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Upgrade from Kit Lens (Canon)

Cebrano
Go to solution Solved by YobB1n,

Honestly, you have some pretty decent lenses already. A nifty fifty, a tele, and another wide angle. @Teradore already listed some other good sigma options, but honestly with 500 euros, you might want to buy a new camera all together. You could easily buy an SL2 (200D), or a used full-frame camera.

 

If you don't want to replace your camera and decide against those two lenses (17-70 and 17-50), a nice all-around Sigma lens I have is the 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3. It's really good "tourist" lens, and is good for shoots like weddings as well because of the flexible focal length. I try to stay away from zooms for street shooting, tho.

Hi LTT-forum,

 

i am currently looking to upgrade from my kit lens [Canon EFS 18-55mm] that I used as an always-on.

The lens is pretty much dead now... Optical it's still doing well but there is a little rattle when using it and i notice some shaking momentum when the AF is working.

There are also random connection issues... Most likely one of the cables on the inside is woren out. No suprise after +200.000 photos ?

And the biggest problem is that the lens AF doesnt really work anymore. In certain areas of the zoom it cant AF anymore.

Manual focus isn't really an option for me as I have quite bad eyesight and couldn't really tell because of the small viewfinder.

 

My primary use cases are event photography, lowtier photography for regional newspapers and some private events. (local marching band, rural youth and some events hosted by the community/local government) The secondary use cases are nature, buildings and documentation [mostly to document the condition of buildings]

I need the 18mm are because i often have to take photos in kind of confined spaces (no room to move a bit back because of crowded areas) or have to get a lot of people on one picture (group fotos),

But i also need to take some photos from a bit of a distance... (As I dont always have the time to switch to the Telezoom or the Telezooms minimum zoom is too much...)

 

I am looking for a always on lens thats compatible to my current Camera. I would use it as an always on. My budget would be up to 500€. I am open to 3rd party lenses, as i am not too fixated on canon. So please recommend Sigma or Tamron too if you are using them yourself.

 

Weight isn't an issue to me.

It should be at least as reliable as the kit lens XD

I was quite happy with it to live threw 11 years with heavy workloads and unwelcoming environments like beer tents and bad weather outdoor shooting XD

 

It would be nice if it could also be used at fullframe bodys as I am looking to buy a fullframe Canon in the next 2-3 years.

 

Thanks for your Recommendations!

 

My current gear:

Canon EOS 450 D [release date 04.2008] [US-name: EOS Rebel XSi]

Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III [also Kit-Lens]

Canon Lens EF-S 24mm 1:2.8 STM

Canon EF Lens 50mm 1:1.8 STM

Metz Mecablitz 52 AF-1 digital

 

 

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Honestly, you have some pretty decent lenses already. A nifty fifty, a tele, and another wide angle. @Teradore already listed some other good sigma options, but honestly with 500 euros, you might want to buy a new camera all together. You could easily buy an SL2 (200D), or a used full-frame camera.

 

If you don't want to replace your camera and decide against those two lenses (17-70 and 17-50), a nice all-around Sigma lens I have is the 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3. It's really good "tourist" lens, and is good for shoots like weddings as well because of the flexible focal length. I try to stay away from zooms for street shooting, tho.

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Camera: Canon SL2 (200D)

50mm 1:1.8 II | Sigma 18-250mm 1:3.5-6.3

 

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@Teradore

@Yobbin >=D

 

Thanks to both of you for your answers. I will test the 17-50 and the 18-250 hands on.

Thanks for your recommendations. I didnt know anyone in my area who is using Sigma (except the ARTline which is too costly ?) so no one of my contacts could make a recommendation.

 

@Yobbin >=D

Yeah i dont want to replace the body yet because i am still very pleased with the reliability and image quality. I dont plan on buying a new APS-C before it breaks, considering I plan to buy a Canon 6D or successor in a few years...

And thanks for telling me what you use the tourist lens for and for what you dont.

 

 

 

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Honestly my favorite lense has to be my f2 70-200 it's a tamron and I got it used from B&H for $540usd it's not the newest model but it's a gen 2 so it's is,usm but ideally any prime lense should offer good photos.

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On 11/24/2019 at 1:29 PM, Cebrano said:

Hi LTT-forum,

 

 

 

It would be nice if it could also be used at fullframe bodys as I am looking to buy a fullframe Canon in the next 2-3 years.

 

Thanks for your Recommendations!

 

 

 

 

If you can live without the wide end then maybe get a used Canon 24-70 F4L. It is an excellent bit of kit and very well made. It is certainly a step up from your kit lens.

 

If you really need the wide end then maybe add a Canon 10-18 short term and sell it on when you do go full frame. The pair will be a little over your budget but when you sell the 10-18 you will get a good bit of that back.

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A producer that shoots theatre is looking for some lenses too. I'm trying to steer her toward the 35mm F1.8 or even the Sigma 30mm F1.4 if she can muster up the money. The latter would be really nice for shooting backstage 

My eyes see the past…

My camera lens sees the present…

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