Best Lens <$500

So I am looking to replace the 18-55 which came on my Rebel XT. I think this was a good learning lense but after 5300 pics I am wanting them to turn out a bit sharper. I would like a replace this lense with one which has long reach capabilities but can also function as a walk around.

I generally do shoots with my car, portraits and such at parties, but would also like to be able to shoot motorsport and possibly some wild life (though not super long distance).

I want to spend less than $500 if possible and would like to get the broadest range of zoom possible without it reducing the image quality substantially.

A couple lenses which caught my eye were the Tamron 18-250 as well as the newer 18-270 when it comes out, or possibly the Tamron 28-300. I would imagine that you guys would be able to recommend many others which I have not seen as well as possibly rule out the ones I have considered.

Thanks

If you like the range of your current lens, consider the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. It is probably the best "bang for your buck" in this range.

Range, Price, image quality. they just dont go together.
18-250 is the closest. It might be slightly better than your kit lens. it wont be great for portrait work, as it is two slow of a lens.
I would seriously look in to a combo, 18-55IS, and 55-250IS. good image quality, and IS, and in combo will be less than 500

Another vote for the 18-55IS and 55-250IS combo.

I don't own the 55-250IS, but I looked at it long and hard earlier this year. By all accounts it's a good value.

I do own the 18-55IS since this spring, and I have to say I'm very impressed. I don't do a lot of WA work, so I didn't want to spend as much as the 17-40L or 16-35L cost (at least not right now). The sharpness, and overall image-quality of this lens seems to be more than adequate for anything I want to do.

Cheers,

Geoff S.

I like the range of my lense in the sense that I don't want to lose the ability to shoot this focal length with the new lense but I would like to extend it as much as possible while retaining an image quality that is better than the kit lense.

Where would I look for a place that offers the 18-55IS and 55-250IS in a combo? Would Amazon be a good place to start looking? That sounds like a great idea if they can be had in my price range.

I agree with kevin that sounds like a plan.

Used 70-200 f/4L. I got mine in like-new condition for $470.

Awesome, looks like even without a combo deal the pair would be 445 from Amazon. This fits within the budget and would probably give me better results than what I had planned.

Just a few questions about these lenses. This type of IS, is it capable of panning shots? How is the build quality/feel compared to that of the kit lense?

I really appreciate this guys. Great responses!

I continue to be a fan of the Sigma 24-60 f/2.8 -- If you get a good copy of that, it is the best bang-for-the-buck I've come to know.

Sawbladz wrote in post #6494503
A couple lenses which caught my eye were the Tamron 18-250 as well as the newer 18-270 when it comes out, or possibly the Tamron 28-300.
Thanks

Just wanted to mention that the difference between 18mm and 28mm is huge, while the difference between 250mm and 270mm would never be noticed... basically what I'm trying to say is the 18-250 is a much broader range than a 28-270 on a crop camera.

+1 for another vote for the Tamron 17-50 F2.8... It's not nearly as big of a range but it's a good lens to have.

Sawbladz wrote in post #6494691
Just a few questions about these lenses. This type of IS, is it capable of panning shots? How is the build quality/feel compared to that of the kit lense?

I don't have the 18-55 IS, but I do have the 55-250 and the IS is awesome. Yes, it's capable of panning. As for build, it's a little better than the kit lens.

no doubt Tamron 17-50 2.8. Great lens for the great price.

That Tamron looks like an excellent lense but buying it would max out my budget and leave me with the limited range I had before. I think I will be going with the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS combo. Now to find a nice circular polarizer to go with them...

Sawbladz wrote in post #6495274
That Tamron looks like an excellent lense but buying it would max out my budget and leave me with the limited range I had before. I think I will be going with the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS combo. Now to find a nice circular polarizer to go with them...

18-55 IS and 55-250 IS make a very nice combo and they are nice and light to carry all day. For cir pol take a look on http://hvstar.net/ They have all the major brands and the best prices around. They are highly regarded with the folks on the forum.

I have the 55-250 IS, it is a very nice and versatile lens, small and light to boot.
But I like my 17-50 even better. f/2.8, sharp and excellent color out of the lens