BUYING XTI!! Lense Suggestions?

So I have decided to buy an XTI as my first dSLR. I have an extra $300 or so to spend on a lens or lenses to get me started.... I'm mostly interested in nature, landscapes, and animals... any suggestions???

I was in the same boat as you a few weeks ago (upgraded from a P&S I'd been using for 4 years to an XTI ), and I ended up going with these two:

Canon 50mm f1.8 ($80)
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1191555​340&sr=8-1

Canon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 ($236)
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1191555​369&sr=8-1


Congrats on the XTI - I'm sure you'll love it! I've been having a blast with mine, although I'm definitely finding times when I wish I had some other glass (a nice wide angle would be great). All in good time...

Forgot to mention, if you haven't picked up a tripod, I'd highly recommend one of those as well. I ended up going with the Bogen 3021Pro / 488RC0 combo, which was another $300. A couple memory cards, battery grip, new bag, and some more batteries, and I shudder to think about how much I've spent in the past couple months. The good sign, though, is that when I'm out shooting and home processing, I don't even think about how much I spent - I'm having too much fun.

ihs has recommended two good lenses to begin with.

Pick up a extra battery holder, and a flash. You will need a flash before you need a tripod. BTW, I still need a tripod

ihs wrote in post #4066975
I was in the same boat as you a few weeks ago (upgraded from a P&S I'd been using for 4 years to an XTI ), and I ended up going with these two:

Canon 50mm f1.8 ($80)
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1191555​340&sr=8-1

Canon 28-105mm f3.5-4.5 ($236)
http://www.amazon.com …ics&qid=1191555​369&sr=8-1

that's the same set up I have for my XT and it serves me very well... I love the 28-105 and you can't go wrong with the 50mm 1.8.

At the price point of 28-135mm IS now due to the excessive supply of it (from people that got it as kit lens with 40D), it's definitely a good performer too. The IS will definitely come in handy. I had one, and I loved that lens for the price vs performance.

Look at the Buy/sell/trade section here on the board

It may be hard to get lens(es) to cover what you want for $300. Mayve the 50 f/1.8 and a Sigma 70-300 APO? Both have good reputations for the IQ vs. cost. Will be able to get both for just under your budget.

Congrats on the new camera!!

I went with the Sigma 17-70 Macro for wide angle coverage. Got it online for about $320 and am very happy with it. It's very sharp especially when stepped down 1-2 stops.

Also have the 50mm 1.8 like the others although mine just arrive and I'm dying to test it out.

Alex

When I bought my 400D/XTi three months ago, I got in it a boxed kit along with the BG-E3 grip and the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.

Although I don't really have anything else to compare it to, I'm really pleased with this lens. It looks to be much better quality than the usual 18-55 kit lens and has greater reach, plus it has the image stabilisation.

Once I expand my lens collection, I expect this will remain my walkabout lens of choice.

I would recommend XTi body (w/o the kit lens) + Tamron 18-200mm ($300-$400) or Sigma 18-200mm OS ($550). "OS" is Sigma's word for Canon's "IS". The large zoom from 18-200mm is very convenient, good as a walk around or travel lens. Its image quality is good enough for 20" prints (but probably not good enough for 30" prints).

Can't go wrong with fifty, stick with 1.8, don't let the 1.4 call out to you too loudly. Now fifty is around 80mm on the crop sensor so it is not a 'normal' lens. So you really want 28mm as either a prime lens by itself or as part of a zoom lens like IHS recommended for some extra width. I used to own (gave it to the woman) the 28-135mm IS and I loved it. Great for Macro too.

I just bought an Xti 6 weeks ago and I picked up a 50 1.8 and the 28-135 IS. I really like both of these. Like someone said earlier the 28-135 IS are going cheap because the are the kit lens to the 40D and a lot of people are dumping them. I got a good deal on mine because of this.

My gear listed Below, is the best way to start out =)

I'll agree with others on the 28-135. Bang for the buck. I rarely ever take that lens off my camera, except real low light situations where I use my 50 1.8.

My wife uses our 400D with the 28-135 IS and just loves it. She considers it a perfect combo.

I'm still waiting for mine to get here, but the sigma 24-60 f/2.8 is a fantastic deal at $220

http://www.amazon.com …le-Cameras/dp/B0002ALDKO/

As everyone else has said, you can't go wrong with the nifty fifty