17(ish) - 85(ish) lens advice

Hi all, I'm looking to buy a new lens and wondering which to go for. I'm an amateur, but have been asked to photograph a friend's wedding next year and have managed to convince myself that I'll need a nice new lens for it..!

Currently, I have a Canon 400D, with 18-55mm IS and 70-300 IS lenses, but fancy something a little fancier for the wide-angle zoom that fills in the missing 55-70mm (both for the wedding and as a general-purpose walkaround lens). The 18-55 is ok, but I find that the images I get with it are very bland compared to those I take with the 70-300.

The lenses I'm looking at are:

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 SP Di
Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4 DC OS

All seem fairly similar and are about the same price. I'm currently leaning towards the Tamron; the constant f2.8 sounds good... Any advice on which I should go for? Is there another lens I should consider that is around the same price? Or am I falling victim to lens-envy and should just learn to cope with what I already have?

Thanks

Dan

sounds like you want the canon EFS 15-85mm

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1292690​734&sr=8-1

Daedalus34r wrote in post #11474172
sounds like you want the canon EFS 15-85mm

http://www.amazon.com …TF8&qid=1292690​734&sr=8-1

Daedalus, I had looked at that, but it's nearly twice the price of the others. Is it worth saving up the extra cash for it (silly question, I suppose)?

Dan

I have the Canon 17-85, having bought it with my 400D a number of years ago.

The f/4-5.6 will give you trouble with any movement in low light, like dimly lit dancefloor. The Image Stabilisation can make up for handheld shake, but not for the subject moving, so I strongly recommend a 2.8. If you haven't already, you'll notice when moving to fast lenses that they're such a pleasure to use and allow for more candid shots at parties as you don't have to worry as much about lighting and holding groups and portrait subjects steady. So nice, that I almost exclusively use the 28mm 1.8 and 85mm 1.8, unless I'm out with a tripod at night with my 10-22mm.

Also, the 17-85 has some barrel and pincushion not as serious in the newer (and shorter range), cheaper kit lenses by Canon. The kit lenses are completely plastic construction and lack the focus guide window, but they are of similar or marginally better image quality and have a newer version of the image stabilisation. The 17-85 is not really the answer for anything anymore.

For a bit more money, you might also consider the Canon EF-s 17-55 IS USM, which is frequently complimented by being called an "unmarked L lens" because of it's image quality.

Why not start looking at primes?

Thanks bdp23, I'll strike the 17-85mm off the list.

muskyhunter wrote in post #11474244
Why not start looking at primes?

Mostly because I don't want the hassle of switching lenses too often.


Hmm, that 15-85mm lens is looking more tempting... Is it really £300 better than, say, the Tamron 28-75mm?

Dan