canon 18-200 best decision

Hi all. I am really leaning towards this lens for my "one for everything" lens. I use the rebel XT, I also have the nifty fifty for when I feel like playing around. I have read in here that some feel the 18-200 is a great choice if you get it at a good price, but otherwise maybe not the best choice, I really want the best image quality with the best range. I would say that cost is an issue but if this will be my all the time lens that will likely last me a very long time, then I guess I could justify spending more for quality. I have 2 young kids, so my pictures sare mostly of them, some scenery, mostly vacation shots, weeknds, etc. When I make big purchases, I like to feel no regrets, so I would appreciate any help. Like I said, when I need to take the pictures, I won't have the time to change lenses, so one lens, best quality with the best range would be the logical choice right now.

I have an 18-200 and I really like the lens. I do not use it for very serious work but for me it preforms great.
It requires a little post work (Raw and DPP do it for me) than say my 17-55 but the convenience factor has helped me get shots I may of missed if I had to switch lenses.

If you're not really serious about photography, and just want some good photos for a family album, I think the Canon 18-200 IS should do the job. If you are not willing to spend more, or change lenses just go for it.

thanks Phoenix, thx peter, actually, serious about photography, well I`m not doing it for a living, but actually I have done work in photography, so I like to apply the experience and knowledge that I do have in order to get the photos worth looking at. So I am willing to spend more, but what are the potential candidates for a one lens kit ? I also question my 420 speedlight. I am wondering if I need a more powerfull flash with these bigger focal lengths I will be getting into. Indoors and outdoors, but one expense at a time.

If you take it really seriously, I would suggest getting 2 lenses to cover that focal range. However, when I was using my 18-200 I was perfectly happy with it (untill the point when I realized I want to go all the way into photography).

Also I have a 430EX II flash unit, and I was using it with my 18-200 lens, and the flash output was more than enough esspecially when shooting indoors. Soooo ... I don't know much about the 420EX, but I think its power is symilar to that of 430EX, which means you should be fine with the flash you have.

I personally don't like the super zoom lens such as the 18-200 but it is a good do-it-all lens, I think one of if not the best in this category of lens. IQ is just not there for these lens but you have to give up something when you have such a range and convenience.

thx a lot guys, I will rent it first to see just how acceptable the IQ is. If not, I will go for a 2 lens kit to cover a similar range ( not including the nifty of coarse ) and start over again with the research. I have seen a lot of posts covering people with a 2 lens kit, so I know there is no lack of information on that front. thx again.

As others have pointed out, that's a good 'do-it-all' lens for the snapshot shooter. If you're concerned w/ IQ, you probably want to look at something else. That, and I don't think it's fast enough for a 'do-it-all' lens. If you're budget will allow it, grab an EF-S 17-55 f/2.8, a 50 f/1.8 Mk II, and a 70-200 f/4 non-IS (that's ~$1400 - $1500 for those three lenses). Keep the 28-135 as a 'snapshot' lens.

what If I am concerned with IQ but still need one lens with a very diverse range

AMG wrote in post #10155097
what If I am concerned with IQ but still need one lens with a very diverse range

You are out of luck.

Life is full of compromises. Car analogies often get thrown around, but think if you said "what if I want a car that can do 0-60 in 4 seconds AND seat 10 people comfortably?" Well it just isn't feasible to make a car like that. This is a case like that. The longer the zoom ranges, the more compromises have to be made. One of those compromises is optical consistency. Newer superzoom lenses are pretty good, but will never match the IQ of a short zoom or prime. That is just the way it is. Same way an off road vehicle will never handle like a Ferrari.

Your best bet is probably something like the 15-85 or 24-105 which are about as extreme a lens that has been able to be designed with great optics. 18-200, 18-250+ is just too far at this point. Really, though, it is probably time to just get used to having 2-3 lenses to cover different purposes and embrace the wonder of an interchangeable lens camera. I mean if there was just one lens that could cover it all well, why not just bolt it on and have everyone use it?

AMG wrote in post #10155097
what If I am concerned with IQ but still need one lens with a very diverse range

Buy a superzoom Point-n-shoot bridge cam?

tkbslc wrote in post #10155129
You are out of luck.

Life is full of compromises. Car analogies often get thrown around, but think if you said "what if I want a car that can do 0-60 in 4 seconds AND seat 10 people comfortably?" Well it just isn't feasible to make a car like that. This is a case like that. The longer the zoom ranges, the more compromises have to be made. One of those compromises is optical consistency. Newer superzoom lenses are pretty good, but will never match the IQ of a short zoom or prime. That is just the way it is. Same way an off road vehicle will never handle like a Ferrari.

Your best bet is probably something like the 15-85 or 24-105 which are about as extreme a lens that has been able to be designed with great optics. 18-200, 18-250+ is just too far at this point. Really, though, it is probably time to just get used to having 2-3 lenses to cover different purposes and embrace the wonder of an interchangeable lens camera. I mean if there was just one lens that could cover it all well, why not just bolt it on and have everyone use it?

Very well put.

yes I realize the bigger zooms mean less IQ but I wanted to know the best choice for the options, is the canon 18-200 the one to go with or is there even better ? I`d like to rent one to play around with it for a few days and see if it is enough of an improvement over the images I get now. If so, then I would be happy with the one lens for now, in a few years, I will add more. With the photos I take now, I see that realistically I need one lens that has as good IQ as possible with the most range.

Maybe this thread is getting sidetracked, for now, I am not looking for the argument of why more lenses is better, I need to know which is the best choice for something that does let's say from a range of 20-170. I found the 18-200, I thought 700 would mean it was a pretty good choice but maybe there is something superior at 18-170 for example. hope that clears it up a little. thx

AMG wrote in post #10155385
yes I realize the bigger zooms mean less IQ but I wanted to know the best choice for the options, is the canon 18-200 the one to go with or is there even better ? I`d like to rent one to play around with it for a few days and see if it is enough of an improvement over the images I get now. If so, then I would be happy with the one lens for now, in a few years, I will add more. With the photos I take now, I see that realistically I need one lens that has as good IQ as possible with the most range.

Maybe this thread is getting sidetracked, for now, I am not looking for the argument of why more lenses is better, I need to know which is the best choice for something that does let's say from a range of 20-170. I found the 18-200, I thought 700 would mean it was a pretty good choice but maybe there is something superior at 18-170 for example. hope that clears it up a little. thx

Sigma and Tamron has competing lenses, but the Canon will probably give you better IQ. My dad uses Tamron's 18-270, which is really amazing in its focal range but the Canon generally rates higher on image quality.

A step up in IQ but reasonably wide range: the 15-85 or 24-105L, unless you want to give up the wide angle with something like Sigma's 50-150mm or Canon's 55-250. That doesn't really help solve your problem...

AMG wrote in post #10155385
yes I realize the bigger zooms mean less IQ but I wanted to know the best choice for the options, is the canon 18-200 the one to go with or is there even better ? I`d like to rent one to play around with it for a few days and see if it is enough of an improvement over the images I get now. If so, then I would be happy with the one lens for now, in a few years, I will add more. With the photos I take now, I see that realistically I need one lens that has as good IQ as possible with the most range.

Maybe this thread is getting sidetracked, for now, I am not looking for the argument of why more lenses is better, I need to know which is the best choice for something that does let's say from a range of 20-170. I found the 18-200, I thought 700 would mean it was a pretty good choice but maybe there is something superior at 18-170 for example. hope that clears it up a little. thx

Good for reviewing available lenses:
http://www.slrgear.com​/