JustAnEngineer
TPF Noob!
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- Apr 11, 2008
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On the Canon side, the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens included with the EOS Rebel XSi kit has much better image quality than the 18-70 lens included with the Sony α-series (the Photozone review of the Sony lens shows astoundingly-bad purple and green fringing). Add the $90 "nifty fifty" EF 50mm f/1.8 lens to your kit for low light and portrait work, and you're off to an excellent start without breaking the budget. The 50mm f/1.8 is well-loved for combining good quality glass and a wide aperture in a cheap plastic body. It is Canon's lightest and cheapest EF lens, yet it can still provide good image quality.
Unfortunately, cheap telephoto zoom lenses usually aren't good, and good telephoto zoom lenses usually aren't cheap. I'll have to defer to the members here who have experience with the value-priced telephoto zoom lenses to know which provides the best bang for the buck. Measure all of them against the $1700 EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, and they'll look inexpensive and easy to carry, anyway. The Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 APO DG Macro recommended by Overread is $249, vs. $149 for the non-APO version that you initially asked about.
Take a look at the lens reviews here:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Canon%20EOS%20Lens%20Tests
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/
P.S.: The field of view crop factor for Canon's DSLRs with APS-C size sensors is 1.6 rather than the 1.5 factor for Sony or Nikon.
Unfortunately, cheap telephoto zoom lenses usually aren't good, and good telephoto zoom lenses usually aren't cheap. I'll have to defer to the members here who have experience with the value-priced telephoto zoom lenses to know which provides the best bang for the buck. Measure all of them against the $1700 EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, and they'll look inexpensive and easy to carry, anyway. The Sigma 70-300mm F/4-5.6 APO DG Macro recommended by Overread is $249, vs. $149 for the non-APO version that you initially asked about.
Take a look at the lens reviews here:
http://www.photozone.de/Reviews/Canon%20EOS%20Lens%20Tests
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/
P.S.: The field of view crop factor for Canon's DSLRs with APS-C size sensors is 1.6 rather than the 1.5 factor for Sony or Nikon.
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