best walk around/travel lens

[sandrael]

Hello everybody, I know that there are tons of discussion like this out there, but I still can decide for myself what is the best option for me. I have a humble canon t3 + kit 18-55+ 50mm 1.8 lenses. in a month I am leaving to Europe for half a year and was wondering what lens would bring the best quality/versatility/productivity ratio. I know it is quite rare that they come together, but I lack experience so maybe other people would know better what lens would fit my needs.
I was looking at three options:
1)Canon 18-135 STM
2) Tamron 18-270
3) Canon 55-250 IS
or maybe you have other suggestions? my budget is within 550$

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

The question you will have to ask yourself, is how much are you willing to sacrifice quality for convenience (or convenience for quality)?

The more zoom range that a lens has, the more likely it is that the quality will be lower. So while something like an 18-270mm lens would give you a huge range, the image quality would likely be well below what you'd get from your kit lens (and much lower than what you're getting with your 50mm).

You may also want to consider what you like to shoot most. For example, when shooting with your 18-55mm, do you often shoot at 18mm and wish for a wider view? Or are more likely to be shooting at 55mm, wishing that you could zoom in more.

If I were going on vacation, I'd be likely to want a really wide angle lens, something in the 10-20mm range.

 

[sandrael]

I never thought about it that way, make sense though if I want to fit sceneries and architecture I wold a wide angle lens. Is tamron's quality really that bad?Worse than kit's lens?

 

[Big Mike]

You can't just compare 'Tamron' (the brand) to your kit lens. Tamron has some very nice lenses, and they have some that aren't very good. The same can be said of Canon (or Nikon, or Sigma or Sony etc).
You have to compare lenses on a case by base basis.

Canon makes some 'super zoom' lenses like the 18-200mm or the 28-300mm. I personally wouldn't want to use either of them. I like to stick with lenses that don't go more than 3X zoom. So 10-22mm, 17-40mm, 17-55mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm.
Of course, this means that I carry more lenses...and those lenses tend to be bigger, heavier and more expensive. In other words, I'm choosing quality over convenience.

But sometimes I'm happy to leave the house with only a 50mm.

 

[Tiller]

Canon 15-85mm along with a 70-200 f4 is. You should be set if you have those two.

Just saw your budget. Tough one. I would still go with a used 15-85 and maybe the 55-250.

 

[Gavjenks]

10-20mm seems like it would be a very poor option as an all around "walkaround" lens for vacation :scratch:

But being able to go into the 10-20mm range is indeed very useful (hence 18 as a low end on so many of those lenses).

If the kit lens feels limiting, and with no other special requirements mentioned, I suggest taking the 18-135 IS STM as a good compromise. Almost triples your reach, but only has a 7.5x zoom, which isn't going to horribly degrade quality. It's also just a much nicer lens overall than the 18-55. I have used both, and the build quality and standards seem to just about make up for the extra zoom. I think it is about as sharp as the 18-55 overall (in other words, very/plenty sharp, as long as you don't abuse it by shooting wide open at 18mm all the time or whatever), but with lots more range. Also, AF performance is a lot better than the 18-55 (and absolutely silent! Useful for videos, otherwise just nifty)

 

[480sparky]

Why is this discussion in the Digital forum?

 

[sandrael]

You can't just compare 'Tamron' (the brand) to your kit lens. Tamron has some very nice lenses, and they have some that aren't very good. The same can be said of Canon (or Nikon, or Sigma or Sony etc).
You have to compare lenses on a case by base basis.

Canon makes some 'super zoom' lenses like the 18-200mm or the 28-300mm. I personally wouldn't want to use either of them. I like to stick with lenses that don't go more than 3X zoom. So 10-22mm, 17-40mm, 17-55mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm.
Of course, this means that I carry more lenses...and those lenses tend to be bigger, heavier and more expensive. In other words, I'm choosing quality over convenience.

But sometimes I'm happy to leave the house with only a 50mm.

Sorry for confusion I meant Tamron 18-270 the one that I mentioned in my first post

 

[sandrael]

Why is this discussion in the Digital forum?

where is it supposed to be?

 

[sandrael]

Thanks everybody for answers! I am really thinking about getting 18-135

 

[cynicaster]

You've already got the 18-55 and the 50, and you mentioned you've got little experience. I'd say pick up a 55-250 for about $100 second hand and bank the other $450. These two zooms cover a good (and complementary) range, and you have the 50 for improved sharpness in certain situations.

You can take totally decent photos with modern entry-level glass. IMO, it's smart to spend plenty of time with the cheap stuff so you have time to learn exactly where future money is best spent on upgraded gear, to fit the type of photographer you will have grown to be.

The whole "I've got money burning a hole in my pocket and I want to spend it on an upgraded lens, but I don't know which one I should buy" thing makes no sense to me. I think, if you don't know immediately what lens you want (and why) then it's probably not the wisest purchasing decision, because that stuff ain't cheap. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Buckster]

This sort of question always makes me think of someone asking a large group of people, "what should my favorite color be?"

 

[o hey tyler]

You can't just compare 'Tamron' (the brand) to your kit lens. Tamron has some very nice lenses, and they have some that aren't very good. The same can be said of Canon (or Nikon, or Sigma or Sony etc).
You have to compare lenses on a case by base basis.

Canon makes some 'super zoom' lenses like the 18-200mm or the 28-300mm. I personally wouldn't want to use either of them. I like to stick with lenses that don't go more than 3X zoom. So 10-22mm, 17-40mm, 17-55mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm.
Of course, this means that I carry more lenses...and those lenses tend to be bigger, heavier and more expensive. In other words, I'm choosing quality over convenience.

But sometimes I'm happy to leave the house with only a 50mm.

Sorry for confusion I meant Tamron 18-270 the one that I mentioned in my first post

The same still applies. It's a superzoom and quality was sacrificed in its production at some point or another. So it's not the best lens for image quality.