which is good overall lens to Canon Digital Rebel 300D kit

[rudrasen]

HI
I was Powershot G3 owner for 1 year. Now I want to learn photography on D-SLRs . I plan to purchase the Canon Digital rebel 300d kit (w/ 18-55MM Lens). I am a total newbie when it comes to SLR lens :)
I want to know which other general purpose zoom lens I can buy for the rebel to complete my kit ?
Are there any clear choices? I am looking for good zoom lens that offer value for money. ( I may buy the high end lens next year.)
BTW are zoom lens in the ~ $500 range really all that bad?
These are my initial choices:

- Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM EF Lens

- Canon Zoom Normal-Telephoto EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM II
Autofocus Lens

- Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Zoom Macro Super
Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS

- Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Ultra Zoom
XR LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS

I am tending to the Tamaron as it the lightest lens offering the maximum
range. any URLs/links & pointer to previous post are welcome.

Please do suggest any other zoom lens that I can keep & use for a few year at least.

another concern I had what major feature/functionality I would lose if I were to go with the Nikon D70 ?

thanks a lot folks
-Rudra

[dn7elson]

You should add to your list of considerations, the Canon 70-200 f4.0L. It's about $550 with rebate currently and is an exceptional lens. It does NOT come with a tripod ring; that is another $100, so if you are planning to use a tripod with the lens, you need to take that into account.

[msvadi]

Choice of lens depends on what kind of pictures you plan to take.

For many reasons (compatibility, quality) it makes sense to stay with Canon.

I would rule out 28-300. You'll have the kit lens, so 18-55mm focal length is covered. Photodo.com rates Canon 75-300 lower than 55-200, but if you check longer focal lengths (135mm, for example), 75-300 performs better. It looks like a good lens, but not outstanding of course. It's soft in 200-300 range, but to get a better lens in that focal length you'll have to spend much more money.

In addtion you, probably, will need a fast lens for low ligh photos. Canon 50mm f/1.8 is an obvious choice.

If you go with D70 you win a lot in terms of functionality. That's the area where D70 beats the DRebel. However, the DRebel has less noise than D70 at ISO 200 and the DRebel has ISO 100, which D70 does not have at all. You have to decide what's more important for you: functionality or image quality.

Besides that, if you plan to build an SLR system, keep in mind that you'll replace the body at some point, but lenses will stay with you for much much longer. See what does better suit your need, Nikon or Canon lenses.

Finally, it really makes sense to buy the best quality lenses that fit into your budget. It's the real investment.

[drisley]

I was once in the same boat as you rudrasen.
If you really want to save money, I think the Canon 55-200mm USM II is a good addition to the kit lens.

However, lenses can be long term investments that will stay with you from camera to camera over the years. If you really stick with photography for a long time, the consumer grade lenses will leave you wanting more, and you may end up buying the higher end glass at a later date.
That is why I ended up buying the Canon 70-200mm F4L. EVERYBODY will tell you that this lens is awesome. You simply cant get better image quality at any price. And for ~$500US, that really is a bargain (especially if you divide by how many years this lens will last you).

Not trying to spend your money for you, but that is just my opinion based on my experience.

Good luck!

[Jocko]

I was on the same situation as you. I had a G3 and bought a Digital Rebel. The best advice one can give you it's not to buy any lens yet. You should try the camera and try the lens that comes with the camera. After a lot of pictures and a lot of read on the forums you'll be able to buy the right lens for you.

[Canuck]

HI
I was Powershot G3 owner for 1 year. Now I want to learn photography on D-SLRs . I plan to purchase the Canon Digital rebel 300d kit (w/ 18-55MM Lens). I am a total newbie when it comes to SLR lens :)
I want to know which other general purpose zoom lens I can buy for the rebel to complete my kit ?
Are there any clear choices? I am looking for good zoom lens that offer value for money. ( I may buy the high end lens next year.)
BTW are zoom lens in the ~ $500 range really all that bad?
These are my initial choices:

- Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM EF Lens

- Canon Zoom Normal-Telephoto EF 55-200mm f/4.5-5.6 USM II
Autofocus Lens

- Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO Zoom Macro Super
Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS

- Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Ultra Zoom
XR LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon EOS

I am tending to the Tamaron as it the lightest lens offering the maximum
range. any URLs/links & pointer to previous post are welcome.

Please do suggest any other zoom lens that I can keep & use for a few year at least.

another concern I had what major feature/functionality I would lose if I were to go with the Nikon D70 ?

thanks a lot folks
-Rudra

Hmmm...
I had and older version of the Sigma 70-300 you mention. That one was crap to the zillionth kind. That is why I sad had. It was ok on film, but on the 10D it was a definiite no-go! I was just looking at them and I haven't the vaguest idea why I haven't dumped them. Oh yes to remind me of the time way back when...10 May 03. I flogged it and got a real cracking lens, but it is almost 4x the outside figure you want to spend on the lens. If you want a 50mm F1.8 II is a great lens and is about $80 I think. I have heard nothing but good things about it. Another idea is to look at the Sigma EX/HSM lineup. You might find some good deals there. Just be sure it is at least an EX/HSM lens before buying. For example the monster aforementioned: Sigma 120-300mm F2.8EX/HSM/IF/APO. This would be a great choice for a fast lens but...like I said earlier it goes for about $1700-$1900. That is something for later. Do you have the BG-E1 vertical grip? That is a good investment, as you get an extra battery slot plus you also get to shoot portrait naturally as the camera turns 90 deg anticlockwise. Remember the pics will only be as good as the glass you stick in front of the sensor. Just a few ideas...

