Cameras-n- Stuff

I have been searching for the best walk around lens.
Here is what I am looking for:

• Image quality is always the top consideration.
• Must have good wide angle range – 18mm preferred
• Must have good long range – 200mm minimum
• Image stabilization is preferred
• Wide aperture for good shutter speed – 2.8 would be ideal, but that is quite costly
• Fast focus
• Not so expensive I have to take out a second mortgage on my house

The Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 satisfies every one except the f/2.8, but that one feature would raise the price to over $1000, so I will have to forgo

the 2.8 aperture.I have been using the Tamron 28-75 lens as my walk around lens for about 4 years now – no complaints from it – it has served me well, and I would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. But I am a gearnut, right. It’s a cross I must bear. It’s how I am put together. So I search for good cameras and lenses.

I was considering the Tamron 18-270 because it has some very good press and user reviews. And, of course, my trusty Tamron 28-75 has been absolutely awesome. But when I started reading the user reviews about the Sigma 18-250, I could not disregard it as the next possible walk around lens for my Canon 30D.

Here are a few of the comments from the folks that bought this lens at Amazon.com and B&H Photo that have helped me come to my decision that the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 lens is the right walk around lens for me:

“The cost of the Sigma lens was more than $300 less than the Nikon lens while the quality of the pictures is comparable to that of the pictures taken by the Nikon lens.”

“Overall: Images sharp, great all-in-one lens, just as good as Nikon’s 18-200 if not better in image quality, focus speed and of course, zoom-range! I’ve replaced my Nikon all-in-one with this one, and I have no regrets…”

“I recently bought it to replace my Sigma 17-70mm and Canon 55-250mm IS lenses. This 18-250mm is very much like the 17-70mm in overall quality. It is of high quality! I’ve used it mostly so far for night photography and also for fast action, and wildlife (crocodiles in Jamaica; can’t trust that ear to ear smile of theirs). All the pictures I shot with it were hand held and the OS system performed flawlessly…Also, I’ve checked its macro ability, and found it to be approx. 1:2.5, far better than Sigma’s very conservative spec. Very highly recommended!!!!”

There are actually a few lenses I have found that have very good user ratings as “all purpose” or “walk around” lenses. You can see them at www.digital-photographic-resources.com.

Happy Shooting!