Tamron lens

Hard to beat for the $315 price (after $30) rebate.

I really enjoy my Tamron. It hardly ever comes off of my camera.

Its a fab lens. No complaints. V.sharp and pleasing to use. Buy one.

Thank you all for the feedback....not one negative comment! I think I might take the next step and buy one. I like the suggestion of bringing my XT body with me to the camera store and trying the lens on the camera before the purchase. If I do this, is there any quick way to determine if one lens is better (colour and sharpness) then the other. Obviously I can take pictures with each but would viewing them on the camera be a fair comparison?

No. See if they will let you view it on a screen, or bring a laptop with you. Short of that, you could ask to put them both on hold (maybe with a deposit) and verify the quality at home. Be sure to note serial #'s correlated to image files.

I really like mine also, all the above comments are consistent with my experience.

However, On your 350XT you might want a wider lens. I am contemplating going to sigma's 18-50 /2.8. I know it won't work on a full frame, but I am really missing the 28 equivilant pov. If you already have the kit lens this might not be an issue for you, but I didn't buy the kit lens. I think if you are laying out the money the sigma 18-50 isn't that much more.