2 lenses ....which is the better for me (Page 3): I'd go with the Sigma 18-270, it's wide enough and about 5.3 power. 70-200 is not wide enough to capture wide angle shots but it is 4...

Joe Lynn Loc: Bend, Oregon

I'd go with the Sigma 18-270, it's wide enough and about 5.3 power. 70-200 is not wide enough to capture wide angle shots but it is 4 power. 28-135 is not long enough for me. It's only about 2.3 power.

Bill Emmett Loc: Bow, New Hampshire

Moray wrote:

I am looking for a lens and have narrowed it down ... (show quote)

First, shooting with a 70-200 f4L USM is very easy without the IS. You may have to jack up your ISO, and shoot with a wide open aperture, or close to it, in lower light. I just sold my copy of the this lens, and bought a copy with IS. You will see a big difference between "L" quality and non "L" quality in regards to image quality. The Canon 18-135 IS USM is another story. It is not as high quality lens. I own the STM version for the cropped sensor. I would suggest you take the advice of a previous post, and look into the Sigma, or the Tamron 18-270mm lens. The image quality will not be the same as the "L" quality lens, but both have some sort of IS. The cost of the Tamron will be less than the cost of the Canon 18-135mm. I think Tamron has a rebate running right now, and is priced at about $400.00. The Sigma lens is probably about the same.

B

LATTE Loc: Wis

Cameras come and go, Ah! but a good lens will go and go and go

Mmatu

How about renting one for a few days, give it a test .

julian Schechter

I would recommend the Canon 18 to 135.. To me it's the best lens you can put on aa camera..

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

I bought the 70-200 2.8L glass and love it, sold my 28-135 as I have an 18-200 EF-s lens.

Frankly the 70-200 has been my new "favorite" lens

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

julian Schechter wrote:

I would recommend the Canon 18 to 135.. To me it's the best lens you can put on aa camera..

May I ask why?

Moray Loc: East Coast Canada

Thanks everyone for all this informtion and learning about what others have. It is fun to see how we evolve up the lens scale. I didn't order the 70-200 lens as yet. I am still trying to find something used that is close to me so I can go a try it before I commit to it. I am looking at a 24-105 or the 70-200. Only one 70-200 F/4 non IS and they want 600.00. The 24-105 are 800 to 1200
Is the only way to know grey market on a used lens is the place of manufacture?

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Moray wrote:

Thanks everyone for all this informtion and learning about what others have. It is fun to see how we evolve up the lens scale. I didn't order the 70-200 lens as yet. I am still trying to find something used that is close to me so I can go a try it before I commit to it. I am looking at a 24-105 or the 70-200. Only one 70-200 F/4 non IS and they want 600.00. The 24-105 are 800 to 1200
Is the only way to know grey market on a used lens is the place of manufacture?

The best way is to get the serial number off the lens and to contact Canon. They could, and will, tell you for sure.

Jim D

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Moray wrote:

Thanks everyone for all this informtion and learning about what others have. It is fun to see how we evolve up the lens scale. I didn't order the 70-200 lens as yet. I am still trying to find something used that is close to me so I can go a try it before I commit to it. I am looking at a 24-105 or the 70-200. Only one 70-200 F/4 non IS and they want 600.00. The 24-105 are 800 to 1200
Is the only way to know grey market on a used lens is the place of manufacture?

I forget, what is your price range?

Jim D

haroldross Loc: Walthill, Nebraska

Bill Emmett wrote:

...I would suggest you take the advice of a previous post, and look into the Sigma, or the Tamron 18-270mm lens. The image quality will not be the same as the "L" quality lens, but both have some sort of IS. The cost of the Tamron will be less than the cost of the Canon 18-135mm. I think Tamron has a rebate running right now, and is priced at about $400.00. The Sigma lens is probably about the same.

B

From my experience, I have found the image quality of the Tamron and Sigma lens to be okay. I would go for the Canon 'L' series lens for the exceptional auto focus. Quick AF is very important for my style of photography. Canon does not release the algorithms for their lens electronics to third party manufacturers. This leaves Tamron and Sigma to reverse engineer the lens electronics to get the information. This leads to compatibility and AF issues with some lens and body combinations. Nikon releases this information to third party manufacturers and this makes for more compatible lens and AF.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

Moray wrote:

Thanks everyone for all this informtion and learning about what others have. It is fun to see how we evolve up the lens scale. I didn't order the 70-200 lens as yet. I am still trying to find something used that is close to me so I can go a try it before I commit to it. I am looking at a 24-105 or the 70-200. Only one 70-200 F/4 non IS and they want 600.00. The 24-105 are 800 to 1200
Is the only way to know grey market on a used lens is the place of manufacture?

You may look for a LOOOONG time. If I were you I would order the one you are most interested in from Adorama. This would give you four weeks to try the lens to see if you really want it. If not then return it. They have a 30 day return policy. The only thing it would cost you if you don't like it is shipping to return it to them. At that time you could order the other lens to try, and you could do the same thing with it. Here is a link to a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USA lens.

http://www.adorama.com/CA702004AFU.html

Here is a link to a used 24-105mm used lens.

http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20576472.html

Do you have a Best Buys near you? If they have the lens in stock you could do the same thing with them, they also give you a 30 day return policy with no restocking fees. Only thing is they won't have any used lenses.

Jim D

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

LensRentals.com is another way to give a potential lens a try without making the full investment.

oldtool2 Loc: South Jersey

CHG_CANON wrote:

LensRentals.com is another way to give a potential lens a try without making the full investment.

I have never rented any equipment, that is why I didn't suggest it. I do know that quite a few members of UHH have though so I am sure there will be a few recommendations for places where it can be done from.

Jim D

jwpulliam Loc: New Harmony, In

You can rent either lens you want to try from a very reasonable rental concern called LensGiant. I usually rent the lens I am interested in before purchasing and it has prevented me from making some purchasing errors, particularly with the f/2.8 series of L telephoto zooms. They are really weighty items. The f/4s are excellent and avoid hernias.