New Camera Lens time to upgrade?

Kev_mk3

Kev_mk3

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Kevin Greaves
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Need a little help with a new camera lens. At the weekend my partner fell over with my camera in her hand (a Canon 350D) and it seemed ok, Went to use it later on and made a funny noise and came up Error on the screen. In a nut shell the lens when i took it off had a crack where it connects to the base.

I doubt its worth repairing so Im in need another canon ef-s 18-55mm. Is there a upgrade worth doing as from memory im sure the 450d had something extra and that was a good upgrade or should i just buy a new standard lens? This was the lens i used to most actually thinking about it!

Thanks

Kev
 
If you're happy with the performance of the 18-55 then get another.
If the one you had was the old non-IS one then I'd suggest get the newer IS one, it's a big step up in IQ and usability.
Used IS ones go for around £60.
If you want a bit more range then there's the 17-85 or the 18-135 if you want to stick with Canon or the Sigma 18-125. All of those will set you back considerably more than £60 though.
The 17-85 has a ring USM focussing motor which makes it near instant and silent, it's the one I use as a general 'walkabout' lens.
 
Depends what you really want to spend.

There are several lenses out there varying in cost and performance.

18-55mm I think is on the 3rd generation of lens and for a small outlay not a bad lens.
17-85mm has an excellent focal range, performance a tad average for the outlay
15-85mm is the replacement for the 17-85mm and is one most people tend to go for when they want to upgrade their kit lens. Certainly the best of the bunch so far.
28-135mm is also a contender, however you lose the wide angle aspect because 28 + the crop factor doesn't really give you wide angle (@ 45mm)
Then there's the 17-55mm which is the top od the bunch

Then there are several other non canon lenses to consider like the tamron 17-50mm f2.8 non IS etc etc etc

But it all depend what you want to spend, £70-700
 
Wozzaaah said:
If you're happy with the performance of the 18-55 then get another.
If the one you had was the old non-IS one then I'd suggest get the newer IS one, it's a big step up in IQ and usability.
Used IS ones go for around £60.
If you want a bit more range then there's the 17-85 or the 18-135 if you want to stick with Canon or the Sigma 18-125. All of those will set you back considerably more than £60 though.
The 17-85 has a ring USM focussing motor which makes it near instant and silent, it's the one I use as a general 'walkabout' lens.
Click to expand...

It sounds like the best option is going for the ISmodel of the 18-55 as i don’t have a massive budget as it was a unexpected expense. Is there any way of visually seeing the differences between the IS and non IS just by looking at the lens its self?
 
pete.rush said:
Depends what you really want to spend.

There are several lenses out there varying in cost and performance.

18-55mm I think is on the 3rd generation of lens and for a small outlay not a bad lens.
17-85mm has an excellent focal range, performance a tad average for the outlay
15-85mm is the replacement for the 17-85mm and is one most people tend to go for when they want to upgrade their kit lens. Certainly the best of the bunch so far.
28-135mm is also a contender, however you lose the wide angle aspect because 28 + the crop factor doesn't really give you wide angle (@ 45mm)
Then there's the 17-55mm which is the top od the bunch

Then there are several other non canon lenses to consider like the tamron 17-50mm f2.8 non IS etc etc etc

But it all depend what you want to spend, £70-700
Click to expand...

The explanations of the lens really has helped Pete thank you :thumbs:
 
Kev_mk3 said:
It sounds like the best option is going for the ISmodel of the 18-55 as i don’t have a massive budget as it was a unexpected expense. Is there any way of visually seeing the differences between the IS and non IS just by looking at the lens its self?
Click to expand...

I think you can only get the IS version brand new, remember its the MKII version that you want.

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/prod2332.html

Its around the £90-130 mark depending where you go.
 
The IS and non IS look very different but the easiest way to tell an IS is they have 'image stabilizer' emblazoned around the end of the barrel and have two switches, AF/MF and IS on/off.

The only difference between the MkI and MkII 18-55 IS is the stabilisation system/software was tweaked and there are a few cosmetic changes, other than that they're identical.
An easy way to tell a MkI IS from a MkII at a glance is the focal length scale on the I is grey whereas on the II it's black. It's also clearly marked on the ring around the front element, if it doesn't say II then it's a mkI. :thumbs:

I sold my MkII on here for £60 posted, they really are cracking lenses for the money.
MkI
 
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