Is this a good next lens? Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, USM

[rasheemo]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/149629-GREY/Canon_2562A002_Zoom_W_A_Telephoto_EF_28_135mm.html

Right now I use a kit lens for my XT along with a 20 dollar UV filter. as you can imagine, the image quality is probably not amazing... although i don't notice coming from a P&S camera haha

anyway, i want an all around camera with IS that can do portraits as well as closeups and maybe even landscapes. The goal here is to find a lens that i will rarely need to take off the camera. 400 dollars is still out of my budget for now, but i will save up for it!

so is this a good choice given my purposes?

 

[skiboarder72]

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/149629-GREY/Canon_2562A002_Zoom_W_A_Telephoto_EF_28_135mm.html

Right now I use a kit lens for my XT along with a 20 dollar UV filter. as you can imagine, the image quality is probably not amazing... although i don't notice coming from a P&S camera haha

anyway, i want an all around camera with IS that can do portraits as well as closeups and maybe even landscapes. The goal here is to find a lens that i will rarely need to take off the camera. 400 dollars is still out of my budget for now, but i will save up for it!

so is this a good choice given my purposes?

not for landscapes, it will work great for portraits though for landscapes your going to stick with what you got unless you want to pick up a sigma 10-20mm or tokina 11-16mm but those are a little pricey based on what you said above

 

[Mystwalker]

What kit lens do you have?

I am not sure the 28-135 is going to be that big of an upgrade (if any) to your current kit lens - is it the 17-85?

Also, you can find new 28-135s on Ebay for $200-$250 from people who bought 40D kits but had lens already. Same deal with 24-105L from those who bought the 5D kits, but this lens is way over your budget.

 

[rasheemo]

its an 18-55

 

[Big Mike]

The 28-135 IS, is a decent lens. Not top of the line but better than the lower end lenses like the 18-55mm.

It can be a great walk around lens but I'd suggest that it's not wide enough for a lot of landscape type shooting. Try putting your 18-55mm lens at about 28mm and see what kind of view you get with that...it's not very wide.

There is a 'digital' version of the 28-135mm, it's the EF-S 17-85mm IS. It's a great walk around lens for digital 'crop' bodies because it's some what wide when you need it. I think it's a little more expensive but it would fit your needs nicely. I've got this lens and I like it a lot. The only down side is that the max aperture isn't very big....but neither is the 28-135mm.

 

[rasheemo]

well i guess that's fine but i also found it appealing because my 18-55mm didn't have a close enough zoom for my liking. I wanted to get decently close to objects that were (rough estimate) 100-200 feet away, but going to 55 didn't help much so i figured 135 would be great. it doesnt feel like 85 is too much better than 55, although i could be wrong. maybe a comparison shot...

 

[Big Mike]

Well, that's the obviously trade off, isn't it? :er: If you want wide landscape shots, get a wider (shorter) lens. If you want to 'zoom into things' then get a longer lens.

Another option would be something like a 28-300mm or an 18-200mm lens. These will give you plenty of options...but the sacrifice quality for that convenience. I wouldn't buy one of those lenses because the quality just wouldn't be up to the standard of my other lenses.

 

[rasheemo]

well of course but keep in mind landscapes are not a priority as i said, and if i really need one i can use my kit lens.

thanks for helping me out btw =]