In the market for lenses, need recommendations...

Okay, I'm a total newbie to SLRs. I bought a Rebel XT body, the Nifty Fifty lens, and a Quantaray 70-300 zoom lens (it was cheap and I needed something quick for my son's baseball game). So now I'm scouting out some better lenses to get me started. I dont have the budget for the L series yet, that will be waaaaaaay down the road.

What I need is a good lens for portraits, a good everyday walk-around lens for trips to the park, zoo, vacation, etc so I dont have to lug a bunch of lenses with me, I also need a good lens for shooting action shots of my daughter playing indoor volleyball and a good fast lens for shooting action shots of my son playing baseball and football.

I'm looking to spend around $400 or less per lens, but if need be would consider up to $1000.

Are any of these any good?
Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO SLR Lens -62mm- f/Canon [$369.89] for my 'general purpose' lens, for when we go to the park or go on vacation.

Sigma AF 50-150mm F2.8 APO EX DC HSM SLR Lens -67mm- f/Canon [$678.89] to use for Volleyball and portraits.

Sigma AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX APO DG Optical Stabilizer SLR Lens -77mm- f/Canon [$999.00] for Action shots of Steven playing football and baseball.

I've read so many posts on so many lenses that I dont know what to choose, I'm overwhelmed at this point.

Any suggestions?

You've already got a good portrait lens in your 50mm. You state that you don't have the budget for a L, but you then list some fairly pricey glass. For about the same price as the Sigma 50-150 you could go with the 70-200 f2.8 Sigma, or for about $100 less, the Canon 70-200 f4L. You may appreciate the added range on those lenses. Both of those lenses would also do just fine for portraits. None of the 18-200, 28-300, superzooms get rave reviews. Too much of an optical compromise to get that much range. That's why most people carry at least 2 zooms to cover that range.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …5-II-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM Lens Review

this is what i would get...

Thanks guys! After digging around in this forum, I've decided to go with the Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-75
f/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Autofocus as my walk around lens. It got rave reviews and I could use it for my Daughter's volleyball games as well as portraits of my kids and family. There is currently a $30 rebate on it as well. I'll later save up the $$ to replace my Quantaray with the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8
APO EX DG Macro HSM Auto Focus Telephoto Zoom. Its a bit pricey, but I think I'll get alot of use out of it. With these two, I've covered quite a bit of focal range. Of course, I also have my Nifty 50 f/1.4.

Later I may save up enought to get something along the lines of a 100-300mm zoom or a 100-400mm zoom, maybe an L series at that point to get pics of my son playing football.

I also like the 85mm f/1.8 but with the two lenses listed above that I plan on getting, I really do not see the need for the 85mm. I'll save that money to spend on the L series 400mm zoom later.

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 nothings better for the price

BassBiggieD wrote in post #2074284
Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 nothings better for the price

I agree, if i had to do it all over again, choose the 70-200 F/4L, or the Sigma 70-200 EX APO DG HSM F/2.8, ide choose the sigma