Newbie Lense Dilema

[jonob66]

Hi Folks
I'm a newbie here. Great forum!
As a newcomer to photography I'm finding hard to descide which general purpose lense I should buy for my Canon 20D. I have lurked around various forums including this one and I find it hard to descern which type of lense is best suited to my needs. I'm a keen hobbyist who likes good results but can't afford premium lenses like the Canon L range. I don't know if I could tell the difference between them and lenses from Tamron or Sigma. How does a newbie find out what the best lense to go for is? Perhaps I am suffering from analysis paralysis!

I want lense that will let me take landscapes, museum (aircraft) and people. I currently have the Canon 18 -55 which seems ok but the build quality is bad it just feels cheep. My budget is £250 - 400.

Any Ideas?

Thanks
Jon

[Jon]

Welcome, Jon.

For starters, there are "Top Ten" lens lists based n member responses. The Top Ten Starter Lenses (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56747) thread would be a good one to go with. This, and the other Top Ten lists are linked in the EF Lens FAQ in the EF lens forum.

[vjack]

It seems like the Tamron 28-70 or Sigma 24-70 might be just what you are looking for - inexpensive, optically superb, and fast enough to be quite versatile.

[scottykm]

I think a lot comes down to the age old question of the wallet governing the lens choice!

a guy i worked with briefly had only 1 lens (apart from 18/55) that was the tamron 28-200 (i think) he swore by it, did some good images too.
ok edited, re read your post. i quite like my 17-85, did me well for about 3 months/ 1000 images.
then i got the sigma dg, are you as impressed with it as i am?

[hemuni]

Welcome, Jon.

For starters, there are "Top Ten" lens lists based n member responses. The Top Ten Starter Lenses (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56747) thread would be a good one to go with. This, and the other Top Ten lists are linked in the EF Lens FAQ in the EF lens forum.

Although full of great info I think The "top ten starter lenses" thread could be quite confusing to a newbie. The 50mm F1.8 and F1.4 are both great lenses but i probably wouldnt recomend them as the number one starter lense (as suggested in the thread) :eek:
But if you want a very nice lense for portraits and low light shooting the F1.8 are hard to beat for value.

You allready have a high quality zoom and you have the wide angle pretty well covered with the 18-55 (dont let the cheap build fool you this lense is quite capable), so the sigma or tammy suggested by vjack are both great value for money.

Like scotty i like the 17-85 IS but its pricey.

Hope you find a nice one, shopping for lenses are great fun :D

[steved110]

If you feel ready for some good glass - your sigma falls into this category too by all accounts - then how about considering the 17-40 f/F L? Or for a little more versatility in terms of reach, the EF-S 17-85 IS - although it's a slow lens.
If you like Sigma, the 18-50 EX DC 2.8 has some very good reviews and is much better than the kit lens you have. and not as expensive as the 17-40 L either, and offers a little more reach.
I'm saving for the 24-105 f/4 IS L as a walk about lens, in the meantime making do quite happily with the kit 18-55 and the lenses my 20D has inherited from my film eos.