Which Lens is better?

[janderson76]

I am looking to get a better lens for my Rebel XT. I have a 28-80 that was actually the kit lens for my 35mm Rebel I bought years ago.

I really like the idea of the image stabilizer, as I do a bit of low light shots and think it would help to make them more crisp. I am also looking for an every day walkabout lens.

I have narrowed it down to two, 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, and 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.

Any recommendations you could provide, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Janderson76

[RainPacket]

I think a lot of it depends on what you shoot. The 17-85 may be better for landscape stuff, since you can get a wider angle. On the other hand, the 28-135 can give you better zoom, /and/ it can go wider on the aperture.

[Saralonde]

I've heard the 28-135 is a pretty good lens with a good range, but I haven't heard much about the 17-85. What do you usually shoot? Do you use the wide end of your current lens much or do you often wish it would go wider? I think I would like the range of the 28-135 and the fact that you can shoot at 3.5 at the wide end as opposed to 4 at the wide end of the 17-85. Either way I think the IS is a nice feature.

[janderson76]

I don't really have one thing in particular that I like to shoot, but I do often wish I had just a touch more zoom on the 28-80 I already have.

That combined with the wider aperture for low light shots, maybe I just made up my mind... :)

Thank you kindly for your help!

[Saralonde]

Enjoy your new lens and post some shots you take with it.:)

[sdjl]

The 28-135mm was one of the first lenses I purchased. It's a pretty good lense with a fairly decent price tag as well. The f/3.5 is only applicable at the lower end of the zoom, but even at f/5.6 you can't moan too much.

One thing I would say about the lense I have is that the zoom has gotten a little sticky after a while. It's nothing too major as I have other lenses and I'm sure proper maintenance will keep it running fine for a long time!

David