time for a new lens....maybe.

[alexander781]

greetings everyone.
so next month i will be taking a trip to Europe (Amsterdam, Geneva, and Barcelona) and i have set aside 500-600 for a new lens (hope i can find something decent). what i would like is something that i could use as a walk around and can also be wide enough for some nice landscape shots. would be nice if it would work under low light as well tho i guess i can use my 50mm for that. anyway here is the equipment ill be bringing with me. canon t3i with ef-s 18-55mm is kit lens, canon ef 50mm 1.8, and canon ef 75-300mmf/4-5.6III telephoto zoom lens. so the question is, at my price range is there a lens out there that can be both walk around and wide for landscape, while improving on image quality from my other lenses? thanks in advance and sorry if this is a stupid question, im still very new to this

 

[orb9220]

Found upgrading from the 18-55 kit lens to the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 older non-VC version. A step up in usability in more lower lighting situations and next step up in Image IQ. Around $500 new but a steal used or refrub for around the $350 mark.


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[bratkinson]

I'm big on zoom-range overlaps, so I'd like to suggest a used EF 24-105 f4L in good condition. They're typically in the $500-700 range, used. You might even find someone selling a new one in a white box from a 6D or 5D3 kit at that price, as well.

Why the 24-105? Good zoom range, (effective field (angle) of view 38mm-168mm on your T3i) and quite usable. Light weight enough to carry around mounted all day, as I have done on several occassions. As an L, you'll immediately notice the improved image quality, too. I had no problems using it on my 60D before I upgraded to full frame. The 24-105 is still the lens that is on my camera more than 75% of the time. Some may complain that f4 is too slow for indoor work. For that, you still have your nifty fifty when not using a flash.

Would taking your 18-55 along be a 'wide' benefit? Perhaps. But I'd most likely leave it home.

 

[alexander781]

awesome info guys, i will look into both suggestions! i was also told to look into the sigma 17-70 2.8 and the canon 17-85 f/4. do you guys have any input on those? anyway thanks guys

 

[grafxman]

I found that the Sigma 18-250mm macro served nearly all my needs for walk around photography with my 7D. I also carried a Tokina 11-16mm for wide angle work. I used them for photographing zoos and museums.

 

[alexander781]

awesome suggestions grafxman, just looked into both and both seem very interesting. i do want something that is wide like that tokina, but was also looking into the sigma 10-20mm. ill keep researching hopefully ill find something i like on my price range soon. keep the info coming guys

 

[grafxman]

My most recent work with those lens can be found here:

Tampa Aquarium by grafxmangrafxman ? portfotolio

Plant Museum by grafxmangrafxman ? portfotolio

Many of the Plant museum photos were shot in near darkness. Flash was not permitted so I frequently had to use very slow shutter speeds, high ISOs and open aperture settings.