Lens for Rebel XTI

[milhouse]

So the wife and I decided to get each other Canon Rebel XTI's for xmas and now the tough part, picking good lens to go with the package. Both of us come from a photography background but over the past 10 years we haven’t really touched an SLR camera. I would like to start us out with a good lens that can cover a broad range of uses. If I had to pick the main thing we would be shooting it would be landscapes. My price range is about $300-$500 each. Also, is image stabilization something I should consider? I would say there would be a lot of times where we might be hiking and want to keep the load as light as possible without a tripod.

Thanks for any advice.

Dave

[Canuck935]

IS does help when you're hiking and not carrying a tripod, but often I can find a good rock or somthing to place it on to help steady the shot.

Since you want a lens that will do it all, maybe something like a 24-105 f/4? The kit lens will get you more on the wide end though. Or maybe something like 16-35 which will get you a little wider through normal range. ???

[mwfanelli]

So the wife and I decided to get each other Canon Rebel XTI's for xmas and now the tough part, picking good lens to go with the package. Both of us come from a photography background but over the past 10 years we haven’t really touched an SLR camera. I would like to start us out with a good lens that can cover a broad range of uses. If I had to pick the main thing we would be shooting it would be landscapes. My price range is about $300-$500 each. Also, is image stabilization something I should consider? I would say there would be a lot of times where we might be hiking and want to keep the load as light as possible without a tripod.

Thanks for any advice.

Dave

IS is a wonderful addition for hiking. I tried carrying a tripod around when I was young: awkward and annoying. Monopods were little better. Although it's true that there are times when something is available to lean on, these objects never seem to be in the right place!

The use of IS means that you have the tripod "built-in." Shoot when you want without having to carry and set-up equipment. Well worth the extra money when hiking and backpacking.

My favorite hiking/backpacking lens of all times is the old but reliable Canon 28-135 IS. Carry the lightweight kit lens as well if you want to get a bit wider at times.

[milhouse]

Carry the lightweight kit lens as well if you want to get a bit wider at times.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Im going to look into both of these options.

mwfanelli - What did you mean by lightweight kit lens mentioned above.

[Canuck935]

I'm pretty sure he meant that the standard 18-55mm kit lens is small and light (which it is) making it easy to pack along on a hike.

[milhouse]

I'm pretty sure he meant that the standard 18-55mm kit lens is small and light (which it is) making it easy to pack along on a hike.

Oh, I was planning on buying the body only. Is it worth it to order the camera/lens combo?

[Photo-John]

The kit lens is decent and does offer you some real wide angle capability. Neither the 24-105mm IS or the 28-135mm IS offer real wide angle coverage with the XTi. And since your budget is $300-500, you should be aware that the 24-105mm f/4L IS lens costs over $1000. It's a sweet one, though. It's got perfect reviews here and it won a 2006 Choice Award. The 28-135mm IS lens is a classic and I've used it a lot and sold plenty of photos taken with it. There's also a 17-55mm f/2.8 EF-S lens. It will be a more flexible lens, although if you like to make a lot of telephoto images, it may not be right. It also costs about $1000. The good stuff will cost you. The best all-purpose compromise is likely the Canon 17-85mm EF-S IS lens. The reviews are mixed. But it has a good zoom range, image stabilization, and you can buy it for under $500.

So what's it gonna be - increase the budget or make a compromise? I do think image stabilization is a good idea. But it will cost ya. Just to complicate matters, have you looked at the Sony A100 digital SLR? It has image stabilization built into the body. Same with the Pentax K100D digital SLR. So you don't have to buy special lenses. I'm not knocking the XTi - I've got one. But there are other good alternatives.

