Advice on which lens to choose for my 400D?

Hi!

I am a novice in photography. My photography is often but not exclusively limited to shooting during various vacations and business travels.

About a year ago I bought an EOS 400D and am very happy with it except for the lens supplied with the kit (an 18-55mm EF-S). It has a slight plastic feel to it and is somewhat less robust than I would have it, not to mention the fact that using filters is out of question due to the rotating front.

Partly because of this I am now considering buying a new lens. The most important for me is for it to have IS and be suitable for usual "tourist" photography (that is neither macro nor tele-zoom). I have now come up with 3 alternatives that suit my needs and - to a variable degree - my budget:

1) Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3,5-5,6 IS - The same lens as my current one, just with added IS. Filters are still not usable, though it is not that important either. Cheap.

2) Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5,6 IS - Fits me really nice, both considering the price and quality. Only worried that 55-250mm is a bit too much zoom.

3) Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM - This one is probably perfect, but the price is about 30% more than I will be willing to pay.

Which one would you recommend? And even if it's not listed above, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Thanks in advance
MoN

PS. I am not a fan of bringing with me more than one lens, so the new one must more or less substitute my current one - or at least I want to avoid exchanging lenses as much as possible.

Your not going to find many options with IS in your price range which I would assume is $300 tops?


Id either save up a little longer or drop the IS requirement. You may find in some situations that 250mm is not enough zoom as well.

18-55IS and 55-250IS are a great cheap 2 lense setup that will fill most of anyones needs but may leave you wanting more in both the speed and durability areas.


For my 55mm just wasnt long enough and I felt that 5.6 was too slow, even with IS so I chose to go with the 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM as my main walkaround and havent had any complaints at all and the build quality is much better than the kit lense. Its also priced fairly cheap (I paid 229 for mine) and the barrel does not rotate when zooming.

throw in the 50mm 1.8 which is $70~ and you have yourself a 2 piece kit thats very light to carry and gives you something that you can use in lower light situations.

Have you considered a third party lens? The Sigma 17-70mm perhaps or the Tamron 17-50mm. Not IS I know but well respected lenses all the same for the money.

As an aside, the only filters it would be difficult to use on your current lens would be a polariser. A rotating front end doesn't stop you using a filter for protection if that's what you're referring to.

Get the Tamron 17-50 2.8


With 2.8 aperture you will not need IS.

Jimmer411 wrote in post #6088407
18-55IS and 55-250IS are a great cheap 2 lense setup that will fill most of anyones needs

Great advice for a beginner's kit.