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Equipment Which lens to buy? Backpacking

Discussion in 'Photography, Art & Design' started by unrealhippie, 6 Jul 2008.

  1. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    Off to India for an entire month! Going to be backpacking so need to travel light. I was going to take 400d and 10-20mm Sigma, and a normal lens. Currently only have the kit lens but was thinking of getting something a little nicer.

    Started looking around and was thinking of one of the following

    17-70 Sigma
    24-70 Sigma
    28-105 II Canon
    28-135 IS Canon

    Really should try to keep costs down, so recommendations as a general purpose, good value and flexible lenses are needed!
     
  2. BUFF

    BUFF What's a Dremel?

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    Tamron 18-250mm?
    great walkabout for the money but not a very "fast" lens - guess that it's pretty bright in India though.
     
  3. Computer Gremlin

    Computer Gremlin What's a Dremel?

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    The 28-135 IS Canon is light and takes good pictures above 40mm, anything under this is slightly soft. The lens body is mostly black plastic and does not draw too much attention.
     
  4. Vers

    Vers ...

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    What are you planning on shooting?
     
  5. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    Meant to add, need something relatively good in low light as the 10-20 is not!
     
  6. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    Vers - anything and everything. Buildings, people, animals...
     
  7. Vers

    Vers ...

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    If you need good low light performance the best choice on your list is the 24-70, but its a heavy mother and I wouldn't call it compact (not to mention Sigmas poor QC). In situations such as yours I almost always recommend a Tamron 17-50 and a Canon 70-300 or 85 f/1.8 if your not shooting wildlife. I am aware you are financially strapped, but if this is a once in a lifetime trip and photographs represent a lot to you it may be worth it. As for the 28-105 and 28-135, those lenses are built for FF...28mm on a cropper is not wide at all and for the money the IQ isn't quite worth it, IMO. I'm sure you know there really isn't a great one lens solution, however the Tamron 18-250 is not a bad lens for the money and if you need a one lens solution it may be just that. If you don't mind bringing three lenses and can't afford to pick up a kit replacement look into a Canon 70-300 and plan to pack your Sigma and kit with you...you won't get low light, then again you wont get it with a Tamron 18-250 either.
     
    Last edited: 6 Jul 2008
  8. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    Hmm, from what you are saying - the Tamron 18-250 outperforms the Canon 28-135? I'm surprised as it has such a large range. The only problem I have is that it costs substantially more.
     
  9. Vers

    Vers ...

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    Over here its a $15 difference...which is nothing considering the additional 125mm the Tamron provides. Neither lens is a stellar performer, but you get a lot of flexibility in FL, even more so with the Tamron.
     
  10. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    About a 35% price discrepancy here (ebay prices). Think it is due to the increased popularity of the 28-135 in kit lenses...
     
  11. Xen0phobiak

    Xen0phobiak SMEGHEADS!

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    I'm using a Sigma 18-50mm F3.5-5.6 in place of the 400d kit lens and I find the images to be sharper, and there to be much less colour separation (I havent noticed any at all). It was only around £80 so I'm very pleased with it. My other lens is a Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO. Whilst neither of them are the best lenses on the market for their given ranges, they are cheap, and I'm also on a tight budget.
     
  12. BUFF

    BUFF What's a Dremel?

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    considered renting a lens or lenses for your trip?
    It may well cost as much but you would be able to rent better/more than you can afford to buy outright.
     
  13. unrealhippie

    unrealhippie What's a Dremel?

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    Another thing I meant to add. I wont have a tripod with me so is image stabilization IS OS etc something I really need?

    The Sigma 18-200 OS seems to get quite poor reviews
    The Tamron 18-250 gets good reviews/good value but am I going to suffer especially that that length without stabilization?
    The Canon 28-135 is old, from what I read the IS isn't that amazing?
     
  14. Jumeira_Johnny

    Jumeira_Johnny 16032 - High plains drifter

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    I can offer one piece of advice: Don't drink the water or anything with ice.
     
