Bare Minimum Lens Collection: what to look for?

Arunbani homestay, it appears to be close to the airport. Means a long taxi ride, but I will probably be doing that anyway to get to the museum. The tiger tour company selected the lodging, so I'm figuring it will suffice.

After reading everybody's comments and suggestions, I think this is what emerges:

1. Retain the Rebel T1i (that was not an original question, though).
2. The current Tamron 70-300 F/4-5.6 non VC, LD-Di Macro will not go for even US$ 100 (was bought for 133), so best option is to retain it and use for it for Macro instead of buying another Macro.
3. Buy the Canon EF 70-200 F/4 IS or non-IS version (US$ 950 vs US$ 1450)
4. Retain the EF 50 F/1.8
5. Now, the catch is the wide angle and medium range prime lens for people / streetscenes. Here's what I thought:
a. Option A: Buy the EF 35 F/2 for people / streetscenes and buy an UWA lens like the Rokinon 14 mm F/2.8 (Total outlay for both is INR 67,000 or US$ 1,100) or the Sigma 8-16.
b. Option B: I really don't know since I am flooded with choices like:
Canon EF-S 15-85, Canon EF 17-55, Canon EF 17-85, Canon EF 24-70, Canon 10-22, Canon 10-20, Canon EF-S 12-24 (whew!)
Sigma 8-16, Sigma 18-35
Tamron 17-50
Tokina?

With 1, 2, 3 and 4 above, I am already US $ 1,500 down, so I have enough time to think of option 5. Feel free to comment further, particularly on the last one and thanks again.

P.S. We went shooting again today. Plonked wife's D5100 with 18-55 kit, my Rebel T1i with the Tamron and 50 1.8 all in one bag. Fitted well and between the two of us covered everything. Wife's Nikkor 200 mm prime telephoto from the film era is rarely used but shoots very, very sharp.

Sigma makes a 12-24 for full frame. Tokina makes a 12-24 for APS-C format. I don't believe there is a Canon version.

architect.delhi wrote in post #16501021
Well, if the Tamron 70-300 VC is like the current one I have with only VC added, I am not interested. However I will read the reviews first.

It is absolutely not the same! Other than the VC, it is also much better. It is very sharp in most of the range and also sharp at 300mm f/5.6. Obviously not like a 300mm prime lens and even the Canon 70-300mm L is somewhat sharper, but it is still good. The older Tamron without VC is IMO not good at all at 300mm.

At least that is my experience with it. Be cautious with reviews. Some claim this lens is not sharp at 300mm but I have the lens and have even posted direct comparison with some online reviews to show they are wrong. They either had a bad copy of the lens or some problem with their test (focues, etc.).

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM is a very good lens. A friend has it and will cover a good range in case you wish to consider it in place of your Tamron. Its official cost is Rs. 109,000 though. About 20K more than the 70-200 f/4 L IS.

Remember, a 35mm on a crop body will be equivalent to 56 mm. Not wide at all! On a FF I agree it would be a great lens. If you really want to go wide then the suggestion by advaitin about Sigma 12-24 seems a good one. And if in future you get a FF body, you will love what the 12mm can do there!

50/1.8 on a crop body can be a good portrait lens at 80mm equivalent.

advaitin wrote in post #16501077
Sigma makes a 12-24 for full frame. Tokina makes a 12-24 for APS-C format. I don't believe there is a Canon version.

Not of the 12-24, I meant. Canon does make a very well regarded EF-S 10-22mm with variable aperture.

Advaitin: Arunbani Guest House is not too far from my place of work, so I will check with you to see if we can meet up. The Gandhi Museum is not far from the camera market (which is near the Red Fort), though I would advise taking somebody out there who knows the area and the people, unless you only intend to Window Shop. You could also take a Metro from near your Homestay to these places.

I'm not interested my self in the camera stores--only if you wanted my opinion about the items available. If the fort is open, I might browse around before or after the museum. Probably there is some well-known cafe or meeting spot if you would like to get together. Email is advaitin at earthlink dot net. We should probably move the conversation to Email.

Maybe I can find a place that offers a high tea--thought just occurred to me that I haven't had an Indian afternoon high tea since the mid-60s. Do they still do that in hotels there. My last visit was a constant go-go with early breakfasts, hasty lunches and hotel dinners.

Digital Panda wrote in post #16495838
I'm thinking 17-40L and 70-200L f4IS

That's what I used on crop and it was very useful (except mine was non-IS).

