Lens rec. for <$600

I am looking for a lens to kind of fill the gap between my 17-55 and 70-200 and also give me a more convenient walkaround lens. I love the combination of these two lenses when its easy for me to switch back and forth as the situation calls for one or the other. However, I find myself wanting a lens that covers both ranges at the same time or at least the heart of those ranges when its not so easy or desirable to switch lenses. So basically a walkaround for family vacations or something similar.

The lenses I've really zeroed in on are the canon 28-135, the sigma 18-250, and the tamron 18-270. Most on this forum don't seem to be fans of the superzooms and honestly even when using the 70-200 lens I find myself more in the 70-150 range. So i'm not sure if either of the superzooms are the way to go. I'm just worried that on a crop I won't be happy with the limited 28mm on the wide end.

So any other lenses to suggest? Thoughts on the lenses I'm looking at? Any thoughts in general?

Oh and most of my shooting tends to be of landscapes, nature, and my child. Thanks in advance for any help or guidance.

15 - 85.

The 28-135 is probably the most economical out of the bunch, and the best bang for the buck. If you are outside, 28-135 shouldnt be a problem. If you are inside, just drop on the 17-55.

Find a used copy of a tokina 50-135.

15-85 doesn't seem to give me much reach over the 17-55 to justify the expense...who knows maybe the 28-135 doesn't either. not sure yet.

Speaking of tokina has any tried or seen images from the 16.5-135?

I never once had this thought wtih my 17-55 and my 70-200. Weird.

I'd personally save for the 24-105L

thechickencow wrote in post #9625529
I never once had this thought wtih my 17-55 and my 70-200. Weird.

Not really. I find too many folks worry about having every focal length. Not everyone needs every focal length. I just buy what I need.

Honestly I use my 28-135mm IS for my walk around. it's a pretty good lens and you can find them new (from someones camera kit) for $250-300. I think it does a great job for the price. And being so cheap you can get some other stuff with the extra money you'll have left over

18-135 is cheap and good*

ougrad02 wrote in post #9625392
15-85 doesn't seem to give me much reach over the 17-55 to justify the expense...who knows maybe the 28-135 doesn't either. not sure yet.

The 28-135mm lens is 4.8X zoom. The 17-55 is 3.2X zoom. That is a significant increase in zoom-ability. I find that the extra reach from 135-200 isnt that significant (when tested on the 70-200 lens). The 28-135 is a great outdoor do-it-all lens for walking around.

plasticmotif wrote in post #9625369
Find a used copy of a tokina 50-135.

I love that lens, but I would consider it a duplicate of the 70-200 and not a complement, certainly not a walkaround lens.

To me it sounds like the OP doesn't need to fill the 55-70mm gap as much as he wants a slightly lighter lens for when he can leave the big glass at home. So I think one of the slower wide-range zooms would be ideal. So some options might be:

15-85 (pushing budget a bit)
18-135
Sigma 18-125
18-200 IS

Starting at 28mm means you have no wide angle, so you might not feel like you can leave the 17-55 at home.

tkbslc wrote in post #9626824
To me it sounds like the OP doesn't need to fill the 55-70mm gap as much as he wants a slightly lighter lens for when he can leave the big glass at home.
Starting at 28mm means you have no wide angle, so you might not feel like you can leave the 17-55 at home.

I would say this accurately sums up what I'm looking for. The 55-70mm gap isn't really a big deal. I'm more at a point where I want a lighter walkaround lens for "not so critical" photos. Just a lens to get some nice family photos while on a trip.

I see that someone rec. the 18-135 canon lens. Anyone have any thoughts on image quality differences between 28-135 and 18-135 canon lenses?

themadman wrote in post #9625532
Not really. I find too many folks worry about having every focal length. Not everyone needs every focal length. I just buy what I need.

Yeah, I seem to manage quite well with 50, 80, and 150mm prime lenses on my medium format camera. Most of the time on my 7D my walkaround combo is the 17-55 plus the 85 f/1.8 or the 17-55 plus the 70-200.

ougrad02 wrote in post #9627018
I would say this accurately sums up what I'm looking for. The 55-70mm gap isn't really a big deal. I'm more at a point where I want a lighter walkaround lens for "not so critical" photos. Just a lens to get some nice family photos while on a trip.

I know it seems rather limited, but I used to love the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 for this purpose. It's a single lens solution with ridiculously good optics, and very nice for portraits.

I vote for the Tamron 18-270. I have one and love it. It is no match to more specialized lens but it does a great job over all.

VC is awesome and it is slightly faster lens + 6 year warrenty.

it does not disappoint.

Rogazilla,

How does the weight of the 18-270 feel? Is it an easy lens to carry around as a walkaround?