Lens recommendation for Vacation/portraits

[Trilateral]

I was looking for a lens to travel with for taking pics of family and landscapes. I have a 50D and a 50mm 1.4. I wanted a good general purpose lens for less then $500.

I was considering the efs 55-250. Seems like a good price.

I was also considering The 70-200 F4 L non Is is (around $600 is pushing the budget a bit)anythoughts on this lens? Wondering if non Is is
going to be an issue ( I mainly shoot with out tripod)

Any suggestions will be appreciated

 

[altitude604]

the 70-200 f4L w/o IS is a pretty good lens. i own one and love it... although i don't generally do a lot of lowlight work so the lack of IS isn't a huge issue to me.

for general family stuff and landscapes, you'd probably want something with a wider angle than 50mm.

the kit lens 18-55 IS is a pretty good lens and you can pick one up cheap off of craigslist in Vancouver. i've seen them going for around $90... might as well grab one as that'll be a good general lens and if it gets lost or broken on vacation, it's only $90 and not a $600 L series gone.

 

[Pepperpwni]

I have a Tamron 18-270 IS (they call it VC, Vibration Control) lens; I love it. It's a great walk-around, all day-use lens.

629: I got it for 450 with the rebate they were running last month.. unfortunately thats gone, but my recommendation stands. The IS at the long distances is ESSENTIAL for hand-held photography (which it sounds like you'll be doing if your on vacation)
Amazon.com: Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Yes, its more money that you probably want to spend. But you don't go on vacation every day.. if you want to capture those images without blur, I truly recommend this lens. Plus, the range is incredible. Not having to switch while on vacation is critical, to me.. and the 70-200 can be limiting

Most the shots on my Flickr are with the Tamron lens.
Flickr: MD Images' Photostream

Times Square, NYC: Tamron 18-270, probably at about 200mm here. (well, before 1.6x sensor of course)

 

[3bayjunkie]

I was looking for a lens to travel with for taking pics of family and landscapes. I have a 50D and a 50mm 1.4. I wanted a good general purpose lens for less then $500.

I was considering the efs 55-250. Seems like a good price.

I was also considering The 70-200 F4 L non Is is (around $600 is pushing the budget a bit)anythoughts on this lens? Wondering if non Is is
going to be an issue ( I mainly shoot with out tripod)

Any suggestions will be appreciated

sigma 18-200mm

https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=sigma+18-200&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

reason being you want as much of a range as possible without lugging around a ton of equipment.

 

[PASM]

I think 55/70 aren't always wide enough for travel pics. Maybe a 28-135 for that price?

 

[Pepperpwni]

I was looking for a lens to travel with for taking pics of family and landscapes. I have a 50D and a 50mm 1.4. I wanted a good general purpose lens for less then $500.

I was considering the efs 55-250. Seems like a good price.

I was also considering The 70-200 F4 L non Is is (around $600 is pushing the budget a bit)anythoughts on this lens? Wondering if non Is is
going to be an issue ( I mainly shoot with out tripod)

Any suggestions will be appreciated

sigma 18-200mm

https://secure.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=sigma+18-200&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

reason being you want as much of a range as possible without lugging around a ton of equipment.

Another good choice and good price, but im going to reiterate my point; at that 200mm range the IS makes a big difference for hand-held pictures like you said you would be doing. Take that highly into consideration.

Let us know what you end up choosing!

 

[Dan Padavona]

The Sigma sounds look a good option. I've never used the 18-55mm kit, but I know the kit lens which came with old 10D was horribly soft and full of distortion issues.

 

[fsquare]

Two I'm looking into as walkaround lenses are the Tamron 17-50mm VC and the Sigma 18-50mm HSM

 

[daarksun]

The Sigma 17-70mm lens, F2.8-4. Great all round lens for landscapes, portraits or taking on vacation. Another good lens is Sigma's 18-250 or Tamron's 18-270. Both lenses have great ratings and excellent pricing under $500. From wide angle to a great range for getting close when you need to.

 

[Trilateral]

Would 70mm be wide enough for travel pics?

 

[Trilateral]

Hows the quality of the Tamron 18-270 vs the Sigma 18-250? Does the Sigma have Is?

Still considering the 17-70 Sigma also. Might not have enough zoom though

 

[D-B-J]

Hows the quality of the Tamron 18-270 vs the Sigma 18-250? Does the Sigma have Is?

Still considering the 17-70 Sigma also. Might not have enough zoom though

Neither of them will be as good as the 70-200 f4L, as they are a "jack of all trades" lens, and with that type of range, the IQ is not always the greatest. Your best bet is to either try and find a used 70-200 f4L, and a 18-50mm or something lens. Granted, it may be more than you wanna spend, but you often sacrifice IQ for the 18-5million mm zoom lenses.

Regards,
Jake