shoot all day and night with 24-105 f/4L + 50mm f/1.8 ($100 USD) in my pocket. The 24-70 f/2.8L is a good option as well.. bit heavier.. bit too short for focal length for a walk around BUT you get a nice fast aperture.
 
Hmm but the 2 big things are missing from this thread:

1) budget - a key consideration since there are highly expensive and more budget line options on the market

2) subjects/shooting style - again this is very key to consider when deciding on a walkaround lens - for some people a 100-400mm is a walkaround lens for what they do whilst for others its a 24-70mm. Different types of walking and subjects define what sort of lens they are best suited to.

My quick views: For a decent walk around lens for shooting people, streets, a bit of landscape and indoors stuff the 24-105mm f4 IS is the lens I would go for. A good focal range, good sharpness as well as the bonus of IS. It's aperture is not as wide as some, but one can back it up with a faster (cheap) prime lens or use flash if you wish in darker situations.
If you after something a little longer overall a 70-200mm L (f4, f4 IS, f2.8, f2.8 IS) is a good choice, however be warned that I have found this lens a good compliment to a shorter focal range lens, like the 24-105mm, but not a good lens all on its own. Simply put for people and indoors work it gets too long and your always having to take a step back to get the shot.
If your interested in wildlife and animals or even sports - a walkaround lens for that type of subject is often the 100-400mm - again its really getting a bit long for those generalist around the town/on holiday shots.
 
You are right Overread....

In the past, I would assume people with the "best general lens" or "best walkaround lens" questions are looking for a good zoom covering slightly wide to telephoto ranges... typically focused on something with a wide focal range. This is especially true if further detailed information regarding use, budget, situation, etc.. are missing from the discussion. We are talking about people who will be taking photos whilst being with family, shopping around, on vacation etc.. For most people, 100-400 isn't going to be a walk around. People in sports and wildlife that require such focal ranges usually mention it right of the bat.
 
I would also add to Overread's post

3) Which Canon body? more specifically cropped or full frame? Its the difference between 17-55 f/2.8 or the 24-70 f/2.8
 
As mentioned above, shooting style and budget are important considerations here. I love my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and it lived on my 30D and now on my 7D greater than 75% of the time. I shoot a little bit of everything.
 
Tamron 28-300 VC is considered by many to be the ultimate walking around zoom lens. Better than Nikon's 18-200, better than Canon's 18-200. Tamron's 24-135 is also an excellent performer.
 

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