Do you own a consumer lens?

[siejones]

What consumer grade lenses do you own that you actually want to keep and are not a stop gap until you can afford a pro grade lens of the same focal range?

Do you have a consumer grade lens that you swear by?

Also I am thinking of getting me a inexpensive light weight lens to take into the mountains with me when my pack has to be minimal as possible. You know something that if it got smashed on the rocks I wouldn't feel the need to jump off the nearest cliff face. Something with acceptable sharpness will do but better than the budget range. This will sit along side my siggy 10-20 so needs to cover the range say from 24 or 28 onwards.

I have been looking at used canon 28-105's as these seem to be a popular stand up lens. It would be nice it it stretched a little longer and I have also looked at the Canon 28-200 although I can't seem to find much info on this one. I wouldn't go for the 18-200 ranges as I think they push the limits to far to be good enough and I really don't need that wide end.

So any ideas/recommendations?

[kevin_c]

28-105 USM II is a great little 'consumer grade' lens - I still have mine after upgrading to the 24-105L - in all honesty there is very little difference between the two (except the IS, weight, size, oh and a red ring...)

[liza]

The closest thing I have that meets your criteria is a Tamron 28-75 that I use as a backup lens for weddings for my 28-70L. It's a good, solid lens, although the autofocusing mechanism leaves a bit to be desired.

[oic929]

50mm f/1.8. The f/1.4 would be nice, but I dont plan to upgrade to it in the near future

[kahren]

canon 55-200 looks like a nice enough lens, you wont miss the 20-55 range

[samword]

canon ef 85/1.8.

[cdifoto]

Do you own a consumer lens?

Not in EF/EOS mount.

[John_B]

siejones,
All of my consumer lenses (this of course depends on your definition of consumer lens) are ones I want to keep.
ex. my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 is an excellent consumer lens
so is my 100mm f/2.8 macro and so is my 50mm f/1.4 etc...
The 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 might fit what you need well, it gives great results and is very light weight (and small).

It would be nice if there was a great consumer (low priced) 17-1200 f/1.4 lens but, well you know

[SuzyView]

I have the 28-105 and it's a nice lens. Should be useful if you can't afford to spend a lot. If I were you and I had $300 to spend, I'd definitely consider the 85 1.8. It's my favorite portrait lens and I have a few lenses to choose from. If you want zoom, the Tamron mentioned is popular, although I never owned one. Make sure the copy you are considering is the II version of the 28-105. I will not recommend the 28-135 IS, though. It was useful to me, but replaced it with the 24-70 and the difference was too significant to ignore. But even the kit lens can perform if you know the limitations.

[siejones]

Originally Posted by John_B

siejones,
All of my consumer lenses (this of course depends on your definition of consumer lens) are ones I want to keep.
ex. my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 is an excellent consumer lens
so is my 100mm f/2.8 macro and so is my 50mm f/1.4 etc...
The 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 might fit what you need well, it gives great results and is very light weight (and small).

Cheers duely noted. It is leading the pack for me at the moment.

It would be nice if there was a great consumer (low priced) 17-1200 f/1.4 lens but, well you know

Theres is!

I found it on ebay and it looks just like a kit lens for £99.99 and it's shipped from Nigeria!

They said all I have to do is send them my bank account number at details and they would do the rest!...nice people

[John_B]

siejones,
Yea that does seem to be popular on ebay

[hackaroxp]

Consumer Lens as in Silver Ringed?

[malla1962]

ef50f1.4 and ef85f1.8 and love both.

[-spam-]

My somewhat new 28-135 and 50mm f1.8

Dont really have plans on upgrading those two, but i do plan on builing around them. (12-24, 30mm f1.4, 85mm 1.8 etc...)

[argyle]

For 'consumer' lenses, I have the 28-105 Mk II, 100/2.8 macro, and the Tamron 28-75. Even though I have a 24-105L, I plan on keeping the 28-105...its that good. The 100 macro is a 'wow' lens with regard to sharpness and is also a keeper. I bought the Tamron to see what the hype was all about. Yeah, its pretty good, but it also feels very 'cheap' to me. Of the three, this is the one that'll probably go.

Since you already have the 10-20, I'd go with the 28-105 Mk II as a light-weight, inexpensive walk-around. Here's link with a few comparison photos between the 28-105 Mk II and the 24-105L:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=318746