Need advise on buying a new Lense

[PaulD]

I bought the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 for my original Digital Rebel and love it. It's very sharp and it's f/2.8 throughout the zoom range. I recently upgraded to the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and love it as well. The build quality on both is very good and the IQ is excellent. I was actually going back and forth between the Tamron 17-50 and the Canon 17-40L. The Tamron actually tested as being sharper (http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html) and you just gotta love f/2.8. I know the Canon is a very good lens but these Tamrons hold their own quite nicely. I don't regret my purchases at all and have taken some wonderful photos with these lenses.

 

[0bli0]

Paul - is that the XR Di version? if so it's an amazing lens and is very popular on the canon board.

 

[handicap18]

Stupid question, but how do you look at the exif data on a photo posted here? When I right click on the image and click on properties all I get is the link to jann's photobucket account and the image size, etc.

No its not a stupid question at all. You can do an internet search for "Exif data reader software" or something like that. There is plug-in you can download to your computer which will add another option on the list that pops up when you right click which will allow you to view the exif data if it is available for that picture. Its actually pretty cool and doesn't take up much room on the computer at all.

This is actually the one that I have: Borrowed the quote/link from another web site:
"ViewEXIF is a cool little IE plug-in that allows you to right-click on a web photo and sometimes see the EXIF data, if the photo was uploaded with it. Go to http://ak.no-ip.com/ and download the plug-in and install. Easy, and often saves you from having to ask the EXIF info in a thread."

 

[mabas9395]

an interesting experiment...one of these is kit, one is 28-135, same everything except mm( 18vs 28) nothing done but cropped...anyone care to guess which is which just by sharpness ( no peeking) sorry about the different angle but wasn't planning on using them for this

I have both the kit lens and the 28-135 IS lens and if you want to do a comparison that will show how useful this lens is, instead of shooting at 1/60, try it at 1/15. Even with the older IS technology (compared to newer IS lenses), that is one thing that makes this lens so much beter than the kit lens, the IS has really helped me increase my number of keepers. And the focal length range is perfect for me for a walk-around lens (though it may not be wide enough for some people).

 

[PaulD]

Paul - is that the XR Di version? if so it's an amazing lens and is very popular on the canon board.

Yep! I have the "SP AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF)" and the "SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF)." Truly the longest lens names ever!

 

[fitzperry]

No its not a stupid question at all. You can do an internet search for "Exif data reader software" or something like that. There is plug-in you can download to your computer which will add another option on the list that pops up when you right click which will allow you to view the exif data if it is available for that picture. Its actually pretty cool and doesn't take up much room on the computer at all.

This is actually the one that I have: Borrowed the quote/link from another web site:
"ViewEXIF is a cool little IE plug-in that allows you to right-click on a web photo and sometimes see the EXIF data, if the photo was uploaded with it. Go to http://ak.no-ip.com/ and download the plug-in and install. Easy, and often saves you from having to ask the EXIF info in a thread."

Thanks! I'll try that when I have a little more time.

 

[jann1033]

To be perfectly honest, I can't tell much of a difference except that the POV (point of view) and lighting is a little different. as for clarity, I'm just not seeing it. but then again, I'm 45 yrs old and haven't had my eyes checked in awhile. nah seriously, the 28-135 IS has certainly got to be the better lens. no doubt. I'm not arguing with ya there, (it should be for the price) it's just that I was expecting sharper picture than what I am getting. I'm no expert by any means, and am still learning how to use my Rebel, but I can tell a HUGE difference in the 17-40 L and also the Macro lens, (compared to the kit lens) but the 28-135 IS is not winning me over so far. in fact, I may see if I can return it since I haven't had it but a couple of weeks. I would just as soon use my kit lens and keep my $400.

p.s. thanks for posting the pictures but which lens too which picture?

my 52 yr old eyes can't tell much difference either which is why i posted them ...like i said i didn't take them for comparison, it happened to be i put my 18-55 lens on after my 28 wasn't wide enough to get to the top of the building..you posted the comment about not seeing a difference and i had to look myself. imo for the extra zoom & the IS i think the lens (28-135) is worth it( especially given my shaky hands) but i was amazed how close the sharpness is on the 2 lenses,
top is kit lens ( which i bought used for $60), bottom the 28-135 which i bought new for about 7x that )
i'm happy generally with the sharpness of both...but that might be due to me having the hunkojunk sigma kit from before andit's probably best i never try a really great lens since then i'll become one of those "Only$2000 and above" lens girls

 

[Metallicat]

my 52 yr old eyes can't tell much difference either which is why i posted them ...like i said i didn't take them for comparison, it happened to be i put my 18-55 lens on after my 28 wasn't wide enough to get to the top of the building..you posted the comment about not seeing a difference and i had to look myself. imo for the extra zoom & the IS i think the lens (28-135) is worth it( especially given my shaky hands) but i was amazed how close the sharpness is on the 2 lenses,
top is kit lens ( which i bought used for $60), bottom the 28-135 which i bought new for about 7x that )
i'm happy generally with the sharpness of both...but that might be due to me having the hunkojunk sigma kit from before andit's probably best i never try a really great lens since then i'll become one of those "Only$2000 and above" lens girls

I got out in the yard today with my 28-135 IS, and I must have been doing something wrong before because I was quite happy with the sharpness of my pictures today. this is just one of my plants out in the back yard, but I think it came out really clear.

here is one right after I took it out of the box a couple of weeks ago.
see how blurry? magnets on my freezer door

speaking of becoming a $2000 and above lens girl, even if I had a $2000 lens I'm sure my pictures would still be a blurry mess!

 

[mabas9395]

here is one right after I took it out of the box a couple of weeks ago.
see how blurry? magnets on my freezer door

It looks like the magnet picture was taken at a 1/8 shutter speed at a 41mm focal lenghth, even with the IS you have to be either real lucky or real good to get a sharp photo at that speed. So the only thing wrong was violating the 1/focal length rule. Thats my biggest problem, I finally decided that I should boost the ISO more often because I would rather have a sharp noisy picture than a blurry noise-free picture.