canon 18-200 or 18-135 or 24-105 f4L

[timethief]

I am not very familiar with canon lenses, so which one of these 3 would be more suitable for a soccer mom friend of mine to use as an all round lens?
or is there any better option you would recommend to be used on a 550d?
1 single lens for long term use. no combos pls. budget around 1200us

Does the 18-200 have too many drawbacks?

much appreciated..

 

[timethief]

44 views not 1 single reply. hmmm
ok i lied she is no soccer mom. she is a stripper and will give a lap dance for good advice.

 

[Mot]

Sorry for wanting to know what the complete title was.

I haven't used any of those lenses but I think general consensus will say that the L lens is best simply because it is an L. It might not get enough reach for sport but the quality of the glass will be better.

Look, you got a response.

 

[Hickeydog]

personally, I'd go with the 24-105L. The IS is great, and so is the constant aperature. Plus, it's one of the sharpest zoom lenses.

 

[jaomul]

The L one for quality, the 18-135mm for range. I would be slow to buy the 18-200 as the bigger the zoom mag the harder it is to make a good lens so it probably be fine as a walk around but wouldn't do your camera justice. If I didn't need the 18-24mm range there wouldn't be a second look at anything other the the constant aperture L lens

 

[timethief]

but it would be an EF lens on an EF-S lens mount.which would have some crop gain

 

[kungfuleg]

Complaints after only a half hour in the middle of a Saturday afternoon on a long weekend?

(that was rhetorical)

To answer your question with a question, what would you buy for your Nikon? Canons and nikons are not terribly different in quality... and this is definitely true for someone possessing the vantage point of the typical "soccer mom."

Alternatively, and assuming all the negative connotations sometimes (most of the time) associated with the pejorative term "soccer mom," I'd recommend an L lens. Because the red ring will make her excessive consumption all the more conspicuous (unless her peers don't understand what the red ring means, thus lessening the social-status benefit). Or she could get two 18-200's for her budget -- for me, the pictures produced with that lens are not as good as what I can do with an Elph, but the lens is HUGE and unknowledgeable bystanders will be impressed by its size (doubly so if she has two of them).

But if she has even the slightest care about how her pics of her kids turn out (I'm guessing that she does in the abstract only -- the soccer moms I know would also buy more camera than they could handle then start asking people to ask other people how they can buy their way to better pictures rather than actually learning to use the tool they already have), and she really wants to drop $1,200 on a consumer item without doing any research herself, she could get the 24-105.

If she wants to actually learn to use her camera (I am a hopeless optimist and believe everyone is capable of redemption), she should buy the canon 28mm f/1.8 or the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and shoot with those until she knows what she is doing. Each runs about $500. And if she has soccer action to photograph from a distance, she could also pick up the Canon 200mm f/2.8 L (around $800) and only blow her budget by a few hundred bucks.

Or she could get a decent point-and-shoot with a super zoom.

But maybe you could ask your friend what she wants to teach her kids? She could teach them that it is OK to toss $1,200 (not pocket change for most people) out the window on the advice of a stranger. Alternatively, she could teach them that advice is worth what you pay for it, and this advice was free. She could teach them how to think for themselves and negotiate this life on their own terms. The possibilities are endless -- and the teaching moments happen all the time. Usually when you don't even realize it.

Happy President's Day!

 

[usayit]

24-105L no question as an all around general lens. Still going to be a bit short for soccer... The biggest issue is that 24mm isn't that wide on a crop sensor camera. Mine was full frame (5d) and (1dmarkIIn).

 

[timethief]

Complaints after only a half hour in the middle of a Saturday afternoon on a long weekend?

(that was rhetorical)

To answer your question with a question, what would you buy for your Nikon? Canons and nikons are not terribly different in quality... and this is definitely true for someone possessing the vantage point of the typical "soccer mom."

Alternatively, and assuming all the negative connotations sometimes (most of the time) associated with the pejorative term "soccer mom," I'd recommend an L lens. Because the red ring will make her excessive consumption all the more conspicuous (unless her peers don't understand what the red ring means, thus lessening the social-status benefit). Or she could get two 18-200's for her budget -- for me, the pictures produced with that lens are not as good as what I can do with an Elph, but the lens is HUGE and unknowledgeable bystanders will be impressed by its size (doubly so if she has two of them).

But if she has even the slightest care about how her pics of her kids turn out (I'm guessing that she does in the abstract only -- the soccer moms I know would also buy more camera than they could handle then start asking people to ask other people how they can buy their way to better pictures rather than actually learning to use the tool they already have), and she really wants to drop $1,200 on a consumer item without doing any research herself, she could get the 24-105.

If she wants to actually learn to use her camera (I am a hopeless optimist and believe everyone is capable of redemption), she should buy the canon 28mm f/1.8 or the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 and shoot with those until she knows what she is doing. Each runs about $500. And if she has soccer action to photograph from a distance, she could also pick up the Canon 200mm f/2.8 L (around $800) and only blow her budget by a few hundred bucks.

Or she could get a decent point-and-shoot with a super zoom.

But maybe you could ask your friend what she wants to teach her kids? She could teach them that it is OK to toss $1,200 (not pocket change for most people) out the window on the advice of a stranger. Alternatively, she could teach them that advice is worth what you pay for it, and this advice was free. She could teach them how to think for themselves and negotiate this life on their own terms. The possibilities are endless -- and the teaching moments happen all the time. Usually when you don't even realize it.

Happy President's Day!

thanks for the socioanaytical reply. and welcome to the forum.

 

[jaomul]

but it would be an EF lens on an EF-S lens mount.which would have some crop gain

No the focal lengths on both are based on the same system of measurement, the 24mm on the EF would give field of view approx 38mm, the 18 on the EF_s approx 27mm

 

[boofoo502]

What lens does she currently have? And what areas of improvement is she looking for?
Having said that I've been impressed with the outdoor shoots of seen with the 18-135.