Help Picking Lens for 30D

Looking for assistance on what lens to purchase for the Canon 30D. I just purchased the 30D for a trip to Ireland and am trying to figure out which lens would be best for this trip. I am a novice to intermediate user and bought the camera as something to have for a long time with the flexibility to grow. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thank you,

Tom

Welcome to the forum! It's a great place and I've spent a lot of money since joining last year. I would recommend the 17-40L if you are going to take mainly landscapes. With the 1.6 crop (meaning the 17-40 will be more like 17-40 x 1.6), you would be able to take a lot of wonderful wide pictures and the lens is really great for color, contrast and focus. If you buy it from B&H, I think it's around $600, but you won't regret the purchase. How much money are you thinking about spending?

Welcome to the forums, Tom.
As far as lenses go, it will depend on what you want to shoot, your budget and what lens(es) you already have. As Suzie says, the 17-40L is a great lens, so to is the 24-105L IS. The latter is difficult to get hold of in the UK. I don't know about the rest of the world.
If your budget is lower than the price of these lenses, then consider the Tamron 28-75. It has produced some lovely images on here, although I haven't tried it myself.
Let us have some more info and there are plenty of people here who can give solid recommendations

Thank you for the responses. The only lenses I have now are attached to my old Canon A-1 35mm, manual focus. I was budgeting about $500 dollars for the lens but am flexible. The thought with traveling to Ireland is that it is mostly landscape scenery so a wide-angle would be more appropriate but also it would be nice to have a lens that is a bit more versitile for when I get back. This is actually a honeymoon trip so looking to get some great shots. Is it always wise to stay with Canon lenses or are the third party lenses just as compatible?

There are 3 main independant manufacturers, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina.
The 2 former both have a very good reputation and the 28-75 Tamron is highly recommended as I mentioned previously. Take a look at this thread https://photography-on-the.net …t=145586&highli​ght=tamron

Also do a search on this forum for Tamron and it will provide a lot of posts on the lens to give you a better idea.

New Sigma lenses should be fine, but be careful with secondhand, older models as there are compatibility issues.

Something in the range 24 - 135mm should be fine for landscapes although there may be times when you want something wider. Welcome to the world of ' I need another lens'

I don't know what the prices are for lenses in the US. Over here the Tamron is around £250. Another possibility is the 28-135 Canon lens, but I've read mixed reports on its quality. I haven't used it so can't comment from personal experience.

You could also look for used Canon lenses.

Let us know what you decide and best wishes for your forthcoming wedding.

I have a 30D and use the three following lens when I travel. The nifty fifty EF 50 1.8, 28-135, EF-S 10-22. The 50 for indoor shoots where I cannot use flash, the 10-22 for many landscapes and the 28-135 for my walking around lens. I am going on a cruise around Cape Horn in January and think that I am also wanting a longer zoom. Maybe to 300

Bob

i would recommend these 3:

1. Canon 10-22
2. Sigma 10-20
3. Canon 24-70

I would say the Canon 17-85 IS would be a great starter - if you can use the EF-S lenses on the 30D (which I'm not sure!) This would end up as a 28-136 lens in 35mm equivalent.

UK prices:
1. £499 about 940$
2. £320 about 600$
3. £870 about 1650$ !

The 17-85 is versatile, but I have a hard time recommending it if landscapes are one of your priorities. The Canon 17-40 f/4L would be good for this, but you have other alternatives that cost less. The Tamron 17-50 for example costs less and has 10mm more on the long end and an f/2.8 max aperture, but the build is not as robust. The Tamron will take excellent landscapes as well as being a full stop of light faster.

sigma 17-70 would be my choice.
photozone.de has reviews of many lenses for Canon.

weemannie wrote:
UK prices:
1. £499 about 940$
2. £320 about 600$
3. £870 about 1650$ !

order from BH will be cheaper by any chance?

For your budget I'd consider the very flexable Sigma 17-70 or used Canon 17-85 IS!

How does the Sigma 17-70 perform in low light situations?

i hope you have fun in my country! (sorry i cant help on lenses)