Best iq Canon zoom under £100 used?

paulcamcas

paulcamcas

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My daughter has just bought a 30D and now needs a lens to get started with. She'd like a zoom and is on a very tight budget.

Any suggestions?
 
Hi Paul


I presume she has a standard lens (18-55) with the camera

The Canon 55-250IS is a cracker of a lens, you might be able to pick a good used one up for £120-130. You can get them for brand new one for £175 ish - send Ian (Kerso) on here a PM for his latest price list.

I'm sure "bank of dad" will be able to help with the difference, poss for Christmas ? :D I know my daughters local "bank" doesn't seem to be aware of any recession :lol::lol:
 
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£50 for the pair seems like a good deal to me even though they are old.
 
No kit lens. She bought body only. The 18-55 is a cheap option but she'd like to find something a bit better if poss but there are so many different canon lenses that she needs some guidance as to which are the good ones.
 
Whats the total budget, £100 for one lens or two?

The canon 35-80 in that link at £25 would be great to get her going whilst you wait for the right lens at the right price to come up

For a great lens to keep for ages the standard 50mm 1.8 is a real peach and at £80 ish new it's well within budget.
 
I'd go for the 55-250mm IS without a doubt! It shoots well above it's price and the IS is a real plus. There are several around the £130 mark on ebay new, and several SH ones around the £70 mark at the moment, should get one of them for your budget.
 
Jared said:
Whats the total budget, £100 for one lens or two?

The canon 35-80 in that link at £25 would be great to get her going whilst you wait for the right lens at the right price to come up

For a great lens to keep for ages the standard 50mm 1.8 is a real peach and at £80 ish new it's well within budget.
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One lens would be good to start. I'd like her to start with a 50 but she wants a zoom.
 
paulcamcas said:
One lens would be good to start. I'd like her to start with a 50 but she wants a zoom.
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I have one like that, ignores the 50mm and just leaves the zoom on the camera all the time, even though the 50mm will give a much better picture.

Its a shame you can show her both indoors where she can really see the advantages of the 50mm
 
Not knowing what type of subjects she will be shooting makes it more difficult to suggest a lens, but for a very good portrait / general walkabout lens have a look at the:

Canon EF 28-105mm F3.5-4.5 II USM

Make sure it is the Mark II USM version - (there is one in the For Sale section here on TP - Paul above has linked to it) they often pop up for around the £100 mark and if you get a good example it will give her excellent results.
 
lostsoulal2 said:
Not knowing what type of subjects she will be shooting makes it more difficult to suggest a lens, but for a very good portrait / general walkabout lens have a look at the:

Canon EF 28-105mm F3.5-4.5 II USM

Make sure it is the Mark II USM version - (there is one in the For Sale section here on TP - Paul above has linked to it) they often pop up for around the £100 mark and if you get a good example it will give her excellent results.
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She doesn't know what she will take to shooting yet so I think max flexibility is important. We've put an offer in on the 28-105 as it looks to be a good option.

Many thanks for all the advice :thumbs:
 
The 50mm is nice but a bit wide on an APS-C body if it's your only lens... anyway a zoom is wanted so I'd go for the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - the newer kit zoom. It's supposed to be pretty good optically, has good IS, and you should have change left over for all the accessories that will be needed.
 
lostsoulal2 said:
Not knowing what type of subjects she will be shooting makes it more difficult to suggest a lens, but for a very good portrait / general walkabout lens have a look at the:

Canon EF 28-105mm F3.5-4.5 II USM

Make sure it is the Mark II USM version - (there is one in the For Sale section here on TP - Paul above has linked to it) they often pop up for around the £100 mark and if you get a good example it will give her excellent results.
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I had one ages ago. It is acceptable for portraits and 105mm f/4.5 gives subtle but nice DOF effects.

24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 might be a more suitable lens to start with. It was **** on full frame film cameras (must be bad corners), but on crop it received fairly good reviews.
 
I have the 28-105 above on my 20D and think its a very nice lens. I would prefer a bit more on the wide lens but its a pretty good compromise, feels fairly well built for the money IMHO, I paid £125 for a boxed minter with hood. It also works REALLY well on full frame, makes it wide enough but you do feel you want a longer zoom too. I'd like to add a 20-35 to my collection (should satisfy the wide end for under a ton) and a 70-300IS or maybe the 70-200L F4.

I am quite happy for now with the 28-105 and a 50mm f1.4 M42 manual focus pentax lens and adapter for portraity stuff.
 
iancandler said:
Full test here, not a bad lens by all accounts.

It will give her and approx 45 -170mm lens when the crop factor is taken into account, so she will just need to cover the wide end later.

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/189-canon-ef-28-105mm-f35-45-usm-test-report--review

Did you think about the canon 18-55IS standard kit lens? they can be picked up for under £100
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Thank you Ian and Bill. Very helpful review. I hadn't thought about how "long" it is at the wide end. I had dismissed the 18-55 thinking that there would be better IQ available. I'll take a closer look.
 
I've not used the 18-55 as a comparison but everything I've read suggests the IS version is a SIGNIFICANTLY better lens than the non-IS kit lens the 30D would have shipped with.
 
This one was originally shipped with the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. One of those could be a good option but they are double the budget.
 
daugirdas said:
24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 might be a more suitable lens to start with. It was **** on full frame film cameras
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Is that from your own experience?

Th 24-85 was actually an excellent lens, if you worked within its best range - 24-50mm, F8-F11. In that area of operation it was rather better than the very best that the 28-105 and 28-135 (its contemporaries) could offer. Wide-open it wasn't special but it was no worse than the 28-105, but the long end was hopeless.

It's worth noting that the 24-85 was the first lens designed for APS in the EF system. It was released with and as the kit lens for the EOS IX APS body, so it's no big surprise that it works well with APS-C digital.

As for the OP's question, the 18-55 IS is by far optically and practically the best lens in your price range for a standard zoom.
 
I-S said:
As for the OP's question, the 18-55 IS is by far optically and practically the best lens in your price range for a standard zoom.
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Okay, great info from all, thank you.

So if she is going to stick within budget, the 18-55mm is the best option.

Would it make sense for "Bank of Dad" to step in and help her get the 17-85mm at around £190? What do you think?
 
I haven't any personal experience of the 17-85, but I do with the 18-55 IS. Everything I've read and tests I've seen suggest that the two are much of a muchness optically. The 17-85 offers that bit more range, much nicer AF and better build. Maybe the 17-85 would be kept longer in her service, but is it worth twice the price... I'm not so sure.
 
paulcamcas said:
Okay, great info from all, thank you.

So if she is going to stick within budget, the 18-55mm is the best option.

Would it make sense for "Bank of Dad" to step in and help her get the 17-85mm at around £190? What do you think?
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The 17-85mm is certainly a very capable lens. I had one for a while and although I didn;t use the range often - it never left me underwhelmed.
Although at that price point you could maybe pick up a used Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 which is an excellent optic.
 
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