General Lens question.

[kevinruiz]

So I recently bought a Canon Rebel XT body.
I'm looking around for a general type of lens. Nothing too fancy.
Good Quality, Feel, maybe image stabilization?

I've looked at these so far:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...m.html#reviews

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...s.html#reviews

any suggestions?

[WesternGuy]

Kevin, it depends on the type of photography you are going to do. My philosophy is "buy the best glass you can afford". My guess (?) is that the Sigma would be better for you - it is longer - and probably(?) of better quality than the Phoenix, although the few reviews I did find suggest that they are high quality. I have never heard of them before - maybe they are not sold in Canada(?). I do know that most Sigma lenses have good reputations and the reviews I have seen on the net suggest they give good IQ for the most part. Hope others will provide additional opinions. HTH

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[straightarm]

Have you looked at Canon's own lenses?

going up in price, the "standard" zoom lenses for a camera like yours would be:

18-55 mm IS

17-85mm IS

18-200mm IS

17-55mm IS

Of the two you suggested, I think the Sigma is better. It's a lens designed for cropped sensor cameras. The other is a rather old design, a wide angle zoom for film and digital camera and I think appears under many names, Vivitar, Cosina etc

[random one]

as far as canon lenses go, i would avoid the 18-55. i have used it briefly and it feels like it belongs on a children's toy camera. i have the 17-85 on my 40d and i'm happy with it overall, even though i now realize that f4 isn't enough for me.

i don't know much about third-party lenses, other than most of the time they are pretty much equal to their canon comparisons with slightly worse quality.

[CaraRose]

Phoenix is basically a low end lens brand. I don't know if they're associated with Vivitar but it's in the same quality range.

[Liz]

Being a Canon person for years, I've used many lenses. My personal advice would be to start with the Canon 18-55 IS. It is better quality than either of the lenses you're looking at. I think it is a good beginner's lens - the IS is a great feature in this lens. I've seen some very good images shot with the same camera you have and the 18-55 IS. It's on sale now at B&H for $155. I'd seriously consider it - at least check it out. It looks like it might fit your budget.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._5_5_6_IS.html

Liz