Which lenses should I buy? Have you used these?

[supermediageek]

I have only a certain amount of money to spend on lenses. I have considering a combo of those below.
To be used with the canon 20D.

Also has anyone used the "Sekonic L-358 Flash Master - Digital Incident, Reflected and Flash Light Meter - Weatherproof" $249.00 I also need recommendations for tripod (I am used to video tripods- like the vinten vision 3) oh, and flash.


Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto SP AF 28-105mm f/2.8 LD Aspherical IF --639.95

Tokina Zoom Telephoto AF 80-200mm f/2.8 AT-X 828AF Pro --609.00

Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di --$369.95

Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro DF Autofocus Lens $429.95

Sigma Zoom Telephoto 70-200mm f/2.8 EX APO IF HSM --799

Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS $394.95

Canon Zoom Telephoto EF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF IS Image Stabilizer USM $389

Zoom Super Wide Angle 18-50mm f/3.5-5.6 DC Autofocus $109

Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.8 II Autofocus Lens $69

Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 28-70mm f/2.8-4 Compact High Speed Zoom Autofocus Lens $119

Tamron Zoom Telephoto AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Macro $124

Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 28-135mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical IF Macro $139

Canon Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM $139

There are many others...


I shoot a lot of theater (low lighting, fast action) and thought a fast lens would be best, but because of their high cost, I would then have to buy cheaper lenses to cover the rest of the zoom range. Example:

Tokina Zoom Telephoto AF 80-200mm f/2.8 AT-X 828AF Pro --609.00
Canon Zoom Super Wide Angle EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM $139
Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 24-70mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro DF Autofocus Lens $429.95

or is the Tokina a 'junk' lens. Sould I get the sigma 70-200 for $799 and the Sigma Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto 28-70mm f/2.8-4 Compact High Speed Zoom Autofocus Lens $119 Tamron Zoom Telephoto AF 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 LD Macro $124

etc....

Anyone who can give me any input would be great.
Many thanks!!

[Lionheart]

Start with the 50mm f1.8. It's cheap, versatile, fast aperture, and razor sharp. Don't forget however that the 20D is pretty decent at ISO 1600 and reasonable at 3200, so a fast lens may or may not be important. I shot with just a 50mm f1.8 (the original metal mount mark I) when I bought my first (eos 630) camera 15 years ago and it did just fine. You'll have to do more running and moving to get the composition you want, but so did a zillion other shutterbugs back in the days before zoom lenses came along. I have had the 28-135 IS lens. It is quite sharp, gives you a decent range (less decent on the wide side because of the 1.6 cropping factor of the 20D) and IS is nice, but I rarely used IS on this lens as it was rarely needed. I ended up giving it away as a gift to some close friends after I bought the 28-70 f2.8L. Just my two coppers

[supermediageek]

I was thinking that the 50mm f1.8 would be great to have on hand when I did have the ability to shot the dress rehearsals; however, I often have to shoot during a performance. (Many drawbacks with that- from telephoto lenses to the 20Ds supposed loud shutter- I have been renting the 10D). As far as the 50mm goes, is the one listed a good lens at a 69 price tag? Or should I spend a little more money one it?

[Clemmie]

I left Canon for Minolta about a year ago, so I won't try to advise you on Canon lenses at this point.

Regarding the Sekonic L-358 Meter, I just got one - and love it. Our moderator Steve also has one, and can probably tell you a lot more about it from an 'experienced user' standpoint. I can tell you, however, that if you'll go to B&H's website and drop one in your 'cart', the price is then $219.

I like Davis & Sanford tripods. You can find a selection of those at B&H as well.

[GB1]

My experience with Canon lenses was very good - they seem razor sharp, at least as good as Nikon's standard lenses.

I also own a Tamron and IMHO its very close to the main brands. However the price is too, so I don't think you're getting an incredible value by getting one. Their overall construction is usually a tad below the name brands also (the feel, the zooming etc).

Btw I own a Sekonic light meter and its great. Only nagging issue is that its on/off switch is too easy to turn on. Several times, the batteries have been drained by it moving about in my camera bag and turning on.

[another view]

That's a lotta lenses! I think you'll be best (by a long shot) with fast primes in low light. Actually, an f2.8 zoom is pretty slow in cases like this. If you're shooting at 1600 you might be OK with the shutter speed at 2.8 but every little bit helps. The other thing is that the faster the lens is, the better the AF works. For concerts, I usually use my 50 and 85 f1.4 primes but they're Nikon lenses. Tokina makes some good glass - I've got they're 28-80 f2.8 which is a pretty good lens. Also heard good things about the Tamron 28-75 DI lens although I haven't used one personally.

The Sekonic L-358 is a great deal in a pro-quality incident/flash meter. If at some point down the road you decide to get studio strobe lighting, you may also want Pocket Wizards (radio slaves). Sekonic meters can trigger your strobes so you can check your readings and shoot with no wires other than to power the lights (or not even that with battery strobes). Read about meters here: http://www.shootsmarter.com/infocenter/wc005.html