Need help with lens purchasing

[Emma Spencer]

New lenses. Which ones to get
I have decided to purchase the Cannon 7d. I already have a 55-250mm telephoto zoom. I also have a 18-55mm however the auto focus is broken.

I enjoy landscape photography but also getting in close and personal with nature. Animals, insects, flowers etc.

I am very amateur so the help would be greatly appreciated.

I want a quality lens and some people warn off the kit lenses. However i need something that is going to replace the 18-55 somehow as manually focusing it is a pain.

Cheers

Please help me out :/

[PH005]

Hi. The EF 17-85 IS USM seems like a good walkabout. A Tamron 90mm 1:1 or the Canon EF 100mm 1:1. for the macro stuff and as a good portrait lens. For landscape I recon you couldn't go past the Sigma 10-20mm or the Canon 10-22mm. There is a lot to choice from out there . Best of luck.

[twister]

If you want something within the same focal range as the 18-55 kit, consider the 17-55/2.8 IS lens...it is expensive but has the IQ to match the price tag...

[ghopper168]

Hi, I second the 17-55mm f2.8 IS lens, I use it all the time. I find it sharper than the 24-70mm at low light. Otherwise the 17-40mm L f4, I found this lens gives my images more saturation than the 17-55mm does.

[ZedEx]

Just my 2c...
The 17-55 f2.8 is a very nice lens, however the 17-85mm certainly is NOT the best lens out there (yes there are good copies so I've heard, but i'm yet to be convinced).

[unistudent1962]

While I have a Canon 17-85 and have been quite happy with the image quality (it shows signs of CA, which are easily overcome in PS5), it has since been replaced with the 15-85, which is by all reviews an even better lens.

[fairy bombs]

Difficult to say,really everyone has opinions based on their experience.Really you need to think about what suits YOUR needs,and your budget.

Having said that,looking at the fact you have a 7D-a serious piece of kit-shows you are fairly serious about spend a fair bit of time in the photography arena.

I'd have to suggest the 17-55 F 2.8 IS,I bought this lens (2nd hand) in May with hood and some filters,it really is a great lens,certainly a few steps up from my

old 17-85,the images are amazing regardless if I use 450D or 50D.I would recommend this lens.

I just bought a 10-22 mm wide angle EF-S lens for wide field night sky and landscape images,it has very good reviews,I just got my copy yesterday.

At the moment,if you buy from DWI in hong kong you will save a lot of money buying the above lens (my 10-22 cost $772 delivered and insurance)

The cost of the 17-55 F2.8 from DWI is approx a $1000,to be honest that price of the 17-55 on your 7D would be magic,

good luck and hope that helps,cheers FB

[davomate]

Can I put in a vote for a 15-85? a terrific range for a walkabout lens. Good wide-angle and medium telephoto, very good image quality (comparable to the 17-55, better than the 17-85). Not a fast lens so I needed a seperate flash (pop-up is terrible for people shots) for inside photos on my 450D, but not so much on the 7D with its higher auto ISO. For 'getting close to nature', the 100mm macro is widely regarded.

[Roosta]

Hi, All the above forementioned about the Canon 17-55 F2.8 is correct, very good lens, I wasn't able to stretch that far and picked up the Sigma 18-50 HSM OS F2.8. I find it terrific in all low light shots, great for lanscape shooting and as a general walk about lens, also full F2.8 throughtout focal range. (can stop it to F2.8 and 1/50 sec and play with ISO to get cracking hand held shots, without use of a flash) On my 50D

With that said, there are quite a few different options out there. Both Sigma and Canon have the 10-20/22 and also Tamrom and Sigma cover 17-70 ranges, but not all in a solid F2.8

I would recommend getting the faster lens (F2.8) over the higher/slower lenses, but it really is up to you and your affordability. If you have a good shop nearby, go and try several lens on you body and see what focal range works for you. You should be able to get a good feel and see the results with your camera/lens on hand. Try the 10-20 and the 17-?(there are two main focal ranges here 17-50 17-70) or a larger heavier Canon L lens 24-70/105.

Happy shopping.

P.S. My good old Sigma 18-50 set me back $399 aussie (not a grey import lens) new.