  15. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    Shooting handheld, IS is great to have, especially with the slower lenses - remember that the 1/FL guide is based off the effective focal length, so shooting at 100mm on the lens means you want 1/160s or faster shutter speed (though I find that at longer lengths, doubling that if possible is ideal when handheld), but a 3-stop IS means you can safely shoot ~1/20s (keep in mind that subject movement is potentially a big problem at that speed; try to keep over 1/30s min, 1/60s ideally). I don't know if I'd call the claimed 3 stops of IS in the 28-135 quite accurate, maybe like 2.5 stops. The 18-250 is effectively a 29-400 on a 400D, so 1/400s min handheld at full zoom, 1/500-1/640 to really be safe.

    At that budget you won't approach anything near L quality, but you get some pretty flexible options for the price. TBH I think any of the lenses will be next to useless at night unless you're bringing a flash (which, at the very least, you could set to only emit the AF beam for minimal distraction).

    The only thing that can fix subject movement is fast shutter speed, which means you need either need fast glass or a high ISO. During the day, IS is great for long focal lengths especially when shooting handheld (I always do). In terms of FL, the 18-250 would be your best bet for a single-lens solution, but the lack of IS at that length could rear its ugly head. The 28-135IS doesn't go especially wide or especially long, but you'll always wish you had a wider and a longer lens. Keep in mind that, quality-wise, the 28-135 costs less than moving from the 70-200f/4 to the 70-200/f4IS (as do the other lenses you're looking at) and you get what you pay for, but they're all pretty decent.
     
  16. Da Dego

    Da Dego Brett Thomas

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    Personally, my "travel bag" (read: general lenses cause I don't do studio) consists of a GOOD walkaround-ish and a plenty sufficient tele. I really would NOT advise a trip like this with only one lens. NO one lens will get you all the shots you need, and the longer the focal range it offers, the more likely it is to have other problems.

    The Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 is my walkaround of choice, and because price is a factor, I made the new Canon 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS my second lens. That covers everything from 17-250mm, I have IS where it matters (and it really is a good IS) and each lens is fairly light so you don't mind having the camera round your neck.

    Total cost should be about $650-700 for the pair.
     
  17. Jumeira_Johnny

    Jumeira_Johnny 16032 - High plains drifter

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    I also advocate for a 2 lens setup. If you are going to think about the 17-50/2.8, you might want to to look at pairing with a Sigma 50-150/2.8. No IS, but you get a constant 2.8. A trade off to think about.
     
  18. Starfighter

    Starfighter What's a Dremel?

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    I think it's worth keeping the 50mm f/1.8 in mind as a handy-to-have lens; weighs next to nowt so it's easy to stow in a pocket and also makes the camera very portable and great low light performance.

    I'd go for something with a reasonable range (~200mm), and then use the 50mm once it gets gloomy.
     
  19. Vers

    Vers ...

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    The Tamron 17-50 + Sigma 50-150 is a great set-up, but when shooting wildlife even 300mm can be/is relatively short. I believe the right lens for your trip is the Canon 70-300 IS...if you can afford an additional medium zoom to replace your kit then thats great, if not consider a rental or bite the bullet and use the kit for the duration. Spend your money where it counts...theres no need to buy twice when you could buy once.
     
  20. 3dHeli

    3dHeli What's a Dremel?

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    For people, and if you check out Joey Lawrence www.JoeyL.com and his amazing portrait especially those from India, I think what ever suits your style and method.

    Google on Joey and you'll find the kit he has used.

    It's difficult to decide between, weight/lightness, primes/zooms, etc.

    The 85mm f1.8 and 50mm f1.8 are cracking lenses, and stunning portrait pictures hand held even in low light can be taken with them.

    But zooms (anything with variable focal length) do make cropping and shooting fast much easier. So perhaps if you can take your time and talk to a portrait subject then the primes are the way to go . . if your more nervous and need to take you portraits more quickly then maybe tele/zooms (such as 28-135 or 24-70 - Sigmas F2.8 lens is a lot of value for money) are the way to go.

    For landscapes a tripod and stopping down is the ideal approach, and a lens with range from 20mm to 40mm will cover most situations I would think.
     
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