Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:24 pm
Nice work on your galleries, tk. Unfortunately, "high quality sharper images" do not generally come cheap (with a couple of exceptions) I'm afraid. With your budget, I would suggest that you look for a used Canon lens, such as the 24-105 f/4 L or if you can find one, the older Canon 28-70 f/2.8 L but even looking used, you would be lucky to find one within your budget. I borrowed the latter for a shoot from a friend and was so impressed with the quality and focal length, I ended up buying the newer 24-70 f2.8 L which is an excellent lens but out of your budget. As a "walkabout", this lens is rarely off my 5DII. With lenses, if you buy cheap, you end up buying twice - down the track - as you have found out with the kit lens. While I am sure there are folk who like the 18-55 and get wonderful images from it, there are legions who end up selling it and "upgrading". I would stress to those who are thinking of getting a new camera to not accept the deal with a "kit" lens and try to negotiate without a kit lens and spend the money on a better lens later. The lens which I have had the longest is the Canon 17-40 f/4 L and is reasonably priced but not really a walkabout - its more of a landscape lens.
You have quality images in your galleries (as you are not your average "snapper") and I feel that you would be disappointed with anything but the best! I have galleries dedicated to various cameras and lenses which may give you an idea of what you get for your money! There is a lot of debate about buying "L" lenses as they are more expensive than non-L. There is a reason - they are better and they hold their value. With the exception of the 24-70 f/2.8 L and the 70-200 f/4 L IS, I have had my current lenses from between 5 to 8 years and don't feel the need to buy another ...yet!
Cheers
Sheila