EFS 18-55 Kit Lens Compare?

[jsarnold]

Hello everybody! I have been reading everything I could find on the forum for about a week now, nad I have learned alot!

My father has had (and used on vacations) a DRebel for some time now, but he decided to "upgrade" to the new XT. SO he let me have his DRebel. I have already learned how to use all of the manual functions very well, and am enjoying the results I have got thus far.

TO THE POINT:
Tomorrow I will be going to the Big Island of Hawaii and want to spend the majority of the trip photographing the beautiful island. I have been researching wide angle lenses for my trip, and the common consensus is that my only lens is a total piece of crap. Would it be a good investment to purchase a wide-angle AS WELL AS another lens to replace my kit lens??

Thanks guys,
-Jason

[condyk]

Welcome Jason

Nice camera ... get a Sigma 18-50mm 2.8 lens which has a great range and quality with the advantages of a fast 2.8. If you want to spend more then the Canon 17-40mm 4.0 is a very good lens indeed, but less useful in lower light or indoors. I'd be happy with either and will get one or the other this week after doing lots of research and checking images.

If you want a bit longer then the Sigma 24-70 2.8 is highly recommended too. Another great walkaround lens, but bigger and heavier than the 18-50mm. Very impressive looking piece of glass. You lose on the wide end but you can use the kit lens for landscape style shots. Nevertheless, 24mm will still get you some good wide(ish) shots.

[tim]

Welcome to POTN Jason :)

The kit lens isn't crap, in fact under ideal circumstances I don't think I could tell the pictures it produces from the ones my Tamron 28-75 produces. I used to have a comparison on my website, but it seems to have disappeared. Anyway, the place where the kit lens fails mostly is resisitance to lens flare - it's horrible on the kit lens, and it's good on the Tamron and other lenses I own. A lens hood will help a little, but not much.

In my experience scenic holiday photos will benefit most from a wide lens. I just purchased the Tokina 12-24 F4 which i'm quite happy with so far. It's great for landscapes, but for people it's a bit short - you have to stand very close to people to get them to be a good size in the picture. For people shots I use my Tamron 28-75. If I could only choose one lens to go on a scenic holiday with, i'd probably choose the wide lens, but I tend to take both.

In summary, the kit lens is fine under non-demanding circumstances, but use a hood, and you'll probably want to upgrade if you're going to somewhere sunny. With a little care you should be able to get away with using the kit lens though.

Hope that helps:)

[Cobra351]

I agree, the kit lens is capable of taking some pretty nice shots. I'd give it a try before spending money on replacing it. That way you'll get a better idea of what more/else you'd rather have.

[Outdoor23]

I think Sigma 18-50 should be a pretty good replacement to your kit lens, but if you are not planning to carry a tripod with you (like me), I would go with the Canon 17-85 IS. I like what I saw on the Canon 10-22 for those really wide angles...but Sigma is coming out with a 10-20 and for about $300 less I think.

[tim]

I find the 18-50 range not so useful - I either want much wider, or longer. Given that the range is already covered by the kit lens i'd strongly recommend getting either a wider or a longer lens before directly replacing the kit lens.

Yes, Sigma is releasing a 10-20 lens some time very soon, at around $500.

[WildWolf]

I have a 28-135 IS USM.....approx $400 and it is nice. I like the range for walking around. It has the IS and it is also less expensive than the 17-85 IS lens. I just picked up a 75-300 USM....but I haven't used it enough to comment. Good luck

[steve547]

My general rule is not to buy a new lens until your old lens wont do what you want it to do. So it's way to soon for you to buy a new lens. Use Hawaii to get the most out of your kit lens and then decide if you really need something "better". My gut feeling is that none of the photos look great until you sharpen them and brighten them with an editing program. So an expensive lens may not be any better for your purposes.