Canon Users - What's your favorite general purpose lens?

[edfrsd]

Canon 24-105L for me. Its usually attached to my 40D most of the time. The 50mm 1.8 is a great bang for the buck lens.

[crunch]

Another +1 for 24-105 f/4L

This lens has really impressed me!

[Denear]

Currently shooting with 40D.
Another vote for the 24-105mm f4 IS USM.
Next up is the 50mm f1.4 USM, and then the wide angle 10-20 Sigma (would love to switch to the Canon).
I would eventually like to change to the 24-70mm 2.8 and then supplement with the 70-200mm 2.8 IS and of course if $ was no object add either the 300mm or the 400mm 2.8 IS USM.
I think I would be satisfied if this mix........

They say dreaming is healthy.

[BEV]

My favorite Canon Lens is the 17-55mm f/2.8. I love the sharp pictures, the quick response and that it is very sturdy. I recently shot my niece's wedding and the 17-55mm was perfect. It was a beach wedding. I was able to get great wide angle shots and family groups. I also use my 28-135mm lenses alot. I would like to purchase the f/4 24-105 mm IS USM.

[JAHphoto]

My general purpose is a 17-40L, but thats because I'm crazy.
Love wide angles, and if I want any zoom, I'm almost always packing my 100-400

[azangel]

I use my 50 1.8 mainly. But that's probably because it's my newest one.

[chins]

I have 28-135mm, its very nice lens. Only 10% of the time I find 28 not so wide.
My dream would be to have either 24-70mm or 24-105mm as my general purpose lens.

Few tips/suggestion on getting your images better (this is what I did to learn)

1. Till you get confirtable with exposure, keep your ISO high, may be 200 outdoor, or 400-800 indoor. Also keep the meetering in evauluate mode
2. Use only P/program mode
3. Once you understand the impact aparture and shutter values on the image, graduate to Av/Tv mode.
4. Eventually you would graduate to Manual mode.
After this it does not mean you mostly be using Manual mode.
5. Never use point&shoot automatic modes in DSLR.


Its also important to unerstand your lens, so that you could choose best Aparture value to get sharp images. Read some online detailed reviews or test them yourself at home on a tripod.

[JAHphoto]

Originally Posted by chins

2. Use only P/program mode
3. Once you understand the impact aparture and shutter values on the image, graduate to Av/Tv mode.
4. Eventually you would graduate to Manual mode.
After this it does not mean you mostly be using Manual mode.

Or perhaps spend an evening experimenting with manual and go straight to that, maybe check out some online tutorials.. (I mean, its digital, not like you're wasting money by experimenting) but maybe I just think that cause I started on a manual only film camera. I never used P, Av, or Tv in my life.

Originally Posted by chins

5. Never use point&shoot automatic modes in DSLR.

Couldn't agree more there

[chins]

Manual exposure can be daunting to some folks, and sometimes could be dissapointing, as you have to experiment a lot till you get the right exposure.

If you dare, play with manual exposure. It forces you to learn.

Manual exposure is the way to improve your photography skills, and it will yield you excellent results.
Nevertheless I would still use semi-autoexposure modes in many situations. Sometimes Manual could just take time.

[pfk981]

My favorite all around lens is my Canon 28-135 IS. I rarely take it off the camera.