Oops! New lens needed.

I was outside playing with our two young boys yesterday and my wife grabbed the camera (xti) to come out and snap a few pictures. Unforntunetly, she fell on the stairs and dropped the camera. The body appears to be okay, but the 50 f1.8 II is dead.

So I am trying to figure out what type of lens to replace it with......

I have great aspirations, but the truth is that most of our pictures are of the kids. I do have some speedlights and do take some portraits periodically.

So...I need a versatile lens that I can walkaround with, take pics of the kids and do okay with the occasional portrait.

I could of course go back with the nifty. I like the price and the speed, but the sharpness wasn't the best (at least my copy). What other options would you experts recommend?

Thanks for the help. BTW, my wife was bruised up...but okay.

Good to hear your wife is okay.

What's your max budget for the new lens?

17-50 f/2.8 or 24-75 f/2.8 tamron

I am not sure. If somebody gave me compelling reasons I guess I could go to the $3XX range. I don't think I can go past that as I am still really a newbie.

Oh yeah....keep in mind that I am using an Xti so 1.6 crop.

Glad your wife's all right.

What focal length(s) do you want?
Was the 50mm wide enough or long enough for what you want to do?

When I had an XTi I really enjoyed having the 28/1.8 and 85/1.8. The 28 is wide enough to be very useful indoors and as a walk-around. The 85/1.8 is a terrific lens for head and shoulder portraits indoors and is also great for kids at play outdoors. One of my favorite lenses.

The Sigma 24-60mm F2.8 EX DG is a sweet deal at $215. Get it on eBay through Cameta Camera. Otherwise, check out the Sigma 17-70 or Tamron 17-50, but those run in the $300+.

It just so happens that I plan to sell my Sigma 17-70. Perfect 1.6 crop cam lens and does great with kid shots.

+1 for the Sigma 24-60. I picked one up from a POTN member for $190. This included shipping. Love this lens.

ayreonaut wrote in post #6019385
Glad your wife's all right.

What focal length(s) do you want?
Was the 50mm wide enough or long enough for what you want to do?

When I had an XTi I really enjoyed having the 28/1.8 and 85/1.8. The 28 is wide enough to be very useful indoors and as a walk-around. The 85/1.8 is a terrific lens for head and shoulder portraits indoors and is also great for kids at play outdoors. One of my favorite lenses.

It wasn't wide enough for everything I wanted to do....then again it wasn't long enough either. I guess that is the situation with most primes!

I guess I would be looking to cover the focal range most have suggested here 17 to 20 through 80 ish.

In2Photos wrote in post #6019398
It just so happens that I plan to sell my Sigma 17-70. Perfect 1.6 crop cam lens and does great with kid shots.

Is this a macro lens?

mwvt9 wrote in post #6019477
Is this a macro lens?

It has Macro written on it. The lens has a 1:2.3 magnification so it does quite well. It has a very close minimum focus distance too.

http://www.sigmaphoto.​com …s.asp?id=3315&n​avigator=6

In2Photos wrote in post #6019504
It has Macro written on it. The lens has a 1:2.3 magnification so it does quite well. It has a very close minimum focus distance too.

http://www.sigmaphoto.​com …s.asp?id=3315&n​avigator=6

Shoot me a PM with your general price range. My guess is that it is out of mine, but I can't hurt.

mwvt9 wrote in post #6019364
I am not sure. If somebody gave me compelling reasons I guess I could go to the $3XX range. I don't think I can go past that as I am still really a newbie.

I would recommend a used Tamron 17-50 2.8. Very sharp, f/2.8. I really like mine for chasing my daughter around the yard.

I have a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 that I use on my XTi, and I really like it. I bought it used off this forum for $300. It's great for taking pictures of the kids, and produces nice results indoors without a flash. Does well with close-ups too. A very nice lens. Some people find the focal length odd on a crop body, but I've been very happy with it, especially the longer reach. The 18-55 length wasn't long enough for me.