Please give this article a read:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …General-Purpose-Lens.aspx

It covers a few popular choices for a general purpose zoom -- which includes the EF-S 17-55/2.8 IS that I recommended previously. As the article mentions...there are a number of great options spanning a wide price range!

Thanks for pitching in, Gimpy! BTW, I have a query for you guys. Do you use the DXOMark scores? Are they useful? I find that many lenses get great scores, but when you combine them with my camera, the overall scores come out not so great.

Ok, so the update is that I put up my kit lens (18-55 IS) and Tamron 70-300 for sale on a website for a total sum of $310 or so and I am getting offers for it. Meanwhile my friend is selling his Canon EF-S 10-22 for about $550 (new one goes $950) in India. The lens is in good condition though 3.5 years old. By doing this trade (adding about $240 from my end) I end up with a decent wide, a fixed 50 1.8 II and no telephoto for the moment. I feel I will atleast have decent coverage for wide to normal with this combination and can then focus on the telephoto lens. The other option to buying my friends 10-22 is the Tamron 17-50/2.8 non VC. Now which is better in your opinion? Bear in mind that the Tamron when bought new will be $100 cheaper than even the used 10-22.

architect.delhi wrote in post #16528334
Ok, so the update is that I put up my kit lens (18-55 IS) and Tamron 70-300 for sale on a website for a total sum of $310 or so and I am getting offers for it. Meanwhile my friend is selling his Canon EF-S 10-22 for about $550 (new one goes $950) in India. The lens is in good condition though 3.5 years old. By doing this trade (adding about $240 from my end) I end up with a decent wide, a fixed 50 1.8 II and no telephoto for the moment. I feel I will atleast have decent coverage for wide to normal with this combination and can then focus on the telephoto lens. The other option to buying my friends 10-22 is the Tamron 17-50/2.8 non VC. Now which is better in your opinion? Bear in mind that the Tamron when bought new will be $100 cheaper than even the used 10-22.

I have the 10-22 and a Tokina 11-16. The Tokina is good for lowlight and the Canon is simply superior in all other conditions. Unless it has fallen hard or in the water, the 10-22 should give service for a very long time and coverage, for an architect, that can hardly be beaten.

architect.delhi wrote in post #16528334
Ok, so the update is that I put up my kit lens (18-55 IS) and Tamron 70-300 for sale on a website for a total sum of $310 or so and I am getting offers for it. Meanwhile my friend is selling his Canon EF-S 10-22 for about $550 (new one goes $950) in India. The lens is in good condition though 3.5 years old. By doing this trade (adding about $240 from my end) I end up with a decent wide, a fixed 50 1.8 II and no telephoto for the moment. I feel I will atleast have decent coverage for wide to normal with this combination and can then focus on the telephoto lens. The other option to buying my friends 10-22 is the Tamron 17-50/2.8 non VC. Now which is better in your opinion? Bear in mind that the Tamron when bought new will be $100 cheaper than even the used 10-22.

to chime in, the Canon EF-S 10-22mm is a tremendous lens. I shoot mostly with prime lenses, yet on a crop body the 10-22mm tops my list of favorites - certainly on the short end of the scale. another fun lens on an APS-C is the Samyang (Rokinon, etc.) 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye (manual focus). if you acquire the Nikon mount version and purchase a programmable adapter (cheap on e_ay), it will provide focus confirmation and work in AV metered mode (and it will work on your wife's nikon, gasp!). again, an inexpensive, fun option.

Canon's 70-200mm lenses are amazing - again despite my preference for prime lenses. If your T2i can handle ISO 1600 or slightly more, I'd forgo the f/2.8 and "settle" (no hardship, really) for the f/4 - as it remains in production. on this side of the pond, we can pick up used f/4 IS copies for under or at $1,000 USD. sounds like it's much more costly for you. sorry, man. get the non-IS and a monopod &/or tripod.

Alternatively, on an APS-C, consider the non-L EF 100mm f/2.8 USM macro. equiv. FL = 160mm - which is a very nice reach for macro and close-up compositions. I just spent 8 hours at our local botanical gardens (Longwood Gardens) with the L-version of this lens on my APS-C. simply - Magnifique! the substantive difference between the L and non-L copies = IS. optically, they're both excellent.

Good luck - - and I'll be surprised if that 10-22mm doesn't put a big smile on your face.

The budget alternatives to those two lens are:

tokina 16-28 2.8
tamron 70-200 f2.8 vc