Best general purpose lens?

[aznable]

a sigma 17-50 f/2.8 HSM OS...24-70 it's too wide, and the canon 17-55 it's too expensive

 

[boateggs]

I went with the 15-85mm: less money than the 17-55 and I already had a fast normal prime for low light. I also plan ahead and take my fast primes when it is night or the zoom durring the day.

 

[Albi86]

a sigma 17-50 f/2.8 HSM OS...

+1
I find it even a tad better than Canon's counterpart, except for the lack of FTM focusing and -5mm on the tele end. Couple it with a 24-105 and you're done.

The 15-85 is also very good, but IMHO it's quite expensive for a lens of such slow aperture. If you want just one lens for a crop body, I'd go Sigma 17-70 OS HSM. Loses some range to the 15-85, but it's a whole stop faster and this comes in handy for portraits and lower-light situations. Has even a decent macro capability with 1:2.7. More versatile overall. And it costs a half, which is not a bad thing, and you get the hood for free. The first version (that I'm using) has no OS or HSM but it's slightly sharper and has better macro at 1:2.3.

BTW, I'm reading nice things about the new Sigma 18-200 OS HSM MK2 as well.

 

[charleswagoner]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 17-40 f/4 L. Yeah it's a stop slower than the other mentioned, but that's fine as a walk around lens. Add to that a fast 50 when you need low light capability and you'll have a great kit.

 

[Albi86]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 17-40 f/4 L. Yeah it's a stop slower than the other mentioned, but that's fine as a walk around lens. Add to that a fast 50 when you need low light capability and you'll have a great kit.

I'm not surprised. What's the smartness in putting a 17-40 f/4 L on a T2i? You can have more for less.

 

[swampler]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the 17-40 f/4 L. Yeah it's a stop slower than the other mentioned, but that's fine as a walk around lens. Add to that a fast 50 when you need low light capability and you'll have a great kit.

Sorry, I just don't see how 50, much less 40mm on the long end could be remotely useful as a general purpose lens? Seems more specialized to me.

 

[Axilrod]

No one really knows what the 24-70 II is like, but based on the MTF charts and the few bits I've heard from people that played with it (most of them just briefly) it's an amazing lens. The 24-70mm 1 is a great lens as well but I've seen quite a bit of variation from copy to copy, some are much sharper than others.

But I agree with most on here, 17-55 for APS-C and 24-70 or 24-105 for FF (depends on your needs and available lenses really).