Are any of these ebay kits good lense wise - your opinions please

lbowman920 · Jan 28, 2008

I am looking to buy a rebel xti and have been looking at several different ebay kits. I have read some are junk but please help me figure out if any of these are good.

One comes with tamron 28-80mm lense authofocus item number 290201506563

One comes with tamron 75-300 and tamron 28-80 item number 290201720554

one comes with sigma 28-70 and sigma 70-300 item number 260206658801

I have found several that come with the tamron 28-80 and some come with 4GB card
item numbers
110217893018
250209627758

Do any of these kits have good lense. or should I look for one with the standard 18-55 canon lense

sabbath999 · Jan 28, 2008

The tamron 28-80 is junk, I got one with a kit and after taking exactly 1 picture with it I sold it. It isn't wide enough for the 1.6 crop factor of the EOS Rebel.

The Tamron 75-300 is also junk, it is not NEARLY as well built or sharp as the Tamron 70-300 DI.

Both the 28-80 and 75-300 are older designs, and not particularly good ones at that. I would avoid both.

If you can find a kit with a Tamron 70-300 DI in it, that would be a different matter.

I don't know enough about either Sigma you mention to comment on them (although, again, 28 isn't wide enough for an EOS digital with a 1.6 crop factor).

Mystwalker · Jan 28, 2008

How about just buying xti body and then getting the 28-135 IS seperately? Or get it bundled - do not know if they do this with xti.

I've never tried Tamron or Sigma lense myself. I was and still am a beginner and have a tough enough time figuring out basics without having to worry about 3rd part lense features based on how they name lense.

I recommend the 28-135 IS because you can get it fairly cheap on eBay (~250 or less) from those who have upgraded. The 28-135 is part of kit that came with 30D and 40D.

For indoor stuff, the 50mm f/1.8 can be had for less then $100 (B&H ad above).

sabbath999 · Jan 28, 2008

I still maintain that with a 1.6 crop factor 28 is not wide enough for most people to "get by" with.

One option would be to get the 18-55 IS. It is much better, quality wise, than the 18-55 "kit" lens (no, it isn't a world beater lens, but it is still better than the standard kit lens).

While the 50mm 1.8 is a sharp lens, it is quite limiting if it is your only lens, since it is certainly not anything near a wide angle, nor "normal" but rather it is a short telephoto. Except for shooting portraits (which it is great at) then it is not very versatile for most people.

Don't get me wrong, for the money, it is the best lens you can buy for Canon. Heck, it is the price of a pizza and a movie... can't go too far wrong with that.