[arvindmanju]

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Can someone suggest a good all round lens for my 550D (15-85, 17-85, 18-200 etc?). I have played sufficiently enough with the kit lens now and want to upgrade to something better. However am looking only for an all round lens and do not want to lug around multiple lenses. Image quality being one of the main criterias.

try the Tamron 17 50 f2.8 with out VC lens, it cost around 20K and worth the money.

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by NFS2024

Can someone suggest a good all round lens for my 550D (15-85, 17-85, 18-200 etc?). I have played sufficiently enough with the kit lens now and want to upgrade to something better. However am looking only for an all round lens and do not want to lug around multiple lenses. Image quality being one of the main criterias.

I have 15-85mm and is quite good. 17-85 has got lousy reviews, so if IQ is concern, it is ruled out. 18-200mm has obviously got the widest range, but I am sure it is not as sharp as 15-85mm.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. Look for the best deal in price.

Rudraji, on a 550d, with a 1.6x cropping factor, 24-105mm will lose out on the wide end.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

Rudraji, on a 550d, with a 1.6x cropping factor, 24-105mm will lose out on the wide end.

Of course it'll but as a super all in one type that lens is peerless.

[sameerpb]

I am planning to buy tamron lense 70-300 mm F4/5.6 Di LD for my Nikon D40X.
Wanted to check if anybody has any experience with this lense? The price is really catchy and really attractive.

Please help me taking the decision, Thanks in Advance.

[tifosikrishna]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Of course it'll but as a super all in one type that lens is peerless.

with alphabet 'L' I don't doubt the Quality of lens, but at close to 39mm on the wide end in 550d, will it fit the "all in one type" ( or in other words, general walk around) lens that he is looking for?

[yajaman99]

Originally Posted by sameerpb

I am planning to buy tamron lense 70-300 mm F4/5.6 Di LD for my Nikon D40X.
Wanted to check if anybody has any experience with this lense? The price is really catchy and really attractive.

Please help me taking the decision, Thanks in Advance.

A Friend of mine had picked it up for his Nikon D5000, he kept it for a few months and sold it. It all depends what you want to shoot with that lens.
I know the price is attractive, i too feel for the Nikkor 70-300G lens and the quality of the images were not great. If its not urgent try and save up and pick up a Nikkor 55-300mm (around 18K)

[arvindmanju]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

with alphabet 'L' I don't doubt the Quality of lens, but at close to 39mm on the wide end in 550d, will it fit the "all in one type" ( or in other words, general walk around) lens that he is looking for?

same debate I had couple of months ago to replace my kit canon 17~85 lens with 24~105L and ended with Tamron 17~50 f2.8 with out VC lens.
It's nice lens and had good picture quality. AF makes some noise. For the price and constant f2.8 its good replacement for Kit lens.

If he's looking to replace the kit lens for more range and cost is not a issue then 24~105L or 24~70 f2.8 is one of the BEST lens.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

with alphabet 'L' I don't doubt the Quality of lens, but at close to 39mm on the wide end in 550d, will it fit the "all in one type" ( or in other words, general walk around) lens that he is looking for?

Krishna, I follow few comments very strongly from two masters from my time. One is Ernst Haas (an all time influential photographer from Austria) and the other one is Ansel Adams (magician of landscape photography). Here are few of their comments:

The most important lens you have is your legs. - Ernst Haas

Best wide-angle lens? Two steps backward. Look for the 'ah-ha'. - Ernst Haas

And this one is my bible:

Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer, and often the supreme disappointment. - Ansel Adams

We can keep buying lens and add up to our armaments. But this famous quote will say all..

The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera. – Dorothea Lange

[phamilyman]

saar

disagree on that coming from you. some perspectives cannot be matched with the 2 steps behind rule. often there is a pond or a ledge right there

humayun's tomb is the 1st image that comes to mymind!

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

saar

disagree on that coming from you. some perspectives cannot be matched with the 2 steps behind rule. often there is a pond or a ledge right there

humayun's tomb is the 1st image that comes to mymind!

Agree and disagree here Hitangshu.

First and foremost, one needs to decide what kind of picture/image he/she likes to take or enjoy. Choice of equipment and lenses will be decided on that.

Personally I would like to see a Canon 400mm, 2.8 in my collection. But this chunk of optics @ 5,00,000/- plus will have very little application for my kind of usage.

Same goes for the wide angle too. I have 14mm, 2.8 and till date I haven't used it for any of my commercial work.

[phamilyman]

no no no saar, you are going into pure drool maal. here is my point.

Architecture Photography by Nitin Gera ? Photographs of historical buildings and monuments in India
Architecture Photography by Nitin Gera ? Photographs of historical buildings and monuments in India

can only be taken by a wide angle. so yes, while not having a UWA is no excuse to be a slacker, but at the same time one must also respect what some lenses can conveniently shoot, no?

[Torqueguru]

@Phamilyman.

Gimme an iPhone and I can shoot and give you exactly the same image perspective. Panoramic stitching is the option when wide angle lens is not the option. There are always work-arounds in photography. You are missing Rudra's point. What hes saying is that, use what you have to its fullest possible extend. And moving around to getting different perspectives is what the art is about, more than slapping on different lens. I shoot with primes and the only zoom i have is a 70-200. I dont carry all of them all the time, I make the choice based on what I am going to shoot. And till date I haven't been limited by my lens to shoot what i want. Thats all. So I totally get Rudra's pont and completely agree with him here!

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

can only be taken by a wide angle. so yes, while not having a UWA is no excuse to be a slacker, but at the same time one must also respect what some lenses can conveniently shoot, no?

Hitangshu, you're saying the same thing as I mentioned before.

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

First and foremost, one needs to decide what kind of picture/image he/she likes to take or enjoy. Choice of equipment and lenses will be decided on that.

And no, I'm not only talking about drool maal there. That comment had nothing to do with expensive L or entry level lens. It was about selecting focal length.

[sameerpb]

Originally Posted by yajaman99

A Friend of mine had picked it up for his Nikon D5000, he kept it for a few months and sold it. It all depends what you want to shoot with that lens.
I know the price is attractive, i too feel for the Nikkor 70-300G lens and the quality of the images were not great. If its not urgent try and save up and pick up a Nikkor 55-300mm (around 18K)

Thanks for the advice this is exactly I was looking for. Certainly I will rethink about buy Tamron lense, I agree with you Nikkor 55-300mm is better off anytime.

[architect]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

One is Ernst Haas (an all time influential photographer from Austria) and the other one is Ansel Adams (magician of landscape photography).

Interesting hearing about Ansel Adams twice in a day. My Boss and I had a long discussion about Ansel Adams and some stories of him strapping his pinhole camera to the roof of his car to take landscape photos using stopwatches to time the exposures.

Incidentally, my boss still shoots with his Nikon FE2 and a fixed 50 (in film) all the time, and has never got around to buying any other lens than the kit lens for his D60. He may not be a great professional but he is one hobbyist who's shown me that great pictures can be taken with a point-n-shoot.