bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

It's going to be a personal thing, what are your interests in shooting, in town or over the water?
That said , my son shoots the 18-135 on his T5i almost exclusively, I find it's length awkward, I use my 17-70 Sigma on my T4i, and frequently carry the 10-18. At the start of each walk around I consider what lens and perhaps the 24mm or 40mm, lot lighter and less noticeable,
Now out of your list , IMHO the 18-135 is the one to take, unless you want to get a prime, Bob.

Paul Buckhiester Loc: Columbus, GA USA

Op did not mention a crop sensor.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Welcome to the Hog Ken, when I had a Canon my walk around lens was an 18-135, now with my Nikon I use a 24-120 as my walk around.

nhastings Loc: Telluride, CO

I have taken many photos in Rockport with my 18-135. Great all around lens if you only want to carry 1 lens. My recommendation.

Graham Roberthall

If it is a walk around lens then it isn't going to matter what it weighs is it ? :) Sorry:)

DELTA777

Choice number 3

mansfield75150 Loc: Mesquite, TX

Ken, I'm looking to purchase a new 60D....can you tell me some good things about this body?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Hi Ken and welcome to UHH.

Of your choices, I would most heartily recommend one of the Canon 18-135mm lenses. Those are near-ideal walk-around lenses for an APS-C format 60D camera.

There are two versions of EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 available. They are near identical in most respects, but use different autofocus motors:

- "STM" (stepper motor auto focus drive) version has been sold "in kit" with many Canon APS-C cameras, where it's often an "upgrade" option from the 18-55mm kit lens.

- New "USM" (ultrasonic motor focus drive) version is 2X to 4X faster focusing according to Canon and is being sold in kit with 80D. This lens uses Canon's new "Nano" USM drive that's both fast and quiet focusing, best of both worlds for all sorts of still photography and video. In other cases, USM has been preferred for still photography, especially action where speed is necessary and STM is preferred for video because it's smoother and quieter. But the new "Nano" USM drive in this and a couple other lenses (24-105 "II" and 70-300mm IS USM "II") resolves the problem by being able to do both video and stills very well.

Canon also is offering a "Power Zoom Module" exclusively for use on the 18-135mm USM lens. That might be useful for video and - so far - only fits and works with the 18-135mm USM lens.

EF-S 18-135mm IS STM... $400
EF-S 18-135mm IS USM... $600

Two other, even higher quality Canon walk-around lenses you might want to consider are:

- EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM... $800. Nicely wider than most lenses of this type, it may be an even more versatile walk-around zoom for some users who need that. It has "L-series" image quality, fast USM (not "Nano", though), high performance IS, and better build quality.
- EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM... $800. The only lens in this group with a fast f/2.8 aperture that might be useful in lower light situations... although a narrower range of focal lengths is typical with larger aperture zooms. It also has "L-series-like" image quality.

Any of the above will out-perform the EF 24-105mm f/4L ($1000), which is a full frame design that will work fine on an APS-C camera, but just isn't particularly wide. The new EF 24-105L "II" may be a little better, but still won't be as wide ($1100, tests and reviews don't suggest much improvement over the original version other than the addition of Nano USM and upgraded IS).

There also is a lower price ($600) Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 STM IS "non-L". The build-quality and general performance of this zoom is similar to the cheaper EF-S18-135mm STM. But it has same problem as the other 24-105s... it's just not very wide on a 60D. 24mm is more of a slightly wide "normal" focal length on your camera.

Same problem with the Tamron 28-300mm... it's a full frame design that doesn't offer a particularly wide angle of view on an APS-C 60D camera. I haven't used, don't know much about it or the other Tamron, but would not expect super wide range (10X and greater) zooms like these to have anywhere near as good image quality as some of the less extreme options. I also would be concerned about focus speed and accuracy, but can't really say from personal experience.

In part it depends upon what other lenses you have in your kit. Surely you have some and any lens you might choose as your walk-around can complement and be complemented by those other lenses.

For example, personally my walk-around zooms are an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L and a couple EF 28-135mm. The reason I chose full frame-capable lenses is because I use both full frame and APS-C crop cameras and prefer a lens that can be used on both. But I also have wider lenses (Canon 10-22mm and Tokina 12-24mm) that serve well when I'm using the crop cameras, so I don't really need all that wide a walk-around lens. The type of shooting I do a lot also doesn't require all that wide a lens.

The same can be true at the other extreme... for example someone wanting the 17-55mm for it's larger aperture might not have any problem with the limited focal length range if they have a 55-250mm, 70-200mm or 70-300mm lens in their kit. Similarly, someone might choose the EF-S 15-85mm to complement a 100-400mm telezoom.

Erfurt Loc: San Francisco

I use a Canon EFS 15-85 on my 60D for just about everything.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

No, but he mentioned wanting a lens to use on his Canon 60D... which most certainly is an APS-C crop sensor camera.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

There's no such lens... I suspect you mean EF-S 15-85mm.

Yes, that's an excellent lens. Just a bit pricey.

Erfurt Loc: San Francisco

corrected

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Canon 60D was discontinued several years ago... it was first superseded by 70D (2013) and more recently by 80D (2016).

Unless you find one forgotten on a back shelf somewhere, you're pretty unlikely to find a "new" 60D. Canon doesn't even appear to be offering them as refurbished any more, where "old stock" is often sold when it's returned and you can still find 70D at times. You can probably find a lightly used one at B&H, Adorama, KEH, etc. But you also might want to consider the more recent models, as there have been some nice improvements made to them.

- In 2010 the 60D superseded the 15MP 50D... which many felt was a downgrade in some ways (60D uses a more plasticky build, less direct controls, lacks Micro Focus Adjustment feature ("MFA", which 50D had!), switched from Compact Flash to SD memory... or about the same (such as it's AF system, other than MFA feature)... or a relatively minor upgrade in other ways (50D didn't have an articulated LCD screen and it's sensor is slightly lower resolution).

- 60D is an 18MP camera with a fairly simple 9-point AF system.

- 70D was upgraded to 20MP and inherited a slightly dumbed down version of the Canon 7D's very high performance 19-point AF system and got a 100% viewfinder. MFA was once again included. (Current 7DII appears to use the same 20MP sensor as 70D).

- 80D was further upgraded with a 24MP sensor, a 100% viewfinder, MFA and got it's own unique, high performance 45-point AF system (now also being used in "Rebel" series T7i and 77D).

The 60, 70 and 80D models are Canon's "mid-grade" APS-C consumer models... A step above the Rebel-series models, but a bit short of the more pro-oriented 7D-series.

mansfield75150 Loc: Mesquite, TX

Thanks for the info. I was looking at the 60d with the cost in mind. Since there are no new ones avail, I've shifted my interest to the 80D. Thanks again. Charlie

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

I'm a Nikon shooter but I use the Tamron 16-300 as my walk around lens and it works very well for me. Many on this forum favor shorter lenses which begs the question--what do you like to shoot. I find the extra reach of the 300 to be what I use the most so it's a good lens for me. But if I didn't like the telephoto reach so much then one of the other lenses may work better for you.