Best overall lens for the rebel xt and xti

I'm looking for the best overall affordable lens for my xti. I want extremely sharp, crisp pictures with a reasonable zoom. Something you can use everyday and expect great results with and that wont break the bank.

thanks

Tamron 28-75 XR Di 2.8.

adam* wrote in post #2000112
Tamron 28-75 XR Di 2.8.

Very nice. Any more ideas?

Either the Tamron 17-50 or 28-75. Neither of those are prohibitively expensive.

That is absolutely impossible to say. What do you want to take shots of? Do you want a wide end, or do you do strictly telephoto? Gotta get more specific. Affordable is also a subjective term. How much are you willing to spend?

Ronald S. Jr. wrote in post #2000574
That is absolutely impossible to say. What do you want to take shots of? Do you want a wide end, or do you do strictly telephoto? Gotta get more specific. Affordable is also a subjective term. How much are you willing to spend?

I meant for use as a general purpose lens. However, if you can suggest a good wide lens I'd be interested in that as well. Price range? Well, staying below $400 is preferable but not always possible.

For a wide lens, I'd say the Sigma 10-20. For a Standard zoom, I'd say either the Sigma 17-70 or if you don't mind not having much of a wide angle, the Tamron 28-75.

I found that the 28-75 is just not wide enough on a 1.6 crop camera. I love my EF-s 17-85 IS as an all purpose walk around lens.
If the camera were full frame then the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 would be excellent in your price range although it would be a little short for me. In that case I would bite the bullet and go for the EF 24-105 f/4 L IS.

I think for a general everyday lens you need something wider than 24mm on the Rebel body, and so to stick with Canon lenses I would go with the 17-85 as Skip recommended. I have been using a 24-105 lens as my general purpose lens and have found that I wish for the wider angle far more often than I do longer reach.

Good info! Helps me find where to start.