All-in-One Lens?

[KRance]

I have a Digital Rebel XT and am looking for a good all-in-one lens (because it's what I can afford). All I have right now is the lens that came with the body (18-55). I want the lens to do a lot. I need it for weddings, portraits, but also be able to do some close up things. I need help! I have a budget of about $450 and was told at a photography shop the Tamron Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Lens is a good one for an all-in-one. I read some reviews saying that lens has trouble with AF. Any suggestions?? I would love to hear them! Thanks!

[Liz]

Sigma just announced a new 28-300 OS (stablization) lens. See the link - also check out the replies, as there is another older Sigma lens 18-200 without OS that someone said is good. I have no idea what the cost of the 28-300 will be - maybe over your budget.

Also - used is worth checking into. KEH.com has a lot of used equipment and they are very reputable.

Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS Lens - Press Release

Liz

[trog100]

i did just write bit more but i havnt posted for some time.. it fouled up.. he he

anyways in short i have one and it works perfectly okay.. there is no trouble focusing and the image quality is at least as good as the average kit lense thru out its range.. in short the lense will do exactly what u want it to.. plus a bit more..

trog

[Photo-John]

Trog-
Which lens do you have? Have you posted a review for it in the reviews? Posting a reply here is great to help the original poster. But posting a real review in the reviews is the best thing.

Thanks!

[Photo-John]

I think the 18-200mm lenses look like the best do-it-all tools. I haven't used one so I don't know how the optics are. As a rule, the longer the zoom range, the lesser the image quality will be. But that doesn't mean the optics can't be good or that the lens must be bad. The name of the game is getting the right tool for the job. And if you need one lens to do it all, then an 18-200mm zoom might be right for you. People seem to be happy with the Tamron you mentioned. Here's a link to the review page for that lens:

Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II >>

My all-purpose lens used to be the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. It's been a good lens, but it wasn't wide enough for the smaller sensors on 1.6x Canon digital SLRs like your Rebel XT. Some people don't need that wider end of the zoom, though. Another thing to consider is lens speed. The f/6.3 maximum aperture at the 200mm end of the Tamron is pretty slow. It will force you to use flash indoors and it won't allow you to get a nice shallow depth-of-field for portraits. I understand wanting one lens. But personally, I've come to the conclusion that I need two. Right now I'm carrying the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di and the Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5. I just used that combo for a tradeshow and I was able to shoot everything with those two lenses. I was very happy. So I might suggest you start with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. It will be a much better lens than the 18-200, even though it isn't as versatile. And you can add another lens later, when you've got the money.

[trog100]

"So I might suggest you start with the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. It will be a much better lens than the 18-200"

yes.. it will be better in some ways but completely useless in other ways..

i think a bag full of limited lenses purely from an image quality point of view has to be "better".. but if the lense u want isnt on the camera or isnt in your bag its of no use at all.. and no image at all cant really compare with a "good enough" or a "less than perfect image" that has at least been captured..

its very difficult to argue for "good enough" in a photographic sense.. and the bottom line is basically u cant have enough lenses (or cameras) even thow most of them wont see the light of day very often..

i have just moved to a digital slr from an FZ20.. so my judgement is clouded.. he he

i now have a pentax k100d with two lenses.. one tamron 18 x 200 (28 x 300) and a tokina 35 x 300 (53 x 450)..

one thing i do have is image stabilization built into the camera.. it does help with the slow zoom end of both lenses.. the overall image quality is no better than the fz20 compact in good light.. but that was "good enough"..

with image stabilization the zoom end of the tamron lense can be used in quite poor light.. without I/S it needs good light or a steady hand..

its an unanswerable question.. where to start from.. limited range but "better" image quality or limitted image quality and "better" range..

one thing is reasonbaly clear.. in the middle of its range.. there is nothing wrong with the tamron image quality at all.. its only at the extremes the problems start to show up.. thruout most of its range there arnt any noticable problems at all.. and its very usable..

i definitley favour usablility and convenience over pure image quality.. i am quite happy to accept the price i know i have to pay for that.. i think most camera/lenses take a decent enough picture.. to me it pretty much comes down to how quickly and easy it is to take the picture..

its nice being able to change lenses.. but having to carry several and having to change them is a big no no for me.. so is not being able to take a picture at all simply cos i dont have the right lense with me for the job..

my ideal (do everything) carry kit will be one camera and one lense.. the tamron 18 x 200 for general purpose or the tokina 35 x 300 for sports type stuff.. plus some macro filters and a couple of coking grads for landscapes for the tamron.. both lenses are nearly "do everything" lenses with a little help.. the tamron does make quite a good macro lense..

there are two new "do everything" lenses arriving soon.. a tamron 18 x 250 and a new sigma 18 x 200 with built in image stabilization..

its getting closer to my idea of the "perfect" camera.. the best of the compact and the best of the dslr.. a camera u can change lenses if u want to but mostly dont have to and a nice big swivelly lcd screen on the back i can frame my pics with if i want to.. that is one "compact" feature i do miss.. he he he

i do have one big "but" here thow.. the shear weight of my new picture taking package.. part of me still thinks that it might have made more sense to have bought an fz50 if convenience is my priority.. it was a toss up between the new panasonic and the pentax k100d and tamron 18 x 200 lense.. the overall size isnt much different but the weight certainly is.. there is also a fair weight difference between the tamron digital only lense and the older tokina film lense.. with the tamron lense the k100d weighs in at 1175 kgs readty to go.. the tokina lense boosts this to well over 1400 kgs..

trog