problems with my esf 18-55 mm lense

[youyesyou.net]

so i purchased the rebel xt about 2.5 months ago. my other lenses enclue the esf 75-300 mm and the es 50mm macro lense. well i use the 18-55 mm lense quite alot seeing as in im tourning europe the the 75-300 lense just doesnt allow me to get buildings i want in the frame. well i have a canon lense hood for the 18-55mm and its a tight fit. not like the hood for the 300mm, that ones application onto the lense is smooth. and it seems that the 18-55mm lesnse's focus ring at the tip of the lesnes has some loosness. not alot but when im focusing in on something it seems that its loose, its not a smooth turn like the rest of my lenses. it feels like i can move the focusing ring a little yet it doenst do anything to the pictures. like i can move it back and fourth and there is no change in the focus. im wondering if the problem lies in the focusing ring being at the very tip rather than having a seperate ring in the middle of the lense, like the 300mm i have, or like other canon lesnse....the more expensive canon lenses.

my question is, when i return to the states can i return the lense to canon and ask for another one under warrenty. or is the lense supposed to be like this.

also, would you guys reccomend me getting a diffenent lense for 25-75mm shots? also, i saw a guy here with a lesnse with a wide range of zoom. i think it was like a 50mm-350mm. which would be nice cause i wouldnt have to interchange my lense all the time.

anyways, thanks for reading this insanely long email. im new to photography and i know i dont have all the terminoligy down, so bare with me please till i learn.

i am getting some great shots out here in paris, ill post as soon as i can get my computer online.

thanks alot

-adam

[Andy_T]

Adam,

I find it a bit hard to understand your problem completely, but I give it a try ... in autofocus mode, you can move the manual focus ring a bit. I checked my EF-S 18-55, and observed the exact same behaviour ... it moves about 1 mm in every direction.

As to your other question ... you have to answer if you think the EF-S 18-55 lens is sufficient for your applications.

I have a Tamron 28-75/2.8 (350$) and a Canon EF 50/1.8 (75$) and both of these lenses are sharper and faster than my EF-S 18-55 ... so I only use the EF-S 18-55 for wide angle shots.

If you want to try out another lens, I would suggest looking at the 50/1.8. It is a very sharp and fast lens and will compliment your kit lens nicely. Once you compare a shot taken at f/5.6 from the 18-55 with a shot from the 50/1.8 taken at f/2.8, you will see that the latter produces significantly better results ... at the price of the reduced versatility of a lens that can only be used at 50 mm.

Best regards,
Andy

[mg09]

hi andy...
Ok well honestly id dump the 18-55 kit lense its usually crap i got the kit and had to return it all to buy a 17-85 IS USM seperately and i also picked up the 50mm F1.8 which adam mentioned both far outperform the 18-55.. but like adam mentioned its down to cost and what you want from the lense. Even if the focus ring seems "loose" long as its focusing and working properly id maybe get a camera store to take a look and compare to their copy but it should be fine

Rich

[PhotosByEric]

The focusing ring on my 18-55 kit also has a little play in it. I think it's just the cheap build. One note of caution don't try turning the focusing ring when it's set to AF.

Eric

[Hellashot]

hi andy...
Ok well honestly id dump the 18-55 kit lense its usually crap i got the kit and had to return it all to buy a 17-85 IS USM seperately and i also picked up the 50mm F1.8 which adam mentioned both far outperform the 18-55.. but like adam mentioned its down to cost and what you want from the lense. Even if the focus ring seems "loose" long as its focusing and working properly id maybe get a camera store to take a look and compare to their copy but it should be fine

Rich

The kit lens performs very well for me and many others. Can't beat the quality and focal range for the price!

[FScott]

The kit lens performs very well for me and many others. Can't beat the quality and focal range for the price!

Agreed. Stop it down a little and it does great at the wide end. It has some issues at 50mm, even stopped down. See:

http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/18-55.html

but that's what makes the 50mm 1.8 a great complement to the kit lens! It also gives you some capability of shooting indoors without a flash.

-- Scott.

[youyesyou.net]

this helps alot guys. andy, thanks for the input. i'll see how the lense holds up through this europe trip. it feels like it has become looser in the past two months since i bought it. and this trip is going to be harsh on the lense. always putting it in the bag, and taking it out. my only problem is maual focusing with it. its just hard to know if its in complete focus or not. and i feel that i dont have the control i would like. i will look at the tamron lense as well andy.

thanks a million guys, this place is great.

-adam