Canon lens question

L

LCD

Member
I'm looking to buy a Canon 60D within the next couple of weeks. I'm debating whether I should get it with the 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens OR get the body only and add a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens.

I know these are hard to compare due to the large range difference, but which do you think would be a better walkaround lens? I'm not opposed to getting a separate zoom (i.e. 50-200) for longer shots.

Any help/input is appreciated.

-D-
 
I'd go for the tamron. Lens speed and having an aperture that is fixed while zooming key to me. The change in speed while zooming seems to throw me off as you have to double check you brightness and the change in DoF. Low light is another plus.
 
I prefer primes, but if you want a walkaround lens, then yes, +1 for the tamron: given its price I think it's an unbeatable general purpose lens, the only downfall is that it doesn't have IS (the vc version is awful, it's the older non-vc that is amazing)
 
Thanks for your input... I was leaning towards the Tamron and your responses plus others I've seen online may have sealed the deal.
 
Definitely get the Tamron. No doubt about it.

If you're interested in adding telephoto zoom, my advice would be to stear clear of the low end ones like the 75-300 or the 55-250, and go for something with a fixed aperture - for example the Tamron or Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. They are priced midway between the low-end zooms and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 but the image quality is almost on par with the Canon version.
 
the tamron 70-200 is amazing at 70mm, and nice at 200mm, but awful at 135mm, wher it is horribly blurry up to f/5.6
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=3&APIComp=0

the sigma 70-200 is great again at 70mm, but much less than stellar at 135mm and 200mm
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=3&APIComp=0

the good news is that on a crop sensor the sigma will be great, as the problems (specially the horrible CA) are only really acute at the corners on full-frame; just be aware that if you upgrade to full-frame then the corners are going to be problematic


edit: if you're on a really tight budget, the tamron 70-300 is slow and horribly built, but used as a 70-180 it is actually a halfway decent lens, at least for $165
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
 
i've got both the tamron 17-50 and the sigma 70-200 for my 60D and I love the 17-50 as an all purpose lens however I find it doesnt reach quite far enough for my liking as I like to film from a distance and zoom in (something I didnt really know I liked doing before I bought the 17-50) having said that I sold the Tamron 24-70 in order to buy the 17-50 as 24 just wasnt wide enough on the 60d so I suppose you can't really win.

+1 on the speed adjusting while zooming thing, you definitely need a constant if you want to quickly shoot video with little hassle however I have recently found that (on the GH1 anyway where high iso's suck) 2.8 just isnt fast enough for regular indoor use.

Now I'm just practising my lens changeover time so I can try to exclusively use primes!
 
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