[RikWriter]

I've personally had some very good experiences with the Canon 80-200mm lense. It seems like a good addendum to the kit lense.

[Lamplight]

The best advice one can give you it's not to buy any lens yet. You should try the camera and try the lens that comes with the camera. After a lot of pictures and a lot of read on the forums you'll be able to buy the right lens for you.

I agree with this. When I bought my DRebel kit, I knew very little about lenses. But after taking hundreds of pictures and reading about different lenses on this forum, I now know exactly which lenses I want to purchase in the future. Now if I can just figure out how to actually afford them all...

:D

[S230]

HI
I was Powershot G3 owner for 1 year. Now I want to learn photography on D-SLRs . I plan to purchase the Canon Digital rebel 300d kit (w/ 18-55MM Lens). I am a total newbie when it comes to SLR lens :)
I want to know which other general purpose zoom lens I can buy for the rebel to complete my kit ?
another concern I had what major feature/functionality I would lose if I were to go with the Nikon D70 ?

I am in the same boat as you when it comes to deciding between Nik*n or Canon.
Clearly as kit, the D70 has an advantage since it was released 9 months later. But as some experts pointed out when it came to digital technology, Canon had been making their own sensors whereas Nik*n uses someone elses. I am currently still debating but will wait until I get my 50mm 1.8 ($74 at B&H) before switching. I was really close to getting one but the price was about the same in Canada so I may just as well get it here.
Check out my other link that discussed on various topics.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50304

[DocFrankenstein]

standard:
50/1.8
70-200 f/4 L

[eosster]

standard:
50/1.8
70-200 f/4 L

I second that or if you must, get 50mm F/1.4 instead of 50mm F/1.8, just my 1/2 cent.

Cheers,

Charles,

[chops]

A lot of the Nikons use Sony sensors, not the greatest in the world. In fact, that's one of the reasons the new D2H or D2x, (can't remember) has dropped way down in price to $1900 new. They are having major issues with that body and sensor, and the image quality suffers.

No matter which one has more features, I would, and will stick with Canon. They are the leaders in digital photography technology, period. That's more than enough for me to stay with them. However, they have seemed to goof up with the 20D in an attempt to reach a certain deadline, and now they're paying for it.

[eosster]

Nikon decided to go with CMOS for D2X as I recall.

Cheers,

Charles,

[pcasciola]

Here we go again. This question was asked 7 months ago. I assume he bought a lens by now. I knew the post was old when I didn't see one recommendation for the Tamron 28-75mm Xr Di, which is mentioned in nearly every lens recommendation thread these days.

The funny part is, there will be 3 or 4 more recommendations for the guy within the next day, despite this post. Watch.

[snibbetsj]

DocFrankenstein wrote:
standard:
50/1.8
70-200 f/4 L
I'm going to wholeheartedly 3rd that motion and further add that you don't get the kit lens. After using those two, you'll be sorely disappointed.

Merry Christmas :)

[snibbetsj]

Geez pcasciola, I didn't even look at the date :o


Wonder what he got :rolleyes:

[pcasciola]

Geez pcasciola, I didn't even look at the date :o
LOL :-) :-) :-)

This has been happening a lot since POTN switched over to the new format. There was another 6 month old revived recommendation recently that went on for days, despite a dozen or so posts showing how old the thread was.

I don't think this one is done yet either. ;-)

[S230]

I second that or if you must, get 50mm F/1.4 instead of 50mm F/1.8, just my 1/2 cent.

Cheers,

Charles,
Would a Canon EOS 50/1.0L lens be good enough?
Not sure if it's available in the EF format or able to work for the Rebel
http://www.photo.net/photo/canon/canon-50-1.0.html

[eosster]

Yes and very expensive...hmm, I didn't see the date either, :( .

[snibbetsj]

S230 wrote:
Would a Canon EOS 50/1.0L lens be good enough?
Not sure if it's available in the EF format or able to work for the Rebel

Yes! It works on the DRebel. I LOVE the first readers comments on that link!

Merry Christmas :)

[colliewalker1]

HI
I was Powershot G3 owner for 1 year. Now I want to learn photography on D-SLRs . I plan to purchase the Canon Digital rebel 300d kit (w/ 18-55MM Lens). I am a total newbie when it comes to SLR lens
I want to know which:) other general purpose zoom lens I can buy for the rebel to complete my kit ?
-Rudra

I recently bought the Canon Digital Rebel (AKA 300D in the UK) and so far am very happy with the kit lens - 18-55mm. This covers the most likely range I'll be using: I can't envisage a need for a long telephoto - if I bought another lens it would be wide angle which is far mere useful in my opinion - the wide end of the kit lens is equivelant to around 30mm in 35mm terms - I would like what would effectively be 24mm on a digicam - very expensive as a 15mm lens would be needed - I'll dream on!!!

Denis Boisclair
Cheshire, England

[Oniakai]

Rudraen,

I made the same switch about a year ago and what a relief! Going back to an slr is great and my photography is back to it's old level now (or even higher), semi-professional.

I started out with the kit (rebel+18-55mm (=28-88mm)) and the 28-105 3.5-4.5. The kit lens i still have and it's quite a performer if stopped down to about F8 but I swapped the 28-105 twice. The first time for another due to bad focussing and the next time to a 28-105 4-5.6 mk II. This lens is quite good too (also stopped down a little) and this lense setup give you a 28-168mm range (normal slr range).

I soon added the 50/1.8 to get a really sharp lense for available light. This is an outstanding performer and very cheap!

The only thing misssing for me is/was wide angle but when my 10-22 arrives that is covered too. Just a few more days!