Lense upgrade advice

[Mista Gav]

Hi there,

At the moment I am upgrading my Canon 450d (plus kit lense) to a 550d for the obvious reasons, more pixels, hd video, higher and better ISO etc but my biggest struggle so far is to find a new lens that is affordable on my student budget and can do a decent range of stuff.

I want something that can give a bit better quality than the standard kit lens that you get with the Canon 450 and 550d and something that gives a bit better range if that makes sense.

So far I've got my eyes on these three so I was wondering what people think of these and if not then recommend any others that would be ideal...

Sigma 17-70 mm
Sigma 18-200mm f3.5-6.3
Canon EF-S 55-250mm

[gturner]

what are you shooting and where does your budget stretch too?

I would keep your kit lens and add the 70-200 F4 L
Best IQ, best AF speed, light and the best value going IMO

[inkista]

If you really are constrained by budget, I'd say forget upgrading the body for now, and concentrate on lenses. The kit lens is probably limiting you more than the 450D. Unless you plan to be movie-making all the time, the video can wait. And the high ISO performance increase is probably less than you think it is.

If you want more speed (bigger max. aperture), then the Sigma 17-50/2.8, or the EF-S 17-55/2.8 are the one you want to look at. And no, the Sigma is not in the same class as the Canon.

If you want more range, the EF-S 15-85 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM is probably the one you want to look at. If you don't mind more range but no better optics, there's the EF-S 18-135 IS.

If you want super-duper-even-works-on-full-frame, then the EF 17-40 f/4L USM, EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM or the EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM are probably your choice. But only the 17-40 is relatively affordable.

The EF-S 55-250 IS is a good budget telephoto, but chances are good you may outgrow it in time. The EF 70-300 IS USM or EF 70-200 f/4L USM are probably more permanent choices for the bag, but do cost considerably more.

This is just me, but I really think you need to lower your ambitions a little. It sounds to me like you're simply frustrated with the limitations of the kit lens. My advice (and others would disagree) would be to complete the "training wheels triple": get the EF-S 55-250 IS, and the EF 50mm f/1.8 II. It'll only cost you about $350. Then, get good at switching lenses. The 55-250 IS will give you the reach your kit lens lacks; the 50/1.8 II will give you the max. aperture for available light and thin DoF. Then, you'll be better able to judge the two main lens features: focal length and max. aperture. You'll also know the difference between zooms and primes, and IS and non-IS lenses.

Then you can start to make informed decisions on what lenses you'll want to blow the big bucks on. Having only a kit lens means you haven't even discovered the other half of your camera: the lenses.

Bodies come and go. There's always a newer shinier one with a better feature set coming out every six months. We're only two or three months away from a new product cycle. It could be worth waiting for. But the camera body is the most disposable part of your system: people upgrade them like cellphones and computers. Your glass can last you decades. Digital electronics depreciate fast. Glass can go up in value. (When I bought my EF 50mm f/1.8 II five years ago, it was $85, new from Amazon. Today, it's $110, new from B&H). Money spent on lenses stays with you a lot longer than the money you spend on a camera body.

I tend to wait until a camera dies before getting a new one. That way I don't d'oh! myself when a product announcement takes me unawares. Buying when you've got no choice makes it a little easier on the Buyer's Remorse and wallet.

[Mista Gav]

I see what you mean about the lenses and it is no doubt the kit lens that is limiting me more then anything else. Most of the lenses you mentioned were well beyond my reach and I am also probably getting my hopes up too high for what I can actually achieve on my lousy student budget...so this time I'll be more reasonable!

I still want the Canon 550d as I wouldn't mind the opportunity to mess around with video should it present itself and that's why I wanted a longer reach lens to complement that. Funnily enough I do have the 50mm 1.8 even though it's a bit broke (more on that later...) but I think I've made my mind up now...I'm gonna go for the Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens first and then get the 55-250 mm later. I would like the Tamron or Sigma shorter lenses with wider apertures but I think they can wait...for now!

[gturner]

That 18-135 is not wonderful in my opinion. There are better options.