[milhouse]

The kit lens is decent and does offer you some real wide angle capability. Neither the 24-105mm IS or the 28-135mm IS offer real wide angle coverage with the XTi. And since your budget is $300-500, you should be aware that the 24-105mm f/4L IS lens costs over $1000. It's a sweet one, though. It's got perfect reviews here and it won a 2006 Choice Award. The 28-135mm IS lens is a classic and I've used it a lot and sold plenty of photos taken with it. There's also a 17-55mm f/2.8 EF-S lens. It will be a more flexible lens, although if you like to make a lot of telephoto images, it may not be right. It also costs about $1000. The good stuff will cost you. The best all-purpose compromise is likely the Canon 17-85mm EF-S IS lens. The reviews are mixed. But it has a good zoom range, image stabilization, and you can buy it for under $500.

So what's it gonna be - increase the budget or make a compromise? I do think image stabilization is a good idea. But it will cost ya. Just to complicate matters, have you looked at the Sony A100 digital SLR? It has image stabilization built into the body. Same with the Pentax K100D digital SLR. So you don't have to buy special lenses. I'm not knocking the XTi - I've got one. But there are other good alternatives.

Well for now I want to keep my budget to $3000 for two cameras, lenses and memory cards. That really only leaves $500-$600 for each lens. Down the road I think i would buy other better lenses for specific purposes. As far as the Sony goes, I have always been a Canon fan so I’m going to stick to Canon. Although if Nikon had a similar option with 10mp and same price range I might have considered that.

Part of my problem is I’m not up to date with what all the initials are in the Lens descriptions. I realize the "L" is the premium glass and "IS" is Image stabilization but was does "EF" stand for? Another consideration would be to be able to use the lenses when I upgrade the body to a full sensor sized version down the road.

[Photo-John]

Part of my problem is I’m not up to date with what all the initials are in the Lens descriptions. I realize the "L" is the premium glass and "IS" is Image stabilization but was does "EF" stand for? Another consideration would be to be able to use the lenses when I upgrade the body to a full sensor sized version down the road.

"EF" just indicates that it's a standard Canon auto focus lens. "EF-S" indicates that a lens is specific to the 1.6x sensor size. EF-S lenses will only work with the EOS 20D, 30D, Rebel XT, and the Rebel XTi.

I'm not sold on "full-frame" necessarily being an upgrade. It does offer more surface area and larger pixels. But it also means larger, heavier lenses, and potentially lesser image quality as the 1.6x crop often leaves out the most questionable area of a lens - the edges. I was planning to buy an EOS 5D but I was concerned losing the reach the digital crop factor offers me. I really appreciate that when I'm out on the trail and don't want to carry all of my gear. When the XTi was announced I was very excited because it looked like it offered me everything I wanted without having to go back to full-frame. So far, I have no regrets.

[gahspidy]

John, interesting points about the "full frame" sensor not necessarily being an upgrade. I too had my eye on the 5D because of the full frame. I would be able to get the "most " from my lenses. However, I just recently ordered the XTi because I could no longer wait for the price of the 5D to drop and was not in a financial situation presently to justify spending 3000.00 on new gear. The crop factor will give me the range of an unaffordable tele, resolution is descent at 10 mp, and built in anti dust system seems worth while. Also, i hear the lcd screen is best of it's kind. The crop factor also gives only the "sweet" spot of the lens, as you mentioned. The full frame sensor 5D will no doubtedly achieve incredibly clean images at all ISO, due to the larger pixels holding more info, but I think the XTi will be respectable as far as noise is concerned.
Dave mentions he will be doing mostly landscape photography, so i think he should stay with something closer to the wide angle spectrum.

[Medley]

Milhouse,

I recently picked up a Canon EF 70-200 f4 L series lens. At about $650.00, it's right at the upper limit of your budget. Overall this is a great lens. The ultrasonic motor makes it whisper quiet, and the bokeh is awesome. It does NOT have the image stabilization, and I'm sure there are going to be times when I wish I had bought the f2.8 version (with IS) instead. However, at twice the price, I couldn't justify it.

I'm finding that between this lens and the 18-55mm that came with my Rebel XT, I have a great deal of versatility at a price that falls within your $1500.00 budget. You can check out more info on this (and most other) lens in the review section.

-Joe U.