Lets talk ultra-budget lenses for a newb

I've been reading the forums and it seems people in general recommend the Tamron 28-75 or Canon 28-135 as good starter, standard zoom, budget lenses. However, these are still out of my price for the moment.

So if I was to get a super-cheap lens which one should I get?

For example ($150-$300 USD):

-Canon 28-90mm F4-5.6 II USM
-Quantaray 28-105mm F3.8-5.6
-Sigma 24-70mm F3.5-5.6
-Tamron 28-200

Any experience with the above or anything else you would recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help.

What lenses do you have now? What kind of pics are you taking?

I jut picked up a D30 body and its my first DSLR so I have no lenses yet. Just looking for an all-purpose lens to mess around with.

I would suggest the Canon 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM.

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ils&Q=&sku=2064​34&is=GREY

Or, if you want to spend a little more you can consider the Tamron 28-75 f2.8

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …ails&Q=&sku=284​399&is=REG

canon 50.mm 1.8 II under a 100.00. maby a tamron 19-35 3.5-4.5 150.00 or so used I think the tamron would be a good choice as it's a zoom and called Fantastic plastic . if you can affored it get both.

The 50mm f1.8 (aka nifty fifty) was the first lens I picked up. $70 at BH. It is a great lens.

Any Quantaray is over-priced poop. Don't do it.

I have the 28-90mm and I'd be happy to give it away if I could found someone who'd come take it. I'm afraid to touch it as it's problems might be contagious. (OK, so I'm an L slob, but this lens gets straight "poor" across the board at www.photozone.de and a final score of 0.69, which is the absolute lowest score in the "Standard Zooms" category.)

The Sigma rates "average, 2.5" on PhotoZone so this isn't bad for an inexpensive lens.

The Tamron rates a 1.14, which isn't surprising for a 7x zoom - even though it's tempting to have that wide a range.


From a quality perspective the Sigma 24-70mm seems like a decent lens for the money, and it's a very nice range for "messing" around with - but be prepared for it to be too short sometimes, and not long enough other times. But it's a good range for a lot of things.


Or you might want to think 50mm for a while. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 can't be beat for $70. Very very good bargain for the money, very good quality, and the wide aperture makes a lot of low-light situations possible.

Get the 50mm f/1.8 and get ready to get addicted -- so save your money and buy something good the first time

Scottes wrote:
I have the 28-90mm and I'd be happy to give it away if I could found someone who'd come take it. I'm afraid to touch it as it's problems might be contagious. (OK, so I'm an L slob, but this lens gets straight "poor" across the board at www.photozone.de and a final score of 0.69, which is the absolute lowest score in the "Standard Zooms" category.)

Which version of the 28-90? The Mk1 USM was supposedly pretty good (at least 28-105 quality). There are 3 non USM versions and a Mk2 USM version which all suck. Of course sample variation always counts for a lot too.

My recommendation would be the 28 f/2.8. Its a bit more ($160 vs $70) than the 50 f/1.8 but still cheap and a much better focal length as a walkaround lens.

A sigma or tamron 28 - 300 is an option.

Advantage 1 lens with a very long reach so you can buy just one for the moment and still have a fairly versatile outfit.

Disadvantage the quality is not great as that much zoom range means a lot of compromises.

still if you want something very general purpose to experiment with until you can afford better quality its worth thinking about

I suggest buy a used Tokina 24-200 ($200), which is pretty sharp for a hyperzoom and has nice range, probably helps to find out what focal lenghts you prefer/need, except it does not give you the true wide end. Add a Canon 50/1.8 ($70), to see what difference a fast prime makes.

Stick with Canon in that price range.
1) 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM
2) 35-135 f4-5.6 USM
3) 50 f1.8
4) 28 f2.8

Rather get a used copy of a good lens (like the ones Bodog mentioned) instead of a new version of a mediocre one.

Although it might be very tempting to start with a cheap lens, remember the old saying ... 'if you buy cheap, prepare to buy twice'

Start with the 28/2.8 and the 50/1.8, and you'll have these lenses for a long time...

Best regards,
Andy

Great feedback guys!

I think I'm going to start with the 50/1.8 and work my way from there.

Thanks

You may like Image Stabilization lenses some day. However, if you are on a budget, just use a lens without I.S. and either use a tripod or else practice your anti-camera-shake techniques.

---Bob Gross---