I'm thinking of upgrading my Rebel XT to a 60D. B&H has one with a 18-135 lens. Currently my "work horse" lens is the 35-80 that came with my Rebel body when I purchased it. I like the idea of more range with the 18-135, but in reading reviews of the lens, they aren't stellar. I've read it's "decent," but not outstanding.
Unfortunately I can't spend more than $300-400 for a lens, so I know I'm pretty limited. Does anyone have recommendations for a good quality zoom lens that can be my work horse, that won't break my bank?
Posted by John Mumaw on April 24, 2012 at 11:43 PM
I'm afraid that with your budget, a 'decent' lens is about your only option.
If I were you, I would buy a less expensive camera (Rebel T2i ?) and put the savings toward a better lens like the superb Canon 24-105 lens.
That's where the best image quality for your purchase is going to lie.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on April 24, 2012 at 11:49 PM
You may be able to find a used Tamron 17-50 ( i think new they are pushing $600). My 16-35 gets the bulk of duty, so the 17-50 may be a good landscape lens for your consideration.
Posted by Adam Schallau on April 25, 2012 at 12:25 AM
I second John's suggestion. The 24-105/4L is my workhorse lens.
My 24-105 does the majority of the heavy lifting in my kit. Been using the 16-35 a lot more lately too but it's not even close to seeing as much action as the 24-105 lens.
John & Adam, that's a possibility I hadn't considered. The 60D & T3i have the same size sensor, same megapixels. Guess ultimately what you pay for is better build and more features. One feature I liked on the 60D was the swivel LCD, but the T3i has that. The 24-105 looks like an awesome lens. Maybe I can find a good used one, and invest in better glass and not be so set on a more expensive body. My goal is to be able to make larger, more detailed prints, and to get a swivel LCD screen! Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep them coming!
Posted by Bob Falcone on April 25, 2012 at 1:20 AM
Angela, I just did a quick Craigslist search for 24-105's (I have one, and it's my main lens, too), and found several for sale in the $800 range. KEH also has a number of them in the same price range if Craigslist isn't something you want to deal with.
In my book it's all about glass first then sensor. If the body has the same 18mp sensor, what's the point of all that resolution if your pixels out-resolve your glass? Go t3i if you must have the swivel screen; get a used 24-105 for 725.00. If you go to CL and do a "WTB- Canon 24-105" you will get 5 replies that night.
As a landscaper you're just not going to need a feature heavy camera....unless you just want a certain feature like the swivel screen. BTW, check out utube for a t3i vs 60d comparison. Very little difference. I used a 60d with my 5d for a few months and never used the swivel screen. Unless your doing a lot of video then be cautious about the swivel scree. The 60D will likely have better resale value though.
Lastly, after experimenting with about every lens in the world, I've narrowed down my focal length needs to 24mm, 50mm and a 70-200. That's it. Although I wouln't mind another 100-200m of zoom.
Glass is a better long-term investment, but you'll see an improvement from upgrading either your body or your lens at this point. The newer rebels are capable of fine work at low ISO values. Your existing 35-80 zoom seems quite long to me on a crop body, but perhaps you're used to it or okay with it? I would look for something wider, personally.
I'll offer a minority opinion and say that I didn't particularly care for my 24-105L on my 5d. It was good enough, but never really impressed me. Perhaps I had a bad copy. I have had good results from my Tamron 17-50/2.8 (the first version without VR; reputedly better optically than the second version and also cheaper).
I would say that in the long term you probably also want to look for a body that has live-view for critical focussing, and AF-adjust for general use.
Now, if you want to give in to complete gear lust and are willing to inject the possibility of switching systems, the new Nikon d3200 looks like a sweet little landscape camera, and I say that as a Canon/Sony owner. But, always remember that it's ultimately more about the image and the light than the camera...
Posted by Tom Stermitz on April 25, 2012 at 11:31 AM
It's all about the lens... Well, and:
But, always remember that it's ultimately more about the image and the light than the camera...
The camera is just a data back that samples the image created by the lens. It isn't even about the lens resolution or "sharpness" that usually headline the review. Rather, a great lens has contrast and color that makes a huge difference to the photograph. I was stunned the first time I noticed this. I took a picture of a lillypad at the Denver botanic gardens that had a liquid-molten look to the colors. At first I thought it was the velvia film (which does have vivid color and contrast), but the lens was the key element that made the image pop.
Speaking of resolution, you'll keep the lens into the future where it will be used on higher resolution sensors. The D7000 and D800 are game-changers that will be matched by other camera companies, and you'll need a lens that keeps up.
Top glass, like a diamond, is forever.
I rarely use zoom lenses any more, as prime lenses are much smaller and much higher in quality. I agree with Kane about carrying a couple primes and a tele zoom. My (full frame) DSLR set would be 21/24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 70-200/300mm. For landscape you frequently end up using a 21/24mm equivalent.
My work horse is the 17-40L. At about $840 from B&H I think it is one of the real L series bargains. I bought that lens when I still had the original Rebel. So, needless to say, I buy in with the rest of the croud on glass investement before body.
