I am thinking of buying a 350D/400D and am a little confused by the lenses available. I have on my short list the Canon 28-135 F/3 IS USM plus the 50mm 1.8 Mk11 or it has been suggested the Sigma 17-70. I would prefer an all rounder to shoot buildings, landscapes, streetscapes etc so am thinking would need a wide lense (?). Any input appreciated.

G has the Canon 28-135mm and it is a great lense... He used it first in his 350D and worked very fine... also the IS is a great feature of this lens ...

I am sure he could tell you a bit more as a user...

Great that you are thinking about upgrading your gear...

Hi Pat,

Yes I have the 28-135mm IS (it's f/3.5-5.6) and it's great. I had a Sigma lens with the same range before, but the Canon lens does make a difference. There are two things, mainly: The autofocus is faster and more precise, and the image stabilizer is great. I also suspect that the Canon lens doesn't distort the image as much as the Sigma does. So in the range of 28-135mm, the Canon is the clear winner.

As to what range is appropriate for you, I really don't know. Personally, I think at the short end 28mm is wide enough for me. The 135mm on the other side gives me quite some zoom, not enough for birdies, but enough for in-camera crops of regular scenes.

For buildings, I don't think you would like an extremely wide angle as you get a lot of distortion. I do my landscapes with 28mm and I'm happy with it. Maybe you should go to a dealer and try both focal lengths, and compare the pictures. The 28-135mm is an excellent allrounder in my opinion.

I'm in two minds if I should buy a 50mm 1.8. It comes at the price of a polarizer filter which is really a gift. On the other hand I'm not sure if I even need it.

Hi Pat;

I don't have any experience with Canon lenses, so I can't offer specific advice, but between my three lenses I cover between 22mm to 300mm in 35mm equivalent range. I agree with guerito that lenses wider than 28mm-e take extra effort to control for shooting buildings and interiors, so I'd consider them a specialist tool and not really needed for general 'about-town' and landscape photography. I also hardly ever use my telephoto lens, since my standard zoom covers the 28-108mm-e range. The Sigma 17-70 covers a slightly larger range, so that's the one I'd lean toward.

(Remember your crop factor, though -- if you're looking at a 28-135 lens, that turns into (approximately) a 45 to 215mm lens on the Rebel, which isn't wide-angle at all.)

Your PowerShot Pro1 covers a 28-200 mm-e range, which is a great lens. I'd suggest going back through your archives, taking a look at your favourite images, and checking the EXIF data to see what focal length you were using. You might be surprised by what you actually prefer.

Another alternative is the EF-S 17-85 f/4-5.6 IS, you don't plan on going full frame the future, but you can always sell it off if you do.

Pat - I don't believe the 28-135 will be wide enough on a crop sensor. Perhaps consider the Sigma or the Canon 17-85 IS as suggested by Adam. Janika has the Sigma 17-70 - maybe he could let you know how he is going with it?

If you have the budget the 17-55 2.8 IS from Canon would be the ultimate mate for that body.

Perhaps consider the 70-300 IS (not a fantastic lens - but good for the price) or the 70-200 f4 L lens from Canon if you want something a little longer.

Cheers,

Chris

Hi Pat, I have the sigma 17-70 its a big jump up from the kit lens.........beats it hands down. If I was starting over I wouldn't worry about the 18-55 canon kit lens (I have one for sale )

The sigma is a great all-rounder.... love the close focus!!! I agree with WS I think 28mm (45mm) on a crop sensor is not wide enough for landscape.

good luck with your choice, oh and go the 400D.......

Thanks all for your advice, I am planning on buying body only, probably 350D. Can buy the Canon 17-85 IS Lense, advertised for $830 on eBay au and will make do with the one lense.

I am puzzled by crop sensor/full frame? would someone please explain!

Slightly bewildered (no very bewildered)

Hi Pat,

Different digital cameras have different sized sensors to record the photo you are taking. A bit like film where you have different sizes of film.

Of course the little point and shoots have tiny sensors in them - that is how they get them so small. Mobile phone cameras have even smaller sensors. On digital SLR's there are also different sized sensors.

Full frame refers to the largest sensor in a DSLR camera - it means the sensor is the same size (approx...) as a 35mm negative (traditional film used in SLR and point and shoot cameras). This means that a lens made to fit an SLR or DSLR camera will be exactly what it says it is. A 24mm wide angle lens remains a 24mm wide angle lens.

Crop factor DSLR's are those that have a smaller sensor than 35mm negatives. This means that a 24mm lens actually appears to be about a 36mm on a Nikon, a 38.4 on a Canon and a 48mm on a 4/3's type camera like an Olympus.

This is great if you are shooting telephoto situations - but not so good for wide angle shooting. Although maufacturers are now trying to produce very wide angle lenses to accomodate these crop cameras.

Personally I prefer full frame for Wedding work as I can use my 24-70 2.8 L lens almost all the time without having to swap to a wide angle lens. I use a 70-200 2.8 L IS lens on my 20D as it has a crop sensor and allows me to get closer in from the back of a church - or for tight close-ups of the rings and the kiss. The Canon 5D is the cheapest option on the market for a full frame DSLR at the moment.

Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sony all offer only crop sensor options.

The 350D and the 400D both have the same size sensor (in terms of crop) and so any lens you buy you will need to multiply by 1.6 to understand what the actual field of view will be from that lens.

Hence a 28-70 lens will actually be a 45-112 lens and not really wide enough for general use.

There is a lot more to say about this topic and there are whole forums debating the benefits of both systems - but the above should give some understanding.

Chris - thanks for that, I can now see how it works and I did a bit more reading over the weekend which explained a few more salient points about DSLR's.

Hey Pat, how did you go with your purchase?

I bought the 17-40mm which I love, the 50mm 1.8 11 which is ho hum, the 85mm which I like and the EFS 60mm macro, took a while to become accustomed to fixed lengths but have learnt to like them. Hope to add the 135mm L later this year. Haven't had much time lately to take a lot of shots, hopefully will be able to soon.

That's awesome. I think Kombisaurus had a 135mm L which he found very useful for indoor sports shots...

Good to see that you're liking your new gear!

Interesting that you think the nifty 50 is ho hum, and you're liking the 85mm. Is it just the focal length difference, or other factors as well?

re the 50mm 1.8 11 lens, great pics just dont like the feel of it compared to the other lenses, all of which I like very much.

Good choices