Best all-purpose "Walk Around" lens

[Lambo77]

A friend of mine owns a Nikon, and he just bought a 18-200 Nikor lens. I love the versatility of it, so I'm looking into getting one as well, but I'm a Canon guy. I've narrowed it down to 2 options.Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras, Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS Lens for Canon Digital EOS. The canon is about $150-200 bucks more expensive. Is it worth the extra money?

 

[Davor]

Although you gain versatility your loose quality in your photos. And i mean considerable quality. If you search the forum you will find discussions about these lenses, im not an expert but from what i gathered,

 

[tyler_h]

No 18-200 is worth the money if you want image quality. Not going to check myself but some of them end up at f/6.3 at the long end? cause be wary of the loss of autofocus.

An alternative option - 2 zooms to give you the coverage; or a zoom covering part of your range and a prime in the other section of this range.

 

[lostpacket]

You never mentioned what body you use and if it is FF or a 1.6 crop. Needless to say, one of the best walkaround lenses for a Canon is the 24-105 f/4L IS. I used it on my 1.6 crop and was never limited. The extra 35mm over the equally excellent 24-70 was worth it to me.

 

[Novux]

I reconsidered my original goal of these two lenses for something like a 50mm prime and a telephoto. I'd rather have perfect (or close) rather than convenient. Don't cut corners when it comes to photography.

 

[cnutco]

I used mine for a while for the same thing... jack of all, master of none!

It stays at the house now... As if I could fit it in my bag. lol

 

[Lambo77]

Thanks. I guess I need to re-consider my purchase then. I already have a 70-200 4.0, 50 1.4, and a Sigma 10-20, So I kinda have pretty much all ranges covered, just hate to keep changing lens. 24-105 and the 24-70 seem like great lens, but damn, they aren't cheap. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Trever1t]

I'd suggest something along the lines of a super-wide telephoto zoom for a 'walk around' if you shoot primarily landscape and architecture scenes. 16-85/17-55 etc.

 

[ghache]

I love my new 12-24 to walk around.

wide for landscape, city scapes and building. and long enought at 24mm for quick portrait with 0 distortion.

 

[Dao]

Walk around lens ..... I think it is quite personal. Different people have different priorities.

For me, I usually take my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and pair it with one fast prime such as 14mm, 50mm, 85mm or 100mm. Most of my photos where taken with focal lengths between 17mm - 100mm, so prime lens I use the most are the 50mm and 85mm unless I feel like taking macro photos on that day.

 

[Nod]

I finally decided on a Sigma 17-70 f 2.8/4 as my walk-around. When I went on vacation last time I decided to take just this one lens and my 2x TC and it worked out fine. It's a very sharp lens and not heavy.

 

[xjoewhitex]

My 35 f1.8 is my favorite walkaround. Im sure Canon has an equivalent possibly a 50.

 

[JustAnEngineer]

For half as much money, the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS plus the EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS would cover a wider focal length range and would provide better image quality than the 18-200mm super-zoom.

 

[molested_cow]

Best walk around lens? You already have it. The 50mm, to me, is the best walk around lens.

 

[Lambo77]

Best walk around lens? You already have it. The 50mm, to me, is the best walk around lens.

I do find myself using this one over any of the others. Though having a zoom has its advantages, especially in my stomping grounds of Washington DC. Alot of places have fences! The nerve.