Which lens for 70D?

Thinking of purchasing a 70D for my wife but none of the kit lenses are particularly nice. Don't need L glass(yet), but maybe a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or Tamron 17-50 f2.8 as a starter lens would be good? I have been looking at some reviews/tests for both lenses. These lenses cost about 400 euro ($500) here. Are there any members using either lens on a 70D or on any other crop and how do you like them, which one would you prefer and why?
The budget is not set in stone, so a different lens can be suggested, if considerably better I will pay more.

I just bought the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC and dont really liek it. The autofucus sucks, iof it trys to focus a couple times and doesnt, its not gonna. Its hard to turn(zoom in and out). I think they made it hard so it wouldnt have any lens creep, but i think they over did it a bit. Photos really arnt that sharp, autofocus sucks, hard to turn. I would go with the Sigma, I wont ever buy another Tamron.

The Canon 18-135mm IS lens is very good, even for a kit lens. It's not too heavy, has a good mix of wide angle and distance and is good to leave on the camera. I use mine a lot as a general purpose lens.

I don't know about Europe but here in the States, you can often find a used 15-85 for around $500 if you are patient and $600 any time. I purchased a second one for my wife's new SL1. It isn't f/2.8 but we've been able to live with its limitations.

People do rave about the 17-55 f/2.8. Very few people have any negative comments about it other than its price. The only negative I've seen is the specs of dust that get under the front element. I'm not quite sure if this is a current issue or one that applies to older models. I can say, other than the irritation factor for those of us who are a bit anal retentive, from all reports, these dust specs don't affect the photo images.

The Canon 15-85 has a decent focal range for a crop camera, IQ is excellent, only downside is it's not f2.8

The kit 18-135 STM or even the 18-55 STM are actually pretty good. The other advantage is that they are STM lenses, which work great for the video auto focus. I would get a kit with one just for this reason, even if you plan on better glass later or right away- I kind of wish I had ordered the 18-55 kit just for the STM drive during video.

Keyan,

That is actually a good suggestion. In this case, the new kit lenses are designed specifically for the latest Canon crop models and from what I've read (and from the photographs I've seen), they are much better than kit lenses in the past as far as IQ is concerned.

I sometimes wonder if my wife would have been better off with a 18-55 STM or the 18-135 STM on her SL1. I like my 15-85 so without much consideration, I got her one too.

i have the sigma 17-50 2.8 os ex on my 60d and i like it,very quiet and focusing quick and got it used for good price,seems like a very solid lens,very large 77mm filter

Thanks for all the suggestions. I did not give the STM lens much thought but that is actually usefull especially for video. I was held back by the lack of quality from kit lenses a few years back, but if these are better now then I will consider the kit with 18-55 STM lens.

Dooku wrote in post #16309895
Thinking of purchasing a 70D for my wife but none of the kit lenses are particularly nice. Don't need L glass(yet), but maybe a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or Tamron 17-50 f2.8 as a starter lens would be good? I have been looking at some reviews/tests for both lenses. These lenses cost about 400 euro ($500) here. Are there any members using either lens on a 70D or on any other crop and how do you like them, which one would you prefer and why?
The budget is not set in stone, so a different lens can be suggested, if considerably better I will pay more.

The Tamron 17-50 2.8 is nice but the Sigma 17-50 gets slightly better ratings (at a higher price)
see comparisons at www.photozone.de

Rebel XSi /450D
Tamron 17-50 2.8 non-vc

the Canon 15-85 is an excellent walk around lens, and the Tamron 70-300 is a very good telephoto, both at reasonable costs.

Maybe you can consider paying a bit more and get the new Sigma 18-35 f1.8, its sharper than all these lens and f1.8, also excellent build quality. However, you won't have OS and its big and heavy, also bit more limited focal range.

ACESFULL82 wrote in post #16309972
I just bought the Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC and dont really liek it. The autofucus sucks, iof it trys to focus a couple times and doesnt, its not gonna. Its hard to turn(zoom in and out). I think they made it hard so it wouldnt have any lens creep, but i think they over did it a bit. Photos really arnt that sharp, autofocus sucks, hard to turn. I would go with the Sigma, I wont ever buy another Tamron.

drounding wrote in post #16309994
The Canon 18-135mm IS lens is very good, even for a kit lens. It's not too heavy, has a good mix of wide angle and distance and is good to leave on the camera. I use mine a lot as a general purpose lens.

I have the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 non-VC. I like it particularly because it focuses quickly and accurately. It is sharper than the Sigma 24-70 I tried in the store.

I had the original 18-135. Nice enough, but slow focusing and not real sharp at the long end. I tried to sell it for $150 on CL. After two weeks I lowered the price to $125. After two more weeks, I gave it away. The 15-85 is better in every respect.

Dooku wrote in post #16309895
Thinking of purchasing a 70D for my wife but none of the kit lenses are particularly nice. Don't need L glass(yet), but maybe a Sigma 17-50 f2.8 or Tamron 17-50 f2.8 as a starter lens would be good? I have been looking at some reviews/tests for both lenses. These lenses cost about 400 euro ($500) here. Are there any members using either lens on a 70D or on any other crop and how do you like them, which one would you prefer and why?
The budget is not set in stone, so a different lens can be suggested, if considerably better I will pay more.

I think it depends on how much experience your wide has in photography, trying to explain why f/4 is available at 28mm but not at 70mm on a zoom lens may not make sense to a lot of people. I would get her a good 17-40mm, when she graduates to FF she can still use it. If not an L lens, get her the Sigma 17-50.

My understanding is that the STM 'kit' lenses are new optical designs, improved over their predecessors.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=5​&APIComp=1

I think the 18-135 would be a good starter lens.