I need help

hi all so i want to get a good lens for my canon 40D I want a good lens that I can use to shot all day long with and it will give me good nice pictures im starting to build up my photography equipment so i need a lens that will be good for most shots doesn't have to be canon.
please let me know what you think is a good lens

Roy

Let me be the first to ask; what are you shooting primarily?

In my opinion Canon, Sigma, Tamron (the main 3 manufactures) make more "good" lenses then bad. You can use them all day long and with proper knowledge of how to use the equipment you can get spectacular pictures, be it a $100 kit lens or a "L" lens that costs thousands of dollars.

Give us more detail about what you are shooting and perhaps we can recommend something with the appropriate focal length to match what you are shooting. If you are doing very general type shooting with whatever lens you have for your 40D, perhaps a book such as Understanding Exposure might be of more use.

18-200 3.5-5.6 IS

For a good general purpose I highly recommend Tamron 17-50/2.8 non-VC = supersharp, good colors. AF slower than Canon's USM in their 17-55 but not slow. Can be had used for probably $350 or so. And you will have some money left over for punctuation marks.

Im looking for a general purpose lens a lens that I can have on the cam and snap may way I mean I dont want the kit lens thank you

What's your budget?

I would suggest the Canon 15-85!

I know you said it doesnt have to be Canon. But it does get much more general then this lens. Its just wide enough and just long enough for pretty much anything, also it doesn't need to be stopped down for sharpness. It has a GREAT 4 stop IS sysyem and the AF is the best Canon has to offer!
Its a great general purpose lens!

Right now you can get a new one for around $600

If you budget is lower then that you will have to compromise.

roymon1988 wrote in post #10512346
Im looking for a general purpose lens a lens that I can have on the cam and snap may way I mean I dont want the kit lens thank you

Which one is your kit lens?

The 40D has come with the "kit lens" 17-85mm IS, 28-135 (I think), but to my knowledge it never came with the crappy 18-55 non-IS (someone correct me if I am wrong) which is really the main lens that people avoid. The newer Rebel kit lens 18-55IS I have used and it has good optics and the IS works well, a very good lens for $100 for general outdoor shooting. I have owned one (bought it second hand) and liked it very much but the focal length was too redundant to my Sigma 24-60 f/2.8 so I resold it.

The "best" lenses for a 40d (crop sensor camera) in my opinion, based on optics and "general purpose" focal length :

Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM- best for low light shooting, constant f/2.8 aperture with IS. Lots of wedding photogs use it. $1000 give or take.

Canon 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM - better range, newest 4-stop IS system. Very good optically. I think it's around $600.

Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 OS HSM- a contender to the Canon 17-55IS. Not too many reviews yet but so far it looks like a good lens. $400 cheaper then the Canon at $669... (this one I really want to buy.)

Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (non-VC version) very good optically, slower autofocus then the above. $400 give or take a bit.


Others will suggest lenses such as the 17-40 f/4L (not long enough, slower lens), 24-105 f/4L IS (not wide enough), 24-70 f/2.8L (not wide enough, and $$$). This are all fine lenses but ideally suited for a full frame camera. Many people use them on crop cameras and some people will say that 24mm is wide enough (I have been shooting with my Sigma 24-60 for 3yrs now, I wouldn't mind a little wider but it's OK), generally 17mm or so is fine for landscape whereas a 24mm lens you might want a wide angle to go with it.

my is around the 400$

roymon1988 wrote in post #10512570
my is around the 400$

You are extremely limited in your choices then.

What lens do you have now? A 55-250 or prime(s) could be useful. Or flash!