Feelings on the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

[TokyoLouie]

Is there anything better for an all around Lens?

I like the lens lock feature.

But I am skeptical with the Micro Motor.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[saneproductions]

what kind of work are you looking to do and how much does that involve stills?

I would personally rather have a shorter zoom with constant 2.8 aperture than a long zoom like that. It pretty slow for low light shooting etc. i think you would be better off with something like the tokina 16-50 or the tamron 17-50 VC as your all in one. If you plan to ever go full frame, the 17-40F4L is a great all around lens (if a little short). The standard cine prime kit is 18, 25, 35, 50 and 85 and that is the range you shouold look to cover first unless you are shooting a lot of sports or birds. Anything beyond about 85-90 is not as useful as the wider end of the range on an aps-c sensor camera.

[TokyoLouie]

Thanks allot.

So I should look for something under 85mm?

Also, I thought Canon made the best lens?

You recommend a Tokina or Tamron over Canon?


PS: looks good that SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di-II VC LD Aspherical (IF) Lens

[TokyoLouie]

Also if I do end up getting a Tamron instead of a Canon Lens, will I still be able to access all of the features the 7d has to offer?

[saneproductions]

Other people will chime in about this tamron vs tokina vs canon debate, but the Tokina 16-50 2.8, tamron 17-50 2.8 with VC and the Canon 16-55 2.8 IS are the three that thrown around a lot. It is going to depend on your total budget, what other lenses you want to add later and how much you do stills.

The canon is the best overall lens, but it is near $1000 whereas the tamron is more like $600 (make sure you get the VC version) and the tokina is less than that but doesn't have VC (IS). FOr video, you won't notice much if any difference between these lenses, but stills you may.

All of these lenses have very short focus throws which makes rack focusing a bit more challenging, but you can't have it all right? I think the tokina has the most dampened focus feel and chunkiest ring, but you should demo all 3 and see which one you like the best.

[ROCKMORE]

Is there anything better for an all around Lens?

I like the lens lock feature.

But I am skeptical with the Micro Motor.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Avoid variable aperture lenses for HD motion picture. Anything over 17mm go for FF versions of the lens. You may not think so today, but tomorrow you may decide to get a Canon FF camera. This isn't the last camera you will ever buy. You'll be lucky if you have it 18 months. Things are a changing fast.
With news of the new Panasonic 4/3 announced, I'm skeptical of even investing in any lens with the aperture ring removed on the lens if I decide in 8 months to go with another brand of camera body. If you want to invest, than invest in lenses that work with a broad range of camera bodies. Old manual Nikon lenses are still very cheap and will last through the ages. I've said this many times but I'll say it again, Olympus Zuiko OM lenses are the best deal for manual lenses on Ebay for new camera owners. You can get a set of 1.4 / 2.8 primes for 5 or $600.

PS The best all around lens is the 18-55 kit lens because it's a giveaway lens.