What about a refurbished 60D? I haven't heard much feedback one way or the other on purchasing refurbished camera bodies, but it looks like about the same cost as a T3i: http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_276387_-1
Keep in mind that shooting the smaller APS-C sensor (60d, t3i) with a full frame lens (5dII) you need to multiply the focal length by x1.6. Meaning your 24-105 becomes a 38x168mm. The GREAT advantage to shooting full frame lenses on a APS-C sensor is that your image circle will capture the sweet spot of the lens, which I'm assuming is about the middle 85% of the glass. Almost all lenses are reviewed on overall sharpness, and every lens I know of..border to extreme corner sharpness is key in the overall grade. The 24-105 has very good sweet spot sharpness on a full frame camera (5dII), however the borders and extreme corners leaves many dissapointed. With your 60d/t3i you will get very sharp images with really nice extreme borders and corners with the 24-105.
Posted by Paul Martin on April 25, 2012 at 10:08 PM
My workhorse on FF is the 17-40. However, on the crop body I had, I used the Tokina 12-24 and Tamron 28-75 a ton. I think you could find either in your price range, obviously they are totally different as far a focal length. The 28-75 would be more of a replacement for the 35-80, whereas the 12-24 would be complimentary. I have also heard a lot of great things about the newest version of the 18-55 IS "kit" lens -- apparently for landscapes (ie stopped down) is pretty good.
Posted by Howard Cihak on April 26, 2012 at 3:22 AM
Angela, here's a shot I made with my 60D (love it!) and that "decent" 18-135 lens fully extended to its 135mm focal length. It's a table top image with lighting from an overhead chandelier.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on April 26, 2012 at 11:02 AM
I would definitely recommend a third party lens if your budget is limited Pam, because a lot of them are really starting to put out really nice glass. An often overlooked third party is Tokina but they are really best at there wide angle lenses and the build quality is surprisingly excellent. Tamron and Sigma I might consider if you need a longer or telephoto zoom.
Posted by Darren Huski on April 28, 2012 at 3:15 PM
Some great suggestions here. Having just moved to a refurbished 5D2 from a 50D my fave lenses are wide zooms. On the 50D that was a Sigma 10-20. I also had the Tamron 17-50 non VC. Both are nice. With the 5D2 it is the 17-40. But those lenses git my style, which might not be yours.
There are many decent lenses and even the kit 18-55mm with the Rebels are not bad. My guess is you will see a huge jump in resolution going from the 8mp XT to the 18mp sensor. Plus newer dust shakers and my fave the live view.
My guess is that even with the kit you would have the ability to print much bigger.
Discussion
16 repliesUnfortunately I can't spend more than $300-400 for a lens, so I know I'm pretty limited. Does anyone have recommendations for a good quality zoom lens that can be my work horse, that won't break my bank?
If I were you, I would buy a less expensive camera (Rebel T2i ?) and put the savings toward a better lens like the superb Canon 24-105 lens.
That's where the best image quality for your purchase is going to lie.
As a landscaper you're just not going to need a feature heavy camera....unless you just want a certain feature like the swivel screen. BTW, check out utube for a t3i vs 60d comparison. Very little difference. I used a 60d with my 5d for a few months and never used the swivel screen. Unless your doing a lot of video then be cautious about the swivel scree. The 60D will likely have better resale value though.
Lastly, after experimenting with about every lens in the world, I've narrowed down my focal length needs to 24mm, 50mm and a 70-200. That's it. Although I wouln't mind another 100-200m of zoom.
Glass is a better long-term investment, but you'll see an improvement from upgrading either your body or your lens at this point. The newer rebels are capable of fine work at low ISO values. Your existing 35-80 zoom seems quite long to me on a crop body, but perhaps you're used to it or okay with it? I would look for something wider, personally.
I'll offer a minority opinion and say that I didn't particularly care for my 24-105L on my 5d. It was good enough, but never really impressed me. Perhaps I had a bad copy. I have had good results from my Tamron 17-50/2.8 (the first version without VR; reputedly better optically than the second version and also cheaper).
I would say that in the long term you probably also want to look for a body that has live-view for critical focussing, and AF-adjust for general use.
Now, if you want to give in to complete gear lust and are willing to inject the possibility of switching systems, the new Nikon d3200 looks like a sweet little landscape camera, and I say that as a Canon/Sony owner. But, always remember that it's ultimately more about the image and the light than the camera...
The camera is just a data back that samples the image created by the lens. It isn't even about the lens resolution or "sharpness" that usually headline the review. Rather, a great lens has contrast and color that makes a huge difference to the photograph. I was stunned the first time I noticed this. I took a picture of a lillypad at the Denver botanic gardens that had a liquid-molten look to the colors. At first I thought it was the velvia film (which does have vivid color and contrast), but the lens was the key element that made the image pop.
Speaking of resolution, you'll keep the lens into the future where it will be used on higher resolution sensors. The D7000 and D800 are game-changers that will be matched by other camera companies, and you'll need a lens that keeps up.
Top glass, like a diamond, is forever.
I rarely use zoom lenses any more, as prime lenses are much smaller and much higher in quality. I agree with Kane about carrying a couple primes and a tele zoom. My (full frame) DSLR set would be 21/24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 70-200/300mm. For landscape you frequently end up using a 21/24mm equivalent.
What about a refurbished 60D? I haven't heard much feedback one way or the other on purchasing refurbished camera bodies, but it looks like about the same cost as a T3i: http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_276387_-1
There are many decent lenses and even the kit 18-55mm with the Rebels are not bad. My guess is you will see a huge jump in resolution going from the 8mp XT to the 18mp sensor. Plus newer dust shakers and my fave the live view.
My guess is that even with the kit you would have the ability to print much bigger.